Game Preview: Johnstown @ Soo
September 26, 2013 August 17, 2016
Johnstown Tomahawks vs. Soo Eagles
Friday Sept. 27 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday Sept. 28 at 7 p.m.
Sunday Sept. 29 at 3 p.m.
Pullar Stadium, Sault Ste. Marie, MI
This weekend, the Tomahawks make their first trip to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for three games against the Soo Eagles. This will be the first of 12 meetings between the Tomahawks and Eagles this season. The Tomahawks went 3-4-1 against the Eagles last season, with one win coming at Pullar Stadium. Following this weekend's meeting, the Tomahawks and Eagles will meet in Johnstown Oct. 24-26.
THE TOMAHAWKS
The Tomahawks return to North Division play after going 2-1-1 at the NAHL Showcase last weekend in Blaine, MN. In the first game Johnstown fell 6-3 to the defending Robertson Cup champion Amarillo Bulls. Matthew Meier scored two goals, and Joe Drabin and Mitch Hall each had two assists. In the second game, the Tomahawks were down 5-2 to Topeka early in the third period, before getting third period goals from Brandon Reinholz, Jordan Watt and Shane Cuckovich to send the game into overtime and eventually a shootout. The Tomahawks were defeated in the shootout, but picked up their first point of the season. The Tomahawks faced the Aberdeen Wings in the third game, and thanks to a shutout by Colin DeAugustine, they earned a 3-0 victory. Alex Jaeckle and Brandon Reinholz each scored for the Tomahawks in the win. Johnstown closed out the showcase with a 3-1 victory over the Bismarck Bobcats. Drabin and Meier each scored and added an assist in the game and DeAugustine stopped 29 of 30 shots for his second straight win.
The Tomahawks leading points scorer coming out of the showcase is Drabin with six points (1-5-6). Reinholz and Meier also had successful showcase experiences, with each scoring three goals. Alex Jaeckle takes a three game point streak into this weekend's games, and Shane Cuckovich has scored in each of his last two games. Colin DeAugustine is now 2-1-1 on the season, with one shutout.
Following this weekend's games at Soo, the Tomahawks return home to take on the Springfield Jr. Blues Oct. 5 and 6.
The Soo Eagles will play their first home games and first North Division games of the season this weekend. They return from the showcase with a 1-1-2 record and are currently tied with Springfield and Michigan in the division. The Eagles defeated the Bismarck Bobcats in their first showcase game 3-2, with the game winner coming from Chase Matson in the third period. In their second game, the Eagles led the Fairbanks Ice Dogs early in the second period, before giving up five unanswered goals in a 5-2 loss. They would finish the showcase with 2-1 shootout losses to Topeka and Rio Grande Valley. The winning shootout goal for Rio Grande Valley was scored by former Tomahawk JB Baker.
Brad Pung leads the team with four points (1-3-4), and picked up one point in each showcase game. Former Jamestown Ironman Ryan Urso has scored three points in his last three games. Between the pipes, Paige Skoog has the lone win for the Eagles. He is 1-0-1 with a 1.44 GAA. Former Johnstown goaltender Colin Brennan is 0-1-1 for Soo this season with a 2.88 GAA. He stopped 31 of 36 shots in the loss to Fairbanks and stopped 29 of 30 shots in regulation against Rio Grande Valley. He gave up four goals in the shootout of that game.
The Eagles will welcome the Port Huron Fighting Falcons to town Oct. 4 & 5, before traveling to Springfield the following weekend.
Joe Drabin is tied for third in the league with a +/- of +6.
Johnstown is 2-0-0 this season when leading after the second period
Soo is last in the league with 1.75 goals for per game. Johnstown is 14th averaging 2.67 goals per game.
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