The Tahoe Knight Monsters took on the Kansas City Mavericks on Sunday. Puck drop was at 2:05 PM. The game was at Cable Damer Arena in Independence, Missouri. It was the fifth game of the 2025 Kelly Cup Playoffs for the Knight Monsters. It was the first game of the 2025 Kelly Cup Mountain Division Finals. The Knight Monsters were coming off of a 3-2 victory over the Wichita Thunder to sweep the Thunder in the first round. The Knight Monsters were on a four game winning streak. 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 Tahoe Knight Monsters defeated the Wichita Thunder 4-0 in round one. The Tahoe Knight Monsters 2025 playoff record was 4-0-0. The Kansas City Mavericks finished the regular season with 103 points in 72 games and a record of 49-18-5. They finished 3rd overall in the ECHL. They finished in 1st place in the ECHL Western Conference. They finished 1st in the ECHL Western Conference Mountain Division. The Kansas City Mavericks beat the Tulsa Oilers 4-2 in the first round. The Kansas City Mavericks 2025 playoff record is 4-2-0. The all time record between the Tahoe Knight Monsters and Kansas City Mavericks was 2-3-1.
Both teams had four 2025 Kelly Cup Playoff wins. The Kansas City Mavericks had two more 2025 Kelly Cup Playoff losses. The Tahoe Knight Monsters had scored five more goals during the postseason. The Kansas City Mavericks had allowed three more goals during the postseason. The Knight Monsters had the better goal differential in the postseason. The Tahoe Knight Monsters had 36 penalty minutes in the Kelly Cup Playoffs. The Kansas City Mavericks had 49 penalties in the Kelly Cup Playoffs.
The Tahoe Knight Monsters offense was on fire through the first round. That included blowouts and come from behind victories. The Kansas City Mavericks struggled in the first round. The Mavericks were a top team in the regular season but struggled against a team that barely made the playoffs. Going into this game I expected the Knight Monsters offense to continue to produce at a high level. They took a lot of shots in the first round. I expected that to continue. Powerplays and powerplay opportunities led to tying and game winning goals in first round. The Knight Monsters would need to keep that up if they want to win in the second round. They were the least penalized team in the 2025 Kelly Cup Playoffs going into this game. They would need to continue to stay out of the box to find success against the Mavericks. The Mavericks had scored a lot of goals in the regular season like the Knight Monsters. The big difference in this series was going to be on defense. The lack of goals the Mavericks allowed during the regular season could be a factor in this series. Both teams have offensive power. The Mavericks can also have defensive power that has not been seen from the Knight Monsters. The Mavericks defense was not consistent during the first round of the 2025 Kelly Cup Playoffs. Consistency was going to be a key factor in this series. The Knight Monsters consistently played at a high level during the first round. The Mavericks did not play consistently in the first round. Going back to the regular season, both teams played close games against each other for the most part. Four of their six regular season meeting were a one goal game. They have not played each other since February. I thought this series would have close games and that the gap in playing each other could be a factor in this game. Would the Knight Monsters offense prevail? Would the Mavericks defensive force be to strong? Who was going to start off this series with a lead?
#1 Jesper Vikman got the start in net for the Tahoe Knight Monsters. It was his 47th game played this season. It was his 5th playoff game this season. #1 Jack LaFontaine got the start in net for the Kansas City Mavericks. It was his 38th game played this season. It was his 7th game of the playoffs.
Eight minutes into the third period, Anthony Collins of the Tahoe Knight Monsters received a penalty for roughing. With under three minutes remaining in the first period, Jack LaFontaine (goalie) of the Kansas City Mavericks received a penalty for Tripping. Just over a minute later Logan Nelson of the Knight Monsters received a penalty for slashing. That penalty would result in 4-on-4 play.
Neither team scored in the first period. The score was tied at 0-0 after the first period.
Fie minutes into the second period, Jack McLaughlin of the Kansas City Mavericks received a penalty for slashing. On the powerplay, the Tahoe Knight Monsters took the lead. #21 Sloan Stanick scored the go ahead goal. His goal was assisted by #12 Bear Hughes and #96 Brennan Kapcheck.
The Tahoe Knight Monsters scored the only goal of the second period. The score was 1-0 Tahoe Knight Monsters going into the third period.
Forty-six seconds into the third period, the Kansas City Mavericks tied the game. The tying goal was scored by #22 Casey Carreau. His goal was assisted by #27 Jake McLaughlin.
Two minutes into the third period, Jake McLaughlin of the Mavericks received a penalty for holding. On the powerplay, the Tahoe Knight Monsters retook the lead. The goal was scored by #13 Simon Pinard. His goal was assisted by #12 Bear Hughes and #21 Sloan Stanick.
