The Tahoe Knight Monsters played the New Mexico Goatheads on Friday. It was the first time these two teams ever played each other. This was the third game of the season. The game was at the Tahoe Blue Event Center in Stateline, Nevada. The Knight Monsters had played two games. They had a record of 0-1-1. The Tahoe Knight Monsters are the ECHL affiliate of the Vegas Golden Knights. The Knight Monsters were coming off an overtime loss to the Wichita Thunder. The New MExico Goatheads had played three games. They had a record of 0-2-1. The New Mexico Goatheads are the ECHL affiliate of the Colorado Avalanche. The New Mexico Goatheads were coming off three losses to the Idaho Steelheads.
Both teams were looking for their first win of of season. It was the home opener for the Tahoe Knight Monsters. Both teams were looking for a strong game after a rough start to the season. One team was going to walk away with their first win of the season. New Mexico was also looking for their first win in franchise history. Would the Tahoe Knight Monsters get their season on track? Would the New Mexico Goatheads spoil the home opener? Would the Goatheads get their first win in franchise history?
Alex Tracy got the start in net for the Tahoe Knight Monsters. It was his first game played this season. On Monday, goaltender Jordan Papirny was actived by Tahoe from Reserve. Goaltender Pavel Moysevich was recalled from the Tahoe Knight Monsters to the Henderson Silver Knights of the AHL. On Thursday, Tahoe released forward Henri Schreifels and defender Jonathan Ziskie after activiting them from injured reserve. Forward Jacob Brockman and defender Kaelan Taylor were placed on reserve. Defender Michael Ladyman was played on injured reserve. Defender Mike Van Unen was activated from reserve. Forward Connor Milburn was signed to a standard player contract. Isaiah Saville got the start in net for the New Mexico Goatheads. It was his third game played of the season. On Wednesday, New Mexico placed forward Graeme McCrory and defender Saige Weinstein on injured reserve. They activated forward Dakota Seaman, and defender Aaron Chiarot from reserve. They placed forward German Yavas on reserve. On Thursday, New Mexico signed defender Luke Antonacci and placed him on reserve. On Friday, New Mexico activated forward German Yavas from reserve. Forward Dakota Seaman was placed on reserve.
Seven minutes into the game, Francesco Arcuri of the New Mexico Goatheads was called for hooking. Nine minutes into the game, the Tahoe Knight Monsters took the lead. Jake Durflinger scored the goal. His goal was assisted by Chase Pauls and Shane Smith.
With under seven minutes left in the first period, Tucker Ness scored to t=give the Knight Monsters a two-goal lead. His goal was assisted by Kooper Gizowski and Cy LeClerc.
With under five minutes left in the first period, Cam Hausinger of Tahoe was called for interference. On the penalty kill, the Knight Monsters scored to take a three-goal lead. The short handed goal was scored by Jake Durflinger. His goal was assited by Noah Nelson.
Still on the power play, the New Mexico Goatheads scored. The goal was scored by Jake Chiasson. Hos goal was assisted by Derek Daschke and Francesco Arcuri.
The Tahoe Knight Monsters had a two goal lead after the first period.
Three minutes into the second period, Lynden Breen of the New Mexico Goatheads was called for slashing. Five minutes into the second period, Noah Nelson scored to regain the three-goal lead for the Knight Monsters. His goal was assisted by Jake Durflinger and Mike Van Unen. This was Nelson’s first pro goal.
Seven minutes into the second period, Tyler Drevitch of New Mexico was called for slashing. On the power play, Samuel Mayer of Tahoe was called for holding. Nine minutes into the second period, Tucker Ness of Tahoe was called for tripping. Ten minutes into the second period, Jake Chiasson of New Mexico was called for holding. With under nine minutes left in the second period, the Knight Monsters scored another short handed goal. Samuel Mayer scored the goal. His goal was assisted by Jett Jones.
With under eight minutes left in the thied period, Tahoe was awarded penalty shot. Keanan Stewart took the penalty shot but did not score. With under five minutes left in the second period, Tucker Ness of Tahoe was called for cross-checking. At the same time Tyler Drevitch of New Mexico was called for embellishment. With under a minute left in the period, Jake Durfliner of Tahoe and Saige Weinstein of New Mexico were called for roughing. The Tahoe Knight Monsters had a four-goal lead going into the third period.
Twenty-two seconds into the third period, Jett Jones of the Tahoe Knight Monsters was called for elbowing. On the power play, Briley Wood of the New Mexico goatheads was called for tripping. Two minutes into the third period, Bobby Russell of Tahoe was called for cross-checking. Three minutes into the third period, Briley Wood scored for the Goatheads. His goal was assisted by Francesco Arcuri and Jake Chiasson.
With under eight minutes left in the game, Tyler Drevitch of New Mexico was called for slashing. On the penalty kill, New Mexico was awarded a penalty shot after one of the give away t-shirts hit the ice. Rilen Kovacevic took the penalty shot but did not score. With under five minutes left in the game, Jake Durflinger of Tahoe was called for tripping. With under four minutes left in the game and on the power play, the Goatheads pulled their goalie. On the penalty kill, Jake McGrew socred an empty net goal for the Knight Monsters. His goal was assisted by Jett Jones and Samuel Mayer.
The final score was 6-2, Tahoe Knight Monsters.
https://echl.com/videos/new-mexico-goatheads-vs-tahoe-knight-monsters-oct-23-2026
The Tahoe Knight Monsters scored three times to open up the game. The New Mexico Goatheads got one back before the end of the first period. The Knight Monsters added two goals in the second period. The goatheads got one in the third. So did the Knight Monsters. There was a lot of positives for the Knight Monsters. Three shorthanded goals. Not collapsing on defense. Solid nuetral zone play. Connecting on passes. It looks like the passing has taken a mavor improvement from last season. A lot of areas they struggled with last season it looks like they have improved at least in this game. The Knight Monsters got their first win of the season. The Goatheads are still looking for their first win in their franchise history. The Knight Monsters did give up the puck a few times in dargerous situations. The Knight Monsters did give up a lot of odd man rushes. New Mexico failed time after time to capitilize. Penalties were still an issue for Thaoe. They kept taking dumb penalties. The Tahoe Knight Monsters still need to tighten up their game. It was still a solid win.
The Tahoe Knight Monsters had two more shots. The Knight Monsters had 44 total shots. The New Mexico Goatheads had 42 total shots. The Knight Monsters had the better shots percentage. Both teams had 6 power plays. Both teams had 16 penalty minutes.The Knight Monsters went 0-for-6 on the power play for 0%. The Goatheads went 1-for-6 on the power play for 16%. Alex Tracy saved 40 of 42 shots for a 95% save percentage for Tahoe. Isaiah Saville saved 38 of 44 shots for a 86% save percentage for New Mexico.
The Tahoe Knight Monsters have a record of 1-1-1 with 3 points. They have a win percentage of .500. The Tahoe Knight Monsters are in 11th place in the ECHL. The Knight Monsters are in 5th place in the ECHL Western Conference. They are in 4th place in the ECHL Western Conference Mountain Division. They are in a playoff position right now.
The Tahoe Knight Monsters take on the New Mexico Goatheads for game number four. That game will be on Saturday, October 24th, 2026. That game will be at the Tahoe Blue Event Center in Stateline, Nevada. The theme for the game is opening weekend.
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