KALAMAZOO, Mich. —
Robbie Payne’s second goal of the game 33 seconds into overtime lifted the Kalamazoo Junior K-Wings to a 5-4 victory over the Johnstown Tomahawks Saturday afternoon at Wings Stadium.
Payne beat goaltender Collin Brennan from the left circle on the only shot of overtime to offset a spectacular third-period rally by the Tomahawks, who scored three power-play goals in the span of 2:06 to erase a 4-1 deficit and forge a 4-4 tie.
The Tomahawks (6-5-5) and Junior K-Wings (9-5-1) meet again this afternoon, with Kalamazoo holding a two-point lead over Johnstown in the NAHL’s North Division standings.
Kalamazoo scored power-play goals 27 seconds apart as part of a four-goal second period to take a 4-1 lead, sending Johnstown starting goaltender Bodhi Engum to the bench in favor of Brennan.
But just as penalties got the Tomahawks in trouble in the second, penalties paved the way for their comeback in the third.
Kalamazoo’s Josh Dangel was given a five-minute major penalty for kneeing Mitch Kontny at 4:27 of the third period, and Jesse Kessler set up Cody Gylling’s fifth goal of the season at 7:00 to cut the lead to 4-2.
Then a high-sticking penalty to Luc Boby at 7:20 gave Johnstown a five-on-three advantage for a full two minutes against the NAHL’s No. 2 penalty-killing team, and the Tomahawks made the Junior
K-Wings pay.
Brandon Reinholz scored his second goal of the game and team-leading sixth of the season at 7:48 off a nice feed from Kontny, and 1:18 later Mike Sandor scored his first goal of the season by deflecting an Ian Spencer shot past goaltender Marcus Due-Boje, a Stockholm native seeing his first action in North America after being acquired from Tri-City of the USHL this week.
Jeff Bergh also picked up his second assist of the game on the goal.
Johnstown outshot Kalamazoo, 24-6, in the third period and 39-28 for the game.
After Reinholz gave Johnstown a 1-0 lead at 2:07 of the first period – marking the 13th time in 16 games this season that Johnstown scored the first goal of the game – Payne scored a five-on-three goal at 1:19 of the second to tie the game with Jordan Watt and Bergh in the penalty box. Kyle Gattelaro converted the rebound of a Dangel shot to put the Junior K-Wings ahead at 1:46 with another power-play goal.
When Boby and Nolan Culver scored 1:42 apart later in the period for a 4-1 lead, Engum was replaced by Brennan. Engum was making his first start since Oct. 12.
Payne’s pass to Boby resulted in a 3-1 Kalamazoo lead at 13:26, and Culver then re-directed a Davis DeKorte pass from his spot at the edge of the left circle for a 4-1 lead.
Tomahawks
Overtime goal gives Wings victory over Tomahawks
- Tomahawks
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MAKING AN IMPACT | Tomahawks’ first season helps business, community
The Johnstown Tomahawks filled a void for the city’s hockey-starved fans while also pumping a boost into the region’s economy during their inaugural North American Hockey League season.
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Despite playoff loss, first Tomahawks season successful
The Johnstown Towmahawks’ inaugural season opened with an overtime loss at Port Huron and ended with a gutwrenching overtime setback to the Fighting Falcons Sunday at Cambria County War Memorial Arena.
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IT'S A WRAP | Miller’s overtime goal ends Tomahawks’ inaugural season
The result of Sunday’s NAHL Robertson Cup Playoff game wasn’t the one that the Johnstown Tomahawks wanted. Port Huron’s Ian Miller made sure of that just 3:28 into overtime.
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MIKE KOVAK | Another stinging playoff setback
Before the puck dropped Sunday afternoon, the Olympia ice resurfacer crashed into the boards and a linesman lost his balance on his way to the ice at Cambria County War Memorial Arena.
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Tomahawks confident as Game 3 approaches
The Johnstown Tomahawks played winning hockey on the road throughout the 2012-13 NAHL season, but that fact did little to quell the team’s collective apprehension as it headed into Game 2 of the North Division play-in series Friday night at Port Huron.
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Tomahawks force deciding Game 3
The Johnstown Tomahawks will get at least one more game.
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Tomahawks shut out in playoff opener
A trio of third-period goals proved too much for the Johnstown Tomahawks to match as the Port Huron Fighting Falcons took Game 1 of the NAHL’s Robertson Cup North Division Play-in series by a 3-0 tally Thursday at McMorran Arena.
The Fighting Falcons, the North Division’s fourth seed, used goals from Ryan Nick, Mitch Maloney and Rick DeRosa to grab a 1-0 lead in the best-of-3 series. -
Tomahawks planning on short series
No offense hockey fans, but the Johnstown Tomahawks aren’t planning to play a home game in front of a potentially sold-out, sure-to-be-raucous crowd Sunday afternoon at Cambria County War Memorial Arena.
The goal for these Tomahawks, who qualified for the NAHL playoffs in their inaugural season in the Flood City, is to win two games at Port Huron (Mich.) starting tonight and advance in the best-of-3 North Division play-in series. -
Johnstown to open playoffs at Port Huron
If the Johnstown Tomahawks are looking to bring postseason hockey back to Cambria County War Memorial, they’ll have to at the very least forge a split of the first two games of their best-of-3 play-in series against fourth-place Port Huron.
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Loss drops Johnstown to fifth seed in playoffs
The Johnstown Tomahawks fell 2-1 to the Jamestown Ironmen and finished in the No. 5 spot in the NAHL’s North Division on Saturday.
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