STATELINE, Nev. – The Knight Monsters fell for the third straight game against Kansas City, losing – in their first home contest in the Mountain Division Finals. Bear Hughes scored and Jesper Vikman put together a solid effort in between the pipes, but it wasn’t enough as KC took a commanding 3-0 series lead. 

The action started with a bang for Tahoe, as Bear Hughes scored the game’s first goal on a 5-on-3 advantage where he roofed the puck past KC netminder Jack LaFontaine. But the lead was short-lived, with KC tying things up late in the frame with a power play goal of their own.

In the second, Kansas City took over, outshooting Tahoe 13-7 and scoring twice. Their first goal came on another power play just over 12 minutes into the frame. Four minutes later, Casey Carreau extended the Mavericks’ lead to 3-1 with a high-slot snipe past Vikman. 

While Tahoe controlled the pace of play for most of the third period, LaFontaine locked things down from there with a 12-save frame. 

Vikman finished the contest with 26 saves on 29 shots seen, but it wasn’t enough as the final buzzer sounded on a 3-1 loss. The Knight Monsters will look to keep their season alive on Friday night at 7 p.m. for game four of the series, at the Tahoe Blue Event Center.