Photo Credit: NAHL.com
Tomahawks Win, 6-2, in Kalamazoo
** The NAHL has changed two goals from Sunday's game upon further review**
KALAMAZOO, MI – Jordan Watt scored goals 1:48 apart late in the first period to erase an early deficit, and Mitch Kontny scored twice in the third period to complete a run of four unanswered Johnstown goals as the Tomahawks beat Kalamazoo, 6-2, Sunday afternoon.
The victory, the most decisive of the season for the Tomahawks (7-5-5), was their second in the last three road games. By earning three of a possible four points this weekend in Kalamazoo, the Tomahawks moved into a tie for fourth place in the North Division, five points behind first-place Jamestown.
Cody Gylling, Casey Nelson and Jesse Kessler each had two assists for Johnstown while goaltender Chris Truehl made 41 saves in his first start since Oct. 13.
The Junior K-Wings (9-6-1) jumped out to a 1-0 lead at 17:14 of the first period when Taylor Burden scored his fourth goal of the season off a Johnstown turnover, but the lead was short-lived thanks to Watt and Gylling, who drew assists on both Watt goals.
Working one-on-one, Watt turned Kalamazoo defenseman Donovan Gardiner inside out in the left circle and then fired a shot past goaltender Alex Okicki to tie the game just 48 seconds after Burden’s goal, and Watt gave Johnstown its first lead with just 10 seconds left in the period. A great cross-ice pass from Gylling in the neutral zone sprung Watt in alone on Okicki, and his second goal of the game was his sixth of the season.
Just after Johnstown killed off a 1:28 two-man disadvantage late in the second period, Kalamazoo tied the game on a power-play goal by Danny Hamburg at 13:50. But the Tomahawks again answered quickly, as Brandon Reinholz converted the rebound of a Kessler shot just 1:13 later to restore the Johnstown lead on the power play – the fourth power-play goal of the weekend for the Tomahawks against one of the NAHL’s best penalty-killing teams.
Zack Wallace then spun away from a Kalamazoo defenseman behind the Junior K-Wings’ net and set up Andrew McDonald’s first goal in a Johnstown uniform at 17:29 of the second period for a 4-2 lead. McDonald was playing just his second game with the Tomahawks since being acquired from Fresno in a trade for Brandon Broissoit Friday.
Early in the third period, Jaycob McCombs’ backhand pass from the left circle found Kontny in the right circle, and his wrist shot beat Okicki for a 5-2 lead at 6:44, and Kontny closed the scoring at 17:27.