Galante's hat trick leads Tomahawks to fifth straight victory
Feb. 4—Anthony Galante made his presence felt in front of the net and had a knack for putting the puck into the back of the net on Friday night at 1st Summit Arena @ Cambria County War Memorial.
The Johnstown Tomahawks' leading scorer collected the first hat trick of his NAHL career and posted four points in a surprisingly one-sided 8-2 victory over the third-place Northeast Generals.
Johnstown won its fifth consecutive game in front of 1,975 fans and moved into sole possession of fifth place in the East Division.
"You've just got to be at the right place at the right time," said Galante, who has a team-high 17 goals and 36 points. "Two of those were that type of goal. Most of the goals come from the front of the net, so if you find yourself there, you might get yourself a couple goals.
"The third one, I just came in with speed, caught the D flatfooted and just shot the puck."
The Tomahawks (18-17-2) have 38 points. The Generals (22-13-5) are 11 points ahead of Johnstown, which is sandwiched between Maine (40 points) and Philadelphia (36) in the tight East Division.
"A huge game for our team," Tomahawks coach Mike Letizia said. "We know what the circumstances are.
"You need your top guys to be your top guys."
Johnstown goalie Alec Rajalin-Scharp (11-8-1) stopped 19 shots for his fourth straight win since Jan. 13.
The Tomahawks gave him plenty of support, building a 2-0 advantage, as Galante tapped in a rebound into an opening near the post 10:19 into the first period, and Bryce Laager scored a short-handed goal at 13:23.
The Generals then went on their third power play in the opening 15 minutes of play. This time, Paul Minnehan converted at 15:48 to make it a one-goal game.
"The (penalty) kill actually was big momentum for us," Letizia said. "I thought we had a good start. We were short-handed twice in a row. Our first kill, I thought was textbook. The second one, we get a shortie. Tough one, they get the one (on the third power-play opportunity), but our guys didn't buckle at all."
Johnstown added three more second-period goals to carry a 5-1 advantage into the third.
Galante once again was in a perfect position to knock in a loose puck at 4:51, and he completed his hat trick on the power play with an assist by captain Ryan Vellucci (two assists) and Will Moore (one goal, two assists) at 16:51.
James Barbour ended an eight-game, goal-scoring drought with his ninth of the season at 18:47.
"Honestly, we want it. At the beginning of the year, we were trying to find our identities," Galante said. "I think we've found it and I think we really want it.
"Every single guy in the locker room, every guy who puts a jersey on, we want it. We're not going to give up easy. We're going to keep pushing and hope for the best."
The Tomahawks pulled away with three goals in a span of 3:42 midway through the final period.
Tyler DesRochers netted his fifth goal of the season. Moore and Ryan Johnson each converted on the power play after a double minor high-sticking call on Minnehan. Johnson, acquired in a Jan. 23 trade with Danbury, is the younger brother of goaltender Adam Johnson.
Northeast's Sixten Jennerjo scored at 16:04 to make it 8-2.
The Tomahawks and Generals meet again at 7 p.m. Saturday at 1st Summit Arena.
"At this point, you've got to find points every night you can," Letizia said. "You got to hope for some help too along the way, but you can't worry about the help if you don't control what you can do.
"A huge one for us today. Tomorrow is a fresh day."
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.
