JOHNSTOWN – Jack Genovese recorded his 4th and 5th goals of the season, and Nick Avakyan made 27 saves to propel the Johnstown Tomahawks (22-19-3-1) to a strong 4-3 victory against the Philadelphia Rebels (17-24-2-1).
After last night’s disappointing result where they seemed to play the better game but only managed to get a point with the shootout loss, the Tomahawks were looking to come out and dictate how this game was going to be played from the jump. Well, Jack Genovese decided to waste no time getting to that gameplan, as he struck just 2:48 into the 1st Period after Hawks captain Dylan Shane was denied and he cleaned up the rebound, giving Shane the assist along with Sam Blanton.
On a special night in Johnstown where several former Johnstown Jets hockey players were honored, and the number 4 jersey was sent into the rafters honoring the Late Mike Crupi, it was rather fitting that the Tomahawks’ #4, Jack Genovese was the one to score the first goal of the game. It was also Genovese’s 4th goal of the season, which came on the 4th Hawks’ shot of the game, encapsulating a very special series of events.
The good vibes in Johnstown were almost immediately halted, when Philadelphia went on to tie the game at one apiece just 1:25 seconds later. The Hawks had themselves a great start to Saturday’s rematch, generating multiple chances early and getting the lead but the pesky Rebels refused to let a game get out of hand.
Just past the halfway mark of the 1st, the only penalties of the period came after matching roughing calls which led to the Rebels would take a lead of their own making it 2-1 after some sloppy defensive zone coverage from the Tomahawks.
Things began to get extremely chippy in literally the last second of the period as several scrums ensued at the buzzer, leading to another set of coincidental minor penalties but this time, just the Rebels were given an extra 10-minute misconduct for roughing. Shots on goal for the period were in favor of the Hawks by a total of 9-8, almost accounting for half of the total from the 65-minutes of hockey played last night.
Starting the 2nd, the tension and energy from the end of the 1st definitely carried over as the speed of the game was noteworthy even though no blood was drawn. At the 7:38 mark, Philadelphia was sent to the box again for their 16th penalty minute of the night for roughing. Carrying over their offensive struggles from last night, the Hawks just couldn’t manage to get anything going on the man-advantage.
Like last night, the game had its lack of scoring, but through two periods on Saturday, the entire style of play was different. After four total penalty minutes last night, there were 26 total penalty minutes accounted for after two periods of play. Shots after the 2nd were in favor of the Hawks once again at 21-20.
A big story of the contest through 40 minutes was the Rebels goaltender, Owen Crudale who has made nearly everything the Hawks sent his way, seem very routine. The Rebels would go on to kill the carry-over power-play to begin the 3rd, squeezing out any momentum the Hawks might have had.
However, the Tomahawks found out how lucky they are to have a player like Jack Genovese who can provide endless amounts of energy for the entire bench even when he doesn’t score. When he does score, it has the opportunity to change the course of a game. Genovese went on to do just that bury his second of the night as he wired one to the low-glove side of Crudale tying the game at 2-2.
A very impressive weekend of hockey for the Philadelphia Rebels continued as they made it 3-2 on the counterattack, just seconds after a Grade A Hawks chance. The Rebels continued effort after getting down in games multiple times was very impressive.
Suddenly the game turned itself on its head and that’s what makes the sport of Hockey so exciting to watch. The Tomahawks found another spark in the form of defenseman Andrew Cowgill, registering just his 2nd goal of the season to tie the game up at 3-3 after a Rebels turnover. The unassisted goal came with just eight-minutes to play in the 3rd period giving the fans something to cheer about. But before every fan was even sitting back in their seats, Ryan Flaherty wasn’t really feeling the overtime and shootout vibe from last night as he stole the puck and buried the go-ahead goal to make it 4-3.
The Rebels still wouldn’t totally go away though as they had several attempts on the Tomahawks net with the extra attacker. It’s in these moments that you really see the importance of having a strong netminder in key times. Nick Avakyan was all of that and more to seal this one off and keep the Rebels out of his net, holding on for the narrow 4-3 victory in front of the home fans.
Get ready, Tomahawks fans! Your Johnstown Tomahawks are back on the road next weekend to visit the Maine Nordiques. The action kicks off Friday night at 7:30 PM in Maine. Can’t make it to the arena? Catch all the excitement on our award-winning broadcast via NATV at nahltv.com. Stay connected with your Tomahawks—follow us on social media @tomahawkshockey for the latest updates!
BY: DREW P. PFEIL | drew@johnstowntomahawks.com