The Tahoe Knight Monsters took on the Utah Grizzlies on Saturday. Puck drop was at 6:10 PM. The game was at the Maverik Center in West Valley City, Utah. It was the sixty-ninth game of the season. The Knight Monsters were coming off of a 3-4 defeat to the Utah Grizzlies. The Tahoe Knight Monsters had a record of 40-23-5. 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 Grizzlies had played sixty-eight games. The Grizzlies were coming off of a 4-3 win over the Knight Monsters. The Grizzlies had a record of 23-37-8. The Grizzlies were in 28th place in the ECHL. The Grizzlies were in 14th place in the ECHL Western Conference. The Grizzlies were in 7th place in the ECHL Western Conference Mountain Division. The all-time record between the Tahoe Knight Monsters and the Utah Grizzlies was 5-4-0.
#30 Jordan Papirny got the start in net for the Tahoe Knight Monsters. It was his 27th game played this season. On Saturday, forward Cal Kiefiuk was activated from injured reserve by the Knight Monsters. Forward Isaac Johnson was placed on reserve by the Knight Monsters. Forward Adam Robbins was placed on 14-day injured reserve. #35 Vinny Duplessis got the start in net for the Utah Grizzlies. It was his 20th game played this season.
Thirty-two seconds into the game, the Tahoe Knight Monsters took the lead. #13 Simon Pinard scored the first goal of the game. His goal was assisted by #12 Bear Hughes and #21 Sloan Stanick.
Eleven minutes into the game, Reilly Connors of the Utah Grizzlies received a penalty for high-sticking. With under three minutes left in the opening period, Logan Nelson of the Knight Monsters received a penalty for tripping. The score was 1-0 Knight Monsters after the first period.
Three minutes into the second period, the Tahoe Knight Monsters took a two goal lead. The second goal was scored by #12 Bear Hughes. His goal was assisted by #13 Simon Pinard.
Six minutes into the second period, Griffin Ness of the Utah Grizzlies received a penalty for slashing. With under three minutes left in the second period, the Knight Monsters took a three goal lead. The goal was scored by #29 Joe Fleming. His goal was assisted. by #10 Jett Jones.
Forty seconds later, the Knight Monsters took a four goal lead. The goal was scored by #5 Kaelan Taylor. His goal was assisted by #48 Anthony Collins and #28 Logan Nelson.
The score was 4-0 Tahoe Knight Monsters going into the third period.
Four minutes into the third period, the Tahoe Knight Monsters scored again. Their fifth goal was scored by #28 Logan Nelson. His goal was assisted by #24 Patrick Newell.
Five minutes into the third period, Logan Nelson of the Knight Monsters received a penalty for interference. Eight minutes into the third period, the Knight Monsters scored their sixth goal. The goal was scored by #9 Troy Loggins. His goal was assisted by #14 Patrick Newell and #19 Luke Adam.
Under a minute later the Knight Monsters scored their seventh goal of the game. The goal was scored by #96 Brennan Kapcheck. His goal was assisted by #13 Simon Pinard and #21 Sloan Stanick.
With under nine minutes remaining in the game, Griffin Ness of the Utah Grizzlies received a penalty for holding. With under eight minutes left in the game, Cal Kiefiuk of the Knight Monsters received a penalty for roughing. With twenty seconds left in the game Aaron Aragon of the Grizzlies speared someone. Anthony Collins took exception to that. Aaron Aragon received fifteen minutes in penalties for spearing. He would also receive a single game suspension for the incident. Anthony Collins received twelve minutes in penalties for roughing. The final score was 7-0 Tahoe Knight Monsters.
The Tahoe Knight Monsters defense was on point in this game. There was nothing the Utah Grizzlies could do to score. There was nothing the Grizzlies could do to stop the Knight Monsters from scoring. This was a great showing as the playoffs come nearer. The Tahoe Knight Monsters broke their three game losing streak in spectacular fashion. This was the Tahoe Knight Monsters fifth shutout of the season. This was also the seventh time this season where the Knight Monsters have scored seven or more goals in a single game. The Knight Monsters split these back-to-back games in Utah. I was hoping for back-to-back blowouts. One out of two isn’t bad. The Knight Monsters are still three points from securing a playoff spot.
The Tahoe Knight Monsters had three more shots. The Tahoe Knight Monsters had the better shot percentage. The Utah Grizzlies had three more penalty minutes. #30 Jordan Papirny saved 36 shots for a 100% save percentage for the Tahoe Knight Monsters. This was his fourth shutout of the season. #35 Vinny Duplessis saved 32 shots for an 82% save percentage for the Utah Grizzlies.
The Tahoe Knight Monsters have a record of 41-23-5 with 87 points in 69 games. The Knight Monsters are still in 7th place in ECHL. They are still in 3rd place in the ECHL Western Conference. They are still in 2nd place in the ECHL Western Conference Mountain Division. They are in a playoff spot. They are six points into a playoff spot. They have the second highest points percentage in the division. The Tahoe Knight Monsters need three points to secure a playoff spot. The Knight Monsters need another win and a shootout or overtime loss to secure a playoff spot as things stand. With three games left, the Knight Monsters need to win at least one and force at least one game into overtime. However, if the Knight Monsters win one more game, and the Idaho Steelheads lose one more game, the Knight Monsters may be able to secure a playoff spot that way. There is a high chance that the Knight Monsters make the playoffs. The Idaho Steelheads would have to win all four of their remaining games, the Tulsa Oilers would have to find five points in their last four games, and the Wichita Thunder would have to find six points in their last four games with the Knight Monsters losing their final three games to eliminate the Tahoe Knight Monsters from playoff contention. With the Knight Monsters playing the Thunder next, I do not think that is going to happen.
The Tahoe Knight Monsters take on the Wichita Thunder for game seventy on Wednesday, April 9th. It will be a home game. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 PM. This will be a divisional game. It will be the first of three games against the Thunder. The Knight Monsters have three games remaining in the regular season.
Zac Electrifly 
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