JOHNSTOWN – The Johnstown Tomahawks were defeated on Friday night at the hands of the Maine Nordiques by a score of 5-3 in the Home Opener at 1st Summit Arena.
An exciting night turned sour rather quickly on Friday with the Tomahawks finding themselves in an early 3-0 hole in the first period. Maine found the back of the net three times with their first five shots on net.
To begin the second frame the Tomahawks came out with a purpose and fired back with three goals of their own in the first ten minutes of action. Taybor Aldrich was the first Tomahawks goal scorer wasting little time, striking just :45 seconds into play with the assist to Ryan Flaherty. Caden Olenczak (Kirby Perler, Adam Ondris) would get the second goal for the Hawks, and Sam Blanton (Cullen Emery, Lukas Klemm) eventually found the equalizer with 13:00 remaining. The rest of the period played out evenly with both teams generating chances.
The third period was filled with some more back and forth action with multiple powerplay opportunities for both teams but at 12:38 Maine broke the tie whilst shorthanded and regained a 1-goal lead. Maine would add an empty net goal with 53 seconds remaining and the Tomahawks emptied the tank with a few empty net opportunities but ultimately fell short, falling 5-3 in regulation.
The Tomahawks pick back up tomorrow evening looking for the first home win of the regular season against the Maine Nordiques at 7:00 PM. Saturday’s festivities will kick off with a block party outside 1ST SUMMIT ARENA starting at 5 PM. Get your tickets at https://www.ticketmaster.com/johnstown-tomahawks-tickets/artist/1760594. Can’t attend? Catch the action live on NATV (NAHLTV.COM).
By DREW P. PFEIL | drew@johnstowntomahawks.com