The Tahoe Knight Monsters played the Kansas City Mavericks on Wednesday. This was the sixth game of the season. The game was at the Tahoe Blue Event Center in Stateline, Nevada. The Knight Monsters had played five games. They had a record of 2-2-1. The Tahoe Knight Monsters are the ECHL affiliate of the Vegas Golden Knights. The Knight Monsters were coming off a win over the New Mexico Goatheads. The Kansas City Mavericks had played five games. They had a record of 2-3-0. The Kansas City Mavericks are the ECHL affiliate of the Seattle Kraken. The Kansas City Mavericks were coming off a win over the Rapid City Rush.
The Tahoe Knight Monsters were looking for their third win of the season. The Knight Monsters had issues staying out of the penalty box. Tahoe had issues with allowing odd-man rushes. This season, they have been playing deep in the offensive zone. That has left the defense to deal with a lot of odd-man rushes. Tahoe needed to tighten up their game. They were headed in the right direction but still needed work. Tahoe was having goalie issues early in the season. Both goalies who started the season with Tahoe had been called up. The Vegas Golden Knights and the Henderson Silver Knights have been dealing with goaltender injuries. That had caused both of Tahoe’s goalies to be called up. That would affect how the Knight Monsters performed in this game. Tahoe had signed another goalie prior to this game. Consistency in net is needed to win games consistently. For the Kansas City Mavericks, they were looking for their third win of the season. The Mavericks had a slow start to their season. They had not lived up to expectations. This was the first matchup between these two teams since the 2026 playoffs. The Mavericks had swept the Knight Monsters in the playoffs in back-to-back seasons. This game would be the biggest challenge of the season so far for Tahoe. Would the Tahoe Knight Monsters find a way to win? How would goaltending call-ups affect the Knight Monsters? would the Kansas City Mavericks continue their historic winning ways against Tahoe?
Jordan Papirny got the start in net for the Tahoe Knight Monsters. It was his second game in net this season. On Wednesday, goaltender Alexander Tracy was called up from the Tahoe Knight Monsters to the Henderson Silver Knights of the AHL. The Tahoe Knight Monsters signed goaltender Carter McPhail to a standard player contract. Connor Murphy got the start in net for the Kansas City Mavericks. It was his third game in net this season. On Wednesday, the Kansas City Mavericks activated defender Nolan Orzeck and forward Casey Carreau from reserve. Kansas City placed forward Zacharie Giroux and defender Jack McLaughlin on reserve.
Four minutes into the game, Shane Smith scored to give the Tahoe Knight Monsters the lead. His goal was unassisted. It was also Smith’s first professional goal.
Five minutes into the game, Jack Randl of the Kansas City Mavericks was called for delay of game. Eight minutes into the game, Keanan Stewart scored to give the Knight Monsters a two-goal lead. His goal was assisted by Jake Durflinger and Tyler Rolleagen.
Eleven minutes into the game, David Cotton of Kansas City was called for hooking. With under six minutes left in the first period, Jake Durflinger of Tahoe was called for tripping. With under three minutes left in the opening period, Owen Lindmark of Kansas City was called for hooking. The Tahoe Knight Monsters had a two-goal lead after the first period.
Twenty-three seconds into the second period, Tucker Ness of the Tahoe Knight Monsters was called for interference. Nine minutes into the second period, Bobby Russell of Tahoe was given a four-minute penalty for high-sticking. With under three minutes left in the second period, Kooper Gizowski of Tahoe was called for delay of game. The Tahoe Knight Monsters still had a two-goal lead going into the third period.
A minute into the third period, Casey Carreau of Kansas City was called for tripping. With under nine minutes left in the game, Tucker Ness of Tahoe was called for kneeing. With under two minutes left in the game, the Kansas City Mavericks scored. The goal was scored by Andrei Loshko. His goal was assisted by David Cotton and Owen Lindmark. This goal brought the lead down to one goal.
With under a minute left in the game, the Tahoe Knight Monsters scored an empty-net goal. The goal was scored by Shane Smith. His goal was assisted by Jake McGrew.
The final score was 3-1, Tahoe Knight Monsters.
The Tahoe Knight Monsters had a two-goal lead after the first period. The Knight Monsters carried that lead into the third period. The Kansas City Mavericks scored late in the game. The Knight Monsters regained their lead with an empty-net goal. It was a good defensive game from the Knight Monsters. They were solid in net. They almost got the shutout. They did score on the empty net. That was something they struggled with a lot last season. The Mavericks did not play as well as they did last season. Things did not go for them after that game. Tahoe was up for this challenge. They came away with the win. This game makes Tahoe look like they could be a top team in the division this season. It was a good way to open up this three-game stretch. I am curious to see how both teams follow this up in the next game.
The Kansas City Mavericks had 7 more shots. The Knight Monsters had 22 total shots. The Kansas City Mavericks had 29 total shots. The Knight Monsters had the better shots percentage. The Mavericks had two more power plays. The Knight Monsters had four more penalty minutes. The Knight Monsters went 0-for-4 on the power play for 0%. The Mavericks went 0-for-6 on the power play for 0%. Jordan Papirny saved 28 of 29 shots for a 97% save percentage for Tahoe. Connor Murphy saved 19 of 22 shots for an 86% save percentage for Kansas City.
The Tahoe Knight Monsters have a record of 3-2-1 with 8 points. They have a win percentage of .583. The Tahoe Knight Monsters are tied for 6th place in the ECHL. The Knight Monsters are tied for 1st place in the ECHL Western Conference. They are tied for 1st place in the ECHL Western Conference Mountain Division. The Tahoe Knight Monsters are in a playoff position.
The Tahoe Knight Monsters take on the Kansas City Mavericks for game number seven. That game will be on Friday, October 30th, 2026. That game will be at the Tahoe Blue Event Center in Stateline, Nevada. The theme for the game is Nevada Day.
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