Michigan vs. Johnstown
Monday December 30th
7 p.m. EST
The Series
The Tomahawks and Warriors meet at the War Memorial tonight for the first time this season. The teams split the first four meetings in Michigan this season, including the most recent games on Dec. 20 & 21.
On Dec. 20, the Warriors jumped out to a 4-0 lead, and held on for a 4-1 win. Michigan got goals from Colin Larkin, Zack Szajner, and TJ Stuntz, while the Tomahawks goal was scored by Brandon Reinholz with 17 seconds remaining in the third period. The teams combined for 130 penalty minutes in the game.
The Tomahawks picked up the win on the 21st, thanks to a pair of goals by Shane Bednard. After Michigan’s Cody Lichtenvoort scored the first goal of the game, Bednard tied it on a shorthanded goal with less than eight minutes remaining in the second period. He tallied the game-winner with 7:05 remaining in the third period. Joe Drabin had assists on both goals and Matthew Meier also added an assist on the game-winning goal.
The Tomahawks currently lead the Warriors by one point for second place in the NAHL North division. They trail first-place Port Huron by five points.
Division Recap
Both Springfield and Janesville played non-divisional games last weekend, with the Jets sweeping a series against Coulee Region and the Jr. Blues splitting a weekend series at Topeka. The pair of wins put the Jets into fourth place in the division, five points behind the Tomahawks for second place.
Key Stats
- Shane Bednard has two of the three Tomahawks shorthanded goals this season.
- The Tomahawks and Warriors have a combined 242 penalty minutes in four meetings this season.
- Michigan’s Tyler Groat & Johnstown’s Shane Bednard each have five points in their last five games.
- The Tomahawks are 0-0-1 in Monday games. Their lone Monday game was a 3-2 shootout loss to Kalamazoo last New Year’s Eve.