CANTON, MA. — The Johnstown Tomahawks (0-1-0) found themselves on the wrong side of the scoreboard to open up the 2026-27 Regular Season schedule, falling to the Northeast Generals (1-0-0) by a score of 6-3. Jacob Duval scored the first goal of the season for the Tomahawks in the first period and C.J List scored twice. Former Maine Nordiques goaltender Matthew Wood got the nod to open the season and made 25 saves in the loss for his Hawks’ debut.
It was an expected choppy start for both sides early on in the first period and it didn’t take long to get physical as the Hawks’ had two players sent off, which offset matching roughing minors and sent the Generals to the game’s first power play. Despite the tough start where they immediately found themselves a man down, the Hawks’ responded nicely with an early kill.
Generals forward Braydon Hudtloff scored the first goal of the game shortly after their power play expired and gave the home crowd in Canton something to cheer about early. The 06′ forward is a key returning piece of the Generals offense who was just shy of recording a point per game a year ago with 47PTS (14G, 33A) in 57GP. Northeast completely seized control of the momentum after the first goal, as Matthew Lacombe doubled the lead just 28 second later making it 2-0.
The Tomahawks finally found the back of the net late in the opening period after the Generals got themselves into some penalty trouble which put the Hawks’ on a two-man advantage for over a minute. Jacob Duval scored his first of the season with assists to Beom Su Kim and Peter Morris on the power play. The two teams had made it through their hardest period of the season and were ready to begin the long haul of the regular season. Northeast took their 2-1 lead to the intermission despite trailing in shots 13-11.
The second period continued to see both teams battle for momentum, with the Tomahawks looking to even the game after entering the middle frame down 2-1. Jacob Ingstrup was sent to the box for interference just 18 seconds into the period, but the Hawks’ penalty kill was able to keep Northeast off the board. Midway through the period, Wyatt Ezman was called for tripping, giving the Tomahawks an opportunity to tie the game on the power play. The Hawks’ were unable to capitalize on the man advantage, however, as the Generals’ defense held firm to maintain their one-goal lead.
With just over four minutes remaining in the period, Ryan Tartaglione was called for cross-checking, putting Northeast back on the power play. The Generals took advantage of the opportunity this time, as forward Logan Poulin found the back of the net on the man advantage to extend Northeast’s lead to 3-1. Poulin, another key returning piece for the Generals after suiting up for Northeast last season where he put up 49PTS (27G, 22A) in 44GP, gave the home side some breathing room heading into the final minutes of the second period.
The Generals quickly added to their lead in the third period after Domeniks Domokejevs was sent off for head contact at the 16:30 mark. Logan Poulin struck again on the ensuing power play, scoring his second man-advantage goal of the night to push Northeast’s lead to 4-1 early in the final frame. A quick penalty by the Generals followed Poulin’s second goal, giving the Tomahawks another power play opportunity to climb back into the game, and C.J. List capitalized to cut the deficit back to two with his first goal of the season midway through the period. Nearly 10 minutes ticked off the clock following List’s goal before the Generals once again found themselves in severe penalty trouble. With Northeast down two and over five minutes remaining, the Hawks went to work on another power play and, halfway through the advantage, were given a rare 6-on-3 opportunity after the Generals took another penalty. Johnstown pulled the goaltender for the abbreviated two-man advantage in hopes of climbing back into the game, but Northeast sent the puck the length of the ice for an empty-net goal to make it 5-2 with just over two and a half minutes remaining. The Hawks weren’t finished just yet, as List struck again on the power play for his second goal of the period, cutting the deficit back to two with just 1:30 remaining and Johnstown still on the man advantage. Strong penalty killing from the Generals showed up when it mattered most, however, as Northeast killed off the majority of the remaining clock before eventually adding another empty-net goal to seal the season-opening victory. The Generals took the opener 6-3 despite being outshot 38-31 by the Tomahawks.
Your Tomahawks will be back in action next weekend versus the defending Robertson Cup Champion Maryland Black Bears for a Friday/Saturday showdown. Puck drop for Friday will be at 7:30pm followed by 7:00pm on Saturday.
BY: DREW PFEIL