Johnstown, PA – For the final time this regular season the Northeast Generals and Johnstown Tomahawks of the North American Hockey League’s East Division will take to the ice against each other this weekend. The Generals hold the series lead 4-2 over the Hawks as well as a higher position in the division standings.
Season Series
The Tomahawks travelled to the New England Sports Village back on September 23rd to open up the season series between the two hockey clubs. In his first game as a General Jake LaRusso netted his first goal with his new team in overtime to give the gens a 4-3 win. A day later the Generals picked up another win and the weekend sweep. Again, with help from LaRusso. Tied 2-2 after the first 40 minutes LaRusso scored a pair of goals in quick succession leading the Generals to the 4-2 win. Cullen DeYoung started both games for the Gens earning his first two wins of the season and making 46 saves on 51 shots over the two games.
A few weeks later the Tomahawks returned to the Village for another two game series starting on November 4th. This time around it was Johnstown that scored 4 goals and picked up the 4-1 win. LaRusso was the lone goal scorer for the Generals. Saturday November 5th was a much different story as for the first time this season the Generals put on an offensive clinic scoring 7 goals against their opposition. LaRusso picked up the hattrick including a pair of powerplay goals in the win, while Ryan Schelling had a multi-goal game in the 7-3 win.
That set the stage for the Generals calendar year closing trip to Johnstown on December 30th and 31st. Game 1 saw another offensive outpouring from the Generals with a 9-2 win. Special teams lead the way with a pair of powerplay and shorthanded goals. Game two again brought a different story than the first. The teams split goals in the first and second periods, then were held scoreless in both the third period and overtime bringing a tied 2-2 score line into a shootout. After 11 Generals failed to beat the netminder Johnny Ulicny ended the game, and 2022 in the 11th round of the shootout. DeYoung stopped 29 of 31 shots but was handed the loss on his record.
Last Time Out
The Generals were in action on Monday afternoon with a mid-day contest against the Maine Nordiques. The Generals scored the game’s first 4 goals, all on the powerplay, all in the first period, and all by LaRusso. Goals 24-27 for the New Jersey native extended his lead on the rest of the NAHL pack while DeYoung allowed just one goal on 33 shots for his ninth goal of the season.
On the other side of the ice the Tomahawks are also coming off a win. Theirs a 3-2 decision over the last place Danbury Hat Tricks. Will Lawrence and Will Moore both found the back of the net in the first period while Bryce Laager scored the game winner 4:47 into the final frame. Adam Johnson started and won the game for Johnstown stopping 26 of 28 shots faced.
Twenty Fun
Generals netminder Cullen DeYoung is celebrating his 21st birthday on Friday and is expected to make the start for the Generals. Coming off his ninth win of the season on Monday the second year General has a 9-8-2-1 record along with a 3.14 goals against average and a .904 save percentage.
League Leaders
The top of the league leaderboard is filled with Generals players. Dave Andreychuk leads the league with 57 points (14-43), Paul Minnehan follows close behind in second place with 52 (21-31), and LaRusso is tied for third with 46 (27-19). LaRusso also leads the league in goal scoring with a three goal lead over the next closest player.
Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 PM on Friday night, and 7 PM on Saturday night at the 1st Summit Arena in Johnstown, PA. You can catch all of the action on HockeyTV and get live updates on social media by following @negenerals.