CANTON –
The Johnstown Tomahawks (3-1-0) defeated the Northeast Generals (0-3-1) by a score of 4-2 on Saturday night to capture the road series sweep and their first of the season. The Tomahawks were led once again by the captain Nick Jarmain who broke the tie with just 30 seconds to play to cap off the improbable comeback. Emerson Marshall scored a goal and had the game-winning assist on the Jarmain GWG. Tomahawks goaltender Colton Drillen-Roach was steady in his first NAHL start making 30 saves on 32 shots for the victory.
Anytime 12 goals are scored in a hockey game, it could be assumed that the next night will play out in a more defensive style. Well that’s certainly how we started off on Saturday evening with no goals through the first 15-minutes. Not only were there no goals, there wasn’t even much in the way of opportunity for either team. Each team really only tested the opposing goaltenders once but in both instances, the save was made. For the Tomahawks however, it was the goal-post that kept the Generals off the board. The Tomahawks were awarded a golden opportunity to jump ahead early once again after drawing two penalties in succession, leading to a 14-second 5-on-3 man advantage. However, the Generals showcased some impressive penalty-killing and the scores stayed at zeroes. The Generals got their chance at the powerplay later in the period but nothing doing for them either. With just over two-minutes to play in the period, Hawks forward Emerson Marshall would break the ice, getting his 2nd goal of the weekend to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead. The play was setup nicely with a three-man rush entering the Northeast zone by Chayse Laurie and Nick Jarmain. The Marshall goal would go on to be the only one of the opening frame and the teams made their way to the locker rooms. Shots after the first period were in favor of the Tomahawks at 9-7.
With the way the Tomahawks were playing over the last four periods of hockey, scoring the last seven goals between these two teams, the Generals all but needed to get the next one. An early Tomahawks cross-checking penalty certainly helped spark that initiative as the Generals found the back of the net in the waning seconds of the powerplay and the game was tied again at 1-1. The tight style picked up even more as we went on through the 2nd period with another powerplay opportunity each but both goaltenders were up to the task. Colten Drillen-Roach given the reins of the blue paint for the Tomahawks on Saturday night, making his first career NAHL start to give the now 2-0 Zack Ferris some much deserved rest. Northeast also switched up their goaltender from the night before, starting Will Mizenko. The decisions for both coaches seems to have paid off through 40-minutes as the 1-1 score remained. Shots after the 2nd period still favored Johnstown, now at 23-20.
Just five-minutes into the 3rd period, the Tomahawks were sent off for high-sticking and although Northeast didn’t get a powerplay goal, they scored just one-minute after it had expired to give them the 2-1 lead with less than 12-minutes left to play. Sometimes even going on the powerplay and getting chances can lead to momentum and this case a goal shortly after. A common theme to the weekend has been the lack of discipline from both sides. Just after the Northeast lead-taking goal, the Tomahawks took their fifth penalty of the game and 11th in total on the weekend. A strong penalty-kill was needed, and they escaped. However, the Tomahawks found themselves looking at the clock as it began under 10-minutes to play in the contest and they needed a goal. It was clear that there was no panic to their game but there was urgency. Northeast was doing a solid job of containing the net-front to escape with the win. However, with just under a minute to play, the Tomahawks tied the game up after pulling the goalie and an outstanding effort and keep-in from defenseman Kalib Capecci as he ended up throwing one to the goal mouth and the loose change was buried by Charlie Zetterkvist to tie the game at 2-2. The game was seemingly destined for overtime, that was until the now NAHL leading goal-scorer and captain of the Johnstown Tomahawks Nick Jarmain worked his way to a soft spot as Emerson Marshall fed him an unbelievable pass and the captain buried it for his 5th of the season to send the Tomahawks bench and faithful watching at home into a guaranteed frenzy. Andrew Cowgill went on to seal the deal with a long-range empty netter to make it 4-2 and complete yet another unbelievable comeback for the Johnstown Tomahawks. First year Head Coach Adam Houli deserves a ton of credit for his team’s ability to turn the page and battle back no matter the deficit or how late. The final shots on goal for the contest were in favor of Johnstown at 36-32.
Your Johnstown Tomahawks are back in action this week as we hit the (long) road to take part in the annual NAHL Showcase in Blaine, Minnesota. We kick off action on Wednesday, September 24th. Catch all the action at https://nahltv.com/ and follow our social media accounts @tomahawkshockey so you don’t miss a beat!
BY: DREW P. PFEIL