JOHNSTOWN – The Johnstown Tomahawks (11-7-3) defeated the Elmira Aviators (8-10-3) by a score of 4-3 in overtime for the second straight night at 1ST SUMMIT Arena on Saturday, November 15th. Nick Jarmain scored the game-winning goal in overtime for the Tomahawks. Emerson Marshall scored his 12th of the season, Kirby Perler got his first back with the Hawks and defenseman Cam Ross scored his first goal as a Tomahawk.
The Tomahawks came into Saturday needing a jump-start to a contest, and they finally got one. Emerson Marshall struck just 37 seconds in, giving Johnstown its first early lead in weeks and waking up the building. Kalib Capecci and Jack Genovese helped set it up. Johnstown kept the pressure on. About six minutes later, defenseman Cam Ross jumped into the play and hammered home a rebound for his first as a Tomahawk, pushing the lead to 2–0 and giving the crowd even more to feed off of. Things stayed exciting late in the period, as with three minutes left, Peter Morris and Elmira’s Alex Perreault dropped the gloves by the Tomahawks bench, adding even more hysteria to the Arena. Morris picked up an extra minor penalty putting the Hawks on the kill. Just 45 seconds into the kill, the Hawks took second penalty putting them at a 5-on-3 disadvantage. Elmira had a prime chance to shift momentum, but the seemingly unbreakable Hawks’ PK came through with a huge stand to keep the game at 2–0 through 20 minutes. Shots were even at 15–15, but the play was all Johnstown.
The second period carried over all of the momentum from the first as just 18 seconds in, matching roughing calls set the tone for what became a wild, penalty-filled frame. Those early calls were the first two of ten penalties in the period, and they sent the teams to 4-on-4. With the extra ice, the pace opened up, but nothing doing on the scoreboard before we briefly returned to 5-on-5 — for only 11 seconds. Elmira took a tripping penalty, putting Johnstown on the power play. The Tomahawks generated steady pressure on the man advantage and stayed in the zone even after the penalty expired. Ten seconds later, defenseman Kirby Perler wired a shot from the point and scored his first of the season to make it 3–0. Sean Leetch and Charlie Zetterkvist recorded the helpers. But just like the night before, a positive Hawks’ moment was followed quickly by a setback. Ten seconds after the Perler goal, Johnstown took a high-sticking penalty, and Elmira used the momentum to answer — not officially a power-play goal, but scored four seconds after the advantage expired. Max Campbell was the goalscorer, cutting the lead to 3–1. Elmira kept coming. A minute later, another Tomahawks penalty sent the Aviators back to the power play with a chance to make it a one-goal game. That chance didn’t last long as a holding call against Elmira turned it into another stretch of 4-on-4, but neither side converted. Still, the momentum was clearly shifting. With just under 3:30 remaining in the period, Elmira struck again, making it 3–2 and setting up a tense finish to the frame.
Then came something nobody in the building will forget.
As the horn sounded to end the period, things escalated in the corner after Tomahawks goaltender Zack Ferris took exception to an extra jab at the puck. Tempers then flared, players gathered, and then Ferris and the Elmira goalie Vladimir Pechenin seemed to instantly lock eyes, and the rest was history. Pechenin skated out toward the blue line, Farris met him, and the blockers and gloves dropped at center ice. The two circled the logo and delivered one of the most memorable moments in Johnstown hockey in recent years, even though it was just about 30 seconds in length. Pechenin likely had the edge with his near five-inch size advantage, but Ferris held his own — a fitting display on Military Appreciation Night for the upcoming Army West Point commit this spring. Both goaltenders were ejected, as required, and two more matching roughing calls were handed out during the scrum. That meant the third period would begin with last night’s goaltenders — Nikita Oleksiienko for Johnstown and Aiden McKenna for Elmira — both coming in cold. After a chaotic 20 minutes, the Tomahawks held a 3–2 lead heading to the second intermission. Shots stood at 22 for Johnstown and 26 for Elmira.
Despite the crowd erupting after the goalie fight and the spark it gave the bench, the Tomahawks still found themselves in a tough spot. Their 3–0 lead was all but gone, momentum had swung, and with Ferris ejected after playing a strong game, Nikita Oleksiienko was suddenly thrown in cold. The sense in the building was that Elmira might grab the next one — and they certainly did. Just 50 seconds into the third, Andrew Horn scored to tie it 3–3 and push an already chaotic night into even more dramatic territory. From there, the period settled into fast, back-and-forth hockey with almost no whistles — a complete shift from the penalty-heavy first two frames. The only call of the period came against Cam Ross for tripping with eight minutes to go. Oleksiienko, after giving up the first shot he faced, settled in nicely and made several important stops to keep the game even. Both teams kept the pace high, and with how tight the East Division standings are, neither side wanted to make a mistake that would cost them a point. The intensity stayed up, chances went both ways, and with no breakthrough to be found, this one was sent to overtime once again.
Back to overtime they went — for the fifth time in the last six games. And with everything that had unfolded, plus an OT win the night before, you could argue the Tomahawks carried the slight edge heading into three-on-three. But with all that open ice, nothing is guaranteed. Still, when you need a goal, getting the puck to Nick Jarmain is never a bad idea. The league’s leading scorer delivered again. Nick Metelkin, the hero from Friday night, cut through the offensive zone and found himself in almost the exact same spot where he scored his OT winner the night before. This time, instead of firing it, he slid a perfect pass across to Jarmain, who had the whole 4×6 waiting for him. He buried it, sealing the win and blowing the roof off 1st Summit Arena to cap one of the wildest nights in recent Tomahawks memory. Jacob Ingstrup picked up the secondary assist.
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BY: DREW P. PFEIL