PHILADELPHIA — The Johnstown Tomahawks are set to visit their cross-state rivals, the Philadelphia Rebels, after earning a 1-3-0 record at the NAHL Showcase last week.
Johnstown is looking to get back in the win column after dropping its last three contests. And they hope to win with two new additions to the lineup.
Tuesday, Sept. 26 the team announced the acquisitions of Ben and David Schmidling from the Janesville Jets. The Schmidling brothers help the Jets earn a spot in the 2017 Robertson Cup Final Four.
Skilled playmakers, the twins are excited to get a fresh start with the Tomahawks.
“It was quite a surprise,” Ben Schmidling commented. “A fresh start is good for us and now we are closer to home. We know some of the guys on the team here and everyone spoke very highly of Johnstown. Once we got the word (of the trade), we got excited very fast.”
David added, “It was a quick adjustment for us. We turned the page in a matter of 48 hours.”
The brothers received a phone call from head coach Mike Letizia welcoming them to the team.
“Coach called us right when the trade happened and said why we are being brought into team,” David said. “We are veteran players and we want to bring that experience of going to the Robertson Cup and help the Tomahawks.”
One positive the Tomahawks can carry into the weekend series with the Rebels is their power play, which is clicking at 25 percent (fifth in the NAHL).
This will be the first meeting between the Rebels and the Tomahawks this season.
GAMEDAY LINEUP
DATES: September 30, 2017 (7:35 p.m.) – October 1, 2017 (6:20 pm)
TEAMS: Johnstown (2-5-0) @ Philadelphia (4-0-0)
LOCATION: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Class of 1923 Arena
VIDEO: HOCKEYTV
TWITTER UPDATES: @johnstownhawks
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A CLOSER LOOK AT PHILADELPHIA
The Rebels have a new home in Downtown Philadelphia and have plenty of new faces in their lineup after saying goodbye to players such as Dom Garcia, Gvido Jansons, Mareks Mitens and Evgeny Yakovlev.
However, the Rebels do return a solid veteran core, led in scoring by Jensen Zerban (three goals, two assists).
Aaron Maguyon, who was a thorn in the side of the Tomahawks last season, also returns to the forward corps along with Andrew Bellant, Carson Briere and Auggie Moore just to name a few.
Philadelphia brought in several players that are committed to Division I schools as part of their NAHL rookie core.
In between the pipes for Philadelphia is the trio of Eli Billing, Jack Leavy and Ryan Keane. Leavy, the lone returner in net, amassed a 13-1-3 record last season for the Robertson Cup runners-up.
So far on the young season, he has earned a record of 2-0-0.
JOHNSTOWN STORYLINES
- The brothers Schmidling will be playing their first games in a Johnstown uniform. They are expected to bring skill and speed to the Hawks as well as a veteran presence.
- Samuel Solensky has had the hot hands for the Tomahawks. In his first four games, the Slovakia native has four points (one goal, three assists).
- Forward Joe Kile has scored five goals in seven games.