BLAINE – The Johnstown Tomahawks defeated the Wisconsin Windigo by a score of 4-2 in regulation on Saturday morning from the Blaine Super Rink in Blaine, Minnesota to conclude a very successful NAHL Showcase. The Hawks were led once again by Nick Jarmain who scored the game-winning goal, and Colten Drillen-Roach who made 30/32 saves for the victory.
After last night’s strong victory, the Tomahawks didn’t shock anyone when they came out with some juice but as for scoring, the 1st period was scoreless through the first portion. The hockey being played was still extremely fast paced with both teams passing surgically to create several chances. Colten Drillen-Roach was making the start for the Tomahawks, making him the third goaltender used by the Hawks over the three games in Blaine. Drillen-Roach was sharp early on, making several strong saves to keep the puck out of his net. The remainder of the 1st period kept up in pace but the teams still made it back to their respective locker rooms at a deadlocked 0-0 score. The Windigo were holding a pretty significant shots on goal advantage after one at 14-8.
The Tomahawks took a penalty just over a minute into the 2nd period and we’re going to have to come up big on the power play to ensure that they didn’t find themselves down in the game first. They did in fact kill off the penalty but sticking with the common theme from the past few games, although they didn’t score, our opponent garnered momentum from the power play and ended up scoring shortly after to make it 1-0. The resilient Tomahawks had yet another answer though, getting the tying goal from Shane Tronoski just two and a half minutes later. Liam Bazner and Conor Griffin setup the play and were credited with the assists. From this point on, the game began to head in the Tomahawks direction as they started to control the majority of play and ended up grabbing the lead late in the period with a goal from Easton Rooney who drew into the lineup and was excellent. Evan Kensey was credited with the assist on the goal. The period came to a close with the Tomahawks still holding the 2-1 advantage and nearly overtook the shots on goal advantage as they now read 23-21, still in favor of Wisconsin.
By the time the 3rd period got rolling, there wasn’t much doubt towards who the better team was, as the Tomahawks just looked faster and more aggressive on both sides of the puck. Five minutes into the period, the Tomahawks doubled their lead to 3-1 after Nick Jarmain wired a wrister over the goaltender’s glove for his NAHL-leading 8th goal of the season. Emerson Marshall and Kalib Capecci worked hard to cycle the puck in the offensive zone and got the puck to the dangerous Jarmain and he made zero mistake. The next 11 minutes ticked off the clock with the Tomahawks still mostly in control, not allowing the Windigo to penetrate their defensive zone structure, but in the few times they did, Drillen-Roach was there as he made several tough saves and he made them look routine. With just over three minutes to play, another goal was going to be huge for the Tomahawks to make the deficit three with not much time for Wisconsin to work with. Charlie Zetterkvist came through with the ever important insurance marker as he found himself in front of the Windigo net and buried one to make it 4-1 and essentially put this one to bed. If there was any “good” time to take a penalty, it’s probably while holding a three goal lead with about a minute to play. Well the Tomahawks did find themselves in the box one last time on Saturday and Wisconsin ended up coming through for the game’s only power play goal to cut the deficit to 4-2. Too little, too late for the Windigo as time eventually ran out and the Tomahawks capped off an excellent week in Blaine with a emphatic 4-2 victory in regulation. Final shots on goal for the contest were in favor of Johnstown at 35-32.
We’ve officially made it Hawks fans! We’re officially under a week away from the HOME OPENER in Johnstown! We play host for the first time this season against the New Jersey Titans on Friday, October 3rd at 7:30PM! Get your tickets at our Tomahawks front office, or online at https://www.ticketmaster.com/johnstown-tomahawks-tickets/artist/1760594. We will see you soon and LET’S GO HAWKS!
BY: DREW P. PFEIL