Round 2, No Blues: Tahoe Prepares for Kansas City

It’s time for round 2.

After sweeping the Wichita Thunder in the first round of the Kelly Cup Playoffs, the Knight Monsters now get set to take on Kansas City. 

The Mavericks took care of the Tulsa Oilers in six games, winning the final contest 2-0 to punch their ticket to the second round. They are led by forward Cade Borchardt, who scored an ECHL-high 40 goals in the regular season and has added four tallies in the playoffs, along with star goaltender Jack LaFontaine, who boasts a stellar 1.45 GAA, .943 SV% and two shutouts in the postseason.

In the regular season, Tahoe went 2-3-1 against KC, last facing them in a three-game road series in early February where they were swept. Their last win came back in November, a 6-5 thriller where Logan Nelson scored the first overtime goal in franchise history. 

Nelson is currently Tahoe’s leader in playoff points with three goals and five assists, including points in every game so far. He also scored the overtime winner in game three against the Thunder.

Patrick Newell has also been a standout for the Knight Monsters, racking up three goals and two assists in four games, with goals in three straight. His tallies in games three and four both came late in the third period to spark comeback victories. 

“I’m not usually someone that gets too fired up, but those comebacks in both games, the momentum was with us,” said Newell. “Playoffs are a different animal… The emotions in me were fired up.” 

“I’ve been with Nelly almost the whole season now so our chemistry is really good, and [Isaac Johnson] has been playing lights out right now,” he added. “Those two guys are pretty dynamic, so I think we feed off each other well and try to make the right plays.”

The Mavericks present a somewhat similar challenge as the Thunder in terms of offensive firepower, but the key difference in this series will be KC’s goaltending. LaFontaine has activated another level at the end of the regular season and into the playoffs, with an 8-2 record since the beginning of April. In that span, he has a 1.20 GAA and four shutouts.

Solving LaFontaine will be a difficult task for Tahoe, but they have done it before. In the aforementioned 6-5 overtime game, they scored five goals on him (he was injured during OT and did not allow the game winner), including four in the first period alone. 

In the crease for the Knight Monsters will be Jesper Vikman, who took the reins for all four games against Wichita with fantastic results. His .937 SV% ranks sixth among playoff goalies, and he is one of just five active netminders without a loss. 

“[KC] is going to get a lot of chances, so we’ll definitely see a lot of opportunities for Jesper,” said head coach Alex Loh. “I’m sure he’ll be up to the task.”

Tahoe’s special teams will also be crucial, as they dominated that category against Wichita in round one. Their 40% on the power play is second across the ECHL, and their 90% on the PK is good for fourth. KC is right behind the Knight Monsters in penalty killing at 88.2%, but are well behind on the man-advantage at just 15.4%. 

Playoff hockey only gets tougher from here, with tighter games, more physicality, and increased pressure. It also means that depth becomes even more important, and through four games, Tahoe has shown just how deep they are.

If they bring the same energy, structure, and resiliency they showed in round one, the Knight Monsters will be more than ready to handle Kansas City.

The action starts Sunday on the road.