JOHNSTOWN – The Johnstown Tomahawks (12-10-4) battled back to earn a point, but were ultimately defeated in overtime at the hands of the Maine Nordiques (17-7-2) by a score of 2-1 in Johnstown on Friday, December 5th. The Tomahawks lone goal was off the stick of Sean Leetch and Nick Metelkin was credited with the assist. Zack Ferris made 23 saves for the Tomahawks in what was his 4th straight start for the team. The Nordiques were led by their goaltender Lukas Fursten who made 22 saves and Austin Borggaard who sniped the OT winner.
The Tomahawks had a chance to shake off their 120+ minute scoring drought early, as they were sent to the power play less than a minute in. Despite some decent puck movement, the skid continued, as they failed to record a shot and Maine actually carried the early pace while shorthanded, outshooting Johnstown 4–0 through the first couple of minutes. Johnstown finally generated its first quality look when Kirby Perler stepped into a point shot with traffic layered in front, but Maine’s goaltender handled it cleanly. At the other end, Zack Ferris was called upon to make a major stop of his own, flashing the right pad on a two-on-one about seven minutes into the period to keep things even. The opening frame never found much rhythm. Both sides dealt with some sloppy execution which led to icings, pucks sailing out of play, and what seemed like an abundance of offside whistles — and the Tomahawks’ scoreless stretch pushed beyond the 130-minute mark. Maine carried more of the jump, but their speed consistently fizzled itself out with misfires on their routine passes. Ferris delivered another strong right-pad save with around seven minutes left, standing tall during some of Maine’s best looks of the period. Between the lack of flow and the constant stoppages, the first felt longer than it was, but it ended the same way it started: scoreless. Maine took an 8–4 edge in shots into the first intermission with the game still tied 0–0.
The second period opened almost identically to the first, with Maine heading to the box just 18 seconds in and giving the Tomahawks another golden opportunity to break through on fresh ice. But the power play continued to sputter, and the game stayed locked at 0–0. The pattern of scattered play returned as both teams traded possession without much sustained pressure. That shifted when Alex Gomes was whistled for holding, sending Maine to its first power play of the night. The Nordiques capitalized almost instantly—just 19 seconds into their advantage—driving the net and punching in a rebound to claim the 1–0 lead. The remainder of the frame featured plenty of pace but no additional scoring or penalties. Zack Ferris remained sharp for the Hawks, turning aside everything else Maine threw his way to keep Johnstown within striking distance despite the extended offensive drought. By the end of 40 minutes, the Tomahawks had flipped the shot totals from the opening period, outshooting Maine 8–4 in the second and pulling the overall count to an even 12–12. Still, they headed to the third trailing 1–0.
Given the tight East Division standings, the third period on Friday night was shaping up to be one of the more important ones of the season thus far. Despite the stakes, the Tomahawks didn’t look nervous or rattled off of their gameplay and sticked to it, continuing to lay hits and test the Nordiques goaltender. With 13:00 to play in the game, the Tomahawks seemed to be heading off for a high-sticking penalty but while Conor Griffin was pleading his case, he drew a retaliation penalty from Maine and we went to 4-on-4 hockey. This was a moment in which could have “broken the seal” on the Hawks ability to put the puck into the back of the net, with the amount of ice available, but still nothing doing. With just over seven minutes to play, the Tomahawks got a huge goal from Sean Leetch who buried his 2nd of the season at truly the perfect time to tie the game at 1-1. Nick Metelkin was credited with the assist on the goal and the energy was fully back into 1st SUMMIT ARENA. In most cases, if the home team is able to tie a game late and force overtime, they carry a lot of the momentum heading into the extra frame. However, the strategic nature that both teams were playing with to begin overtime, really made it anybody’s game. Each team had their share of possession through the first three minutes of overtime but it was ultimately the Nordiques who capitalized on a makeshift 2-on-1 powering through the slot and firing one past the blocker of Ferris to give them the 2-1 victory.
Your Johnstown Tomahawks will get a chance to respond tomorrow night at 1st SUMMIT ARENA with another showdown versus the same Maine Nordiques. Saturday night’s action will begin at 7:00PM. Get your tickets for the homestand
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.
BY: DREW P. PFEIL
