Aston Rebels vs. Johnstown Tomahawks Overview
The Rebels will travel to Johnstown this weekend to play two games against the Tomahawks and close out the regular season for both teams. Although the Rebels have won eight of the ten games between these two clubs, nine of the games have been decided by a one goal margin with the Rebels scoring a total of 23 goals while the Tomahawks have scored 18. Three of the games have gone into overtime, and each team has recorded a shutout.
The last time these two teams played each other was on March 17 and 18 in the Cambria County War Memorial with each team winning a game. The Rebels won the second game 3 – 2 on Andrew Bellant’s 25th goal of the season.
Donovan Ott leads the Tomahawks in points against the Rebels with ten (5 goals and 5 assists) while Nick Bruce has seven points (4 goals and 3 assists) and Filips Buncis has five points (4 goals and 1 assist). Ott has scored the most goals against the Rebels with five. The Tomahawks are 4 for 36 (11%) on the power play. Johnstown’s goalies have a combined 2.30 goals against average with a .900 save percentage. Drew Hotte has played in eight of the ten games. He has a 2.25 goals against with a .90 save percentage and one shutout.
Aaron Maguyon (2 goals and 4 assists) and Ryan Solomon (1 goal and 5 assists) each have six points against Johnstown this season. Dom Garcia has scored the most goals against the Hawks with four. Maguyon and Brennan Kapcheck each have scored game winning goals in overtime. The Rebels are 4 for 33 (12%) on the power play. The Rebels goaltending has a combined 1.80 goals against average and a .921 save percentage. Markes Mitens has played in seven of the ten games. He has a 1.71 goals against and a .928 save percentage with one shutout.
Johnstown Tomahawks Overview
The Tomahawks will finish second in the East Division. They currently have a 39-15-3-1 record for 82 points, eleven points behind the Rebels. Johnstown is coming off of an 8 – 3 win over the Northeast Generals. The Tomahawks have won seven of their last ten games. They have scored 205 goals (fifth most in the league) and have allowed 144 (fifth least in the league) through 58 games.
The Tomahawks are led by Nick Bruce’s 66 points (26 goals and 40 assists). He is accompanied by Dalton Hunter’s 60 points (30 goals and 30 assists) and Ott’s 56 points (31 goals and 25 assists). Ott has the most goals on the team with 31. Adam Pilewicz leads the Tomahawks’ defensemen with 27 points (4 goals and 23 assists). Hunter leads the team with eight game winning goals.
Johnstown is ranked thirteenth in the league on the power play with an 19.2% conversion ratio while they are ranked sixth in the league on the penalty kill preventing the opposition from scoring 84.3% of the time. Thomas Horn leads the team with 188 penalty minutes. Hunter has the team’s best +/- ratio of +36.
Goaltenders Drew Hotte and Vinnie Purpura have a combined 2.47 goals against average and a .907 save percentage along with six shut outs (five for Hotte).
Aston Rebels Overview
The Rebels clinched their second straight regular season East Division title and will enter the Robertson Cup playoffs with the NAHL’s best record. They go into this weekend’s series against the Tomahawks with a 45-10-2-1 record for 93 points. They are coming off of a 5 – 0 win over the New Jersey Titans. The Rebels have won seven out of their last ten games. They have scored 210 goals (third best in the league) and have allowed only 102 goals (least amount in the NAHL) through 58 games.
The Rebels are led by Andrew Bellant’s 55 points (27 goals and 28 assists). He is followed by Garica’s 47 points (14 goals and 33 assists) and Gvido Jansons’ 46 points (19 goals and 27 assists). Bellant also leads the team in goals with 27 and game winning goals with seven. Jansons also leads the team’s defensemen with 46 points.
The Rebels are ranked third in the league on the power play with a 23.2% conversion ratio while they are ranked first in the league on the penalty kill preventing the opposition from scoring 86.3% of the time. Bellant leads the team with 156 penalty minutes. Solomon has the team’s best +/- ratio of +39.
The goaltending tandem of Mitens (1.56 GAA and .928 SV%) and Jack Leavy (1.82 GAA and .921 SV%) has a combined 1.69 goals against average and a .924 save percentage with seventeen shutouts.
