In the lone game on Thursday’s ECHL [https://thehockeynews.com/echl/]schedule, The Tahoe Knight Monsters [https://thehockeynews.com/echl/latest-news/knight-monsters-forward-named-plus-performer-of-the-month]defeated the Savannah Ghost Pirates [https://thehockeynews.com/echl/latest-news/echl-savannah-ghost-pirates-announce-new-affiliations]in their return to Stateline by a 2-1 final score in a School Day contest. It was the opener of a three-game series between the two teams this weekend. In the first period, the new kid in class, Jordan Gustafson, received a beautiful feed on the doorstep from Devon Paliani to tally his first professional goal in his first professional game to make it 1-0 Knight Monsters after the first. The Knight Monsters extended their lead in the middle frame, thanks to a power-play goal from Trent Swick, who used his long reach to wrap one past Savannah netminder Michael Simpson on the far side and put his team up 2-0 heading into the third period. The Ghost Pirates cut the deficit in half at the 14:12 mark of the third frame when Nicholas Zabaneh redirected a pass from Logan Drevitch on the power play to make the score 2-1. The Ghost Pirates generated strong pressure in the final minutes, but ultimately came up short. Tahoe netminder Cameron Whitehead earned an A+ on his report card, stopping 44 of Savannah’s 45 shots to earn the victory. Michael Simpson turned aside 22 of 24 in the loss for Savannah. The two teams will face off once again on Friday at Tahoe Blue Event Center for Sustainability Knight. Puck drop is set for 7 Pm.
