Fans were enthusiastic on Friday night.

On Friday night, the highly anticipated second season of Tahoe Hockey began with a thriller as the Idaho Steelheads made their way to the Tahoe Blue Events Center to challenge the homestanding Tahoe Knight Monsters. 

There was plenty of anticipation in the air as the Knight Monsters had made a playoff run in only their 1st season as a team in 2024-2025. 

Fans were ecstatic to be back in the audience to watch their favorite minor league hockey squad hit the ice. 

"It's been a long summer. We're definitely ready for more hockey. Ready to be back here in the arena. It's just fantastic. We're very excited to be back," said Lindsay Van Alyne.

"I'm ready for them to crush it. I'm going tonight. It's going to be a great time. We're going to start the season off strong. It's going to be good," said Quincy Blackwell, a Knight Monsters fan. 

"It means a lot to the community because we're able to get together with people from all the surrounding communities like Reno, Carson, and Gardnerville. You see a large number of people who are here just enjoying the game. Yeah, we're from Carson City and we'll drive up every game," said Drew Van Alyne.

This energy for hockey in the Tahoe area even brings extra foot traffic to local businesses. The Lucky Beaver, which is a five-minute walk from the Tahoe Blue Center, experiences extra business - especially on winning nights.

And this energy for the Knight Monsters isn't just from the fans, as Head Coach Alex Loh tells us, the team is ready to be back as well. 

"These guys have been working hard for the last couple of weeks, so I think it's just a matter of getting out there and playing a game. It's been a long time since our last home game back in April or May, or can't remember at this point what it was. So, I think it's just a group of guys that are excited to get on the ice together."