Meier Scores Twice In Tomahawks 6-3 Loss
By Ed Sheets
Matt Meier scored two goals and Joe Drabin and Mitch Hall each added two assists, but the Amarillo Bulls got three points each from Kyle Gattelaro and Roman Ammirato and used four unanswered goals to pick up the 6-3 victory over the Johnstown Tomahawks on Wednesday night at the 2013 NAHL Showcase in Blaine, MN.
Both the Tomahawks and Bulls had plenty of opportunities on the power play. Amarillo was able to score on five of their seven power-play opportunities, while Johnstown scored once in eleven opportunities.
The Bulls opened up the scoring 5:36 into the first period when Tyler Gernhoffer scored from the left side of Colin DeAugustine. Jordan Watt got the Tomahawks on the board later in the period, scoring a power-play goal at 10:20. Matthew Meier made it a 2-1 game with his goal at 11:46, before Brendan Vetter tied the game with less than two minutes remaining in the first period.
The score would remain tied 2-2 until Meier scored his second goal of the game at 9:30 of the second period. Amarillo goaltender Paul Berrafato was pulled after giving up this third goal and replaced by Collin Delia. After a big save by DeAugustine, a scrum broke out behind the net. As a result, the Tomahawks went on the penalty kill and Amarillo took advantage as Gattelaro scored at 16:24. They would retake the lead just over a minute later as Matt Sieckhaus scored at 17:29.
Amarillo added third period goals from Ammirato and Mike Davis to set the final score.
Colin DeAugustine allowed 6 goals on 25 shots in his first start of the season. Colin Delia replaced starting goaltender Berrafato and picked up the win.
The Tomahawks take on the Topeka Roadrunners on Thursday evening in their second NAHL Showcase game. Face-off is set for 5:30 p.m. (EST) from Minnesota.