Tomahawks look to close NAHL season on 'high note'

Mike Mastovich, The Tribune-Democrat, Johnstown, Pa.
Updated ·3 min read

Apr. 14—The Johnstown Tomahawks will close the 2022-23 North American Hockey League season with a pair of games against the New Jersey Titans this weekend at 1st Summit Arena @ Cambria County War Memorial.

Excluding 2020, when the playoffs were postponed due to COVID-19, the Tomahawks will miss the postseason for the first time since the 2017-18 season and only the third time in the Johnstown franchise's history.

"We want to finish out these two games on a high note," said Tomahawks coach Mike Letizia, who recently notched his 300th career win. "And, every game we play, we want to win no matter what the circumstance."

It will be the final two NAHL games for Tomahawks leading scorer Anthony Galante, second-leading scorer Drake Albers, James Barbour, Ryan Vellucci, goaltender Adam Johnson, Johnny Ulicny, David Matousek, Nick Ahern and Will Bowman. All of those players will age out after this season.

"We thank them all for their contributions to the organization and wish them nothing but the best moving forward," Letizia said.

The Tomahawks and Titans will play on Friday (7:30 p.m.) and Saturday (7).

The East Division fifth-place Tomahawks (28-25-5) were eliminated from playoff contention after going 0-2-1 on the road against the Philadelphia Rebels this past weekend.

Johnstown previously had won five consecutive games and was in position to contend for the division's final playoff berth until the series against the Rebels took an unfortunate turn.

As the schedule winds down, the Tomahawks announced the team award winners throughout this week. Four additional honorees will be named — two apiece on Friday and Saturday.

A second-year NAHL player from Chicago, Johnson won the community pride award after going 9-8-1 with a 3.57 goals against average and .880 save percentage in 18 games with the Tomahawks following a trade from Danbury.

Zach Aben took the unsung hero award. The forward from Dallas, Luzerne County, had 12 goals and 24 points in 35 games.

Will Moore was named the most improved player. Moore had 12 goals and 22 points in 47 games. The forward from Westfield, Indiana, netted one goal in his first 13 games and collected 11 goals in the final 34 contests, including a four-game, goal-scoring streak from March 25 to April 1.

A forward from Windsor, Ontario, Canada, Ulicny took the fan-favorite award. Ulicny had 12 goals and 39 points in 57 games.

The team's third-leading scorer has six points in his past eight games.

Last season, Ulicny had 12 goals and 27 points, giving him 66 points with the Tomahawks.

During the next two days, the team will name its rookie of the year, offensive player of the year, defensive player of the year and most valuable player.

In his third NAHL season, Galante has 24 goals, 22 assists and 46 points. The Morganville, New Jersey, native and Albers (21-20-41) have combined for 87 points this season.

First-year Tomahawks goaltender Alec Rajalin-Scharp is 18-12-3 with a 3.11 goals against average and .902 save percentage. A native of Stockholm, Sweden, Rajalin-Scharp had won five straight games from March 24 to April 1 before the streak ended at Philadelphia.

Second-place New Jersey has a playoff spot locked down. The Titans (37-17-4) have 78 points and are four points behind division-leading Maryland. Each team has two games remaining. The Black Bears hold the tiebreaker and have clinched the division.

New Jersey has an impressive 20-7-1 road record this season and the Titans are 6-0-1 in their past seven games.

The Tomahawks are 19-8-1 at home this season and rank seventh of 29 NAHL teams with an average attendance of 1,964 (54,982, 28 dates).

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.