STATELINE, Nev. – The Knight Monsters put together a heroic effort against the Idaho Steelheads in game two, hanging on late in the third to win a thriller 3-2. Isaac Johnson scored twice, Jett Jones tallied his 21st goal of the season, and Jesper Vikman made 38 saves to lead Tahoe to another victory at home.

The action began slowly in the first, with both squads feeling each other out in the first few minutes of play. But later in the frame, Idaho struck first on a Francesco Arcuri strike with under five minutes to go to take a 1-0 lead.

But Tahoe was able to respond on the power play with just 22 seconds left in the first, as Simon Pinard whipped a perfect cross-ice pass to Isaac Johnson, who finished it to tie up the game. It was Tahoe’s first power play goal in six games.

Jett Jones would give the Knight Monsters the lead six minutes into the second period on a fantastic individual effort off of a faceoff. He powered forward off the draw and tucked the puck top corner past Idaho netminder Ben Kraws.

Idaho dominated the majority of the third period, outshooting Tahoe 21-5 and consistently cycling in the offensive zone. They would tie up the contest over 11 minutes in on the power play, as Ty Pelton-Byce poked in a rebound past Vikman.

But Isaac Johnson wasted no time getting the lead right back.

After Logan Nelson held the puck in at Tahoe’s blue line, Johnson executed a perfect move to his backhand and roofed a shot past Kraws for his second goal of the game.

The final four minutes of regulation featured furious action in Tahoe’s zone, as Idaho continued to test Vikman with chance after chance. And he stood tall in between the pipes, making every save and closing the game down to secure a victory.

Tahoe now holds a playoff-clinching magic number of 5 heading into game three of the series on Saturday night at 7:00 p.m.