Photo Credit: Tami Knopsnyder
Goal in 7th Round Gives Johnstown a 3-2 Shootout Win
By Kayla Johnston & Ed Sheets
The Johnstown Tomahawks picked up a 3-2 victory on Saturday night, thanks to a Zach Wallace goal in the seventh round of the shootout. The Tomahawks battled hard during the course of three periods and overtime, giving them their third win of the season.
With a strong penalty kill, Johnstown remained solid defensively throughout the game. Both goalies displayed strong performances in net, as Alex Okicki went 26 of 28 for the Tomahawks and Colin Brennan made saves on 37 of 39 shots.
Less than two minutes into the first period, the Soo Eagles scored their first goal of the night on a Bradley Mueller power-play goal. The Eagles made it a 2-0 game on a goal by Mike Sabatini at 8:36.
The Tomahawks capitalized on the power play as Omar Mullan buried the puck into the back of the net past the former Tomahawk Brennan to cut the lead to 2-1. Mullan picked up his first goal as a Tomahawk, and Zach Wallace was credited with the assist.
With just under five minutes remaining in the third period, Shane Bednard tied the game up at two to send it into overtime. After a scoreless five minutes of overtime, the game went into a shootout. A battle of the goalies ensued as the shootout went the first six rounds without a goal. Finally, Zach Wallace got a shot past Brennan to give Johnstown the 3-2 victory and an extra point in the standings.
Johnstown will battle the Soo Eagles in the series finale Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. The Tomahawks return to the War Memorial Oct. 5-6 to take on the Springfield Jr. Blues, with the second annual Pucks N’ Paws Night taking place on the 6th.