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Knight Monsters Ring in the New Year with Thrilling OT Win

Friday, January 3rd
Knight Monsters Ring in the New Year with Thrilling OT Win
Postgame recap presented by AleworX Stateline
What a way to start the new year.
 
In their first game of 2025, the Tahoe Knight Monsters executed a comeback victory in overtime, defeating the Maine Mariners 3-2. Brennan Kapcheck scored the game-sealing goal, Simon Pinard tallied his 18th goal of the season, and netminder Jordan Papirny was sensational to secure the win.
 
With this victory, the Knight Monsters have now won five of their last 6 overtime contests, and the two points help them keep pace with Kansas City at the top of the Mountain Division. 
 
There was furious back-and-forth action in the first period, with Maine carding multiple grade-A scoring chances. But Papirny stayed sharp throughout, making some incredible saves in the process.
 
But the Mariners struck first on a two-on-one bid by Jimmy Lambert to open the scoring with under two minutes to go in the opening frame. 
 
Just 90 seconds later, the Knight Monsters responded on the power play, as Simon Pinard ripped a wrister past Maine netminder Ryan Bischel to tie up the game. The power play goal was his 8th of the season, tying his total from last year with Savannah and putting him atop the ECHL leaderboard.
 
Tahoe flipped the script in the second, outshooting Maine 15-8 and dominating the high-danger looks. But it was the Mariners that took the lead back on a wicked wrister from Lynden McCallum that made it 2-1.
 
Enter Jake McGrew, who put together an unstoppable sequence with three chances in a row on the doorstep, burying his third to tie the game at two. It was his ninth goal of the season and game at the exact right time, just four minutes after the Knight Monsters ceded the lead.
 
Papirny shined the brightest in the third, saving all 13 shots he saw. He would end up finishing the contest with 34 saves on 36 shots for his seventh win of the season. 
 
Neither team scored in the third period, and the buzzer sounded to signal Tahoe’s third trip to overtime in the past week.
 
And it only took Kapcheck 42 seconds to finish the job.
 
He took a stretch pass from Bear Hughes for a breakaway to the net, and pulled off a fantastic move on Bischel to find the five-hole and win the game for Tahoe.
 
The Knight Monsters improve their record to 19-8-2-1 and have now won three straight heading into game two against Maine. Puck drop on Saturday is slated for 3 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.
#TessTheWaters