BY MIKE MASTOVICH
JOHNSTOWN — The streak is over.
Finally.
The Johnstown Chiefs defeated the ECHL-leading South Carolina Stingrays
4-3 in an overtime shootout on Saturday night at Cambria County War Memorial Arena, a night after setting the league record for consecutive home losses.
“It’s been a tough battle especially at home here,” said goaltender Kris Mayotte, who had 39 saves and stopped four of six Stingrays shootout attempts. “The boys worked hard. They played as good a game as I think you could play, especially against a team like that.”
The Chiefs won at the War Memorial for the first time since Dec. 4, ending the record 13-game winless streak (0-11-1-1) on home ice.
The Chiefs split a pair of one-goal games against the defending Kelly Cup champions and went 2-1-0-0 this week including a 3-0 shutout win at Trenton on Wednesday.
“We lost 3-2 on Friday. The two-game total goals against one of the best teams in the league was 6-5 before we won in the shootout,” Chiefs interim coach Neil Smith said. “All in all, if you look back on the weekend, it’s not that bad because we came out strong (Saturday).”
Johnstown’s Troy Schwab had a pair of goals and three points. Sean Berkstresser continued his solid play with his 13th goal, and the Chiefs won the six-round shootout 3-2 after defenseman Greg Gallagher beat former Chiefs netminder Shane Connelly.
Smith did more than simply play a hunch when he called on Gallagher in a 2-2 shootout that extended an extra round.
“We actually play the shootout in practice a lot for fun,” Smith said. “Everybody throws money in or we give them a hat. Gally’s won a couple times. He never missed a goal one day. That’s why we did it. We knew he was good at that.”
Connor Shields and Chanse Fitzpatrick also scored in the shootout, with Fitzpatrick using a move to keep the Chiefs alive in the bottom of the fifth round.
“I told (Smith) after the game it was good coaching,” Gallagher joked. “It was fun going on Connelly. It was something different. I was lucky maybe. Obviously it’s baby steps, but it’s nice to get this one for everybody in this locker room, the coaching staff and the training staff.”
Each team played with a depleted lineup due to injuries. The Chiefs had 15 skaters, and the Rays, 14.
Even referee Tim Mayer was a no-show, as he was stuck on the Pennsylvania Turnpike due to the snowstorm that hit Friday night and Saturday morning.
Linesmen Ray King and Tom George worked the fast-paced game. The Stingrays had five power plays while the Chiefs never had a man advantage.
None of that mattered after the victory.
“It’s a long season and it’s a grind,” Mayotte said after he won for the first time since Nov. 29. “When you’re not winning games it’s tough. It wears on you mentally. It wears on you physically. We had two defensemen playing forward and five defensemen total, and it was probably one of the hardest-working games we’ve had all year.
“We were winning battles, blocking shots, back-checking. I don’t know where they found it, but I’m happy they did. It was good to be behind them and get a win finally.”
After a scoreless first period, Schwab put the Chiefs up a goal at 11:17 of the second. South Carolina tied it on Trevor Bruess’ goal with only two seconds left.
The Stingrays led 2-1 on Dain Prewitt’s goal 2:51 into the third, but Schwab tied it 19 seconds later.
Berkstresser’s five-hole goal gave the Chiefs a 3-2 advantage at 6:25, but Gregg Johnson answered on the power play less than a minute later.
