The Johnstown Tomahawks and Port Huron Fighting Falcons needed extra time to finish game two of the North Division semi-finals on Friday night at McMorran Arena. When all was said and done, Elliott Tisdale scored halfway through the overtime period to give the Fighting Falcons a 4-3 victory and a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series.
Jordan Watt got the Tomahawks on the board first, firing a wrist shot past Port Huron goaltender Alex Blankenburg at 8:05. Joe Drabin and Brandon earned assists on Watt’s second goal of the series. Just over two minutes later, Reinholz took advantage of a breakaway to give the Tomahawks a two-goal lead. Dakoda Menslage added the assist on the shorthanded goal. With just 38 seconds remaining in the first period, Noah Batis scored to cut the Fighting Falcons deficit to one. Bryan Yim and Jonathan Kopacka each picked up assists on the goal.
Trevor Recktenwald restored the Tomahawks two goal lead, scoring 4:29 into the third period. Casey Linkenheld provided the lone assist on the goal. Lucas Little made it a 3-2 game, with Zach Badalamenti assisting on the goal at 8:17. The Fighting Falcons tied the game, as Tisdale fired a shot past Brett Young at 13:14. Little and Alex Archibald each earned assists on the goal.
In the overtime period, Tisdale connected on the game-winner at 9:31. Little added the assist on the game-winning goal. Alex Blankenburg earned his first win of the postseason, stopping 33 of 36 shots. Brett Young took the loss, stopping a Tomahawks postseason record 48 shots. The Tomahawks and Fighting Falcons combined to go 0-for-9 on the power-play.
The Tomahawks return to the Cambria County War Memorial to host the Fighting Falcons in game three next Friday at 7:30 p.m. Individual playoff tickets for all Tomahawks home games are now on sale. Get your tickets at the War Memorial box office, all Ticketmaster locations, including www.ticketmaster.com or by calling (800) 745-3000. Ticket prices start as low as $9 for adults and tickets for kids under 12 are $6.