BLAINE, Minn. — The Watertown Shamrocks extended their early-season momentum at the NAHL Showcase this weekend, picking up back-to-back victories over the Philadelphia Rebels and Corpus Christi IceRays on Friday and Saturday.
The Shamrocks kicked off the weekend Friday morning with a 5-2 victory over Philadelphia.
Justin Obrochta got Watertown off to a fast start in the opening period, netting back-to-back goals at the 5:48 and 2:57 marks to build an early 2-0 cushion. The Shamrocks stretched their lead in the second period, starting with a power-play goal from Andrew Smulkstys at 12:56. Kirill Borodulin followed up at 11:45 to push the advantage to 4-0.
Philadelphia got on the board late in the second period with a goal from Broxton Ingle at 5:54, then cut the deficit to 4-2 on a third-period tally at 13:04. However, Owen Chartier sealed the game for Watertown, sinking a shorthand goal with 45 seconds remaining.
Watertown narrowly held the edge in shots on goal, outshooting the Rebels 30-27. Chartier paced the attack with five shots, while Borodulin added four. In net, Luke Courtney turned aside 25 of 27 shots to earn the win.
On Saturday afternoon, Watertown leaned on strong defense and timely scoring to shut out the Corpus Christi IceRays 3-0.
Vincent Curasi started the scoring at 10:37 of the first period. Justin Bartley extended the lead at 2:40 of the second, and Jordan Brothers capped the victory with a third-period goal at 4:51.
The Shamrocks controlled the pace throughout, holding a 27-20 advantage in shots on goal. Bartley led Watertown with four shots. Goaltender Mason Gudridge was perfect between the pipes, stopping all 20 shots he faced to earn the shutout.
With the victories, Watertown moves to 3-0-2-0 on the season. The Shamrocks return to action this Friday and Saturday when they travel to face Bismarck.
