JOHNSTOWN – The Johnstown Tomahawks (18-16-7) defeated the New Jersey Titans (20-16-4) by a score of 6-2 on Saturday night at 1st Summit Arena, ending the Hawks losing skid with the emphatic victory. Nick Jarmain scored twice, and multiple Tomahawks recorded two point nights in the win. Zack Ferris was back between the pipes for Johnstown following his two game absence and was his normal steady self, backstopping his team with 20 saves on 22 shots. New Jersey flipped the script on Friday night’s game as they were forced to pull their net minder after the Tomahawks fifth goal. Skogen Schrott and Nik Doumas were the goal scorers for New Jersey.
The same “make or break start” theme continued for the Tomahawks to open not only a certain period, but the game on Saturday night, as an early momentum shifter was assessed just 42 seconds in when Alex Gomes was sent off for slashing, putting the Hawks’ penalty kill to work immediately in a crucial East Division contest. The PK, along with Zack Ferris, answered the call and killed off the penalty to get Johnstown back to even strength. Shortly thereafter, however, it was the Titans who struck first once again, as Nikolas Doumas netted his 10th of the season to give New Jersey an early 1–0 lead. A response was needed, and it came from none other than the Hawks’ leading scorer and captain, Nick Jarmain, who buried his 23rd of the season with 8:40 remaining in the period. Charlie Zetterkvist and Emerson Marshall picked up the assists on the early equalizer. The 1st Summit Arena was rocking on Saturday night, and the momentum swing continued just 26 seconds later when Jack Sullivan scored his first goal as a Tomahawk, sending the crowd into a frenzy and giving Johnstown its first lead of the weekend at 2–1. New Jersey stayed out of the box for the entirety of the period, but Hawks’ forward Emerson Marshall took a late roughing minor but the Hawks’ PK came up big again. After 20 minutes of strong penalty killing and two quick responses, the Tomahawks carried a 2–1 lead into the second period. Shots on goal favored Johnstown 11–8 after one.
There was certainly a buzz around the arena on Saturday, and the Tomahawks did an excellent job of using it to their advantage. Rolling the momentum over from the opening period, Emerson Marshall scored just 55 seconds into the second for his 16th of the season and his second point of the night. Justin Chiras and Nick Jarmain picked up the assists on the goal making it 3–1 Johnstown. Down two, New Jersey responded by ramping up the physicality. Just over a minute after the Marshall goal, matching roughing minors were assessed to New Jersey’s Matt Hanscom and Johnstown’s Nick Metelkin, though Hanscom was also tagged with an extra minor, sending the Tomahawks to their first power play of the night. As the advantage was winding down, Charlie Zetterkvist buried his 17th of the season with assists from Jack Genovese and Conor Griffin, putting the Hawks firmly in the driver’s seat at 4–1. Sensing a need to swing momentum, tensions boiled over immediately off the ensuing faceoff as New Jersey’s Sam Hedrick and Johnstown’s Jack Roberts dropped the gloves at center ice in front of 2,600+ fans. Both players were assessed five-minute majors for fighting along with 10-minute misconducts. The bout sparked the Titans, as just two minutes later their leading scorer, Skogen Schrott, struck for the second time on the weekend to cut the deficit to 4–2 with plenty of hockey still left to be played. Holding a three-goal lead in this division, the next response is often just as important as protecting the lead itself, and Johnstown answered once more in the closing moments of the period. With 48 seconds remaining, New Jersey was whistled for a high-sticking penalty, putting the Hawks back on the power play. Already with one man-advantage tally on the night, it took just 12 seconds for the captain to deflect home his second of the game and 24th of the season, sneaking it between the goalie and the post. Jack Sullivan and Justin Chiras each recorded their second assist of the night on the play. After 40 minutes, the Tomahawks carried a commanding 5–2 lead into the third period and held a 23–16 advantage in shots on goal
Entering the third period, the Tomahawks found themselves in quite the unfamiliar position, holding a three-goal lead with 20 minutes to play. It presented a good test for a group that’s become accustomed to chasing games, as Johnstown looked to manage the lead rather than climb uphill. The Hawks earned what initially appeared to be their fourth power-play opportunity of the night just under four minutes in, but instead, matching penalties at the 16:03 mark sent both teams to early 4-on-4 action after Jack Sullivan was assessed an embellishment call on the initial penalty. Despite the added open ice, neither side was able to generate much, and play settled back into five-on-five shortly thereafter. The exclamation point came from an unlikely source. Aaron Bleier found the back of the net for just his second goal of the season, extending the lead to 6–2 and all but sealing the victory. Sean Leetch and Matteo Bertrand were credited with assists on the goal. The remainder of the period played out at a back-and-forth pace, with both teams seemingly accepting the result as the clock wound down. The Tomahawks cruised to the 6–2 victory on home ice in front of a raucous War Memorial crowd on Star Wars Night. Final shots on goal favored Johnstown, 32–22.
Your Johnstown Tomahawks will be back in action next weekend but will head back on the road to take on the powerhouse Maryland Black Bears! Puck drop on Friday is set for 7:30PM and Saturday will be a 7:00PM start. Get your tickets for the Feb 13-14 homestand NOW! https://www.ticketmaster.com/johnstown-tomahawks-tickets/artist/1760594. Catch all of the action on NAHLTV and follow our social media accounts @tomahawkshockey to keep in the loop.