Vikman Leads Tahoe to Thrilling Win over Rapid City
March 7, 2025 - ECHL (ECHL)
Tahoe Knight Monsters News Release
Tahoe Knight Monsters forward Jett Jones readies a shot against the Rapid City Rush
(Tahoe Knight Monsters)
STATELINE, NV - Jesper Vikman is on another level right now.
The Tahoe netminder made a season-high 42 saves, including 19 in the third period, to lead the Knight Monsters to a 5-4 victory over the Rapid City Rush. His dominance, and a four-goal explosion in the second period, was enough for Tahoe to take game one of the series.
Rapid City scored the opening goal in the first period 12 minutes in on a lucky bounce that shattered Jake McGrew's stick. Chase Pauls took the initial shot, and the puck was redirected in the low slot and found its way into the back of the net.
Jett Jones wasted no time notching the equalizer though, as he took a great feed from McGrew and slid it through the five-hole of RC netminder Connor Murphy. The goal exemplified the plan working for Tahoe, as they entered the game with the goal of attacking the netfront more.
Both teams traded chances in the remainder of the frame, but the buzzer sounded on a 1-1 first period.
And then things really got fun in the second.
Tahoe scored three goals in the first four minutes on efforts from Sloan Stanick, Jake McGrew, and Troy Loggins. McGrew's goal was a dazzling one, as he fired in a shot while falling down to the ice first after a neutral zone faceoff.
RC made things interesting by scoring two in quick succession after that explosion, but Luke Adam closed down the period with a wraparound strike to make it 5-3 entering the third period.
While Ryan Wagner scored a power play goal five minutes into the frame to make it 5-4, Vikman took over from there. He dominated the rest of the period, including making several sprawling saves during an RC 6-on-5 sequence.
Vikman was tested 46 times in the contest, the most shots he's seen all season long. And he stood tall to the task, consistently keeping Tahoe's lead intact and leveling play in their favor. He is now 3-2 in his last five games with a .918 save percentage in that span.
Tahoe will look for a series win in game 2 on Saturday at the Tahoe Blue event center. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 pm, with Khalin Kapoor on the call. And, after every Knight Monsters home game check out a postgame party at AleWorX Stateline for wood-fired pizza, self-serve beer, and great scenery.
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 Tahoe Knight Monsters forward Jett Jones readies a shot against the Rapid City Rush |
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