Five minutes into the second period, the Mavericks tied the game again. The tying goal was scored by #6 Justin MacPherson. His goal was assisted by #19 Nolan Sullivan.
Ten minutes into the third period, Jack LaFontaine (goalie) of the Mavericks received a penalty for delay of game. On the powerplay, The Knight Monsters scored to retake the lead again. The goal was scored by #10 Jett Jones. His goal was assisted by #96 Brennan Kapcheck and #1 Jesper Vikman (goalie).
With under eight minutes remaining in the game, the Mavericks tied the game again. #18 Damien Giroux scored the goal. His goal was assisted by #9 Cam Morrison and #23 Zack Trott.
With under four minutes left in the game, the Mavericks took the lead. The goal was scored by #15 Marcus Crawford. His goal was assisted by #29 Nolan Sullivan and #7 Nathan Dunkley.
With under three minutes remaining int he game, the Knight Monsters pulled their goalie for the extra attacker. The Mavericks would score on the empty net. The empty net goal was scored by #28 Cade Boorchardt. His goal was assisted by #44 Mac Andreev. The empty net goal gave the Mavericks a two goal lead.
The Knight Monsters would pull their goalie again. The final score was 5-3 Kansas City Mavericks. The Kansas City Mavericks now have a 1-0 series lead.
https://echl.com/videos/tahoe-knight-monsters-vs-kansas-city-mavericks-may-4-2025-game-1
This game got off to a slow start with neither team getting an advantage after the first period. The Tahoe Knight Monsters took the lead into the third period with the games only goal after two periods. Then it was back and fourth scoring until the last five minutes of the game. The Kansas City Mavericks took the lead late in the game and held onto it. The Knight Monsters had the lead multiple times. They never found a way to build on their lead. The Mavericks stayed in the game. They found the lead late in the game. They were able to put the game away with an empty net goal. The Knight Monsters scored all of their goals on the powerplay. The Knight Monsters went three for four on the powerplay. They weren’t able to find any goals at even strength. While it is good that the powerplay is on fire still, it is not good that they did not score during 5-on-5 play. While the Knight Monsters need to execute on the powerplay, they can not rely solely on the powerplay to win games in the playoffs. The Knight Monsters offense continues to produce at a consistent level but it was not enough in game one. The Mavericks showed why they were a top team in the ECHL during the regular season. The Knight Monsters did not take as many shots in this game as they were taking in first round games. The Knight Monsters only took two penalties in this game. They did not allow the Mavericks to score on the powerplay. That is definitely a positive takeaway. There was definitely a lot of offense in this game. The Mavericks were able to keep up and surpass the Knight Monsters in that in this game. I wouldn’t say that the Mavericks defense won them this game. The Mavericks kept the Knight Monsters out of the net during 5-on-5 play but the Mavericks couldn’t keep the Knight Monsters out on the power. The Mavericks still allowed three goals. The strong defense the Mavericks had during the regular season wasn’t really there in this game. This game was more of an offensive showing. It was a close game. We will see how consistent both teams are moving forward in this series. Will the Knight Monsters continue to score on the powerplay? Will the Knight Monsters continue to put up three or more goals a game? Will the Knight Monsters score during even strength play? Will the Mavericks continue to score at the same rate? Will the Mavericks continue to stay in games? Will the Mavericks continue to find ways to win? The Knight Monsters offense did not prevail in this game. The Mavericks defensive force would be too strong for the Knight Monsters in this game. The Mavericks start off this series with the lead. This was the Tahoe Knight Monsters first playoff loss in franchise history.
The Kansas City Mavericks had eleven more shots. The Mavericks had the better shot percentage. The Mavericks had four more penalty minutes. #1 Jesper Vikman saved 43 shots for an 90% save percentage for the Tahoe Knight Monsters. #1 Jack LaFontaine saved 34 shots for a 92% save percentage for the Kansas City Mavericks.
The Tahoe Knight Monsters trail the Kansas City Mavericks 1-0 in the 2025 Kelly Cup Playoffs Mountain Division Finals. Game two is tonight. The Knight Monsters still have to win four of the remaining six games to win this series. The 2025 Kelly Cup Playoffs Central Division Finals are tied at 1-1.
The Tahoe Knight Monsters take on the Kansas City Mavericks for the second game of the 2025 Kelly Cup Playoffs Mountain Division Finals. It will be the sixth game of the 2025 Kelly Cup Playoffs for the Knight Monsters. The game will be on Monday, May 5th. It will be an away game for the Knight Monsters. Puck drop is scheduled for 5:05 PM. This will be a divisional game. It will be the second game of the series. It will be the second of back-to-back games in Kansas City.
Zac Electrifly 
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