The Johnstown Tomahawks will finally get to enjoy some home-cooking over the course of the next two weekends at 1ST SUMMIT Arena as they play host to the Elmira Aviators this weekend, and the following weekend when the familiar Philadelphia Rebels come to town. The two matchups this weekend against the Aviators will take place on Friday, November 14th at 7:30PM and then on Saturday, November 15th at 7:00PM. It will be a special weekend in Johnstown as we honor our veterans for Military Appreciation Weekend, where the Hawks will debut new specialty jerseys to mark the occasion.
A LOOK BACK AT LAST SEASON
The Aviators are one of the NAHL’s newest teams with last year being their inaugural season. Struggles tend to be expected with a new team, especially in a league as competitive as the NAHL, and that’s exactly what the Aviators endured through their organization’s first 59 games. The team finished with a record of 21-34-4 and at the end of the regular season, found themselves in 9th place in the East Division. The Tomahawks had a pretty successful season last year but ultimately had their season come to a close in a heartbreaking playoff series versus the Rochester Jr. Americans.
Last year the Tomahawks and Aviators faced off six times, which is standard for most in-division matchups. The Tomahawks were rather successful versus the league’s then newest team, winning the season series 4-1-1. The first four games were played in Elmira while the last two were inside the 1ST SUMMIT ARENA in Johnstown, just as the last preview featured versus the Rebels. The majority of the six games were played at incredibly high levels of excitement. with four games finishing as one-goal games (two that reached overtime/shootout). Elmira had the largest victory, winning by four goals (7-3) at home in the early part of the season in the middle of October. The last three games of the series were one goal games, with the last one resulting in a Tomahawks shootout loss.
OCT 12TH – 3-2 W IN ELMIRA
OCT 13TH – 7-3 L IN ELMIRA
NOV 22ND – 4-1 W IN ELMIRA
NOV 23RD – 3-2 OTW IN ELMIRA
MAR 7TH – 4-3 W IN JOHNSTOWN
MAR 8TH – 3-2 SOL IN JOHNSTOWN
TOMAHAWKS WIN SEASON SERIES FOUR GAMES TO TWO (4-1-1)
2025-2026 KEYS TO THE MATCHUP
- Tomahawks first year Head Coach Adam Houli will try and create some new trends for his team on home ice as they fail to gather any extended momentum in the form of points and wins.
- The Aviators have struggled to begin the season and sit at the bottom of the East Division, but they’re tied in points (17) with the 8th and 9th place teams (New Hampshire/Philadelphia).
- After a historic start to the season – which feels like an eternity ago, The Tomahawks are still in a decent position at 6th in the East but with several teams on their heels, points will remain crucial.
- The Tomahawks have been struggling to score as of late with just two goals in two games last weekend and just two goals over their last seven periods.
- Tomahawks captain Nick Jarmain still resides at the top of the league in goal-scoring with 15 through his first 19 games played.
- The Aviators have just one player inside the league’s top 66 scorers with F Jack Kohlmann who sits at 16 points through his first 18 games played.
With how tight the East Division is this season, there likely won’t be another weekend for the remainder of the season that won’t have huge implications on the standings. The opportunity is there for the taking this weekend, and it’s up to the players and the coaches to go out and take four points.
FALL INTO HOCKEY BOGO OFFER – UPCOMING HOME GAMES https://www.gofevo.com/group/FallOffer25
Buy two tickets for the price of one during the Fall months! *All seats available aside from glass seating*
11.14 – 7:30PM
11.15 – 7:00PM
11.21 – 7:30PM
11.21 – 7:00PM
https://www.gofevo.com/group/FallOffer25
BY: DREW P. PFEIL