STATELINE, Nev. — The Savannah Ghost Pirates dropped the opening game of their three-game set against the Tahoe Knight Monsters, falling 2–1 on Thursday morning.
Tahoe opened the scoring just 3:04 into the first period when Devon Paliani centered a pass to Jordan Gustafson, who tapped in his first professional goal to make it 1–0. Despite the early deficit, Savannah controlled play and outshot Tahoe 22–7 in the opening frame.
The Knight Monsters doubled their lead with 5:05 remaining in the second period, as Trent Swick buried a power-play goal from in front to extend the advantage to 2–0. Sloan Stanick and Samuel Mayer picked up the assists on the lone goal of the period.
Savannah cut the deficit in half at the 14:12 mark of the third period when Nicholas Zabaneh redirected a pass from Logan Drevitch on the power play to make it 2–1.
The Ghost Pirates generated strong pressure in the final minutes, but ultimately came up short.
Cameron Whitehead was outstanding for Tahoe, stopping 44 of 45 shots in the victory. Michael Simpson turned aside 22 of 24 in the loss.
The Ghost Pirates return to the ice tomorrow for the second game of the three-game series against the Tahoe Knight Monsters, with puck drop scheduled for 10:00 p.m. ET. 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 —
Adirondack Thunder
Allen Americans
Atlanta Gladiators
Bloomington Bison
Cincinnati Cyclones
Florida Everblades
Fort Wayne Komets
Greensboro Gargoyles
Greenville Swamp Rabbits
Idaho Steelheads
Indy Fuel
Iowa Heartlanders
Jacksonville Icemen
Kalamazoo Wings
Kansas City Mavericks
Maine Mariners
Norfolk Admirals
Orlando Solar Bears
Rapid City Rush
Reading Royals
Savannah Ghost Pirates
South Carolina Stingrays
Tahoe Knight Monsters
Toledo Walleye
Trois-Rivières Lions
Tulsa Oilers
Utah Grizzlies
Wheeling Nailers
Wichita Thunder
Worcester Railers