Thunder Pushed to the Brink After 5-4 OT Loss in Game 3

STATELINE, NV (April 23) – Former Thunder forward Logan Nelson scored seven minutes into overtime to help push Tahoe past Wichita, 5-4, on Wednesday night at Tahoe Blue Event Center. 

The Knight Monsters take a 3-0 series lead and put the Thunder on the brink of elimination. 

Isaac Johnson opened the scoring at 7:17 of the first. His initial shot was blocked by Nolan Kneen. He stayed with it and beat Trevor Gorsuch to make it 1-0. 

Wichita scored the next two just over a minute apart to take its first lead. Ryan Finnegan potted his first of the playoffs at 13:33. Jay Dickman circled the net and fed it to Finnegan at the top of the crease. He beat Jesper Vikman through the five-hole to tie it at one. 

At 14:41, Michal Stinil recorded his first of the playoffs. He intercepted a pass near the bottom of the left circle, gave it to Kobe Walker in front of Vikman. Walker sent it back to Stinil, who was wide open to make it 2-1. 

Simon Pinard connected on a power play marker at 13:04 to tie the game at two. He hammered a shot from the right circle past Gorsuch for his first of the game. 

Joe Carroll made it 3-2 at 17:56. Wichita finally broke through on the man advantage as Carroll blasted a one-timer from the right faceoff dot past Vikman, who was way off the crease. 

In the third, Spencer Blackwell scored his first as a pro. Luke Grainger started a two-on-one, fed a pass over to Blackwell near the left circle and he beat Vikman with a one-timer. 

Tahoe clawed back into the game as Pinard scored his second of the contest at 6:10. 

Patrick Newell tied the contest with another power play goal at 16:38 and forced overtime. 

The Knight Monsters were awarded a power play in the extra session on a controversial call to Peter Bates. He was trying to outrace Troy Loggins to a loose puck near the Thunder line. Bates dove to poke it away and touched the puck before Loggins fell over him. The official determined that it was a minor penalty and Tahoe took advantage. 

Nelson drove up the right wing, got around a Thunder defender and slid it through Gorsuch at 6:59 for the overtime winner. 

The two teams combined for 101 shots on net. Tahoe finished with 65 while Wichita had 36. The Knight Monsters outshot the Thunder 11-1 in the extra period. 

Wichita was 1-for-3 on the power play. Tahoe was 3-for-4 on the man advantage. 

The Thunder will try to extend the series on Friday night in Game 4 with the opening faceoff at 9:30 p.m.

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