Postgame recap presented by AleWorX Stateline
After dropping seven goals on the Tulsa Oilers on Saturday night, Tahoe Knight Monsters executed a third-period comeback for the series sweep on Sunday to extend their winning streak to four games.
Patrick Newell and Luke Adam each carded two points and Sloan Stanick scored the game-winning goal as Tahoe pulled off the 5-3 win in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
They started off the matchup outshooting Tulsa 14-9 in the first, which resulted in Blake Christensen scoring his second of the season on a low-slot wrister just two minutes in.
But Tulsa responded quickly with two unanswered goals in the frame, starting with Sean Olsen scoring his second in the series. Under three minutes later, Kylor Wall tallied the second for Tulsa for their first lead in the series.
In a penalty-filled second period, the Oilers capitalized on the power play with a glove side goal by Duggie Lagrone. Tahoe responded with full domination with a power play goal by Luke Adams and ended the period outshooting Tulsa 17-9.
Entering the third down 3-2, Tahoe continued their strong offensive zone play with two goals, starting with a tape-to-tape power play goal by Patrick Newell off of a beautiful pass from Luke Adam.
Shortly after, Stanick snapped in a shot past Tulsa goaltender Vyacheslav Buteyets for Tahoe to retake the lead. And the Knight Monsters held strong after that, slamming the door in the final 12 minutes of the third.
In the final minute of the game, the Oilers pulled their goalie for the extra attacker which proved costly as Jett Jones shot into the vacated goal to seal the back-to-back series sweep.
Knight Monsters’ netminder Jesper Vikman saved all 14 shots he saw in the third and made 29 of 32 stops overall, finishing his night with a save percentage of .906 and his seventh win of the season.
Tahoe had a true test in front of them with their two-week road trip in Idaho, Allen, and Tulsa. All three teams had winning records, and it was their first true road stretch this season. But there is absolutely no doubt that they passed the test with flying colors, going 5-2 overall and sweeping the last two series against the Americans and the Oilers.
Perhaps most impressively, they had two seven-goal efforts, two come-from-behind wins, and averaged a strong 4.42 goals per game throughout the trip.
And now, they return home for a three-game set against the Utah Grizzlies before heading to West Valley City for three more on the road. That’s six games in a row against the bottom team in the Mountain Division, which presents a chance to bank some key points heading into the new year.
The Tahoe Knight Monsters will look to extend their win streak to five games as they come back home this Thursday to face off against the Utah Grizzlies at 7:00 p.m. at the Tahoe Blue Event Center. And don’t forget, after every Knight Monsters home game check out a postgame party at AleWorX Stateline for wood-fired pizza, self-serve beer, and great scenery.
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