Knight Monsters mute the Thunder in game two domination
Six goals in game one was clearly not enough for Tahoe.
They dropped eight goals on Wichita in game two, winning 8-1 on the road and taking a 2-0 series lead. Seven different players scored, with Isaac Johnson and Logan Nelson registering three points, Joe Fleming scoring twice and Jesper Vikman playing stellar once again with 29 saves.
The Thunder did strike first midway through the opening period, with Dillon Boucher scoring a goal off a rebound. But Joe Fleming got it back later in the frame, scoring the equalizer off a nice behind the net feed from Jett Jones.
Despite getting outshot 13-4 in the first, Tahoe did just enough offensively and Jesper Vikman made some incredible saves to keep the score tied.
Heading into the second, Luke Adam scored Tahoe’s fifth power-play goal of the series as he got the final touch off a Nate Kallen shot, sneaking it past Wichita netminder Roddy Ross. That wasn’t the only goal for Tahoe, as in the final three minutes Patrick Newell scored off a great Pass from Logan Nelson to double their lead to 3-1.
And then in the third, the Knight Monsters decided to put on a show.
They scored five total goals, four of which in the opening five minutes. Just 90 seconds in, Isaac Johnson stole the puck from Wichita’s Nolan Kneen and shot it past Ross for his first goal of the postseason. 90 seconds after that, Sloan Stanick passed the puck behind his back to Simon Pinard, who blasted it in, and then Logan Nelson followed up a minute later with a five-hole strike to make it 6-1 Tahoe.
Jake McGrew potted in a backhand a minute after that to add on the extra point for Tahoe, and later in the period Fleming notched his second of the game on a shot that trickled through the wickets of Ross.
In the crease, Vikman was fantastic once again, ending game two with 29 saves and a save percentage of .966% to give Tahoe a 2-0 series lead heading back home.
The Tahoe Knight Monsters will look to increase their series lead on home ice, with puck drop for game three at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, April 23 back at the Tahoe Blue Event Center. Tickets for the first round are on sale at https://knightmonstershockey.com/playoffs, presented by Thermal Technology.

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