STATELINE, Nev. — The Savannah Ghost Pirates dropped the rubber match of their three-game series against the Tahoe Knight Monsters, falling 4–3 on Saturday night.
Savannah opened the scoring at the 8:42 mark of the first period when Cole Krygier’s point shot was redirected in front by Zach Krajnik to make it 1–0. Logan Drevitch recorded the assist.
Tahoe tied the game with 6:47 remaining in the frame as Devon Paliani finished a feed from Sloan Stanick on the power play, sending the teams into intermission knotted at 1–1.
The Knight Monsters took their first lead of the night with a “vulnerable minute” goal at 3:16 of the second period, as Paliani buried the rebound of an Adam Pitters shot for his second of the night. Connor Marritt picked up the secondary assist.
Just over a minute later, Tahoe extended its advantage to 3–1 when Jordan Gustafson sprung Stanick behind the defense for a breakaway, and Stanick converted with a backhand finish. The score held through 40 minutes.
Tahoe added to its lead with another power-play goal in the third period, as Casey Bailey hammered a one-timer from the left circle to make it 4–1. Kevin Wall and Luke Adam assisted.
The Ghost Pirates clawed back within two when Robert Mastrosimone tipped in a Dennis Cesana shot on the power play to cut the deficit to 4–2. Savannah continued to press and made it a one-goal game with 4:50 remaining, as Cesana rifled a shot from the right circle off assists from Cristophe Tellier and Evan Nause.
Despite sustained pressure in the final minutes, Savannah was unable to find the equalizer.
Cameron Whitehead earned the win for Tahoe with 31 saves on 34 shots. Michael Simpson turned aside 27 of 31 for the Ghost Pirates.
Savannah continues its road swing next Friday when they take on the Florida Everblades, with puck drop scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Fans can stream the game live on FloHockey or listen on Mixlr. For tickets and more information about upcoming games, visit ghostpirateshockey.com.
— GHOST PIRATES —
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