Tahoe center Luke Adam take a shot past a defender Saturday in the Knight Monsters’ regular-season finale at home. Tahoe clinched a playoff spot in its inaugural season and will be the No. 3 seed out of the Western Conference’s Mountain Division.
Photo by Ron Harpin.
The Tahoe Knight Monsters (41-25-4, 88 points) earned a spot in the ECHL playoffs despite getting swept in a three-game series against the Wichita Thunder (41-24-6, 89 points) last week.
In the final three games of the regular season, Tahoe fell to Wichita 6-5 in a shootout, 3-2 and 3-1, concluding the series with just a single point and a drop in the Mountain Division standings.
The three defeats allowed Wichita to jump Tahoe for second place, giving the Thunder home-ice advantage in the first round of the ECHL playoffs.
The seven-game series is set to begin this weekend at Wichita with Tahoe going on the road for the first two games Saturday and Sunday.
The lower seed is the home team for games 3, 4 and 5 in the ECHL playoffs.
Postseason hockey will make its way to Tahoe April 23 and 25. Game 5 is set for April 26 and will only be played if necessary.
The winner of the Tahoe-Wichita series will meet the winner of the series between the Kansas City Mavericks (49-18-4, 103 points) and the Tulsa Oilers (40-24-5, 88 points).
STANICK NAMED ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Monday morning, the ECHL named Tahoe forward Sloan Stanick its Rookie of the Year.
Stanick, a 21-year-old from Rapid City, Manitoba, finished the regular season with 29 goals and 50 assists in 70 games, leading rookies in both categories.
“It's pretty special; coming into the year you’re not sure what's going to happen,” said Stanick in a news release. “A lot of credit to my two linemates; they’ve really helped me accomplish this goal and it's pretty special for my family and I.”
As a team, Tahoe concluded the regular season with the third-most goals (255) across the 29-team ECHL.
The Knight Monsters finished the first regular season in franchise history with a 41-25-4 record (W-L-OTL) and 88 points.
(Sloan Stanick, the ECHL’s rookie points leader, attempts a wrist shot against the Wichita Thunder on Saturday. Stanick had two goals and three assists in the Knight Monsters’ three-game series against Wichita, but Tahoe dropped all three games. Stanick was named the ECHL’s top rookie Monday morning. / Ron Harpin)