WATERTOWN, S.D. — Goaltender Mason Gudridge stopped 39 of 40 shots on Saturday night, leading the Watertown Shamrocks to a 3-1 victory over the Aberdeen Wings and earning a weekend series split.
After a scoreless opening period on Saturday, Watertown broke the deadlock at 15:44 of the second period when Jordan Brothers scored on the power play. Aberdeen responded shortly after with a goal from David Hruby to tie the game at 1-1.
The Shamrocks regained control late in the third period. Roy Chung netted the game-winner at 17:36, and Andrew Smulkstys sealed the win with an empty-net goal with 36 seconds remaining. Aberdeen outshot Watertown 40-22 on the night, but Gudridge’s stellar effort in net kept the Wings at bay.
The home victory came one night after Aberdeen took Friday’s opener 4-1 in Aberdeen.
In Friday’s contest, the Wings built a 3-0 lead with goals from Hruby, Filip Henriksson, and Payne Riffey. Kirill Borodulin got Watertown on the board with a power-play goal at 11:39 of the second period, but Aberdeen’s Campbell Epp capped the scoring with 2:01 remaining in regulation.
Aberdeen outshot Watertown 33-26 on Friday. Gudridge made 29 saves in the loss, while Grady Dimberio and Justin Bartley led the Shamrocks’ offensive attack with seven and five shots, respectively.
Following the weekend split, Watertown (5-4-2-0) returns to action on Sept. 24 for another matchup against Aberdeen.
