JOHNSTOWN – The Johnstown Tomahawks (26-20-4) were defeated by the Elmira Aviators (19-28-3) by a score of 3-2 in a shootout on Saturday night at 1ST SUMMIT Arena in Johnstown, PA.
Although victorious on Friday night, it wasn’t necessarily the desired process for the Johnstown Tomahawks. The NAHL is easily one of the most competitive junior hockey leagues in North America. To win in this league and make championship runs, teams have to learn how to play an entire 60-minutes of hockey. The Hawks began Saturday’s contest in great form, picking up right where the 1st period ended last night. The Hawks broke through first at the 3:07 mark with a nifty wrap-around tuck from Cullen Emery. Emery found the loose puck after a point shot from Caden Olenczak that was tipped in front by Adam Ondris. As the 1st period rolled on, the Tomahawks kept their foot on the gas, registering 11 shots on net before the halfway point and held Elmira to just four.
After a few defensive zone collapses last night, a key cog in the Hawks’ victory formula was going to be solid defense in their own end which would wind up leading to scoring opportunities. The end of the first approached quickly with 17:00 of play without a goal. The Hawks took a strong 13-9 shots on goal advantage to the locker room along with the 1-0 lead.
The 3,955 in attendance at the 1ST SUMMIT Arena was without a doubt the largest crowd of the season, selling out the arena for Pucks and Paws Night. However, through almost 35-minutes all the Hawks’ faithful had to cheer for was the lone Tomahawks goal. The score wasn’t really correlated to how the game was being played though. Elmira was responsible for the only two penalty minutes up until this point so for the most part, it was consistent back and forth action, just no goals to show for it. Both goaltenders deserved their flowers through 40-minutes of play. Avakyan for the Tomahawks is bouncing back nicely after getting relieved last night, stopping all 17 of the Aviator bids. The Aviators’ Wesley Jefferson-Swint has been strong as well, turning aside 19 of 20 Tomahawks shots.
To begin the 3rd period of a one-shot hockey game, there is undoubtedly nerves on both benches. Adding some excitement to the pot, some carry-over penalties were assessed to both teams, but the Tomahawks were heading to the penalty-kill looking to preserve their lead. Elmira did what they needed to do on the man-advantage and got themselves the tying goal just 1:27 into the 3rd to make it 1-1.
After just 12 seconds, Hawks’ forward Adam Ondris would get the lead right back about as quick as you could to make it 2-1. This time it was hard work and determination that led to Ondris’ 23rd of the season, contrary to his normal production style, which usually comes from good chemistry and skill with his linemates. The goal gave a much-needed jolt of energy to the home-crowd who the Hawks were going to need to be very involved, with just over 15:00 in the game trying to sustain the lead.
With just under 3:00 to play, the Aviators took advantage of the Tomahawks sitting back and sniped one to silence the crowd and tie the game at 2-2. After 60-minutes, the game was on its way to Overtime. The extra 5:00 was definitely exciting but not many shots were generated. A late penalty in Overtime led to some heightened nervous energy for Hawks fans but it was successfully killed off. 65 minutes proved to also not be enough and to a shootout we went. The Tomahawks failed to score in the shootout while Elmira got one and stole the two points from the Hawks by a final score of 3-2 in a shootout.
Your Johnstown Tomahawks are back on the road once again next weekend to visit the Danbury Hat Tricks for a two-game series. Friday’s contest will begin at 7:00 from Danbury Arena. Get your tickets anytime at www.johnstowntomahawks.com and stay connected by following us on social media @tomahawkshockey. Can’t make it to the game? Watch every Tomahawks matchup live on NATV!
BY: DREW P. PFEIL | drew@johnstowntomahawks.com