JOHNSTOWN – The Johnstown Tomahawks (19-20-7) were defeated by the Northeast Generals (22-17-6) in regulation by a score of 4-1 on Friday night in Canton, MA. Nick Jarmain was the lone goal scorer for Johnstown. Nikita Oleksiienko was back between the pipes for Johnstown and was steady for a good part of the night but a late Tomahawks collapse led to four straight goals allowed by Oleksiienko. Keagin Wilson got the start for Northeast and was steady after allowing the games first goal, turning aside 26 of 27 on the night.
The stakes coming into Friday night’s game really couldn’t be bigger. The Tomahawks had a chance to gain some ground on the Generals who came into the night three points ahead of Johnstown with an extra game in hand. The two teams certainly seemed to realize this as well as the first period consisted of a ton of back and forth action with an early flurries of whistles. The Hawks did start to get the cycle going as the first played on, and got several low-to-high opportunities that tested the Generals goaltender but he was sharp early. As we hit the halfway point of the period, the Gens’ got their momentum swing and began to control play in the Hawks’ defensive zone. Tomahawks goaltender Nikita Oleksiienko was also steady throughout much of the first period, keeping the game scoreless. The first and only penalty of the period was assessed to Johnstown as Justin Chiras was sent off for interference with just under two minutes to play. The Hawks’ went on to get the much needed penalty kill and both teams headed to the break exactly where they started, still scoreless. Shots after the first period were narrowly in favor of Johnstown at 9-8.
The Hawks’ began the second period with a ton of momentum after killing off the penalty and the captain struck for the first goal of the game just about 30 seconds into the frame. The unassisted goal was Jarmain’s 27th of the season. The Tomahawks found themselves in a pretty great spot as we continued on in the second but now the next goal became all the more important. The gates to both penalty boxes began to get their use about midway through the period as the Gens were sent off for interference with about 12 minutes remaining. The Hawks’ ultimately failed to capitalize on the great opportunity and even found themselves in the box themselves shortly after their power play expired. The kill still continued to do their job though, killing off the second Generals power play. Despite the successful kill, Northeast sure seemed to grab some juice from the opportunity and found the tying goal just minutes after pushing us to a 1-1 score with just under seven minutes to go. Each team would head back to the power play before the end of the period, Johnstown actually heading twice, the second coming with just two seconds remaining which sent us to the second break. Shots in the second were in favor of Northeast at 11-8, pushing them ahead in the game total 19-17 through two periods.
The third period got underway and the Hawks’ found themselves in yet another advantageous situation, with 1:58 seconds of power play time to begin the period on fresh ice nonetheless. However the chance came and went pretty quickly with the Generals killing it off and grabbing a lot of momentum back in their favor. The Gens’ were gifting the Hawks’ a ton of chances to take the lead but still, the Hawks’ power play remained stagnant after failing to capitalize yet again on another Northeast penalty around the ten minute mark. Continuing to gain momentum from their PK, the Generals struck shortly thereafter again making it 2-1 with about seven minutes to play, pushing the Hawks’ back on their heels. Another power play opportunity peeked through at the Hawks’ however just 24 seconds later, but the same result occurred. A strong Northeast kill, backed by solid goaltending and defensive structure. The Hawks’ were clearly beginning to become frustrated with the lack of execution and allowed their back end to crumble as Northeast would go on to pot two more goals in quick succession with 3:45 and 2:36 to play, respectively. The game was all but over at this point and the final two minutes began to drag on for Johnstown, knowing their already steep hill just got that much steeper. Northeast would go on to roll to the 4-1 victory after scoring four unanswered goals. Shots in the third favored the Hawks’ 10-7, bringing the game total to 27-26 in favor of the Hawks’ but they found themselves on the wrong side of the scoreboard.
The Tomahawks will get right back at it for an EARLY 5:30PM start tomorrow afternoon with another high-stakes matchup with Northeast. Get your tickets for the next homestand on MAR 6-7 HERE https://www.ticketmaster.com/johnstown-tomahawks-tickets/artist/1760594. Catch all of the action on NAHLTV and follow our social media accounts @tomahawkshockey to keep in the loop.