Triad skaters advance to second round of MVCHA 1A Playoffs

By Ray Popkess

 

Like clockwork, the Triad Knights have once again clinched their opening round series of the MVCHA Class 1A Playoffs with two victories over the Collinsville Kahoks. They now look ahead to Monday, Feb. 9 when they go back to East Alton Ice Arena to take on the Highland Bulldogs in round two.

 

Game 1

There was no room for fatigue on a late Monday night when the puck dropped at 9 p.m. between the Knights and Kahoks.

It did not take long for the Knights to get the scoring started when Jacob Perschbacher buried the first goal of the game on an assist from Aston Blevins at the 8:42 mark.

Collinsville netted an equalizer just before the end of the first period off the stick of Owen Stinnett, with assists from Benjamin Klein and Ethan Lewis.

Early in the second period, the Kahoks were called for a holding minor and the Knights simultaneously drew an unsportsmanlike conduct.

While the sides remained at even strength after the penalties, Nolan Duffy found mesh on an unassisted goal to put the Kahoks up, 2-1.

Blevins answered back with an unassisted goal of his own to once again tie the game.

Klein then drew a hooking penalty for the Kahoks with 5:11 left to go in the second period, granting the Knights their first power play opportunity.

Just over 40 seconds later, Tyler Davis scored the go-ahead goal on a pass from Jackson McFarland.

Triad held their 3-2 lead until late into the final frame. Blevins added another goal on a powerplay with nine seconds remaining, putting Game One out of reach for the Kahoks.

Max Katich was tending goal for the Knights. He stopped 15 shots on 17 attempts. Ezra Fryman was the Kahoks’ goaltender, stopping 32 shots on 36 attempts.

 

Game 2

The second game of the series began very similarly to the first, with Perschbacher lighting the lamp halfway through the first period.

He then assisted Blevins not 10 seconds later to put the Knights up 2-0 with all the momentum to close out the series.

Period two began with another Blevins goal 36 seconds into the frame on an assist from Caleb Matheny. Matheny’s pass set Blevins up for a 1-on-1 breakaway against Fryman, a shot he zipped past the goalie’s glove side.

Stinnett gave the Kahoks life at the 10-minute mark when Duffy connected with him to score Collinsville’s first goal, a shorthander.

Later on in the period, Lakin Rosenburg found a loose puck in front of the Kahoks’ net after a shot off Landon McDowell’s stick. Rosenburg’s quick wrister put the Knights up, 4-1 heading into the third.

Jackson McFarland sniped a wrist shot from the faceoff circle with 12:29 left to play. His celebration made it clear that this was the nail in the coffin for the Kahoks.

Perschbacher made it 6-1 a few minutes later when a Tyler Davis pass found his stick tape near the net.

The Kahoks scored again with less than five minutes left on a powerplay, but this was the final goal of the game.

Katich had a tremendous performance in the series-clinching game, stopping 19 out of 21 shots on goal. The Knights peppered Fryman, putting up 32 shots of their own.

Round Two Preview

The Knights continue their long streak of advancing to the MVCHA Second Round, but they have not advanced any further since they won the Class 1A MVCHA Championship during the 2019-2020 season.

This season, they’ve dropped their two matchups against the Bulldogs, with the most recent get together being a 5-1 Highland victory at the RP Lumber Center back in December.

Puck drop for game one of the second round series will be at 9 p.m. at the East Alton Ice Arena on Monday, Feb. 9. Game two is scheduled for 7 p.m. at RP Lumber Center on Feb. 10. If necessary, game three will be played at the RP Lumber Center on Feb. 12 with a scheduled puck drop at 8:15 p.m.