The Johnstown Tomahawks fell to the Maine Nordiques Thursday night by a final score of 5-2 at 1ST SUMMIT ARENA. Thursday night’s contest welcomed special guest Pittsburgh Steelers legend, Jerome Bettis, who dropped a ceremonial first puck and met fans during the game.
Just when it seemed the first period was going to end scoreless, Filip Wiberg got Maine on the board with 43.2 seconds remaining, scoring his sixth goal of the season.
Drake Albers evened up the scoring early in the second period with his twelfth goal of the season coming 5:24 into the period. While John-Paul Steele was in the penalty box for the Nordiques, Ryan Vellucci netted his fourth of the season on the power play with 3:59 remaining in the middle frame to give the Tomahawks a 2-1 lead going into the final period.
The third period was all Maine as David Helledy, Evan Orloff (2) and Kellen Murphy all scored for the Nordiques in five minutes and twenty-three seconds, giving their club a demanding 5-2 lead, which they would carry with them into victory Thursday night.
The two teams face off again tomorrow Friday, December 8 for the second of three games on the weekend. Puck drop is set for 7:30 PM. Tickets are available on Ticketmaster.com.