JOHNSTOWN, Penn. – The Johnstown Tomahawks defeated the Maine Nordiques 7-2 on Tuesday night at 1ST SUMMIT ARENA to sweep the series.
There were goals aplenty in the opening period, but the first couple belonged to the Nordiques. A little over three minutes in, Emmanuel Sanchez opened the scoring for Maine. Then less than a minute and a half later, Stefan Owens increased their lead to 2-0.
The Tomahawks fought back, however, starting after a lengthy scrum in front of the Nordiques’ net. A Maine defender covered the puck illegally, and the referees awarded Johnstown a penalty shot. Christian Gorscak was given the chance to shoot and did not waste it, scoring his 16th goal of the year to cut the deficit in half. Less than three minutes later, Drew Murphy buried his 6th goal of the season on a shorthanded breakaway to tie the game at two.
The 2nd was completely dominated by Johnstown. Over two minutes into the period, Brendan Blair scored his 3rd of the year to give the Tomahawks the 3-2 lead. Two minutes later, Christian Gorscak scored his second of the game and 17th of the season to make it 4-2. Then Max Kouznetsov got in on the scoring on the power play, tallying his 13th of the year to put his team up 5-2.
Johnstown kept the momentum going in the 3rd period, starting with Tristan Poissant netting his 8th of the season. They added one more goal for good measure, coming off the stick of Sean Bauchens (his 4th of the year) to give the Tomahawks the 7-2 lead.
With the win, the Tomahawks now have 46 points on the year and trail the New Jersey Titans (49 points) by three for the East Division lead. All other teams in the division were inactive tonight.
Scoring Breakdown:
1st Period Recap
- 3:03 Maine goal scored by Emmanuel Sanchez, assisted by Jack Strauss and Kevin Pitts.
- 4:23 Maine goal scored by Stefan Owens, assisted by Ignat Belov and Isaiah Fox.
- 12:11 Johnstown penalty shot goal scored by Christian Gorscak, unassisted.
- 15:02 Johnstown shorthanded goal scored by Drew Murphy, assisted by David Tomeo.
2nd Period Recap
- 2:15 Johnstown goal scored by Brendan Blair, assisted by Tristan Poissant and Jack Therrien.
- 4:32 Johnstown goal scored by Christian Gorscak, assisted by Spencer DenBeste and Brendan Blair.
- 8:28 Johnstown power play goal scored by Max Kouznetsov, assisted by Spencer DenBeste and Christian Gorscak.
3rd Period Recap
- 7:34 Johnstown goal scored by Tristan Poissant, unassisted.
- 16:42 Johnstown goal scored by Sean Bauchens, assisted by Drew Murphy and Brendan Blair.
Final Shots on Goal: Johnstown Tomahawks (40) | Maine Nordiques (28)
Three Stars of the Game:
- Christian Gorscak, Johnstown
- Brendan Blair, Johnstown
- David Tomeo, Johnstown
Looking Ahead:
The Tomahawks will play next on January 10th and 11th, when they travel to Jamestown, NY to face the Rebels.
They then return home to host the Maryland Black Bears on January 17th and 18th. The 17th will feature our second bobblehead giveaway of the year, where we honor long-time volunteer, Charlie Johnson. The 18th will be a kid’s night, as well as Chopper’s birthday celebration!
Tickets are available in-person at the 1ST SUMMIT ARENA Box Office and online at www.1stSummitArena.com/go/Tomahawks.