The Tahoe Knight Monsters took on the Wichita Thunder on Friday. Puck drop was at 7:30 PM. The game was at the Tahoe Blue Event Center in Stateline, Nevada. It was the fourth game of the 2025 Kelly Cup Playoffs. The Knight Monsters were coming off of a 5-4 overtime victory over the Wichita Thunder. The Knight Monsters had a 3-0 series lead over the Thunder. The Tahoe Knight Monsters finished the regular season with 88 points in 72 games and a record of 41-25-6. They finished 10th overall in the ECHL. They finished in 5th place in the ECHL Western Conference. They finished 3rd in the ECHL Western Conference Mountain Division. The Wichita Thunder finished the regular season with 89 points in 72 games and a record of 41-24-7. They finished 9th overall in the ECHL. They finished in 4th place in the ECHL Western Conference. They finished 2nd in the ECHL Western Conference Mountain Division. The Tahoe Knight Monsters 2025 playoff record was 3-0-0. The Wichita Thunder 2025 playoff record was 0-3-0. The all time record between the Tahoe Knight Monsters and Wichita Thunder was 4-4-1.
The Tahoe Knight Monsters have three more 2025 Kelly Cup Playoff wins. The Knight monsters currently lead the series 3-0. The Tahoe Knight Monsters scored thirteen more goals during the postseason. The Wichita Thunder have allowed thirteen more goals during the postseason. The Knight Monsters have the better goal differential in the postseason. The Tahoe Knight Monsters have 32 penalty minutes so far in the Kelly Cup Playoffs. The Wichita Thunder have 42 penalties so far in the Kelly Cup Playoffs.
The Knight Monsters would win this series if they won this game. The Knight Monsters would sweep the series with a win. The Knight Monsters would advance to the second round with a win. The Knight Monsters had been a top offensive team in the playoffs. The Knight Monsters were consistently playing at a high level. The Thunder were not matching that. The Knight Monsters had all of the momentum in the series going into this game. The Thunder likely felt defeated after losing game three. Feeling defeated is hard to come back from in the playoffs. Special teams remained a huge factor going into this game. The Knight Monsters tying goal and eventual overtime winning goals in the last game were both on the powerplay. The Thunder had not been able to stay out of the box in this series. The powerplay was going to continue to be a significant decider in who won this game. The Thunder had struggled in net going into this game. The Knight Monsters were also taking a lot of shots. The Thunder were desperate. They had to win to keep their season alive. Going into this game the Knight Monsters could afford to be patient. The Thunder were going to play sloppy at some point as desperate teams often do. That would lead to mistakes that the Knight Monsters could take advantage of. One team was facing elimination. One team was trying to punch their ticket to round two. Would the Knight Monsters get the series win? Would the Thunder fight off elimination?
#1 Jesper Vikman got the start in net for the Tahoe Knight Monsters. It was his 46th game played this season. It was his 4th playoff game this season. On Friday, defender Adrian Bisson was activated from reserve by the Knight Monsters. Defender Linden Alger was placed on reserve by the Knight Monsters. #33 Trevor Gorsuch got the start in net for the Wichita Thunder. It was his 34th game played this season. It was his 3rd game of the playoffs.
Eight minutes into the game, Sloan Stanick of the Tahoe Knight Monsters received a penalty for elbowing. With under eight minutes remaining in the first period, the Knight Monsters took the lead. The first goal of the game was scored by #8 Adrien Bisson. His goal was assisted by #6 Evan Junker and #28 Logan Nelson.
With under six minutes left in the first period, the Thunder took the lead. The go ahead goal was scored by #22 Michal Stinil. This goal was assisted by #18 Kobe Walker.
With under a minute left in the first period, Jake Wahlin of the Wichita Thunder received a penalty for tripping. The score was 1-0 Tahoe Knight Monsters after the first period.
Three minutes into the second period, Reid Irwin of the Wichita Thunder received a penalty for tripping. Less than forty seconds later, Jay Dickman of the Thunder received a penalty for slashing. This would result in a 5-on-3 powerplay for the Tahoe Knight Monsters. Six minutes into the second period, Nate Kallen of the Knight Monsters received a penalty for hooking. With under five minutes remaining in the second period, the Wichita Thunder tied the game. The tying goal was scored by #51 Spencer Blackwell. His goal was unassisted.
With just under two minutes remaining in the second period, the Thunder took the lead. The go ahead goal was scored by #19 Joe Carroll. This goal was assisted by #27 Nolan Kneen and #21 Jay Dickman.
With under a minute remaining in the second period, Jake Wahlin of the Thunder received a penalty for tripping. The score was 2-1 Wichita Thunder going into the third period.
Six minutes into the third period, the Knight Monsters came close to scoring. The puck was close to crossing the line. The play would go under review and the Knight Monsters were not awarded a goal. Seven minutes into the third period, Michal Stinil of the Wichita Thunder received a penalty for high-sticking. On the penalty kill, the Thunder did get a breakaway that was saved by Jesper Vikman. Just after the powerplay, the Tahoe Knight Monsters tied the game. The Tying goal was scored by #12 Bear Hughes. His goal was assisted by #10 Jett Jones and #13 Simon Pinard.
With under five minutes remaining in regulation, Spencer Blackwell of the Thunder received a penalty for slashing. Again right after the powerplay, the Knight Monsters took the lead. The go ahead goal was scored by #14 Patrick Newell. His goal was assisted by #26 Nate Kallen.
