JOHNSTOWN – The Johnstown Tomahawks lost in regulation to the Danbury Hat Tricks by a score of 4-1 on Friday night.
The Tomahawks were looking to get back into the win column starting Friday Night after dropping both at home last weekend. Sporting some new blackout alternate jerseys, the Tomahawks had some energy and confidence on their side as they took the ice, but they ended up surrendering the first goal of the contest yet again just four-minutes in and would again have to climb back to earn victory in this one. The Tomahawks were awarded the first power-play opportunity of the weekend at the 10:00 minute mark but couldn’t manage to generate anything and the score remained 1-0 Danbury. Danbury kept the momentum rolling in the minutes following the penalty-kill, generating the majority of the scoring chances and offensive zone time but no goals came of it. The Tomahawks were the ones who carried the momentum into the break as they started to find some chances of their own late and in the waning seconds, were just inches away from tying the game as Ryan Flaherty rang one of the pipe. Shots for the period were 10-9 in the Tomahawks favor for what seemed like the first time in a long time.
Action got underway in the 2nd period, and it was clear that the next goal of the game had to come from a Tomahawks stick. They certainly got themselves started the right way generating several high danger chances in the first five-minutes of the period but still couldn’t find a way to get one past the Danbury netminder. Danbury earned themselves their first power-play opportunity of the game after an offensive zone shift that hemmed the Tomahawks in for almost three-minutes. Danbury generated three quick chances on the man-advantage, but Hawks’ goaltender Zack Ferris stood tall, and they ended up getting a big penalty-kill. The energy of the kill then led to another Tomahawks power-play chance but just over a minute into it, the Hawks had to take a penalty to stop a breakaway chance for Danbury and the teams skated 4 on 4. A period dominated by penalties continued as the Tomahawks were sent to the box again and Danbury wasted no time, striking again to build a 2-0 lead. In a worst-case scenario, the Tomahawks were called for tripping once more and headed to the break down a man. Shots after two periods read, 21 Danbury – 15 Johnstown.
The third period was set to be one of the most important periods of hockey of the season for the Tomahawks in a daunting 2-0 hole with only period to play. With some help from Hank Reed and Caden Olenczak, Nick Jarmain got the Tomahawks rolling and energized early in the 3rd with a goal cutting the Danbury lead in half and finally giving the fans something to cheer about making it 2-1. Just nine seconds after, in an utterly devastating fashion, Danbury scored off of a Tomahawks giveaway and once again took a two-goal lead. After the goal, Danbury began to play with tons of confidence, keeping most of the Tomahawk’s chances to the outside. With five-minutes left to play, the Tomahawks were heading to their 4th power-play opportunity of the night needing to score to give themselves some sign of life with time running out. Danbury would end up killing the penalty which briefly turned into a 6-on-4 situation when the Tomahawks pulled the goalie and would end up putting this one to bed with an empty-net goal making it 4-1. Final shots on goal for the contest were 31-23 in favor of Danbury.
The Johnstown Tomahawks return to action tomorrow night to try and get the series split against Danbury with a better effort. Saturday night’s game will start at 7:00 PM. December is packed with action, so don’t miss out on the excitement! Secure your tickets and explore all of our December promotions at www.johnstowntomahawks.com.
By DREW P. PFEIL | drew@johnstowntomahawks.com