JOHNSTOWN, Penn. – The Johnstown Tomahawks defeated the Maryland Black Bears 4-3 in overtime, completing their sweep of the weekend series at 1st SUMMIT ARENA.
Unlike the night before, it was Maryland who opened the scoring. Garrett Szydlowski buried a one-timer past Tomahawks goalie, David Tomeo, to give the Black Bears a 1-0 lead. But Johnstown responded just seven seconds later, with Tristan Poissant netting his 12th of the year to tie things up at one.
Cameron Recchi scored a little over three minutes into the 2nd period to give the Black Bears the lead once again. The Tomahawks would not be denied, however, starting with Reed Stark scoring his second of the season to tie things up at two. Then Drew Murphy batted the puck out of the air for his seventh of the year, giving Johnstown the lead for the first time in the game.
Tensions began to rise in the 3rd period, with the animosity from the night before carrying over into tonight. While the Tomahawks failed to convert on any of their power play chances, the Black Bears did. Reid Leibold scored on the man-advantage to tie the game at three.
Things couldn’t be settled in regulation, so overtime was needed to determine the winner. Carson Grainer scored his third of the year off the face-off to win it for Johnstown.
With the win, the Tomahawks now have 52 points on the year. They continue to trail the New Jersey Titans (57) by five points, who completed their sweep of the Northeast Generals tonight. In other East Division action, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights beat the Jamestown Rebels, while the Maine Nordiques were playing the Kenai River Brown Bears (11:30 PM EST start).
Scoring Breakdown:
1st Period Recap
- 4:36 Maryland goal scored by Garrett Szydlowski, assisted by Filip Jakobsson and Mikhael Gonchar.
- 4:43 Johnstown goal scored by Tristan Poissant, unassisted.
2nd Period Recap
- 3:12 Maryland goal scored by Cameron Recchi, assisted by Jackson Sterrett and Brayden Stannard.
- 11:17 Johnstown goal scored by Reed Stark, assisted by Max Kouznetsov and and Christian Gorscak.
- 12:07 Johnstown goal scored by Drew Murphy, assisted by Carson Gallagher and Pavel Kharin.
3rd Period Recap
- 6:34 Maryland power play goal scored by Reid Leibold, assisted by Brayden Stannard and Hampus Rydqvist.
Overtime Recap
- 2:31 Johnstown goal scored by Carson Grainer, assisted by Max Kouznetsov and Brendan Blair.
Final Shots on Goal: Johnstown Tomahawks (35) | Maryland Black Bears (25)
Three Stars of the Game:
- Carson Grainer, Johnstown
- Drew Murphy, Johnstown
- Tristan Poissant, Johnstown
Looking Ahead:
The Tomahawks will travel to Middletown for a huge East Division showdown against the New Jersey Titans on January 24th and 25th.
They’ll return home January 31st and February 1st to host the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights. Friday night will be our Faith & Family Night, while Saturday is our Pucks & Prayers Night.
Tickets are available in-person at the 1ST SUMMIT ARENA Box Office and online at www.1stSummitArena.com/go/Tomahawks.