The Tahoe Knight Monsters took on the Idaho Steelheads on Sunday. Puck drop was at 3:00 PM. The game was at the Tahoe Blue Event Center in Stateline, Nevada. It was the sixty-seventh game of the season. The Knight Monsters were coming off of a 0-5 defeat to the Idaho Steelheads. The Tahoe Knight Monsters had a record of 40-21-5. The Knight Monsters were in 7th place in the ECHL. The Knight Monsters were 3rd in the Western Conference and 2nd in the Mountain Division. The Steelheads had played sixty-five games. The Steelheads were coming off of a 5-0 win over the Knight Monsters. The Steelheads had a record of 33-23-9. 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 7-4-0.
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#1 Jesper Vikman got the start in net for the Tahoe Knight Monsters. It was his 39th game played this season. On Sunday, the Henderson Silver Knights assigned defender Joe Fleming to the Tahoe Knight Monsters. Forward Adam Robbins was placed on reserve by the Knight Monsters. Forward Cal Kiefiuk was placed on 14-day injured reserve by the Knight Monsters. Bear Hughes of the Tahoe Knight Monsters was suspended on Sunday after receiving a match penalty for slew-footing in the previous game. Hughes received a two game suspension. Jake McGrew of the Tahoe Knight Monsters received a single game suspension for boarding in the previous game. Bryan Thomson got the start in net for the Idaho Steelheads. It was his 24th game played this season. On Sunday, the Idaho Steelheads released goaltender Dominic Basse. The Steelheads activated goaltender Bryan Thomson from 14-day injured reserve.
A minute into the game, Luke Adam of the Tahoe Knight Monsters received a four minute penalty for slashing. On the powerplay, the Idaho Steelheads scored. The goal was scored by #13 Francesco Arcuri. His goal was assisted by #47 Patrick Kudla and #8 Kaleb Pearson.
Five minutes into the game, Ryan Gagnon of the Steelheads received a penalty for slashing. With four minutes left in the first period, the Knight Monsters tied the game. The tying goal was scored by #24 Isaac Johnson. His goal was assisted by #14 Patrick Newell and #26 Nate Kallen.
With under three minutes left in the first period, Artur Cholach of the Knight Monsters received a penalty for cross-checking. With under two minutes left in the first period, the Idaho Steelheads were awarded a penalty shot. #18 A.J. White scored on the penalty shot to retake the lead for the Steelheads. I do not think the penalty shot should have been called the way it was. The call was that the defender threw his stick. The two players were battling. The defender was trying to keep the forward wide. The defenders stick fell out of his hands and went forward. This was the first time I have seen a call like that.
The score was 2-1 Idaho Steelheads after the first period.
Six minutes into the second period, the Tahoe Knight Monsters tied the game. The tying goal was scored by #13 Simon Pinard. His goal was assisted by #21 Sloan Stanick and #10 Jett Jones.
Ten minutes into the second period, the Idaho Steelheads retook the lead. The goal was scored by #3 Nick Canade. His goal was assisted by #17 Ty Pelton-Bryce and #6 Wade Murphy.
Twenty seconds after the goal, C.J. Walker of the Steelheads received a penalty for interference. Eleven minutes into the second period, the Steelheads were awarded another penalty shot. #18 A.J. White penalty shot attempt was denied by #1 Jesper Vikman. With under two minutes left in the second period, Evan Junker of the Knight Monsters received a penalty for high-sticking. Just under a minute later Wade Murphy of the Steelheads received a penalty for boarding. The score was 3-2 going into the third period.
Five minutes into the third period, the Idaho Steelheads took a two goal lead. The goal was scored by #18 A.J. White. His goal was assisted by #13 Francesco Arcuri and #6 Wade Murphy.
Seven minutes into the third period, Brendan Hoffman of the Steelheads received a penalty for hooking. Under a minute later, Jade Miller of the Steelheads received a penalty for delay of game. Nine minutes into the third period, the Steelheads took a three goal lead. The goal was scored by #3 Nick Canade. His goal was assisted by #9 Brendan Hoffmann.
With under five minutes left in the game, C.J. Walker of the Steelheads received a penalty for holding. Under a minute later Nick Canade of the Steelheads received a game misconduct. Under a minute later, Joe Fleming of the Tahoe Knight Monsters received a penalty for roughing. Jason Horvath of the Steelheads also received a penalty for roughing at the same time. With under three minutes left in the game, Nate Kallen of the Knight Monsters received a penalty for slashing. The final score was 5-2 Idaho Steelheads.
I believe these were the first ever suspensions for the Tahoe Knight Monsters. The Idaho Steelheads scored first again. The Knight Monsters tied the game but a dumb penalty shot call gave the Steelheads the lead going into the second period. The soft penalty shot was called but there were a few big no calls against Steelheads in the period. The Knight The second period started off with a no call after a Steelheads player ripped a Knight Monsters player stick out of his hands behind the play. The Steelheads miss their second penalty shot but the game stays a one goal game going into the third. The Knight Monster give one up early in the third but are still in the game. A bad turn over lead to the Steelheads taking a three goal lead. Late in the third period Jett Jones of the Knight Monsters took a puck to the face. He got up and appeared to be fine. The Steelheads capitalized on poor officiating to win this game. The Knight Monsters didn’t help themselves out but still. This was the worst officiated game I have seen this season. The Steelheads were still acting like thugs. They were going around hitting and grabbing players especially behind plays. Then they wouldn’t fight when challenged. The Steelheads played like cowards the whole series. The series ended 2-2-0. The Knight Monsters had a strong first two games but then fell apart in the second two games.
The Tahoe Knight Monsters take on the Utah Grizzlies for game sixty-eight on Friday, April 4th. It will be an away game. Puck drop is scheduled for 6:10 PM. This will be a divisional game. It will be the first of back-toback games against the Utah Grizzlies. The Knight Monsters have five games remaining in the regular season.
Zac Electrifly 
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