The Johnstown Tomahawks defeated the Danbury Jr. Hat Tricks 5-4 Sunday afternoon in their final game of the regular season.
Danbury got an early power play opportunity as Brendan Clark was called for slashing 2:43 into the game. The Tomahawks killed off the penalty and shortly after rookie David Matousek opened the scoring, netting his first NAHL goal to give the Tomahawks the first goal of the game for the first time this weekend. Then, with just 44 seconds remaining in the period, Jay Ahearn found the back of the net for the 30th time this season, giving the Tomahawks a 2-0 lead heading into the 2nd period.
The 2-0 lead didn’t last long though as Valentino Passarelli showed his dominance over the Tomahawks again, scoring twice 42 seconds in an 9:31 into the 2nd period to tie the game up for Danbury at 2. A minute after the game-tying goal, the Tomahawks got the chance to regain the lead as Porter Schachle was called for slashing. The Unsung Hero, Holt Oliphant, got the job done on the power play to get the lead back for the Tomahawks 11:25 into the middle frame. 2:20 later, Matousek netted his second of the game to make it 4-2 Hawks. Three minutes later, Ahearn nets his second goal of the game also to make it 5-2 Hawks to start the 3rd.
The 3rd started off with a handful of penalties as things heated up a bit between the two sides. 5:19 in, Passarelli scored again to get the hat trick and make it 5-3. Then two and a half minutes later, Gabe Dombrowski scored shorthanded to make it a one-goal game. The Tomahawks held on though to win by a final score of 5-4.
The Johnstown Tomahawks start their 2021 Robertson Cup Playoff run next weekend at 1ST SUMMIT ARENA as they face off against the Maryland Black Bears in the first round. Ticket information will be available shortly.