Soo at Johnstown
Saturday March 22nd
7 p.m.
Last Night
The Johnstown Tomahawks scored five power-play goals, including four in the third period, as they defeated the Soo Eagles 6-3 on Friday night at the Cambria County War Memorial Arena. The Tomahawks went a perfect 5-for-5 on the power-play in the win.
The Eagles struck first, as Michael Sabatini scored a backhander on a two-on-one at 11:40 of the first period. Sandis Bindulis added the assist on the goal. The Tomahawks tied the game 26 seconds later, as Trevor Recktenwald fired a shot off the faceoff into the top right corner of the net. Brandon Reinholz earned the assist on the goal.
Johnstown made it a 2-1 game early in the second period as Jordan Watt slid a power-play goal past Soo goaltender Paige Skoog at 4:16. The goal was Watt’s 20th of the season and 10th in his last 11 games. Shane Bednard and Mitch Hall each added assists on the goal.
Soo made it 3-2 with a power-play goals from Scott Cuthrell at 8:31 and Michael Caruso at 15:32. Matt Menta and Sabatini added assists on the first goal, while Ryan Urso and Sabatini as-sisted on the second goal.
The Tomahawks got a two-man advantage halfway through the third period, and Mitch Hall took advantage, scoring a power play goal to tie the game at 10:52. Reinholz and Dakoda Menslage earned assists on the goal. Just 16 seconds later, Casey Linkenheld broke the 3-3 tie with an unassisted goal.
Reinholz made it a 5-3 game with a power-play goal between the legs of Skoog at 18:15. The goal was the first for Reinholz since January 31st. Shane Cuckovich set the final at 6-3 with a power-play goal with 17 seconds remaining in the third period.
Alex Okicki earned his 20th goal of the season, stopping 23 of 26 shots. Skoog took the loss, allowing 6 goals on 36 shots. The Tomahawks went 5-for-5 on the power-play, while Soo went 2-for-3.
The Tomahawks conclude their regular season home schedule against Soo tomorrow afternoon at 3 p.m. They conclude the regular season at Janesville next Friday and Saturday.
North Division Update
Last night, Janesville defeated Michigan in the other divisional game 4-1. In non-divisional action, Topeka defeated Springfield 3-2 in overtime, while Wenatchee defeated Port Huron 4-1.
Key Stats
- Jordan Watt has 10 goals in his last 11 games.
- With last night’s win, Alex Okicki has earned his first 20 win regular-season of his NAHL career
- Soo’s Michael Sabatini has eight points (3G-5A) in his last five games
- Brandon Reinholz has ten points (4G-6A) in ten games against Soo
- Last night was only the fourth game this season that Soo had lost when leading after two periods.