Article Written by Aidan Charde
Recap: Johnstown Tomahawks on Oct. 10 and 11
It was nothing but a memorable weekend for both teams as the Rochester Jr. Americans and Johnstown Tomahawks split last week’s series to each take two points.
On paper, game one may be the worst loss in Rochester’s history. The Tomahawks scored early in the first period and set the tone with a shorthanded goal later in the frame to take a 2–0 lead into the locker room, but that was only the beginning, tacking on a third goal in the second period to make it 3–0.
Rochester seemed to gain some momentum in the final minute of the second frame, narrowly missing a goal and putting some serious pressure on Johnstown, so there was reason to expect a comeback in the third period. Unfortunately, despite logging 16 shots on goal in the period, the Jr. Amerks were held scoreless again while allowing four more Tomahawk goals to fall 7–0. That is tied for the most goals allowed in team history and is the largest losing margin the team has suffered.
Somehow, though, the Jr. Amerks followed up the shutout loss with not just a win, but their biggest win in history. Forward Michael Sandruck scored 1:22 into the game to break a 117-minute scoreless streak and it was all Rochester from there. Forwards Keanan Dewberry and Ryan Flaherty also scored in the first six minutes, forcing the Tomahawks to pull their goalie and put in Zack Ferris, the same netminder who had shut down Rochester the night before.
Ferris remained perfect on the series for nearly six minutes before forward Colin Dustin made the game 4–0. Johnstown earned a 5-on-3 opportunity early in the second period and managed to get one goal back, but it was the last time the Tomahawks felt any momentum. Forwards Ryan Shaw, Owen King and Corson Maguire each added goals five minutes apart from each other to make it seven goals from seven different players before Flaherty and Shaw each scored again to give Rochester a 9–1 lead after two periods of play.
The game was already in the bag, but Rochester needed a statement win after the loss the night before. Forward Adam Gionta scored the home-record 10th goal of the game, followed by forward Nikolas Reich getting his first career score for the team’s overall-record 11th goal. Maguire also scored a second goal in the last minute to solidify the 12–3 victory in truly dominant fashion.
Saturday night was responsible for 37.5% of the team’s goals scored all season, so the Jr. Amerks look to keep at least some of the momentum in a pair of away series starting this weekend against the Philadelphia Rebels.
Preview: Philadelphia Rebels on Oct. 17 and 18
WHERE: Hollydell Ice Arena | Sewell, NJ
WHEN: Oct. 17 at 7:30 p.m. | Oct. 18 at 7:30 p.m.
WATCH: NAHL.tv
FOLLOW: @JrAmerksNAHL
History
Rochester firmly holds the series against Philadelphia 9–4–1, but four of the Rebels’ five wins came two seasons ago. The Rebels do manage to keep the games close, though — through 14 matchups, the Jr. Amerks have only outscored the Rebels by eight goals, or just over half a goal per game.
Records galore
12 goals in one night is no small feat and the Rochester record books reflect that fact. 12 goals beats the previous best 10, which came last March against the Northeast Generals. The nine-goal winning margin is also the largest in team history. Putting the game into the context of a full weekend makes the scoreboard even more absurd: Despite all 12 goals in the series coming in one night, it is the third-most goals the team has scored in a weekend. Individual players also deserve some attention for their feats, most notably Ryan Shaw, whose six points is a single game record while his four assists is tied for the team’s best. Owen King had four of his own as well, the 14th instance in team history and 8th player to achieve the feat. Dexter Kichline also became the seventh defenseman to have three points in one game, all assists.
Special teams trending back?
A major storyline for the first nine games of the season was the stark contrast between Rochester’s penalty kill, one of the best in the league, and its powerplay, one of the least effective. Entering the weekend, the Jr. Amerks were successful on just 6.1% of powerplays, but the penalty kill was at 92%. The series against Johnstown sent both numbers toward the league average, with the powerplay improving slightly to 10.3% and the penalty kill dropping to a still-respectable 86.4%
Shaw surges
Ryan Shaw’s six points last Saturday nearly doubled his season total, bringing him back over one point per game and being the first Jr. Amerk to hit double digit points. It was a much-needed performance for a team that has not been electric offensively: Prior to Saturday, the Jr. Amerks had only scored more than three goals twice in 10 games and the team only had six players score multiple points in one game.
Welcome opponent
Even setting aside the 12-goal explosion, the Jr. Amerks were in need of a series against another struggling team. The Rebels did beat up on the Elmira Aviators two weeks ago — 5–3 and 7–3 wins — but they have otherwise been below average. They hold a 5–5–1 record and enter the weekend coming off three straight losses to the Danbury Hat Tricks.
