JOHNSTOWN – The Johnstown Tomahawks (7-4-2) were defeated by the Maryland Black Bears (11-1-1) by a final score of 6-3 on Saturday, October 18th to conclude the second home weekend in Johnstown of the young season. The Tomahawks were led by Emerson Marshall who tallied two goals on the evening for his 9th and 10th of the season. Nick Jarmain also notched a power play goal and Tomahawks goaltender Colten Drillen-Roach made 32 saves. Joshua Frenette recorded a hat-trick for the Black Bears and goaltender Ryan Denes was steady, making 28 saves for the victory.
It was a much better start for the Tomahawks on Saturday night as the ice began tilted for the home team, as they registered the game’s first shot and clearly came to play, at least to begin with. In typical Maryland fashion, they responded immediately as they scored early once again and took the game’s first lead. After scoring the first goal, Maryland was suddenly leading the shots advantage at 6-1 and if the Tomahawks weren’t careful, a similar script to last night may begin to transpire. Fortunately, Emerson Marshall was able to tie the game as he banged home a loose puck and erupted the 1ST SUMMIT Arena. The score was 1-1 just like it was last night and the feeling seemed different. However, the good teams know how to answer back and that’s exactly what Maryland did, scoring just 25 seconds later making it 2-1. Certainly a frustrating way to begin a hockey game that you feel like you’re playing well in but the Hawks had a lot of game left. The exciting first period continued as Emerson Marshall scored his 2nd of the game for the Hawks and tied the game at 2-2. The remainder of the period played on with great pace, a much better pace than last night and the two teams were providing a much better experience for the fans. Coming to the end of the 1st period, the Tomahawks already matched their shots on goal total from the night before. Maryland would once again grab the upper-hand as they scored with just under three minutes to play to take a 3-2 lead into the break. Shots on goal after the 1st were slightly in favor of Maryland at 14-13.
The 2nd period on Saturday could be advertised as “old-time hockey” at 1ST SUMMIT Arena. The period was dominated by penalties, with a whopping 64 PIMs combined from both teams. Several minor penalties were called on both sides but 40 mins of misconducts were also assessed with two from each team. The physicality sparked the crowd and both benches as some high-quality hockey was being played. Early on in the 2nd, Maryland extended their lead to 4-2 as Joshua Frenette registered his 2nd of the night. The Tomahawks felt the suffocation from Maryland all weekend and knew that to have a chance to fight back, they were going to have to keep the distance close. Throughout the avalanche of penalties from the period, Tomahawks captain Nick Jarmain was able to find the back of the net on the man-advantage to cut the deficit to just one with nearly 30 minutes to be played. The goal was Jarmain’s 13th of the season in as many games, with help from Kalib Capecci and Emerson Marshall. The 4-on-4 struggles of the Tomahawks haunted them once again tonight as upon a set of coincidental penalties, Maryland found the back of the net with just 1:03 remaining in the period to make it 5-3 heading to the locker room. Anytime you give up a goal within the last two minutes, it’s proven to be deflating, especially if you already find yourself down a goal. Shots on goal after a thrilling 2nd period were in favor of Johnstown by just one at 24-22.
The Tomahawks came into the 3rd period down two goals, but there was some momentum in their favor as Maryland took a late penalty as time expired in the 2nd and the Hawks began on the power play with fresh ice. The Black Bears PK was putting on a clinic for the second night in a row, squeezing all the time and space away from the Tomahawks, especially in the neutral zone where most hockey games tend to be won or lost. A goal on the opening power play would have given the Hawks at least 18 minutes to find a way to get one more and tie the game but they just couldn’t quite make things click. The Black Bears goaltender certainly did his part on the penalty kill, standing tall for his team preserving the two-goal lead. Shortly after the first power play ended, Maryland creaked the door back open yet again as they were sent off for tripping but the Hawks power play once again failed to capitalize. The penalty expired and suddenly we found ourselves at the halfway mark and time was moving against the Hawks and quickly. Unfortunately, Maryland kept up their stout defensive play and didn’t allow much of anything to penetrate their defensive zone. Maryland’s Josh Frenette added an empty-net goal with just under two-minutes to play to complete the hat-trick and put this one to bed at 6-3. Final shots on goal for the contest were in favor of the Black Bears at 38-31.
Your Johnstown Tomahawks will be back in action next weekend for another showdown with the Black Bears, but this time on Maryland’s home-ice. Get your tickets right now for the next home stand 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