The Tahoe Knight Monsters played the Wichita Thunder on Saturday. This was the first game of the season. The game was at Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita, Kansas. The Knight Monsters had not played a game yet this season. They had a record of 0-0-0. The Tahoe Knight Monsters are the ECHL affiliate of the Vegas Golden Knights. The Knight Monsters were coming off back-to-back preseason losses to the Idaho Steelheads. The Wichita Thunder had also not played a game yet this season. They had a record of 0-0-0. The Wichita Thunder are the ECHL affiliate of the San Jose Sharks. The Wichita Thunder were coming off a preseason loss to the Tulsa Oilers.
This was the first game of the season for both teams. There was a lot going on for the Knight Monsters heading into this season. They were without Luke Adam, who was the captain for the first two seasons. They were without coach Alex Loh. He is now an assistant coach with the Henderson Silver Knights in the AHL. Connor Jones is now behind the bench for the Knight Monsters. The Knight Monsters have all-new captains and alternate captains. The Knight Monsters also changed their colors and have all new jerseys. There was a lot going on for Tahoe. Both teams were looking to start the season with a win. It was the start of a new season. This game was a fresh start.
Pavel Moysevich got the start in net for the Tahoe Knight Monsters. It was his first start of the season for Tahoe. This was also his first professional game in North America. Connor Hasley got the start in net for the Wichita Thunder. It was his first start of the season.
A minute into the game, Riley Bodnarchuk of the Wichita Thunder was called for holding. Three minutes into the game, Wichita was called for a bench minor for too many men. Six minutes into the game, Cam Hausinger of the Tahoe Knight Monsters was called for roughing. At the same time, Shane Smith of Tahoe was called for cross-checking. Brayden Nicholeets of Wichita was also called for roughing at the same time. Eight minutes into the game, Kooper Gizowski scored to give the Knight Monsters the lead. He did score the first goal of the season for Tahoe. His goal was assisted by Bronson Ride and Cy LeClerc.
Nine minutes into the game, Cameron Mitchell of Wichita was called for tripping. With under three minutes left in the first period, Connor Lockhart scored for the Thunder to tie the game. His goal was assisted by Michal Stinil and Mack Oliphant.
With under two minutes left in the first period, Tucker Ness of Tahoe was called for interference. The score was tied at 1-1 after the first period.
With under seven minutes left in the second period, Casey McDonald of Tahoe was called for Slashing. No one scored in the second period. The score remained tied at 1-1 going into the third period.
Nine minutes into the third period, Cooper Jones scored to regain the lead for the Tahoe Knight Monsters. His goal was assisted by Tyler Rollwagen and Kooper Gizowski.
Ten minutes into the third period, Kyle Jeffers of the Wichita Thunder was called for slashing. With under eight minutes left in the game, Msvk Oliphsnt of Wichita was called for holding; Cam Hausinger of Tahoe was awarded a penalty shot as a result. Hausinger did not score. With under six minutes left in the game, Jett Jones of Tahoe was called for tripping. With under four minutes left in the game, Ethan Scardina of Wichita was called for roughing. At the same time, Chase Pauls and Jake Durflinger of Tahoe were called for roughing. On the power play, the Thunder scored to tie the game. The tying goal was scored by Tyler Preziuso. His goal was assisted by Tristan Sarsland and Jordan Biro.
With under three minutes left in the game, Shane Smith of Tahoe was called for high-sticking. On the power play, the Thunder scored to take the lead. The goal was scored by Tristan Sarsland. His goal was assisted by Connor Hasley.
The final score was 3-2, Wichita Thunder.
This game comes down to discipline. The Tahoe Knight Monsters took the lead midway through the third period. Back-to-back penalties led to two goals for the Wichita Thunder. That is not a recipe for success. Tahoe has to figure out how to stay out of the box late in the game. Tahoe has to figure out how to finish games out strong. It is early in the season. This does not give me a lot of confidence for the rest of the season. Goaltending was strong. The offense was able to execute a few times. They just have to do that for a full 60 minutes. I think there will be a lot of close games this season. I think maintaining leads and executing in the third period will be key points this season.
The Wichita Thunder had four more shots. The Tahoe Knight Monsters had 32 total shots. The Thunder had 36 total shots. Wichita had the higher shot percentage. Wichita had one more power play. The Knight Monsters had 5 total power plays. The Thunder had 6 total power plays. Tahoe had two more penalty minutes. The Knight Monsters had 8 penalties for 16 total penalty minutes. The Thunder had 7 penalties for 14 total penalty minutes. The Knight Monsters went 0-for-5 on the power play for 0%. The Thunder went 2-for-6 on the power play for 33%. Pavel Moysevich saved 33 of 36 shots for a 92% save percentage for Tahoe. Connor Hasley saved 30 of 32 shots for a 94% save percentage for Wichita.
The Tahoe Knight Monsters have a record of 0-1-0 with 0 points. They have a win percentage of 0. The Tahoe Knight Monsters are tied for 23rd place in the ECHL. They are tied with the Maine Mariners, the Greensboro Gargoyles, the Trenton Ironhawks, the Orlando Solar Bears, the Toledo Walleye, the Allen Americans, and the Kansas City Mavericks. The Knight Monsters are tied for 12th place in the ECHL Western Conference. They are tied for 6th place in the ECHL Western Conference Mountain Division.
The Tahoe Knight Monsters take on the Wichita Thunder for game number two. That game will be on Sunday, October 18th, 2026. That game will be at the Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita, Kansas.
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