The Knight Monsters thrilled the home crowd with a 3-1 victory over Idaho on Halloween.
When asked prior to the start of the 2024-25 season what the ultimate goal was for his team, Tahoe Knight Monsters head coach Alex Loh didn’t hesitate on his answer.
“Our ultimate goal is to make the playoffs,” Loh said. “Once you get to the playoffs, we’ve seen at all different levels how anything can happen at that point. You’re just looking for a seat at the dance, and you can kind of see from there where things go.”
It’s way too early to start talking playoffs, but one thing is clear: The expansion Knight Monsters intend to be competitive for every game in their first season.
The club lived up to its name on Halloween following a 3-1 victory over the Idaho Steelheads in front of 2,105 fans at Tahoe Blue Event Center.
The Knight Monsters stretched their record to 2-0-1 with the victory, while Idaho dropped to 3-2-0.
Bear Hughes, Sloan Stanick and team captain Luke Adam each scored for Tahoe, while goalie Jesper Vikman stopped 21 of 22 shots.
Hughes scored midway through the first period on a deflection from an Elijah Vilio shot. The Knight Monsters have scored first in each of their first three games this season.
The Steelheads evened the score 1-1 early in the second on a one-timer from Mark Olver for his first goal as a Steelhead. Hank Crone skated past several defenders and found a wide-open Olver, who closed in on the weak side.
Ten minutes later, Tahoe regained the lead for good with two goals in the span of 18 seconds. Stanick potted a rebound off a shot from the slot by Brennan Kapcheck. Adam then fired a backdoor pass from Troy Loggins in transition for a 3-1 lead.
Both Vikman and Steelheads netminder Bryan Thomson were solid the rest of the way, and the 3-1 score held up. Idaho outshot the Knight Monsters 8-5 in the third period, but couldn’t take advantage of several high-danger chances.
Each team shut down the other’s power-play, with Idaho going 0-for-3 and the Knight Monsters 0-for-2. The Steelheads came into the game with the second-best power-play unit in the ECHL.
Tahoe outshot the Steelheads 27-22 for the game. Stanick’s goal was the first of his pro career, while Adam netted his first ECHL goal and his first in the United States since the 2015-16 season.
Crone’s assist on Olver’s goal was his 100th ECHL helper.
The two clubs meet again Friday and Saturday at Tahoe Blue Event Center. Puck drop for Friday is set for 7:30 Pm PT, and Saturday’s contest is scheduled for 7:00 Pm Pt.