JOHNSTOWN – The Johnstown Tomahawks came up victorious on Saturday Night in dominating fashion, beating the Danbury Hat Tricks by a score of 7-3.
Game two of the weekend got underway on Saturday night and there was a certain buzz in the building with every fan patiently awaiting the Tomahawks first goal of the game to be able to launch their teddy bears onto the ice for the annual Teddy Bear Toss. In an anticlimactic delay in the excitement, Danbury would go on to register the first two-goals of the game once again, just as they did the night before with both coming before five minutes had elapsed in the 1st. In what seemed like total desperation mode after finding themselves in yet another 2-0 hole early in the game, Adam Ondris decided he would like to change that, scoring the coveted Teddy Bear Toss goal just three minutes later. The goal was assisted by Kirby Perler and Sam Blanton, getting the Tomahawks back to within one. The Teddy Bear cleanup began and a ten-minute break in action followed. On a fun themed night like this one, it’s probably the most negative goal scoring experience a team could have, given the fact that the other team essentially gets a “free” timeout immediately following the goal. However, the Tomahawks didn’t let it become a factor and played strong to end to the 1st period, holding a 9-7 shot advantage despite the 2-1 deficit.
In the 2nd period, the Tomahawks came out with a fire that hasn’t been seen for the past couple of games and made it known to Danbury that they were going to tie the game up at two. A few hardworking shifts to begin the period would eventually lead to a power-play opportunity for the Tomahawks and desperately needing to improve upon their 0/4 effort from Friday, Charlie Zetterkvist came through and finished off a pretty passing play to make it 2-2. The Tomahawks kept the momentum rolling with a goal from Nick White just two-minutes after the Zetterkvist tally to take a 3-2 lead. Danbury was clearly on their heels from the opening puck drop of the period, generating next to nothing offensively and being forced to strictly play defense due to the Tomahawks relentless attack. The parade of goals for the Tomahawks continued just before the 10:00 minute mark when Taybor Aldrich capitalized off a smooth breakout with a far side snipe to double the lead and make it 4-2. Things didn’t stop there as the Tomahawks went back to the power-play after a Danbury high-sticking penalty, leading to another Charlie Zetterkvist power-play goal putting the Hawks firmly in the driver seat late in the 2nd, holding a 5-2 lead. Capping off the best Tomahawks period of hockey for the season thus far, Ryan Flaherty found the back of the net after a tic tac toe passing expo giving the Tomahawks a commanding 6-2 lead heading to the locker room.
It had to have been a great feeling for the home team carrying a four-goal lead into the final twenty minutes after the last couple of home outings they’ve had. The Tomahawks came out in a comfortable fashion, keeping the Danbury chances to a minimum while still trying to add to their lead. The first goal of the period was once again on account of the Tomahawks when Sam Blanton made the lead 7-2 halfway through the frame. Danbury wouldn’t go away quietly in this one despite the seemingly insurmountable deficit, as they added their third goal of the game with just under five-minutes to play making it 7-3. The remainder of the period played out in an extremely chippy fashion with numerous net-front scrums taking place. The Tomahawks would go on to shut the door on the contest routing the Hat Tricks by a final score of 7-3. Final shots on goal read 32-30 in favor of the Tomahawks.
The Johnstown Tomahawks return to action next weekend for another home weekend showdown against these same Danbury Hat Tricks. Next weekend is also Deal or No Deal Weekend which will feature special guest and case model, Patricia Kara with tons of excitement in store! Friday night’s game will start at 7:30 PM. December is packed with action, so don’t miss out on the excitement! Secure your tickets and explore all of our December promotions at www.johnstowntomahawks.com.
By DREW P. PFEIL | drew@johnstowntomahawks.com