STATELINE, Nev. – The Tahoe Knight Monsters fell at home to the Utah Grizzlies by a final score of 9-6.

In the first period, the Grizzlies struck early as Luke Antonacci found the back of the net just 49 seconds in. Under three minutes later, it was Reed Lebster who tallied his 23rd goal of the season to give Utah a 2-0 lead at the end of the first.

In the middle period, the Knight Monsters came to life. Devon Paliani scored his team-leading 21st goal, and Jake Durflinger added on with his fifth to tie the game at 2. However, Mike Gelatt would answer for Utah, scoring his first career ECHL goal to put Utah up 3-2, and Danny Dzhaniyev would tack on another one to put Utah up 4-2. The Knight Monsters would answer with a goal from Kevin Wall to make it a one-goal game, but Evan Friesen scored on Utah’s first power play to give the Grizzlies a 5-3 lead after 40 minutes of play.

In the final frame, Utah would make it 6-3 with a goal from Reilly Connors. Although Wall would score his second of the night to make it 6-4, Utah would score two straight goals from Connors and Noah Ganske to jump in front 8-4. After a late pair of power play goals from the Knight Monsters, scored by Jake McGrew and Luke Adam, Lebster would score his second of the game on an empty net to make the final score 9-6 Utah.

The Knight Monsters return home on Friday, February 6, 2026, to take on the Utah Grizzlies for night one of Retro Weekend at Tahoe Blue Event Center. Puck drop is at 7:00 pm, with pregame coverage on the Knight Monsters broadcast network beginning at 6:50 pm. Ticket packages for the 2025-26 season are now available.  For more information, visit http://www.knightmonstershockey.com