JOHNSTOWN —
The Johnstown Tomahawks closed a three-game home stand following a similar, disappointing pattern.
For the second night in a row, the ‘Hawks scored three of the game’s first four goals only to watch the opposition storm back with four consecutive tallies.
Each time, Johnstown scored a late goal to add some drama.
Unfortunately for 2,560 fans in attendance at Cambria County War Memorial Arena on Saturday night, the Tomahawks lost 5-4 to first-place Soo.
That score was identical to Friday night’s setback to visiting Port Huron.
In each game, the Tomahawks built 3-1 leads before falling behind 5-3.
Even in Thursday’s 3-2 win over Port Huron, Johnstown tallied the game’s first three goals and held off the Falcons.
“We have to look at the positives,” Tomahawks coach Jason Spence said of the trend. “You can hang your head for a little while because that’s just natural. But then you have to decide, ‘How are we going to come out?’
“We had won four of six games. Now, we’ve crawled back underneath a little bit. We just have to really fight and get back out of it. We’re still playing hard. We’re still playing good hockey. We’re just not doing enough to get the (wins).”
Soo knows how to finish. The Eagles lead the North Division with 30 wins and 64 points.
“This team all year long has been in these types of games,” Soo coach Bruno Bragagnolo said. “They’re pretty good in these types of games. They just battled and kept whacking away. It could have gone either way. Every time we play this team, these are great games.”
Soo has won five of the eight games against Johnstown. The Tomahawks are 3-4-1 in the series, which included three shootouts (two of those won by the Tomahawks).
“That’s a really good hockey club over there,” Bragagnolo said of the Tomahawks. “They just have to capitalize on the mistakes the other team makes. I think the veterans we have are able to do that a little more than the veterans they have.
“But that’s a good hockey club, a dangerous hockey club. They’ll do well in the playoffs.”
Johnstown’s Cody Gylling scored the only goal of the first period 27 seconds into the game.
Soo’s Eric Rivard tied the score at 3:32 of the second.
But the Tomahawks answered with Jordan Watt’s power-play goal from the right circle, and Cobi Smith-Mass’ successful penalty shot attempt at 18:31.
Smith-Mass beat goaltender Tyler Marble (21-5-3) and provided Johnstown a two-goal cushion while pumping up the crowd.
But with only 48 seconds left in the second, Kyle Froese scored against Chris Truehl to make it 3-2.
“I think the goal we scored right after they went up 3-1 with the penalty shot, that was huge,” Bragagnolo said. “That kept us in the right frame of mind. Then, the third period, I told them whoever wants it more is going to get it.”
Soo’s Alexander Taulien, Brandon Adams and Denver Pierce each scored to make it 5-3.
The Tomahawks had a five-minute major power play that began at 12:29 of the final period in what then was a one-goal game.
But Johnstown managed only five shots during the extended advantage, and three of those came in the final minute of the power play.
Gylling scored with 13 seconds left while Truehl was pulled for an extra attacker. The Tomahawks had one last chance in tight in the closing seconds but couldn’t tie it.
“All in all we played a pretty good game,” Spence said. “We took it to them for the most part. In certain instances the pucks hit the back of our net.
“No discredit, that’s a really good hockey team. They’re in first place for a reason. They take advantage of opportunities. Credit to them.”
Tomahawks
Tomahawks surge to another early lead only to watch it crumble
- Tomahawks
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Tomahawks draft five players
Team Illinois forward Casey Linkenheld topped a group of five players drafted by the Johnstown Tomahawks in the NAHL Draft on Tuesday.
The Tomahawks also drafted goaltender Brett Young (Little Caesars U18), forward Forest Donvan (Belle Tire U18), defenseman Tristan Ramage (Pittsburgh Viper Stars) and blue-liner Brady Bender (Colorado Rampage). -
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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