by Tessa Deemer
AUSTIN, MN. (November 22-23rd, 2024) – After a weekend on the road, the Watertown Shamrocks move to 3-15-2-1 after facing off against the Austin Bruins who now stand at 14-5-1-1.
Game 1 – November 22nd, 2024
The Shamrocks were early in the box with a tripping penalty at 4:43 from Eliott Mikesch. The Bruins capitalized on the powerplay opportunity as Ashton Bynum found the back of the net at 5:16. The Shamrocks were unable to score in the first even after leading shots 10-8. The Bruins tallied another goal at 12:07 from Luc Malkhassian. Just minutes later, the Bruins upped the physicality with an interference call at 14:09.
Period two started out tame, but a roughing call on William Shephard at 8:03 shifted the tone. The Shamrocks successfully killed the penalty but slipped up with an even strength goal at 10:05 from Alex Laurenza. The Bruins took their turn in the box as Gavin Cherry was called for roughing at 10:53. As the penalty came to an end, the Shamrocks were leading in shots yet again going 15-13. Their offensive efforts proved to be successful with a late goal from Cam Markham at 19:34.
In the third neither team was able to contribute to the score. The main action came from the Bruins bench with a high-sticking penalty on Jackson Rilei at 11:13, and a cross-checking call on Zander Lipsett at 17:49. The final score was 4-1.
Overall, the Shamrocks led shots 33-30 with goaltender Phileas Lachat recording 26 saves. On the other side of the ice, Jack Solomon defended the Bruins’ net with 32 saves.
Game 2 – November 23rd, 2024
At the start of game two, the Shamrocks were determined to take the lead with a goal at 8:43 from Dmitrijis Dilevka with an assist from Ryan Gingher. No penalties were recorded, leaving the score to be 1-0.
In the second period, the Bruins came clawing back at 12:05 with a goal from Zander Lipsett. Less than a minute later, Lipsett headed to the box on a tripping call. The Bruins weren’t holding back recording a second penalty from Nathan Williams at 15:32. The Shamrocks were unphased and tallied a second goal from Cam Markham at 16:43, leading the second period 2-1.
The final period of the series proved to be a battle on both ends. Just twenty seconds in, Cam Markham was called for tripping. On the powerplay, the Bruins fired back with a goal at 0:29 from Alex Laurenza. Markham took another trip to the box for hooking at 2:41. Unable to kill off the penalty, the Shamrocks faced a five-on-three after Noah Sergott was called for tripping at 3:58. The Bruins took full advantage of the penalties and found the
back of the net at 4:09 via Luc Malkhassian. Continuing the spree, the Bruins recorded their fourth goal at 5:37 from EJ Paddington. Trying to catch up, the Shamrocks continued to battle for several minutes but went a little too far with a high-sticking call at 14:42 on William Shephard. Four minutes of play passed until Cam Markham recorded his third penalty of the evening for cross-checking. On the kill, the Shamrocks pulled River Leslie-Toogood to gain even strength but EJ Paddington scored at 19:42 closing the weekend.
Total shots were 39-30 being led by the Bruins. Back in net, River Leslie-Toogood recorded 34 saves on 38 shots before being pulled at 1:57. For the Bruins, Jack Solomon had 28 saves on 30 shots after 60 minutes of play.