Alec Rajalin-Scharp backstopped the Johnstown Tomahawks to a 2-0 victory against the Maine Nordiques in an NAHL East Division game at the 1st Summit Arena at Cambria County War Memorial in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, on Friday.
The 19-year-old from Sweden made 30 saves in what turned into a goaltender duel for his second shutout of the season. Nordiques goalie Kael DePape stopped 23 shots in the loss.
“Kael DePape was most certainly on his A-game when he was tested lightly and when he was tested heavily in spurts or moments,” Maine Nordiques coach Matt Pinchevsky said. “… I felt our goalie played really well and their goalie got desperate enough to hold on tight and achieve the victory with no goals against.”
With the win, Johnstown (14-17-2, 30 points) is only four points back of the Nordiques (16-13-2, 34 points) for fourth place in the East Division.
Nick Ahern scored midway through the third period for Johnstown.
Zachary Aben scored an empty-net goal with five seconds remaining in the contest.
Tony Achille had a team-high seven shots for the Nordiques. Pinchevsky said he was also pleased with forward Brendan Gibbons’ effort Friday.
The team did everything but put the puck in the back of the net.
“We bring our brand of hockey and not only did we outshoot our opponents, we out-chanced our opponents as well,” Pinchevesky said. “I believe we were the more physical team and were 100 percent on our penalty kill, which hasn’t happened in a few games. …We generated a ton of chances on the power play. There are so many boxes we checked.”
Both teams went 0 for 3 on the power play.
The teams meet again Saturday in Johnstown at 7 p.m.
“Not getting the two points tonight has everybody focused and driven on what we are going to do tomorrow,” Pinchevsky said.
COLIN ANDROLEWICZ CALLED UP
The Nordiques called up goalie Colin Androlewicz for this weekend’s games with Johnstown, with Thomas Heaney out with an illness.
The 19-year-old from St. Louis has spent the season with Seahawks Hockey of the Tier III Eastern Hockey League. He has a 10-7-1 record with a 3.08 goals-against-average and a .919 save percentage with Seahawks Hockey.
Androlewicz’s older brother is current University of Maine goalie and former Maine Nordiques goalie Connor Androlewicz.
Copy the Story LinkSend questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.