TOMAHAWKS (37-14-4) at NORTHEAST (3-50-3)
Location: New England Ice Village | Attleboro, Massachusetts
Game Time: Tonight (7:00 p.m.), Friday (7:00 p.m.), Saturday (7:00 p.m.)
THE JOHNSTOWN TOMAHAWKS
The Tomahawks are coming off an historic sweep of the New Jersey Titans at the Cambria County War Memorial Arena.
Johnstown needed to produce some W’s to stay ahead of the Titans for second place and home-ice advantage in the first round.
Friday, March 24, the Titans a two-goal lead on the Tomahawks before the team started the comeback.
Donovan Ott and Joe Kile scored two quick goals to end the 2nd period and tie the game 2-2.
The Tomahawks took control of the game after goals from Josh Norman and Andy Iehle.
However, the Titans would rebound mid-way through the third period when Oskar Stromberg fired a goal past Drew Hotte. Two minutes later, Greg Malafronte tied the game for the Titans at 4-4.
Tomahawks forward Nick Bruce sealed the Hawks victory with a goal at 18:11 of the third period. Ott followed up with an empty netter.
In the win, Hotte set the new wins mark in Tomahawks history with his 22nd win of the season.
The next night the Hawks captured a 5-4 victory over the Titans.
Ott scored his 30th goal in the game to pass Luke Lynch’s single-season goals record.
Bruce collected four points (one goal, three assists) to set a new record for points in a season.
Dalton Hunter, Josh Norman and Evan Somoza added a goal in the victory.
Player to Watch
Nick Bruce has been on a tear recently and has become the hottest player in the NAHL. The Fall River, Nova Scotia native has 13 points (six goals, seven assists) in five games.
NORTHEAST GENERALS
The Generals come into this three-game series on a 13-game winless streak with their most recent defeats coming from the division-champion Aston Rebels.
With a -179 goal differential, it has been tough sledding for the Generals this season.
The one bright spot in a dismal season for the Generals has been the play of their top scorers, Colin Bilek and Kohei Sato.
Bilek has 15 goals and 20 assists in 56 games for the Generals while Sato has 34 points (13 goals, 21 assists).
Sato, a native of Nishitokio, Japan, represented the Generals at the 2017 NAHL Top Prospects Tournament.
Northeast concludes its season on April 4 against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights
Player to Watch
Artsiom Anosau has scored three of his five goals on the season against the Tomahawks. The Belarus native has 12 points on the season.