Miller's OT-winner advances Fighting Falcons over Tomahawks
North Division Quarter-Final Game #3
Port Huron Fighting Falcons 4 @ Johnstown Tomahawks 3 (OT) (Port Huron wins series, 2-1)
The 2,011 fans at Cambria War Memorial Coliseum were ready to celebrate a series victory for their Johnstown Tomahawks Sunday afternoon. The Port Huron Fighting Falcons weren’t quite ready for their season to end, however. Down two with less than 10 minutes to play in the third period, the Falcons rallied to tie Game 3 of their first-round playoff series, sending it to overtime, where Ian Miller’s goal put the Falcons into the second round with a 4-3 victory. Miller scored 3 minutes, 28 seconds into overtime, giving his team the game and series win. The Falcons will play the Soo Eagles in the second round. The series begins at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Soo. Johnstown never trailed in regulation, and built a 3-1 lead when Mitch Kontny scored 8:45 into the third period. Rick DeRosa brought the Falcons to within one at the 12:59 mark, and Brett D’Andrea tied the game with 35 seconds to play and the goaltender pulled. Miller then scored his first goal since Jan. 11, an uncharacteristic drought for one of the team’s most natural goal scorers. Mitch Maloney also scored for the Falcons, tying the game at 1-1 in the second period. Dan Dupell, Miller and DeRosa each had an assist for the Falcons, while Max Milosek stopped 26 shots. The Falcons fired 30 shots at Johnstown goalie Chris Truehl, including the only two of the overtime period. Brandon Reinholz and Cody Gylling each scored for Johnstown, while Connor Wright, Mitch Hall and Andrew McDonald each had an assist. Boxscore (story by Paul Costanzo/Times Herald)
South Division Semi-Final Game #2
Texas Tornado 2 @ Topeka RoadRunners 1 (Texas leads best of five series, 2-0)
The Texas Tornado took a 2-0 advantage in their best-of-five series against the Topeka RoadRunners, winning by a score of 2-1 for the second straight night on Sunday. CJ Reuschlein had his second goal in as many nights, while he was joined in the scoresheet by Scott Conway. Hunter Leisner stopped 24 of 25 after making 35 saves in Saturday’s win. Both teams were tight defensively in the 1st period, but with under a minute left, Topeka picked up the opening goal of the contest. Tyler Andrew entered the zone on the right wing and drove to the net. His initial shot hit the post and ended up on the outside of the net. Sean Gaffney knocked it off and found Kyle Sharkey in front for the goal that gave Topeka a 1-0 lead. The Tornado tied the score in the 2nd period as Alexey Soloviev sent a long pass to the opposite blue line and Reuschlein entered the zone. He came into the circle and snapped a wrist shot over the glove of Topeka goaltender Spencer Viele to tie the score. A few minutes later, the Tornado took the lead, as Max Shuart picked off a pass in the RoadRunner zone, and found Conway parked right out in front. Game 3 of the series is scheduled for this Friday at 7:30 at Dr Pepper Arena in Frisco. Boxscore (story by Corey Hersch/Texas Tornado)
