BISMARCK, N.D. — The Watertown Shamrocks dropped a pair of road games over the weekend, falling twice to the Bismarck Bobcats at the VFW Sports Center.
Bismarck opened the series Friday night with a 5-3 victory over Watertown, capitalizing on a quick offensive start.
The Bobcats opened the scoring late in the first period with back-to-back goals. Will Harker put Bismarck on the board at the 15:16 mark, followed by a power-play goal from Jake Caffrey at 12:28 to extend the lead to 2-0.
Owen Chartier cut the deficit for Watertown, scoring at 4:46 of the opening period. However, Bismarck responded quickly when Maddox Malmquist netted a power-play goal at 3:00 to give the Bobcats a 3-1 advantage heading into the first intermission.
Harker extended Bismarck’s lead to 4-1 with his second goal of the night at 14:38 of the second period. Watertown answered at 10:34 when Grady Dimberio found the back of the net to bring the Shamrocks within two.
Watertown continued to push in the third period, narrowing the score to 4-3 following a goal by Jakov Matijevic at 17:14. Caffrey sealed the Friday night victory for the Bobcats at 16:05, adding his second goal of the contest to make it 5-3.
Bismarck outshot Watertown 28-19 in the opener. Dimberio led the Shamrocks’ offensive effort with four shots on goal.
In Saturday’s rematch, Bismarck completed the weekend sweep with a 4-2 win.
The Bobcats held Watertown scoreless through the first two periods, building a 3-0 lead behind two goals from Carson Clukies and a tally from Teddy Richardson.
Watertown mounted a rally in the final frame. Jordan Brothers put the Shamrocks on the board at 17:24 of the third period, and Boone Chartier added a power-play goal at 14:29 to bring Watertown within one at 3-2.
Bismarck put the game out of reach at 11:39 of the third period when Cade Bell scored to push the final margin to 4-2.
The Bobcats held a 26-22 advantage in shots on goal Saturday. Watertown goaltender Mason Gudridge stopped 22 of the 26 shots he faced in the loss.
Watertown (3-2-2-0) returns to action Oct. 9 and Oct. 10, hosting Bismarck for a two-game series in its home openers.
