IDAHO FALLS, ID – The Idaho Steelheads (1-0-0-0) defeated the Tahoe Knight Monsters (0-1-0-0) 3-2 Friday night at Mountain America Center to kick off the 2026 Preseason. The Steelheads and Knight Monsters will finish their preseason weekend with a battle back in Boise on Sunday at 4:10 p.m. MT.
A high-flying first period saw the Steelheads strike first, as Robbie Holmes tipped a Jeff Baum point shot by Tahoe goaltender Pavel Moysevich to give Idaho a 1-0 edge. Just a few minutes later, Liam Malmquist added to Idaho’s lead, finding free ice in the slot to fire a wrister by Moysevich for a 2-0 Idaho advantage.
On the ensuing faceoff, the Knight Monsters gained possession and struck back, as a deflected puck found a streaking Jake McGrew down the right wing for Tahoe’s first goal of the contest.
The game would quickly be tied, as Cy Leclerc found the back of the net in short order again for Tahoe, scoring from a similar area for his first of the preseason and the equalizer for the Knight Monsters.
The second period was a much more defensive effort, as neither team scored, and Steelheads goaltender Anson Thornton and Moysevich stole the show with several highlight-reel stops to keep the game even 2-2.
The third period was domninated by Idaho, as the Steelheads outshot the Knight Monsters 15-1 over the final 20 minutes. Idaho earned a late power play after Tahoe defenseman Kaelan Taylor played the puck after losing his helmet, and in the waning moments of regulation, Nick Portz found Mason Nevers for the game-winning tally with just 12 seconds remaining to lift the Steelheads to the win.
Thornton made 21 saves on 23 shots in the win for Idaho, while Moysevich stopped 34 of 37 shots he faced in the loss for Tahoe.
ICCU THREE STARS
1) Mason Nevers (IDH, 1-0-1, GWG)
|2) Robbie Holmes (IDH,1-0-1)
3) Liam Malmquist (IDH, 1-0-1)
The Idaho Steelheads kick off their 29th season on October 16th at New Mexico and will host the Allen Americans on October 23rd for their home opener. Call the Steelheads Front Office at 208-383-0080 for Steelheads ticket packages for the upcoming season. Stay up to date with all things Steelheads on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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