- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,195,136
- Reaction score
- 59
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – The Johnstown Tomahawks bring momentum to 1st Summit Arena @ Cambria County War Memorial after winning twice in one of the North American Hockey League East Division’s toughest road venues.
Sixth-place Johnstown will face the last-place New Hampshire Mountain Kings, but Tomahawks coach Adam Houli and his players won’t take their assignment lightly against a team on an 11-game winless streak (0-9-2).
“The focus remains the same,” Houli said.
“Every game in this division is important.
“Any night, any team can come out on top.
“You have to be focused.”
The Tomahawks will host the Mountain Kings Friday (7:30 p.m.) and Saturday (7).
“We are playing against those odds, too,” the coach said. “An 11-game losing streak, at some point, that’s going to snap.
“We know we have to be sharp. They’ve been in some games that were close and they played some tough teams tight.”
This past weekend, the Tomahawks made the nearly 10-hour bus ride to Auburn, Maine. Johnstown beat the second-place Maine Nordiques twice – 4-2 and 3-2 in overtime.
Maine previously swept a pair of games in Johnstown Dec. 5-6.
“We lost those two at home, but I really did like the way we played,” Houli said of a 2-1 overtime loss and a 4-1 setback against visiting Maine.
“I thought we were what I term, ‘eight feet away,’ from being successful at home against them.
“I really like the way we played at home against them.”
The Tomahawks (14-11-4) have 32 points, one point behind fifth-place Northeast. Only seven points separate Johnstown from the second-place Nordiques.
New Hampshire (7-17-4) has 18 points. The Mountain Kings haven’t won since Halloween night, a 6-3 victory over Elmira.
“We had another good week of practice, understanding the situation we find ourselves in,” Houli said.
Captain Nick Jarmain leads the Tomahawks with 19 goals and is tied with linemate Emerson Marshall with 33 points.
Johnstown added depth in mid- November, and the newcomers have played an important role.
In 10 games since Nov. 14, Nick Metelkin has three goals, six points and a plus-3 rating. William Stewart joined the Tomahawks lineup this past weekend and scored a goal in each of the games in Maine.
“We lengthened our lineup, adding Stewart to the wing, moving Geno (Jack Genovese) to the middle, adding two new guys with Alex Gomes and Shane Tronoski,” Houli said. “Three lines really gave us a good footing offensively.
“I took the (Aaron) Bleier, (Jack) Roberts, (Peter) Morris line and put them into a role that they’ve really have done well with. Our identity really has come to shape.”
Zack Ferris (7-7-4, 2.90 goals against average, .906 save percentage) and Nikita Oleksiienko (4-2-0, 2.97, .926) will share duties in net this weekend, Houli said.
“Both feed off each other extremely well,” Houli said. “Zack has had an excellent year in net and has won games for us that we had no business winning. Now, he’s starting to see that win total go up as we play better in front of him.
“Nikita brings us that fresh new look and energy in net. We have that good one-two punch that I’m excited about. Zack and Nikita have been our guys and we’re excited with them moving forward.”
Mike Mastovich is a sports reporter and columnist for The Tribune-Democrat. He can be reached at 814-532-5083. Follow him on Twitter @Masty81.
Continue reading...
Sixth-place Johnstown will face the last-place New Hampshire Mountain Kings, but Tomahawks coach Adam Houli and his players won’t take their assignment lightly against a team on an 11-game winless streak (0-9-2).
“The focus remains the same,” Houli said.
“Every game in this division is important.
“Any night, any team can come out on top.
“You have to be focused.”
The Tomahawks will host the Mountain Kings Friday (7:30 p.m.) and Saturday (7).
“We are playing against those odds, too,” the coach said. “An 11-game losing streak, at some point, that’s going to snap.
“We know we have to be sharp. They’ve been in some games that were close and they played some tough teams tight.”
This past weekend, the Tomahawks made the nearly 10-hour bus ride to Auburn, Maine. Johnstown beat the second-place Maine Nordiques twice – 4-2 and 3-2 in overtime.
Maine previously swept a pair of games in Johnstown Dec. 5-6.
“We lost those two at home, but I really did like the way we played,” Houli said of a 2-1 overtime loss and a 4-1 setback against visiting Maine.
“I thought we were what I term, ‘eight feet away,’ from being successful at home against them.
“I really like the way we played at home against them.”
The Tomahawks (14-11-4) have 32 points, one point behind fifth-place Northeast. Only seven points separate Johnstown from the second-place Nordiques.
New Hampshire (7-17-4) has 18 points. The Mountain Kings haven’t won since Halloween night, a 6-3 victory over Elmira.
“We had another good week of practice, understanding the situation we find ourselves in,” Houli said.
Captain Nick Jarmain leads the Tomahawks with 19 goals and is tied with linemate Emerson Marshall with 33 points.
Johnstown added depth in mid- November, and the newcomers have played an important role.
In 10 games since Nov. 14, Nick Metelkin has three goals, six points and a plus-3 rating. William Stewart joined the Tomahawks lineup this past weekend and scored a goal in each of the games in Maine.
“We lengthened our lineup, adding Stewart to the wing, moving Geno (Jack Genovese) to the middle, adding two new guys with Alex Gomes and Shane Tronoski,” Houli said. “Three lines really gave us a good footing offensively.
“I took the (Aaron) Bleier, (Jack) Roberts, (Peter) Morris line and put them into a role that they’ve really have done well with. Our identity really has come to shape.”
Zack Ferris (7-7-4, 2.90 goals against average, .906 save percentage) and Nikita Oleksiienko (4-2-0, 2.97, .926) will share duties in net this weekend, Houli said.
“Both feed off each other extremely well,” Houli said. “Zack has had an excellent year in net and has won games for us that we had no business winning. Now, he’s starting to see that win total go up as we play better in front of him.
“Nikita brings us that fresh new look and energy in net. We have that good one-two punch that I’m excited about. Zack and Nikita have been our guys and we’re excited with them moving forward.”
Mike Mastovich is a sports reporter and columnist for The Tribune-Democrat. He can be reached at 814-532-5083. Follow him on Twitter @Masty81.
Continue reading...
