Prendergast Puts Wolves Past Enforcers in Shootout
By Jay Harris
Watertown, NY - The Watertown Wolves came out on top when they hosted the Elmira Enforcers at Watertown Municipal Arena on Friday night. The Wolves suffered a two period scoring drought before having a four-goal scoring frenzy in the third period, ultimately pushing the game to a shootout.
The Wolves started the game relying on their special teams to help goalie Jared Rutledge keep the puck out of the net. The Wolves found themselves in a 5-on-3 penalty kill just four minutes into the game for Aleh Shypitsyn's tripping and Yianni Liarakos' hooking penalties. Dmytro Babenko scored the first goal of the night for the Enforcers on assists from Stepan Timofeyev and Mitch Atkins.
Elmira continued to extend their lead in the second with goals from the two Wolves they recently acquired. Gavin Yates scored their second goal a little over four minutes in, and Anton Lennartsson scored with just a little over four minutes left in the period. Despite outshooting the Enforcers, 44-31 after two periods, the Wolves were yet to tickle twine.
The Wolves turned the game on its head in the third period, scoring four goals before the Enforcers tied things back up. Tyler Prendergast, Tyler Gjurich, Deric Boudreau, and Sam Williams each picked up a goal prior to Cameron Yarwood tying the game up for Elmira.
Neither team could score in overtime and the game went to a shootout. Elmira saw five unsuccessful shots from Yates, Sean Reynolds, Timofeyev, Atkins, and Reynolds for a second time. Liarakos and Lane King were unsuccessful before Prendergast scored on his first shot; his second shot was not a goal.
The 1st Star of the Game was awarded to Prendergast for his game-winning shot with one goal and one assist. Tyler Gjurich and Deric Boudreau also had one goal and one assist, getting the 2nd and 3rd Stars.
The Wolves and Enforcers play the rest of this three-game series in Elmira, NY on Saturday and Sunday. The Wolves return to Watertown Municipal Arena on Friday, March 22nd for the first of a three-game series with the Danville Dashers at 7:30 PM.