JOHNSTOWN – The Johnstown Tomahawks defeated the Danbury Hat Tricks by a score of 3-1 on Friday night at 1st Summit Arena.
A new weekend means a new opportunity for a weekend sweep for the Tomahawks who failed to get one last weekend versus the same Danbury Hat Tricks team. The Tomahawks got off to the start they wanted to on Friday night generating the majority of chances and having energy in their breakouts leading to strong offensive zone pressure. Danbury entered the contest with a rookie goaltender making his first career NAHL start. There didn’t seem to be many nerves for the netminder, as he was turning aside everything the Tomahawks were throwing his way, stopping the first nine shots on goal halfway through the period. With just about six-minutes to play in the period, Hawks forward Adam Ondris broke the scoreless tie as he registered his team leading 15th goal of the season to give the Tomahawks a 1-0 lead. The Tomahawks would take the lead into intermission along with a 14-8 shot advantage.
The second period got underway, and the Tomahawks kept the momentum rolling when Andrew Cowgill buried a beautiful backdoor feed from Adam Ondris for his first career NAHL goal to double the lead and make it 2-0. This goal seemed to jolt life into the whole building because the physicality definitely picked up from both teams with several post whistle scrums. Danbury began to generate some opportunities of their own evening out the shots on goal to a tight 18-16 in favor of Johnstown. About 10 minutes after the Cowgill goal, Hawks forward Ryan Flaherty tripled the Tomahawks lead, capping off another crisp passing play, with the assist going to Nick White. The Tomahawks didn’t keep their foot off the gas as they continuously pressured the Hat Tricks with an abundance of sustained offensive zone time. This pressure would end up leading to a Tomahawks power-play with just under two-minutes left to play in the period. In a situation where the Tomahawks could’ve essentially put this one away if they got their 4th goal on this power-play, Danbury created themselves a 2on1 opportunity and capitalized while shorthanded, making it an interesting 3-1 game heading for the final frame.
With some much-needed momentum entering the 3rd period, it’s clear that Danbury didn’t intend to go away quietly in this one. Things got out to a tense start in the final frame with both teams generating a fair share of chances but a big reason the score remained 3-1 was Hawks goaltender Nick Avakyan making several key saves. A big part of Avakyan’s game is keeping himself extremely composed, making what would normally be tougher saves look rather routine. This is always a comforting feeling for a team looking to close out the final period of a game while up two goals. Not many whistles followed the five-minute mark of the period, and a lot of time seemed to churn off of the clock which certainly worked in the Tomahawks favor. With about five minutes to play in the game, a net front scrum led to coincidental penalties for roughing and if there was any chance for Danbury to make a push in the game, that would’ve been the time. The Tomahawks ended up showcasing an impressive ability to shut down a game the right way when holding a lead as they limited Danbury to just 2 shots on goal within the last five minutes. The Tomahawks kept the Hat Tricks off the board in the 3rd period and gave themselves a strong sense of confidence heading into tomorrow’s matchup as they hung on to capture the impressive 3-1 victory at home.
The Johnstown Tomahawks return to action tomorrow night for another home showdown against these same Danbury Hat Tricks. Join us for an exciting display of Deal or No Deal during the 1st intermission. 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