The Tahoe Knight Monsters took on the Kansas City Mavericks on Friday, May 9th. Puck drop was at 7:00 PM. The game was at the Tahoe Blue Event Center in Stateline, Nevada. It was the eighth game of the 2025 Kelly Cup Playoffs for the Knight Monsters. It was the fourth game of the 2025 Kelly Cup Mountain Division Finals. The Kansas City Mavericks were leading the series 4-0 going into this game. The Knight Monsters were coming off of a 1-3 defeat to the Kansas City Mavericks in game two. 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 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 all time record between the Tahoe Knight Monsters and Kansas City Mavericks was 2-6-1.
The Kansas City Mavericks had three more 2025 Kelly Cup Playoff wins. The Tahoe Knight Monsters had one more 2025 Kelly Cup Playoffs loss. The Mavericks had scored three more goals in the postseason. The Tahoe Knight Monsters had allowed four more goals during the postseason. The Mavericks had the better goal differential in the postseason. The Tahoe Knight Monsters had 58 penalty minutes in the Kelly Cup Playoffs. The Kansas City Mavericks had 79 penalty minutes in the Kelly Cup Playoffs.
The Kansas City Mavericks had three more 2025 Kelly Cup Playoffs Mountain Division Finals wins. The Tahoe Knight Monsters had three more 2025 Kelly Cup Playoffs Mountain Division Finals losses. The Mavericks had scored seven more goals in this series. The Knight Monsters had allowed seven more goals in this series. The Mavericks had the better goal differential in this series. The Tahoe Knight Monsters had 22 penalty minutes in this series. The Kansas City Mavericks had 30 penalties in this series.
The Kansas City Mavericks won the first three games of this series. They would win the series with a sweep if they won this game. The Tahoe Knight Monsters had not scored during even-strength play. The Knight Monsters needed to find a way to get the offense going. They needed to find a way to stop the Mavericks. They needed to slow the Mavericks down with pressure in the neutral zone. They needed to connect on passes.
#1 Jesper Vikman got the start in net for the Tahoe Knight Monsters. It was his 50th game played this season. It was his 8th playoff game this season. On Friday, forward Adam Pitters and forward Cal Kiefiuk were activated by the Knight Monsters. Forward Troy Loggins and forward Simon Pinard were placed on reserve by the Knight Monsters. #1 Jack LaFontaine got the start in net for the Kansas City Mavericks. It was his 41st game played this season. It was his 10th game of the playoffs.
A minute into the game, the Kansas City Mavericks took the lead. The goal was scored by #44 Max Andreev. His goal was assisted by #23 Zack Trott and #27 Jake McLaughlin.
Three minutes into the game, Charlie Wright of the Mavericks received a penalty for high-sticking. With under eight minutes remaining in the first period, Logan Nelson of the Tahoe Knight Monsters was awarded a penalty shot. His penalty shot attempt was saved. With under six minutes remaining in the first period, Anthony Collins of the Knight Monsters received a penalty for roughing. On the powerplay, the Mavericks scored to take a two goal lead. The goal was scored by #28 Cade Borchardt. His goal was assisted by #44 Max Andreev and #9 Cam Morrison.
With under four minutes to go in the first period, Adrien Bisson of the Knight Monsters received a penalty for high-sticking. On the powerplay, the Mavericks scored to take a three goal lead. The goal was scored by #17 Jackson Berezowski. His goal was assisted by #15 Marcus Crawford and #18 Damien Giroux.
The score was 3-0 Kansas City Mavericks after the first period.
Joe Flemming of the Tahoe Knight Monsters started the second period in the penalty box after a delayed call at the end of the first period for interference. On the powerplay, the Kansas City Mavericks scored to take a four goal lead. The goal was scored by #18 Damien Giroux. His goal was assisted by #13 David Cotton and #17 Jackson Berezowski.
Three minutes into the second period, Landon McCallum of the Mavericks received a penalty for high-sticking. Ten minutes into the second period, Charlie Wright of the Mavericks received a penalty for tripping. With three minutes remaining in the second period, Nathan Dunkley of the Mavericks received a penalty for slashing. The score was 4-0 Kansas City Mavericks going into the third period.
Three minutes into the third period, the Kansas City Mavericks took a five goal lead. The goal was scored by #44 Max Andreev. His goal was unassisted.
Five minutes into the third period, Joe Fleming of the Tahoe Knight Monsters received a penalty for roughing. At the same time Max Andreev of the Mavericks received a penalty for roughing. Seven minutes into the third period, the Mavericks scored again. #27 Jake McLaughlin scored the Mavericks sixth goal of the game. His goal was assisted by #28 Zack Trott and #17 Jackson Berezowski. This goal gave the Mavericks a six goal lead.
