GREENSBORO, NC – The Greensboro Gargoyles broke through in the First Horizon Coliseum, beating the Western Division’s top seeded Tahoe Knight Monsters 4-3 in overtime on Thursday, November 13.

After trading power play chances through the first period, the Gargoyles were outshooting the Knight Monsters 14-4, but Tahoe applied pressure late in the period finding the game’s first goal with 1:33 remaining. Casey Bailey hit Sloan Stanek for the goal, extending the pair’s ECHL-leading point totals.

Greensboro surged in the second period, with two back-to-back goals 16 seconds apart from Demetrios Koumontzis, who doubled his season goal total in one shift. The first goal came 4:14 into the middle frame on a rush chance set up by Ethan Leyh as Rinaldi dropped a pass to Koumontzis in the slot, zipping a wrist shot to tie the game 1-1. Leyh extended a five game assist streak on the play. The Gargoyles took the lead moments later as Koumontzis stood netfront, tipping a shot from Arty Borshyov, with Andrius Kulbis-Marino gaining his first career point with an assist.

“Great play by my linemates, they got it to the middle for me to see a lane, and like Burtie says, shoot the puck good things happen,” said Koumontzis. “On the second one, we were able to get possession and get the puck low to high for the shot. Just trying to get to the net and found the tip for a couple goals to get the team going.”

Tahoe controlled play early in the third period, regaining the lead. The Knight Monsters tied the game from Devon Paliani at 2:38, before regaining a 3-2 advantage on Paliani’s second consecutive goal with 15:17 remaining in regulation.

The Gargoyles were held without a shot for nearly 14 minutes to open the third period, before David Gagnon found the equalizer with 6:12 left in regulation on the team’s first shot of the third period. Patrick Newell gained possession on the left wing, then wrapped the puck around the net finding a pass to Gagnon open on the near post.

The game went to overtime, marking Greensboro’s fifth extra frame in 11 games to open their inaugural season. The Gargoyles won the faceoff and attacked quickly with Patrick Newell playing a give-and-go pass to Deni Goure while driving the net for a tip-in game winner. Newell, who was a member of the Knight Monsters last season, scored his first goal of the season to give Greensboro a 4-3 win, and their first home victory in franchise history.

“We’ve been really close in a lot of games, and maybe our record doesn’t show where we’re at as a team, so we wanted to get this one for us and for the fans,” said Newell. “I have a lot of friends [in Tahoe], and I have a lot of respect for them, but you also want to do well and show off to them, so for me to have a big night and contribute to us winning, I couldn’t ask for more than that.”

Ruslan Khazheyev picked up his second consecutive win for Greensboro, with a third during his stop in the AHL, making 22 saves in his return to the Gargoyles after being reassigned by the Chicago Wolves on Tuesday, November 11. “It’s the first home win. It’s very nice,” he said. “It’s teamwork, I’m very happy, and we will keep being better.”

“I think it was a long time coming,” said Head Coach Scott Burt, “I think I’ve said this a lot, the guys have been playing good hockey and we finally broke through. I’m just happy for the guys to get this off their back. We had some really great performances, and many that don’t get seen. I thought the penalty kill was unbelievable tonight. [Newell] makes an unbelievable play, and gets rewarded against his old team, it was really fun to see.”

The Gargoyles maintained their penalty killing streak, finishing two-for-two on the night. Greensboro has killed 20-consecutive penalties in the First Horizon Coliseum, leading the ECHL on home ice.

The two teams meet again Friday night, November 14 for Game Two of the series. Friday’s “Pucks and Paws” matchup encourages fans to bring their furry friends to the First Horizon Coliseum. Discounted dog tickets come with a pup-surprise gift at the door. Don’t miss out on any of the fun. Get your tickets at gargoyleshockey.com.