With under two minutes remaining in the game the Thunder pulled their goalie for the extra attacker. The final score was 3-2 Tahoe Knight Monsters. The Tahoe Knight Monsters was the series 4-0. The Wichita Thunder have been
The Wichita Thunder got an early powerplay. It was a weak powerplay. The Tahoe Knight Monsters did well to block shots. The Tahoe Knight Monsters scored first. They held onto that lead into the second period. The Knight Monsters failed to score on the 5-on-3 powerplay early in the second period. They didn’t take a lot of shots on that powerplay but they held onto position for most of the powerplay. Later on in the second period the Knight Monsters were icing the puck a lot. Momentum in the second period was shifting to the Thunder. Then the Thunder scored two goals in the last five minutes of the second period. That gave the Thunder the lead going into the third period. Both goalies had played really well in the second period. Early on in the third period, Jett Jones of the Knight Monsters was hit with the puck in what appeared to be his wrist. He did continue to play but he was holding his hand on that play. The Knight Monsters tied the game about halfway through the second period. It did look like the game might go into overtime. Then the Knight Monsters scored late in the game to win the game and the series. While the last two goals were not on the powerplay, but the powerplay lead to those goals. Things were close but looking good after the first period. I was wondering after the first period if the game could stay 1-0. I was getting a little worried after the second period. I was trying to stay confident in the Knight Monsters. It was only one goal. The tying goal was great. When that goal was scored I was just thinking about the next goal. When the buzzer sounded and the Knight Monsters won, it was just pure joy throughout the building.
This game was decided on the powerplay. The game tying goal and game winning goal happened seconds after powerplays. Trevor Gorsuch did a solid job in net but he didn’t get a lot of help from his team. The Thunder were kept off the board for two periods. The Thunder took critical penalties that lead to the Knight Monsters winning. The Thunder needed to stay out of the box and build on their lead in the third period. They did not do that. The Knight Monsters won the game and the series. They did get the sweep. This was the first playoff series win in Tahoe Knight Monsters franchise history. It is also the first playoff series sweep in Tahoe Knight Monsters history. The Knight Monsters did bring that high level of play that we have seen all series. While the Thunder did have the lead and played well in net, they did not match the Knight Monsters level of play in this game. There was a larger momentum shift in this game in favor of the Thunder. The Thunder just didn’t maintain that momentum into the third period. The momentum for the Thunder came to a halt when they got their first penalty of the third period. The Thunder did not play like they felt defeated in this game. When the Knight Monsters scored the defeat was visible in the Thunder players. The Thunder did not play with the desperation I thought they would. After the Knight Monsters retook the lead, the Thunder continued to play like business as usual. There was no added fight or dive to win this game. In the end the Knight Monsters held on to get the series win. The Thunder were eliminated.
The Tahoe Knight Monsters had twelve more shots. The Knight Monsters had the better shot percentage. The Thunder had eight more penalty minutes. #1 Jesper Vikman saved 25 shots for an 93% save percentage for the Tahoe Knight Monsters. #33 Trvor Gorsuch saved 36 shots for a 92% save percentage for the Wichita Thunder. The Knight Monsters continue to be a top offensive team. They are in second for goals scored in the ECHL during the 2025 Kelly Cup Playoffs. The Knight Monsters have the highest goals per game percentage of any 2025 Kelly Cup Playoff team. The Knight Monsters have allowed the fourth least goals in the 2025 Kelly Cup Playoffs at eight goals allowed. The three teams in front of the Knight Monsters have all allowed seven goals. The Knight Monsters are the least penalized team so far in the 2025 Kelly Cup Playoffs at thirty-six penalty minutes. The Tahoe Knight Monsters are one of four 2025 Kelly Cup Playoff teams to sweep their first round series. The Wichita Thunder are one of just four teams who qualified for the 2025 Kelly Cup Playoffs but did not win a game.
The Tahoe Knight Monsters have swept the Wichita Thunder 4-0 in the first round. The Tahoe Knight Monsters have advanced to the second round. The Wichita Thunder have been eliminated from the playoffs. The Knight Monsters won game one 6-1. The Knight Monsters won game two 8-1. The Knight Monsters won game three 5-4 in overtime. The Knight Monsters won game four 3-2. The Knight Monsters dominated the first two games. The second two games were closer but due to a strong powerplay, the Knight Monsters were able to win both games. The Kansas City Mavericks defeated the Tulsa Oilers 4-0 in game six of the first round of the 2025 Kelly Cup Playoffs to win that series 4-2. The Kansas City Mavericks have advanced to the second round of the 2025 Kelly Cup Playoffs. The number one seed Kansas City Mavericks will play the number three seed Tahoe Knight Monsters in the ECHL 2025 Kelly Cup Western Conference Mountain Division Finals. The Toledo Walleye, the Trois-Rivières Lions, the Norfolk Admirals, and the Florida Everblades have also advanced to the 2025 Kelly Cup Division Finals. The Indy Fuel, the Tulsa Oilers, the Wichita Thunder, the Reading Royals, the Wheeling Nailers, and the Jacksonville Icemen have all been eliminated from the 2025 Kelly Cup Playoffs.
The Tahoe Knight Monsters take on the Kansas City Mavericks for the 2025 Kelly Cup Playoffs Mountain Division Finals. It will be the fifth game of the 2025 Kelly Cup Playoffs. The game will be on Sunday, May 4th. It will be an away game for the Knight Monsters. Puck drop is scheduled for 2:05 PM. This will be a divisional game. It will be the first game of the series. It will be the first of back-to-back games in Kansas City.
Zac Electrifly 
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