Knight Monsters Defeat Grizzlies 8-2
Stateline, Nevada – Aaron Aragon and Luke Manning each scored a goal for the Utah Grizzlies in their first game in the pacific time zone since May 4, 2015 but it wasn’t enough as the Tahoe Knight Monsters were led by 5 assists from Luke Adam as they win their 5th in a row by a score of 8-2 over Utah on a Thursday night at Tahoe Blue Event Center.
Aragon got the Grizzlies on the board first as he scored from the low slot after getting a pass from Cade Neilson 3:42 in. Tahoe’s Jett Jones tied it up on a great pass from Luke Adam 5:56 in. Less than 4 minutes later Anthony Collins redirected a Nate Kallen shot to give the Knight Monsters a 2-1 lead. Simon Pinard got his team leading 13th of the season 13:52 in to extend Tahoe’s lead. Utah goaltender Vinny Duplessis was pulled after stopping 6 of 9 in favor of Jake Barczewski, who saved 25 of 30. Patrick Newell scored 19:32 in to give Tahoe a 4-1 advantage.
Utah’s Luke Manning got his third goal of the season 5:26 into the second period on a rebound from a Briley Wood shot. Wood has 6 points (4 goals, 2 assists) in his last 6 games. Knight Monsters responded later in the second period with goals from Adam Robbins 8:00 in and Troy Loggins at 18:14. Tahoe led 6-2 after 40 minutes of play.
Tahoe added two goals in the third period (Jake McGrew 2:15 and Blake Christensen 18:27) as they got the victory as Tahoe’s record goes to 13-6-1-1 in their inaugural season. Utah has now lost 11 in a row as they fall to 5-14-2.
Derek Daschke led Utah with 5 shots on goal in his first game back after missing 7 straight due to a lower body injury.
The series continues on Saturday night at 8:00 pm. The Grizzlies next homestand is on December 18, 20-21 vs Tahoe. Saturday, December 21st is the annual Teddy Bear Toss and Ugly Sweater night. Tickets are available at utahgrizzlies.com or by calling (801) 988-8000.
3 stars
- Luke Adam (Tahoe) 5 assists, +4, 4 shots.
- Jake McGrew (Tahoe) – 1 goal, 2 assists, +3, 1 shot.
- Jesper Vikman (Tahoe) – 36 of 38 saves.
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