The Johnstown Tomahawks defeated the Danbury Jr. Hat Tricks Saturday night 2-0 to split the series in the opening weekend of the 2022-23 season.
For the second night in a row, the game began with a scoreless first period. Tensions were high again between the two teams with multiple major and minor penalties.
The second period began the same as the first ended until Ryan Panico opened the scoring 15:44 into the period, followed by a goal from captain Ryan Vellucci less than a minute later, putting the Tomahawks up 2-0 going into the final 20 minutes.
After a scoreless third period yet again, physicality took over in Saturday night’s game, as there were 100 penalty minutes in the game. Johnstown prevailed in the end with a 2-0 win as goaltender Alec Rajalin-Scharp came away with the 20 save shutout.
The Tomahawks have a quick turnaround with the NAHL Showcase beginning on Wednesday, September 14 as Johnstown faces off against the Chippewa Steel in Blaine, Minnesota at 3:00 PM live on HockeyTV.