Around twenty seconds after the last goal, Cal Kiefiuk of the Knight Monsters received a penalty for slashing. The final score was 6-0 Kansas City Mavericks. With that win the Kansas City Mavericks won the series 4-0. It was a sweep. The Kansas City Mavericks are now the 2025 Kelly Cup Mountain Division Champions. The Kansas City Mavericks have advanced to the 2025 Kelly Cup Western Conference Finals. The Tahoe Knight Monsters were eliminated from the playoffs.
https://echl.com/videos/kansas-city-mavericks-vs-tahoe-knight-monsters-may-8-2025-game-3
The Kansas City Mavericks got on the board early in the first period. The Mavericks took a 3-0 lead after the first period. The Mavericks expanded their lead to four goals just twenty-one seconds into the second period. The Mavericks scored two more in the third period. The Tahoe Knight Monsters had a weak powerplay. They were not protecting their net. They had poor turnovers that lead to goals. They were giving up the puck a lot in front of their own net. They were not winning puck battles. The officiating was poor. In the first period, three weak penalties were called against the Knight Monsters in four minutes. The Mavericks scored on two of those to put the game out of reach for the Knight Monsters. The game was already over by the time the Mavericks received any penalties. It’s bad when the Mavericks player punches the Knight Monsters player after the buzzer and there is no call. On the Anthony Collins penalty from the first period, there was a scrum that should not have resulted in any penalties. However the Mavericks got a powerplay out of it. It is not completely the officials fault. The Knight Monsters did nothing to help themselves out. It is undeniale that the officiating gave the Mavericks a clear advantage in this game. The Knight Monsters coach at least once was yelliing at the officials. As the game went on it felt like the Knight Monsters had given up. The last five or so minutes of the game they played with no energy. I understand there was a mountain in front of them. But keep playing. Don’t just give up. At least continue to try to end the shutout.
This was the Tahoe Knight Monsters first ever playoff series loss. This was also the Tahoe Knight Monsters first time being swept in the postseason. The Tahoe Knight Monsters did not score at all during even-strength play in this series. The Knight Monsters never found their offensive footing in this series. The Knight Monsters did not have any answers for the Mavericks on defense. The Knight Monsters were unable to slow the Mavericks down at all in this series. The Knight Monsters struggled in this series to get the puck through the neuteral zone and to connect on passes. The Knight Monsters just couldn’t keep up with the Mavericks. The biggest factor in this series was goaltender Jack LaFontaine. He made it almost impossible for the Knight Monsters to score. If it were not for him, the series would have been a lot closer. At the end of the day, the Knight Monsters couldn’t keep up with the Mavericks. They kept it close during the regular season but the playoffs is a whole different animal. A lot of the Kansas City Mavericks recent sucess is due to the failure of the Seattle Kraken. The Kraken are not a playoff team in the NHL. They have a lot of good prostpects in the AHL and ECHL. The ECHL and AHL affiliates of the Kraken have found a lot of sucess in recent years. I think most of the Mavericks players should be in the AHL. They are in the ECHL because the Kraken have a lot of good prostpects in the AHL. With Jack LaFontaine in net the Knight Monsters were basically facing an AHL team. The Knight Monsters went from playing a team that was a midle of the pack ECHL team to an AHL team. That can partially explain why the Knight Monsters drastically declined in play between round one and round two. The Knight Monsters were not the only team to decline in play between round one and round two of the playoffs this season in the ECHL. The Knight Monsters also received little help from the Henderson Silver Knights. The Silver Knights had some injury issues and were still in the playoff hunt well into March. The Silver Knights only sent one player down to the Knight Monsters for the playoffs and it was at the last possible minute. That is a really small number compared to some teams who got ten or more players from the AHL before the playoffs.
The Kansas City Mavericks had eight more shots in this game. The Mavericks had the better shot percentage. The Mavericks had two more penalty minutes. #1 Jesper Vikman saved 27 shots for an 82% save percentage for the Tahoe Knight Monsters. #1 Jack LaFontaine saved 25 shots for a 100% save percentage for the Kansas City Mavericks. This was his fourth shutout of the playoffs.
The Tahoe Knight Monsters lost to the Kansas City Mavericks 0-4 in the 2025 Kelly Cup Playoffs Mountain Division Finals. The Tahoe Knight Monsters were eliminated from the playoffs. The Kansas City Mavericks are the 2025 Kelly Cup Mountain Division Champions. The Kansas City Mavericks advanced to the 2025 Kelly Cup Western Conference Finals. The Kansas City Mavericks will play the Toledo Walleye in the 2025 Kelly Cup Western Conference Finals. The winner will play the Trois-Rivières Lions or the three seasons in a row defending champions Florida Everblades.
The 2024-25 Tahoe Knight Monsters season has come to an end. The inagural season is over. We now look ahead to season two. The ECHL 2025-26 season will start in October. This was my last game review of the season. I do have more Tahoe Knight Monsters blog posts coming. That includes the season review that should be out soon.
Zac Electrifly 
Leave a comment