ASTON, Penn. – The Johnstown Tomahawks appeared to be headed towards their fourth win in the last five games on Friday night, but a late goal by the Aston Rebels sent the game to overtime. The Rebels scored in the extra period to earn a 3-2 victory at the Aston IceWorks.
Luke Lynch got Johnstown (4-2-1) on the board, scoring his third goal of the season 13:32 into the first period. Lynch now has four points in the five games since he returned to the team before the North American Hockey League Showcase. Tommy Horn and Kelly O’Brien added assists on the goal.
Horn extended the Tomahawks lead with a power-play goal just over a minute later. Ryan Burr and O’Brien each picked up assists on Horn’s first goal of the season.
Aston (3-3-0) got on the board in the second period, as Dean Balsamo scored at 6:08. Evgeny Yakovlev got the assist on the goal.
After pulling their goalie for the extra attacker, the Rebels tied the game with just 34 seconds remaining in regulation, as Kristofers Bindulis scored his first goal of the season.
Jerry Muettuten won the game for Aston, scoring an unassisted goal two minutes into the overtime period.
Darion Hanson earned the win, stopping 18 of 20 shots. Jake Gwillim suffered the loss, stopping 30 of 33 shots. The Tomahawks went 1-for-7 on the power play and a perfect 5-for-5 on the penalty kill.
The Tomahawks close out the weekend road trip Saturday night against New Jersey. Face-off is set for 7 p.m. with live video available on www.fasthockey.com.
Johnstown opens its 2015-16 home schedule Oct. 16 and 17 against New Jersey, with a special appearance by Hockey Hall of Famer and National Hockey League legend Bobby Hull scheduled for the Oct. 16 game. For more information, or to purchase tickets, visit www.johnstowntomahawks.com or call 814-536-GOAL (4625).
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