PHILADELPHIA – The Johnstown Tomahawks dropped a close 3-1 decision to the Philadelphia Rebels Friday night at the Class of 1923 Arena.
The Rebels opened up the scoring early with a goal from Ryan Patrick. His first of the season was assisted by Diarmad DiMurro and Justin Smith.
Johnstown tied the score late in the opening frame when Roman Kraemer found the back of the net. Ben Schmidling and David Schmidling picked up the assists.
It was a chess match from there as neither team could break the tie in the 2nd period.
The Rebels and Tomahawks went back and forth to start the third period, but both Johnstown goalie Vinnie Purpura and Philadelphia goalie Ryan Keane stood tall in net.
Rebels defenseman Carson Moniz put the Rebels in front 2-1 with a power play goal at 11:57 of the third period.
Philadelphia sealed the game at 3-1 with an empty-net marker from Andrew Bellant, his third of the season.
Both teams are back in action Sunday, Oct. 1 at 6:20 p.m. to continue the series. Johsntown opens the 2017-18 home portion of their schedule on Saturday, Oct. 14 at 7 p.m. at 1st Summit Arena @ Cambria County War Memorial. October 14 is Hawktoberfest Opening Night presented by 1st Summit Bank, which begins at 5 p.m. Individual tickets are now available by calling 1-800-745-3000 or visiting the 1st Summit Arena box office.
