BY MIKE MASTOVICH
JOHNSTOWN — Reading had just scored two quick goals to erase the Johnstown Chiefs’ early advantage Wednesday night at Cambria County War Memorial Arena.
The 1,484 fans and 18 Chiefs players on the ice might have cringed.
This pattern has unfolded a few times before, and usually the Chiefs end up on the wrong side of the scoreboard.
But the ECHL provides a learning curve for coaches, too. And unlike a Nov. 11 game – when the Royals overcame a three-goal deficit to stun the Chiefs before Johnstown regrouped to win – first-year Chiefs coach Jeff Flanagan used his timeout in the first period Wednesday.
The move apparently paid dividends as the Chiefs controlled play the rest of the way in a 6-3 victory.
“You have to give credit to Flanny because that’s a great time to take a timeout,” said Chiefs goaltender Kris Mayotte, who made 31 saves and won his second straight game. “We’ve seen this story before with this team. He stopped the bleeding. I thought it was pretty evident that we carried the game the rest of the way. Flanny got the boys back in the right mind-set.”
The Chiefs built an early lead on a pair of Mike Bartlett goals 2:35 apart.
“Anytime you play at home you want to get out to a good start. They were coming off a long bus ride where they got stuck,” Bartlett said of Reading’s late arrival to Johnstown that delayed the game by 30 minutes. “That was to our advantage, so we wanted to jump on them right away.”
Ryan Menei and Bryan Marshall worked the puck in the neutral zone, with Marshall finding Bartlett alone in the high slot. The wing blasted a shot over Reading goaltender Andrew Engelage’s glove shoulder at 6:26.
Menei set up Bartlett near the bottom of the left-wing circle. This time he scored low on the stick side at 9:01.
The two-goal advantage didn’t last long though. Reading’s Daniel Steiner scored
28 seconds after Bartlett’s second tally, and former Chief Andrew Sarauer put the puck past Mayotte from in tight at 10:37.
Johnstown’s Connor Shields netted his ninth of the season by using a nice move in front of Engelage 3:28 into the second. Bartlett and defenseman Chris Zarb had assists.
Jim McKenzie converted on the power play at 16:08 to make it 4-2. Shields’ pass set up the play that extended the Chiefs’ streak of having at least one power-play goal in the past eight games. Johnstown is 4-2-2 during that stretch.
Chiefs defenseman R.J. Anderson continued his torrid week by scoring with 2:05 left to make it 5-2. Anderson had a hat trick and five points in Sunday’s 7-1 win at South Carolina.
But Reading’s Dino Stamoulis scored at 18:15. Johnstown’s Jarrett Konkle sealed the game with an empty-net goal at 18:58.
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A good Knight: Chiefs captain Mike Knight visited the press box during the first period. Knight has been out since suffering a frightening injury after crashing head-first into the boards during the third period of a 6-4 win against Reading on Nov. 11. After hitting the boards, Knight lay face-down on the ice for about 10 minutes before he was taken to the hospital in an ambulance.
Knight remained in the hospital for a week and then spent a few days in a rehabilitation facility before being released.
On Wednesday, Knight wore a neck brace and watched part of the first period from the box. Chiefs defenseman David Schulz fought Reading’s Olivier Labelle at 8:39 of the first, sending a message that Knight probably appreciated. Labelle was the player tied up with Knight when the accident happened.
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Returned property: The Chiefs waived forward Matt Robinson on Nov. 18, and the Cincinnati Cyclones claimed him the next day.
But based on ECHL Rule 71A, Robinson was returned to the Chiefs this week.
Chiefs GM Bill Bredin said Robinson had passed an exit physical in Johnstown but Cincinnati’s medical staff didn’t clear him to play there after an examination by the Cyclones’ physicians. Robinson missed most of last season with a knee injury. He did not play on Wednesday.
Bredin said the issue is being addressed through the proper channels.
Robinson had asked to be traded, which means his days as a Chief probably are over, though he might still end up a Cyclone.
