Postgame Recap Presented by AleWorX Stateline
In game one of their series against the Iowa Heartlanders, the Tahoe Knight Monsters dug themselves into an early hole and couldn’t climb out in a 7-3 loss. They allowed six goals in the first 30 minutes of play, and the seven total ceded is the most they have given up in a game all season long.
The first period started with Sloan Stanick ripping one past Iowa Heartlanders’ netminder William Rousseau just under two minutes in. It was his 17th of the season, which put him on top of the ECHL rookie leaderboard in goals and points.
Despite the Knight Monsters scoring first, Iowa proceeded to net three unanswered goals, two coming from Jonny Sorenson and one from Zach Dubinsky.
While he allowed three goals in the first, Knight Monsters netminder Jesper Vikman was victim of a few unlucky bounces and a tough deflection in front of the crease. Scoreboard aside, the Knight Monsters had a strong showing as they outshot Iowa 12-9 and dominated in time of possession.
But things took another turn for the worse in the second.
Sorenson scored again to complete a hat trick in the opening two minutes of the second period. And Tahoe proceeded to allow two more goals after, which resulted in Vikman being benched for Jordan Papirny. Vikman finished the night with a save percentage of .625% and six goals against.
Logan Nelson would get Tahoe on the board in the final moments of the second, tapping in an Isaac Johnson pass past Rousseau while on the power play. It was a great setup by Johnson, who faked a shot and teed up Nelson who was wide open.
Rousseau activated another level in the third, turning away 13 of 14 shots in the frame. Throughout the contest, Tahoe was able to create high-danger scoring chances but Rousseau denied them at every opportunity.
The final buzzer sounded after a Bear Hughes goal with about three minutes to go and an empty netter by Andrew McLean 90 seconds later. The loss is the first time that the Knight Monsters have fallen in regulation in a three-game series opener.
Tahoe looks to reset and regroup in game two of the set on Saturday at 4:00 pm. And, after every Knight Monsters home game check out a postgame party at AleWorX Stateline for wood-fired pizza, self-serve beer, and great scenery. Ticket packages for the 2024-25 Tahoe Knight Monsters season are now available. For more information, visit https://knightmonstershockey.com/.
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