The Johnstown Tomahawks fell just short to the New Jersey Titans by a final score of 5-4 Friday night in the final weekend of regular season NAHL hockey.
Michael Young got New Jersey on the board just 3:30 into the opening of the game, followed by a goal from Owen Luik just before the midway point to give the Titans a 2-0 lead after the first 20 minutes.
Johnstown responded in the second period as Nick Ahern netted his 15th goal of the season on the power play to put the Tomahawks on the board. The Titans responded with a power play goal of their own as Dominik Bartecko went bar down to regain the two-goal advantage for New Jersey. Less than a minute later, Drake Albers scored to make it a one-goal game again. Then with just 19.9 seconds remaining in the period, Anthony Galante netted his team-leading 25th goal of the season to tie the game at 3 going into the third period.
New Jersey took charge in the second period with two power play goals coming from Chris Battaini and Ben Yurchuk and gave themselves a 5-3 lead. Ahern netted his second goal of the game with 2:39 remaining in regulation to make it a 5-4 New Jersey lead, prompting the Titans to use their timeout. New Jersey managed to keep possession of the puck, not allowing Johnstown to pull Rajalin-Scharp, running out the clock to win 5-4.
The Tomahawks and Titans face off again tomorrow night in the regular season finale at 1ST SUMMIT ARENA at 7 pm for Guns and Hoses Night, presented by MMI Door. Tickets can be purchased online at Ticketmaster.com.