The Tahoe Knight Monsters took on the Kansas City Mavericks on Monday. Puck drop was at 5:05 PM. The game was at Cable Damer Arena in Independence, Missouri. It was the sixth game of the 2025 Kelly Cup Playoffs for the Knight Monsters. It was the second game of the 2025 Kelly Cup Mountain Division Finals. The Kansas City Mavericks were leading the series 1-0 going into this game. The Knight Monsters were coming off of a 3-5 defeat to the Kansas City Mavericks in game one. 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 4-1-0 going into this game. 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 5-2-0 going into this game. The all time record between the Tahoe Knight Monsters and Kansas City Mavericks was 2-4-1.
The Kansas City Mavericks had one more 2025 Kelly Cup Playoff win. The Kansas City Mavericks had one more 2025 Kelly Cup Playoff loss. The Tahoe Knight Monsters had scored three more goals during the postseason. The Kansas City Mavericks had allowed one more goal during the postseason. The Knight Monsters had the better goal differential in the postseason. The Tahoe Knight Monsters had 40 penalty minutes in the Kelly Cup Playoffs. The Kansas City Mavericks had 57 penalties in the Kelly Cup Playoffs.
The Kansas City Mavericks had one more 2025 Kelly Cup Playoffs Mountain Division Finals win. The Tahoe Knight Monsters had one more 2025 Kelly Cup Playoffs Mountain Division Finals loss. The Mavericks had scored two more goals in this series. The Knight Monsters had allowed two more goals in this series. The Mavericks had the better goal differential in this series. The Tahoe Knight Monsters had 4 penalty minutes in this series. The Kansas City Mavericks had 8 penalties in this series.
Would game two be another close back and fourth battle. The Tahoe Knight Monsters powerplay was on fire in game one. The powerplay has become a big focus for the Knight Monsters. They did not score a 5-on-5 goal in game one. The Kansas City Mavericks didn’t allow a even strength goal in game one. The Knight Monsters needed to find a way to build a lead after not getting past a one goal lead in game one. Consistency was still a big factor going into game two. It was unclear going into this game if either team to continue to play at the level we saw in game one. Would the Knight Monsters tie the series? Would the Mavericks take a 2-0 series lead back to Tahoe?
#1 Jesper Vikman got the start in net for the Tahoe Knight Monsters. It was his 48th game played this season. It was his 6th playoff game this season. #1 Jack LaFontaine got the start in net for the Kansas City Mavericks. It was his 39th game played this season. It was his 8th game of the playoffs.
Ten minutes into the first period, Jake McGrew of the Tahoe Knight Monsters received a penalty for boarding. With under six minutes remaining in the fist period, Marcus Crawford of the Kansas City Mavericks received a penalty for high-sticking. With under three minutes left in the first period, Logan Nelson of the Knight Monsters received a penalty for high-sticking. Neither team scored in the opening twenty minutes. The score was tied at 0-0 going after the first period.
Three minutes into the second period, the Kansas City Mavericks took the game. The first goal of the game was scored by #7 Nathan Dunkley. His goal was assisted by #5 Nate Knoepke.
Seven minutes into the second period, Joe Fleming of the Tahoe Knight Monsters received a penalty for roughing. With under seven minutes remaining in the second period, Zack Trott of the Mavericks received a penalty for hooking. With under three minutes remaining in the second period, Max Andreev of the Mavericks received a penalty for cross-checking. The score was 1-0 Kansas City Mavericks.
Ten minutes into the third period, Joe Fleming of the Tahoe Knight Monsters received a penalty for roughing. at the same time Justin MacPherson of the Kansas City Mavericks received a penalty for roughing. With under five minutes remaining in the game, David Cotton of the Mavericks received a penalty for delay of game. The Mavericks scored on the penalty kill to take a two goal lead late in the game. The shorthanded goal was scored by #38 Cade Borchardt. His goal was unassisted.
With under three minutes left in the game, the Knight Monsters pulled their goalie for the extra attacker. The Mavericks would score on the empty net. The goal was scored by #9 Cam Morrison. His goal was assisted by #18 Damien Giroux and #17 Jackson Berezowski.
The final score was 3-0 Kansas City Mavericks. The Kansas City Mavericks now lead the series 2-0.
https://echl.com/videos/tahoe-knight-monsters-vs-kansas-city-mavericks-may-4-2025-game-1
This was the first ever time the Tahoe Knight Monsters played on a Monday. This game started off slow just like in game one. The first period was scoreless just like in game one. The second period saw one team take the lead. Just like in game one. The Kansas City Mavericks found a late goal to put the game out of reach for the Tahoe Knight Monsters. There was a lot less scoring in this game. This is the first time the Knight Monsters have gone down 2-0 in a playoff series. This is the first time the Knight Monsters have been shutout during the postseason. The Mavericks held the Knight Monsters to just 21 shots in this game. That is likely a combination of the Mavericks defense and the Knight Monsters hesitation towards taking shots sometimes. Often times the Knight Monsters try to make plays instead of just putting the puck on net. This was not a repeat of game one. There were some similarities though. Neither team scored in the first period. One team had a one goal lead after the second period. The Mavericks scored an empty netter. The Mavericks won the game. The Knight Monsters offense came to a halt in this game. They did not score on the powerplay despite having four opportunities. They did let in a shorthanded goal. The Knight Monsters fell apart in this game. After two games of the 2025 Kelly Cup Playoffs Mountain Division Finals, the Knight Monsters are still without a goal during even strength play. The Knight Monsters will not win this series if they do not score during even strength play. The Knight Monsters weren’t able to build a lead because they didn’t even get on the board. The Knight Monsters are not playing at that consistent high level. The Mavericks are playing consistently so far in this series. This game was awful. It was close but allowing the Mavericks to go up two goals on a shorthanded goal is unacceptable in this series. The Knight Monsters didn’t shoe up in this one. They look like a completely different team then they did in round one. The Knight Monsters were unable to tie the series. The Mavericks will now take a 2-0 series lead back to Tahoe. There is still hope. The Knight Monsters still have time to turn this series around.
The Kansas City Mavericks had twelve more shots. The Mavericks had the better shot percentage. The Mavericks had two more penalty minutes. #1 Jesper Vikman saved 30 shots for an 91% save percentage for the Tahoe Knight Monsters. #1 Jack LaFontaine saved 21 shots for a 100% save percentage for the Kansas City Mavericks. It was his third shutout of the season.
The Tahoe Knight Monsters trail the Kansas City Mavericks 2-0 in the 2025 Kelly Cup Playoffs Mountain Division Finals. Game three is tonight. The Knight Monsters still have to win four of the remaining up to five games to win this series. The 2025 Kelly Cup Playoffs Central Division Finals are tied at 2-2.
The Tahoe Knight Monsters take on the Kansas City Mavericks for the third game of the 2025 Kelly Cup Playoffs Mountain Division Finals. It will be the seventh game of the 2025 Kelly Cup Playoffs for the Knight Monsters. The game will be on Thursday, May 8th. It will be a home game for the Knight Monsters. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 PM. This will be a divisional game. It will be the third game of the series. It will be the first of up to three games in Tahoe.
Zac Electrifly 
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