The Tahoe Knight Monsters and Wichita Thunder met for the second game of their best-of-seven series on Sunday Night at Intrust Arena in Wichita, Kansas. The Knight Monsters had won the first game of the series 6-1. Tahoe was looking to do something that no other team had done yet in the Kelly Cup Playoffs: win the first two games on the road. For the Thunder, they would skate a man down as Joe Carroll served a one-game suspension. Wichita would also make a change, in net, going to rookie goaltender Roddy Ross. The 23-year-old goaltender beat Tahoe on April 12th, stopping 32 of 33 shots he faced. Ross also stopped seven shots in a relief appearance on Saturday Night.
It would be a rough start for the Knight Monsters as they took a too-many-men penalty just 34 seconds in. Despite being a man short, it was all Thunder to start as they would have 11 of the first 12 shots. Wichita struck first as the captain, Dillon Boucher, finally found a way to beat Jesper Vikman at the 12:24 mark. Tahoe tied the game late as Jett Jones found Joe Fleming in front for his first of the Playoffs. We’d be knotted up at one after 20 minutes of play.
Tahoe would come out much better in the second as Luke Adam would get his stick on a shot from the point to give Knight Monsters a 2-1 lead less than five minutes into the period. It would be his first career Kelly Cup Playoff goal for the Tahoe captain in his Kelly Cup Playoff debut. Tahoe would get a two-on-one later in the period as Logan Nelson fed Patrick Newell, as he found the back of the net. The Knight Monsters, after being outshot 13-4, would put 24 shots on Roddy Ross in the third period.
The third would be an onslaught of goals from the Tahoe Knight Monsters as they put up four goals in 3:38. Logan Nelson and Isaac Johnson finished the night with three points. Jett Jones stayed hot, adding two more assists to his Kelly Cup Playoff numbers. Jones had four goals in the first game between these two teams. Tahoe would finish the night with eight goals. It was the second time the Knight Monsters had that many goals this season in a game. The first time came on December 12th against the Utah Grizzlies. Goaltender Jesper Vikman made 29 saves for his second win of the Kelly Cup Playoffs. In the first two games of the series, Tahoe has outscored the Thunder 1 2.
The Tahoe Knight Monsters will host their first-ever Kelly Cup Playoff Game on Wednesday Night at 10 PST/7 EST.
ITR 34: End Of The Road – Inside The Rink
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