WATERTOWN, S.D. — The Watertown Shamrocks split a weekend series against the North Iowa Bulls, but the Friday night opener proved to be a historic milestone for the program as the team clinched its first-ever NAHL playoff berth.
The Shamrocks secured their postseason spot Friday with a 3-2 victory. The contest remained tight early after Watertown’s Antons Macijevskis and North Iowa’s Vitality Korolyuk traded goals to tie the game 1-1. Owen Fask gave Watertown the lead for good at the start of the second period, and Kyle Greene added an empty-net goal with 1:38 remaining in the third to extend the lead to 3-1. A late goal by the Bulls’ Denis Hodas with two seconds left was not enough to overcome the Shamrocks.
Goaltender Mason Gudridge anchored the win, stopping 43 of 45 shots.
The Bulls responded Saturday, outshooting the Shamrocks 44-29 to claim a 6-2 win. North Iowa took control early, building a 4-0 lead heading into the third period on goals from Zachary Howard, Michael Malatinos, and two from Hodas. Ivan Bercik added a short-handed goal at the 15:28 mark of the third to make it 5-0.
Watertown attempted a late rally with consecutive goals from Owen Chartier and Jake Pietilas, cutting the deficit to 5-2, but Jacob Voris added a final goal for the Bulls with 1:06 remaining to seal the victory.
The Shamrocks (29-20-3-2) head to the road this week for three games. The stretch begins Thursday against St. Cloud followed by a Friday and Saturday series against the Mallards in Forest Lake.
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