The Tahoe Knight Monsters took on the Idaho Steelheads on Friday. Puck drop was at 6:10 PM. The game was at Idaho Central Arena in Boise, Idaho. It was the sixtieth game of the season. The Tahoe Knight Monsters were coming off of a 4-5 overtime loss to the Rapid City Rush. The Knight Monsters had a record of 34-20-5. The Knight Monsters were in 9th place in the ECHL. The Knight Monsters were 5th in the Western Conference and 3rd in the Mountain Division. The Idaho Steelheads had played fifty-seven games. The Steelheads were coming off of a 3-7 loss to the Kansas City Mavericks. The Steelheads had a record of 29-19-9. The Steelheads were in 15th place in the ECHL. The Steelheads were in 8th place in the ECHL Western Conference. The Steelheads were in 5th place in the ECHL Western Conference Mountain Division. The all-time record between the Tahoe Knight Monsters and the Idaho Steelheads was 3-3-0.
The Tahoe Knight Monsters played three more games. The Knight Monsters had five more wins. The Knight Monsters had the better points percentage. The Knight Monsters had scored fourteen more goals. Both teams had allowed the same amount of goals. The Knight Monsters had the better goal differential. The Knight Monsters had six more points. The Tahoe Knight Monsters had 529 penalty minutes. The Idaho Steelheads had 674 penalty minutes.
#30 Jordan Papirny got the start in net for the Tahoe Knight Monsters. It was his twenty-fourth game played for the Knight Monsters this season. This was also his third game played in a row which had not happened yet this season. On Monday, the Tahoe Knight Monsters released emergency backup goaltender Zack Kellerup. On Friday, defender Even Junker and forward Adam Pitters were activated from reserve by the Knight Monsters. Defender Jake Johnson and forward Adam Robbins were placed on reserve by the Knight Monsters. #33 Ben Kraws got the start in net for the Idaho Steelheads. It was his twenty-eighth game played of the season. On Tuesday, the Idaho Steelheads traded defender Pito Walton to the Worcester Railers for future considerations. Forward Connor MacEachern was loaned to the Iowa Heartlanders by the Idaho Steelheads. On Wednesday, the Steelheads signed goaltender Dominic Basse and forward Brendan Hoffman. Forward Ryan Foss was placed on injured reserve by the Steelheads. Goaltender Brian Wilson and forward Christophe Fillion were placed on reserve by the Grizzlies. On Thursday, the Idaho Steelheads released goaltender Nicholas Grabko and forward Blake Swetikoff. Swetikoff was activated by the Steelheads from 14-day injured reserve before being released. On Friday, goaltender Ben Kraws was assigned to the Idaho Steelheads from the Texas Stars. Forward Christophe Fillion was activated from reserve by the Steelheads. Forward Demetrios Koumontzis was placed on reserve by the Steelheads.
Four minutes into the first period, Mason McCarty of the Idaho Steelheads received a penalty for holding. With under three minutes left in the first period, Slava Demin of the the Tahoe Knight Monsters received a penalty for interference. Neither team scored in the first period. The score was tied at 0-0 going into the second period.
Three minutes into the second period, the Tahoe Knight Monsters took the lead. The goal was scored by #12 Bear Hughes. His goal was assisted by #20 Slava Demin.
Ten minutes into the second period, the Idaho Steelheads tied the game. #6 Wade Murphy scored the tying goal. His goal was assisted by #17 Ty Pelton-Byce and #67 Hank Crone.
With under four minutes left in the second period, Isaac Johnson of the Knight Monsters received a penalty for hooking. The score was tied at 1-1 heading into the third period.
With under a minute left in the game, the Tahoe Knight Monsters scored to take the lead. The go ahead goal was scored by #14 Patrick Newell. His goal was assisted by #28 Logan Nelson and #9 Troy Loggins.
the final score was 2-1 Tahoe Knight Monsters.
The Idaho Steelheads mad a lot of roster changes going into this game. That is not surprising as they are trying to get into a playoff spot. After a scoreless first period, the game stayed tied after the second period. The Tahoe Knight Monsters broke the tie late in the game to avoid overtime. This was as close as a game can get pretty much. Majority of the game was tied. Just when teams start thinking about overtime the Knight Monsters score to win the game. This was a solid win for the Knight Monsters. Down the stretch here it is important that the Knight Monsters win close games. Winning this game will help keep the Steelheads out of the playoffs and the Knight Monsters in the playoffs. While the Steelheads made a lot of changes, it did not pay off in the end. The Knight Monsters late game heroics payed off.
The Tahoe Knight Monsters had twelve more shot. The Knight Monsters had the better shot percentage The Knight Monsters had two more penalty minutes. #30 Jordan Papirny saved 26 shots for a 96% save percentage for the Tahoe Knight Monsters. #33 Ben Kraws saved 37 shots for a 95% save percentage for the Idaho Steelheads.
The Tahoe Knight Monsters have a record of 36-20-5 with 75 points in 60 games. The Knight Monsters have now moved down one spot to 8th place in ECHL. They have now moved up to 4th place in the ECHL Western Conference. They stayed in 3rd place in the ECHL Western Conference Mountain Division. They are in a playoff spot. They are now eight points into a playoff spot. That is up two points. They have the third highest points percentage in the division. The Knight Monsters are now twelve points away from the top spot in the ECHL. The Knight Monsters are still nine points away from the top spot in the ECHL Western Conference.The Knight Monsters are now four points away from the top spot in the ECHL Western Conference Mountain Division. They closed that gap by one point.
The Tahoe Knight Monsters take on the Idaho Steelheads for game sixty-one on Saturday, March 15th. It will be an away game. Puck drop is scheduled for 6:10 PM. This will be a divisional game. It will be the second of back-to-back games in Idaho at the Idaho Central Arena. The Knight Monsters have twelve games remaining in the regular season.
Zac Electrifly 
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