JOHNSTOWN – Hawks goaltender Avakyan makes 23 saves, Genest dazzles in OT as Mountain Kings defeat the Johnstown Tomahawks by a score of 3-2.
The puck drop on Friday night was a first for the Tomahawks and their fans, as it was the first ever visit from one of the NAHL’s newest franchises – New Hampshire Mountain Kings. For a first ever meeting at home, the game certainly came with heavy stakes. Through the same 37 games played this season, the Tomahawks (17-18-2) and Mountain Kings (17-19-0) are separated by just one point in the standings, sporting nearly identical records.
It was also a homecoming for two former Tomahawks, Jaden Johnson and Taybor Aldrich. Johnson, who was a part of last year’s Tomahawks squad and Aldrich who was traded to the Mountain Kings earlier this season in December.
Looking to string together a couple of wins in a row, the Tomahawks began action on Friday and what a slow start it was. In the first eight minutes of action, there were only six shots on goal from both teams.
With just about half of the period to go, the Mountain Kings were the first ones on the board with a strong solo effort to gain the 1-0 lead. The slow start quickly vanished after the first goal when the Tomahawks struck just two minutes later during the first power-play opportunity of the contest. Newest Tomahawk, Markas Samenas unleashed a wicked wrist shot and gave the home crowd their first look at what he can bring to the team. The power-play goal was assisted by Cullen Emery and Charlie Zetterkvist.
The first period came to a close with a lot of back and forth play but nothing to show for it from either team. The Tomahawks took a 10-9 shot advantage into the locker room.
The 2nd period started and before the fans at 1st Summit Arena could even get back to their seats, Hawks defenseman Caden Olenczak found the back of the net just 20 seconds into the period. The goal was the second power-play tally of the evening for the Tomahawks in as many opportunities, and the assists were credited to Dylan Shane and Adam Ondris.
Although the Mountain Kings had only 13 shots to their credit through almost two periods of play, it’s fair to say that at least half of those were good scoring opportunities. Hawks goaltender Nick Avakyan had himself a stellar second period, once again making several outstanding saves look somewhat routine. The third penalty of the period was called against the Tomahawks late in the frame and they were going to need a strong kill, to preserve the one-goal lead. The Hawks indeed got that strong kill, which lead to another power-play of their own with just over a minute to play. However, after just 50 seconds, things got evened up with a Tomahawks check from behind penalty with just a handful of seconds to go.
The teams went to the locker room with the Tomahawks lead at just 2-1. The Hawks also kept their shot advantage by a total of 21-16.
The Hawks faithful were set to enjoy a great final period of hockey on Friday night in a tight game that had its fair share of everything, from hits, saves and scoring opportunities. The second penalty of the 3rd proved to be costly as the Hawks surrendered their lead after they were sent to the box for interference with just under five minutes to go.
Suddenly, things began to get extremely tense for both teams with just under two to play. Immediately following the New Hampshire goal, Avakyan was asked to come up huge once again, taking away a breakaway chance with a surehanded glove save. In the waning seconds of the 3rd, the Hawks found a loose puck and had a wide-open cage to shoot at but in utter desperation, the Mountain Kings defenseman was able to kick it out to save the game and send it to overtime.
The first minute of overtime was exciting on both ends of the rink, after that it was all New Hampshire. After some sustained offensive zone time, the NAHL’s leading scorer and goal scorer, Oli Genest found himself some open space and scored one of the most impressive goals you’ll ever see. Kicking the saucer pass up to about knee-level and batting the puck past Avakyan to stun the Tomahawks and the home crowd in OT by a score of 3-2.
Your Johnstown Tomahawks are back home tomorrow night at 1ST SUMMIT Arena to host the New Hampshire Mountain Kings, at 7:00 PM. Get your tickets 24/7 at www.johnstowntomahawks.com or by stopping in the Tomahawks main office. Can’t make it to the game? Catch all the action live at nahltv.com. Stay up to date with the Johnstown Tomahawks by following us along on social media.
By: DREW P. PFEIL | drew@johnstowntomahawks.com