JOHNSTOWN – The Johnstown Tomahawks (23-23-9) defeated the New Hampshire Mountain Kings (22-25-8) by a score of 7-4 on an exciting Sunday matinee in Johnstown. The Tomahawks were led by a hat-trick from Jack Sullivan and got multi-point performances from Ben Norris and Charlie Zetterkvist. Zack Ferris responded well for the Hawks in the cage, making 27 saves in the victory. The Mountain Kings were led by Aidan Petroff, who scored his third goal in two games.
It didn’t take long for the Tomahawks to make noise on Pucks and Paws Day in Johnstown, as Ethan Rosenoff opened the scoring just over two minutes into the game with an unassisted tally. However, the Mountain Kings responded almost immediately, as Alec Nasreddine netted his fourth of the season just 35 seconds later, with Cole Roenick and Joey Sylvester picking up the assists. The opening minutes were choppy and stop-and-start, with frequent whistles slowing the pace. Despite that, the Tomahawks regained the lead midway through the period when Jack Sullivan found the back of the net, finishing off a play from Ben Norris and Charlie Zetterkvist to make it 2-1. Shortly after, New Hampshire’s Alec Nasreddine was sent off for tripping, giving the Tomahawks an early opportunity to extend their lead, but the Mountain Kings penalty kill held strong. Later in the period, William Stewart was penalized for roughing, and just seconds after the power play expired, Aidan Petroff buried his third goal of the weekend and 16th of the season to even things up at 2-2. It was a wild opening frame featuring four total goals and 23 combined shots, with the Tomahawks holding a 13-10 edge in shots, but the score remained tied heading into the intermission.
After a marathon opening period, both teams came out with plenty still on the line, and once again it was Jack Sullivan sparking an early surge. Just 59 seconds into the period, Sullivan buried his second goal of the night with a snipe past the NH goaltender, putting the Tomahawks back in front, 3-2. The goal injected energy into both the crowd and the bench, helping Johnstown regain control of the momentum. While the high-paced scoring from the first period slowed in the first portion of the frame, the Tomahawks continued to capitalize on their opportunities. At the midway point, Domineks Domokejevs netted just his fourth goal of the season to extend the lead to 4-2. From there, momentum began to snowball. A New Hampshire penalty for holding sent the Tomahawks to the power play, where Charlie Zetterkvist recorded his third point of the night, finishing off a pretty give-and-go with Jack Genovese. Ben Norris was credited with the secondary apple, pushing the lead to 5-2. Penalties continued to pile up for the Mountain Kings, and it cost them again late in the period. With under a minute remaining, Zetterkvist struck once more for his second goal in a five-minute span and 24th of the season. Ben Norris picked up his third assist of the night, while Sean Morgan added the secondary helper. A second straight four-goal period gave the Tomahawks a commanding 6-2 lead after two, along with a 24-18 advantage in shots on goal.
As expected, the physicality and intensity ramped up in the third, with New Hampshire searching for any momentum down four goals with 20 minutes remaining. They found a spark just over five minutes into the period when Conor Griffin was sent off for tripping, and it took only 15 seconds for the Mountain Kings to capitalize. Rogerio Cassiarielli netted his ninth of the season to cut the deficit to 6-3. With plenty of time still on the clock, there was a brief sense of “what if,” as New Hampshire began to push. The Tomahawks had a chance to shut that down with a power play of their own after Cole Roenick was called for high-sticking, but the Mountain Kings penalty kill came through in a key moment. Momentum briefly stayed with New Hampshire, as just five seconds after the kill, Emerson Marshall was sent off for interference. Once again, the Mountain Kings made it count, converting just 30 seconds into the power play as Joey Sylvester scored his fifth of the season, trimming the lead to 6-4 with still over seven minutes still to play. However, New Hampshire’s inability to stay out of the penalty box ultimately proved costly. With 4:46 remaining, Cael Knutson was sent off for slashing, and the Tomahawks made them pay. Jack Sullivan completed the hat trick on the power play, sealing the 7-4 victory for Johnstown. The win secured a crucial two points for the Tomahawks, extending their gap over New Hampshire to three points while keeping them within striking distance of Danbury for a playoff spot with four games remaining. Final shots on goal were narrowly in favor of Johnstown, 32-31
We will back in action this coming weekend as the home and home series shifts to New Hampshire. Friday’s puck drop will be at 7:00PM. Get your tickets NOW for the final homestand on Apr 3rd/4th at https://www.ticketmaster.com/johnstown-tomahawks-tickets/artist/1760594! Can’t make it to the Arena? Catch all the action on NATV