MIDDLETOWN, NJ — The Johnstown Tomahawks (2-4-3) were defeated by the New Jersey Titans (6-2-2) by a score of 3-2 in a shootout on Friday to open the fourth road weekend for Johnstown. Jack Genovese and Conner Maione were the goal scorers in regulation for the Tomahawks while Genovese added the lone shootout tally for his team. New Jersey also got a goal from their captain Nathan Walsh and a second period tally from Joe Pocrnic. Nik Doumas was the hero in the shootout for the Titans as he beat Luc Beauparlant who was steady all night long, turning aside 35 of 37 Titan shots. Andrew Bely came out victorious between the pipes and was fantastic as well, saving 36 of 38 from the Tomahawks.
After just the first five minutes of play to open up the weekend action, you could see the shape that the game was taking. Both teams came out of the gates looking to establish themselves early by generating offensively but also putting a lot of focus on their defensive zones. For a period that rolled on with no scoring, it was still an action packed period with just a few stoppages. Neither side was able to find the back of the net in the opening frame, as both goaltenders, Luc Beauparlant and Andrew Bely kept their opposition off the scoreboard and the game remained tied at 0-0. New Jersey held a slight edge in shots after the first break, outshooting Johnstown 8-5.
The Titans were finally able to break through early in the second period, as Nathan Walsh scored to give New Jersey the first lead of the night at 1-0. Johnstown looked to respond, but again the Titans defense stymied the Tomahawks. It’s not often you see 40-shot periods across any hockey league nowadays, but the second period on Friday night did. The Tomahawks put a whopping 19 shots onto Bely in the period while Beauparlant turned aside 18 of his own off of Titan sticks. Keeping a similar style to the first, just with a bit more shot volume, the game was back and forth and thrilling, but still just the one goal remained on the scoreboard after 40 minutes. New Jersey narrowly led in shots at 26-24.
Despite playing a pretty strong first 40 minutes, there was no time to accept just playing good..the Tomahawks needed to find the back of the net and fast. However, just four minutes into the third period, New Jersey capitalized on a 3-on-2 entering the zone and Joe Pocrnic buried making it 2-0. With their backs against the wall and less than 15 minutes remaining after the 2nd Jersey goal, the Tomahawks needed to start to chip away at the New Jersey lead. As was the case many times last season, the captain provided a spark for Johnstown as Jack Genovese scored his third of the season to cut the lead in half with over ten minutes to play. His linemates, Lane Glende and Conner Maione recorded the assists. The clock really began to work against the Hawks’ as we got under seven minutes to play but the first chance on the power play of the game proved to be successful. Conner Maione sniped one from the high slot to tie the game at 2-2 and send the game to its most dramatic moments late. After trailing by two, Johnstown fought hard to erase the deficit and carried that momentum through the remainder of regulation, outshooting New Jersey 12-7 in the third. Neither team was able to find the deciding goal in overtime, sending the game to a shootout to determine the winner. New Jersey ultimately came away with the extra point as Nik Doumas beat Beauparlant to secure the 3-2 victory despite the determined comeback effort from the Tomahawks. Johnstown finished with a 38-37 advantage in shots on goal, but came up just short of two points in a game that required a shootout to separate the two sides.
Your Tomahawks will be right back in action this afternoon at 3:30 to take on the Titans again and look to exact some revenge and walk away with a huge two points.
BY: DREW PFEIL