JOHNSTOWN – Hawks goaltender Ferris makes 25 saves, Adam Ondris tallies 3 points (2G, 1A) leads Hawks to comfortable 7-3 victory.
After coming out of last night’s contest feeling like they won the game but only managed to earn a point, the Johnstown Tomahawks came out on Saturday night with a clear intention. That intention was to win. Win and leave little doubt. Just eight minutes into the game, the Hawks were able to match their goal total from last night. Scoring two quick ones to set the tone and give their goaltender Zack Ferris a comfortable 2-0 cushion.
The first of the Tomahawks two goals came from defenseman, Caden Olenczak who snuck his way down the offensive slot and wired a glove side snipe to give the Hawks the early lead. The second coming just 44 seconds later when Nick White was able to finish off a broken play in front of the New Hampshire net off of assists from Hank Reed and Nick Jarmain to blow the roof off of 1ST SUMMIT Arena.
The remainder of the period was dominated by penalties as three separate calls were made in the last five-minutes. The first being a New Hampshire too-many-men penalty. Before the Hawks could manage to get anything rolling on the ensuing power-play, Ryan Flaherty was assessed a 5-minute major spearing penalty, forcing him to leave the contest before the first intermission.
The strong Hawks 1st period wrapped up while on the power-play and they also took a 7-3 shot advantage to the locker room.
New Hampshire got the 2nd period scoring started after just two minutes and definitely settled themselves into the game getting to within just a goal, making it 2-1. The minutes that followed were goalless until Hawks forward Nick Jarmain found the back of the net at the halfway point and doubled the lead to 3-1 for his second point of the night. Lukas Klemm and Hank Reed were given assists on the goal, Reed tallying his second point as well.
Five minutes later, Adam Ondris tallied his 18th goal of the season in highlight reel fashion after a slick backhand feed from Charlie Zetterkvist. This goal gave the Tomahawks a comfortable 4-1 lead heading to the final break of the night with all of the momentum on their side.
Before the 2nd period could wrap up, a flashback to old school hockey in Johnstown took place as Hank Reed and a New Hampshire player dropped the gloves for one of the few fights we’ve had in Johnstown all season long.
Shots after the period favored New Hampshire 19-15, despite the 4-1 deficit.
As the 3rd and final frame got underway, the Tomahawks path to victory was clear, play smart hockey and good defense. However, as hockey tends to play out, no game is over until the final buzzer. New Hampshire wasted zero time to begin the period and instantly made this a contest after a goal just 25 seconds in.
Not even a minute followed the goal when New Hampshire found the back of the net again and just like that we had a one-shot game on our hands at 4-3. The next goal of the game was undoubtedly huge, and it was Cullen Emery who pulled the Hawks out ahead by two once again.
Keeping their foot on the gas, Hawks forward Adam Ondris scored his second of the night with another sizzling solo effort, firmly putting this game away making it 6-3 with just under 13 minutes to play.
The 3rd period also featured some of the physicality we saw in the 2nd, as 10-minutes in penalties were assessed in the frame. With just about a minute to play, former Tomahawk Taybor Aldrich was found guilty of high-sticking and was sent to the box. Rubbing salt on the wound, the Hawks made it a 7-3 game with only :30 seconds to play, putting an emphatic stamp on Saturday night’s action.
Your Johnstown Tomahawks are back home next weekend at 1ST SUMMIT Arena to host the New Jersey Titans for a series to wrap up the homestand. Friday night’s action will kick off at 7:30PM. Get your tickets 24/7 at www.johnstowntomahawks.com or by stopping in the Tomahawks main office. Can’t make it to the game? Catch all the action live at nahltv.com. Stay up to date with the Johnstown Tomahawks by following us along on social media.
By: DREW P. PFEIL | drew@johnstowntomahawks.com