INDEPENDENCE, MO – The Kansas City Mavericks moved within one win of the Western Conference Finals on Wednesday night, defeating the Tahoe Knight Monsters 3-1 at Tahoe Blue Event Center to take a 3-0 series lead.
After Tahoe took a 1-0 lead with under three minutes remaining in the first, the Mavericks responded quickly. Zack Trott buried a rebound at 19:53 of the opening frame to tie the game, with David Cotton and Cam Morrison assisting.
Kansas City capitalized on continued pressure in the second period. Damien Giroux slammed home another rebound at 12:25, assisted by Jackson Berezowski and Cotton, to give the Mavericks their first lead. Less than four minutes later, Casey Carreausniped a shot top corner at 16:15, with assists from Jake McLaughlin and Luke Loheit, to make it 3-1.
That would be all the offense Kansas City needed, thanks to another strong performance from Jack LaFontaine, who stopped 27 of 28 shots.
Kansas City can punch their ticket to the Western Conference Final with a win Friday night in Game 4. Puck drop is set for 9:00 PM CT.
