MLN Newswire - www.mlntherawfeed.com-JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – The Johnstown Chiefs peppered the South Carolina net with 46 shots on Friday night, but a stellar effort by Braden Holtby helped the Stingrays pick up a 5-1 win at the UPMC Health Plan Ice Rink at the Cambria County War Memorial Arena.

It didn't take long for the visitors to establish the lead thanks to a strange bounce. Zack Tarkir tried to dump the puck deep into Johnstown ice but it caught a seam in the glass and jumped back up the wing. Keith Johnson gathered it in and slid it quickly to an open Nikita Kashirsky and he beat Shane Connelly just 50 seconds into the game. Jake Hauswirth extended the lead to 2-0 at 13:20 with his second goal of the season.

Connelly was replaced by Kris Mayotte to start the second period, but he could not prevent Dylan Yeo from roofing a backhander home at 11:17. Johnstown mounted a 16-shot barrage against Holtby in the second, but could not cash in on any of its multiple scoring chances.ADVERTISEMENT

With the Stingrays leading 3-0 in the third period, Sean Berkstresser helped the Chiefs start to chip away at the defecit. Patrolling the front of the net on the power play, Berkstresser tipped Mike Couch's shot over Holtby's head and across the goal line at 2:29 of the third. It was Berkstresser's second of the season and first on the power play. The Chiefs would launch 19 other shots on net in the final frame, but Holtby remained a tough puzzle to solve. Rob Ricci scored the first power play goal against the Chiefs on home ice this season at 11:22 to make it 4-1 and Matt Fornataro set the final with his seventh of the season at 12:01.

Connelly sustained the loss in net for the Chiefs as he made six saves on eight shots in the first period, and Mayotte made 20 saves in two periods of relief. The Chiefs went 1-for-5 on the power play and 1-for-2 on the penalty kill.

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