JOHNSTOWN —
The Johnstown Tomahawks played some of their best hockey during a nine-game stretch of schedule that rolled through November and the first half of December.
There were eight wins in those nine games, and one reason for the success was the offensive pairing of Andrew McDonald, Connor Wright and Zach Wallace.
That line was broken up for various reasons, but with Johnstown searching for ways to snap a six-game winless streak, the trio took the ice together Sunday afternoon against Soo – the first-place team in the NAHL’s North Division – in front of 1,760 at Cambria County War Memorial Stadium.
The result was a 6-2 Tomahawks’ win and another likely line pairing when Johnstown plays its next game Friday at home against Michigan, which swept a three-game series from the Tomahawks last weekend.
“(Coach Jason Spence) has been switching lines, trying to get something going for us,” Wallace said. “This line was together when we were playing well, and everybody here was fed up with losing.”
The fourth-place Tomahawks (18-12-9, 45 points) hadn’t won since a 2-1 home victory over Kalamazoo on Dec. 30 and they hadn’t scored more than two goals in a game since Dec. 22.
The McDonald-Wright-Wallace line ensured those streaks were halted against Soo (26-10-3, 55 points), losers of two straight after a nine-game win streak. The Eagles played in Jamestown Saturday night.
“This feels good and it started last night. I felt bad because they played hard enough to win. They deserve it,” Tomahawks coach Jason Spence said of Saturday’s 4-2 loss to Port Huron. “One thing about three games in three days, Zach Wallace is in the gym seven days a week. I’ll bet he’s headed there after this game. Andrew McDonald is the same way. Guys that put in that extra work see results in games like this.”
McDonald scored Johnstown’s first goal on the team’s first shot of the game. Granted, it took 8:20 for the Tomahawks to generate that scoring opportunity against Soo, which showed no early effects of arriving in Johnstown around 1 a.m.
Wallace and Wright set up McDonald’s backhander for a 1-0 lead.
They struck again 1:11 later when Wright scored off assists from Wallace and Cody Bentzel. It was a huge shot of confidence for a team in desperate need of it.
“Obviously, we had a good start getting the puck in the back of the net a couple times,” McDonald said. “This was huge. This was huge, especially against the type of team we just beat. That’s one of the top teams in the league.”
The McDonald-Wright-Wallace line’s production helped provide the Tomahawks with a glimpse of how good they can be.
Wallace finished with three assists and raised his team-best plus/minus to plus 12. McDonald scored two goals to give him 10 in 24 games with Johnstown. Wright added one goal and one assist.
Jaycob McCombs and Mitch Kontny each scored an unassisted goal and Brandon Reinholz scored off an assist from recently acquired Corey Schafer, a Westmont Hilltop graduate. It was Schafer’s first point in his second game with the Tomahawks.
“Playing Soo definitely had a lot to do with how we came out today. It shows how good we can be.” said Wallace. “It’s a good feeling to win after a tough couple weeks.”
Maybe Johnstown just needed to play an elite team.
“My keys to the game were: This is a great test; this is what we need; and be first to the puck in order to prove you’re the better team,” Spence said.
Tomahawks
Related Photos
-
Johnstown’s Jaycob McCombs scores an unassisted goal against Soo goaltender Tyler Marble during the second period of Sunday’s game at Cambria County War Memorial Arena. McCombs’ goal gave the Tomahawks a 3-1 lead. George Lucas/For The Tribine-Democrat
Discussion
Reunited line helps Tomahawks snap losing skid
- Tomahawks
-
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
Tomahawks force deciding Game 3
The Johnstown Tomahawks will get at least one more game.
-
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.
- More Tomahawks Headlines
-
Tomahawks draft five players
Man Who Disrupted Flight Ranted About CIA
Feds: 7-Eleven Stores Exploited Immigrants
Fla. Teen Catches Ride With Whale Shark
G8 Leaders Huddle on Syria
Raw: Obama, Putin Meet at G8
Iran's Rowhani Urges 'Path of Moderation'
Daughter: Mandela Doing 'Very Well'
Investigators Probe Origin of Colo. Wildfire
Ex-NFL Star Chad Johnson Out of Jail
'Game of Thrones' Boosts N. Ireland
Raw: Prince Philip Leaves Hospital After Surgery
Zimmerman Jury Selection Turns to Media Exposure
Raw: FBI Meets Plane After Poison Threat
Family Tweets Say Kim Kardashian Gives Birth
US, EU Leaders Announce Free Trade Talks
