WATERTOWN — Facing a must-win situation to stay in playoff contention, Carter Thornton and the Watertown Wolves came away with a clutch win Saturday night.
Thornton scored two goals, including a breakaway in the first period, and fellow rookie Jacob Black scored the game-winner with a late power-play goal as the Wolves defeated the Elmira River Sharks 4-3 in Federal Prospect Hockey. I decided. The league game was played in front of a crowd of 1,103 at the Watertown Municipal Arena.
The win brings Watertown (18-35) within three points of Elmira (20-34) for the final playoff spot in the Empire Division.
“It's actually a big win for us. We're three points behind now and we'll be playing again tomorrow,” Thornton said. “But this game was a six-point game, so it meant a lot.”
The Wolves bounced back from a tough night Friday in which they lost 7-3 at home to Elmira and received numerous suspensions, including a pair that were evaluated by both teams' head coaches.
“(Friday) was tough, but I felt confident today so it was good,” Thornton said.
“It was unbelievable,” Wolves veteran forward Michael Mercurio said of the win. “I've had confidence in our group all year, especially against that team. We took the full 60 minutes and we got it done.”
With the game tied 2-2 going into the third period, Thornton scored from the top of the net 2:05 into the third period, and Black assisted on the goal to give the Timberwolves the lead.
But just a minute later, Elmira's Trevor Neumann tied the game with a goal set up by Brett Parker.
Then, after fending off Elmira's five-on-three man advantage, the Wolves began a power play, with Black converting by knocking the puck into an open net off a pass from Trevor Lord with 6:17 left in regulation.
“He just made a little sliding (pass) to the backdoor there and I just tapped it and tucked it in. It was pretty good,” said Black, who scored his team's first goal at this level. . “I hope I can go here with a little more purpose.”
Watertown was again short-handed when Mercurio was given a critical five-minute penalty for boarding and fell behind by two in the final 1:17 after Elmira pulled goaltender Sammy Bernard. .
“We definitely showed some composure,” Thornton said. “There were more penalties today, but we killed them and got the win, so that's all that matters.”
Rookie goaltender Eloy Bouchard made 22 saves, including five stops in the third period, sealing the victory.
Thornton scored a shorthanded breakaway goal in the first period to give the Wolves early momentum.
“That first shorthanded shot felt really good and lit up the team. I felt really, really happy that we made that,” Thornton said.
“Certainly Carter has been huge for us all year with big goals and timely goals and tonight was just one example of that,” Mercurio said.
Thornton took a pass from Vadislav Pavlov and broke through on his own, beating Elmira goaltender Sammy Bernard with 7:10 left in the frame.
“The tape-to-tape pass was great. The pass from Pavlov was perfect. It was perfect,” Thornton said.
The lead didn't last long, however, as Cameron Yearwood scored on a drive from the right point with 5:37 left in the period to give Elmira a 5-3 advantage.
Mercurio scored a power-play goal 38 seconds into the second period, and Lord set up the goal to give Watertown a 2-1 advantage.
Dustin Jessow scored the tying goal for the River Sharks with 4:59 left in the second period.
The Wolves lost one offensive threat after Friday night's game in Tate Leeson, one of several players and coaches suspended by the league, including Watertown head coach Brian Verbeek. He also played without.
“It was a great bounce back for our group here. It took a lot of effort to win tonight and we did it,” Black said. “We did very well. It was a tough loss last night, so we fought a lot of adversity tonight and came out victorious in the end.”
During Friday's game, Elmira coach and former Timberwolves player Tyler Juric received game misconduct early in the third period at the instigation of the coach and team staff, as did Elmira assistant coach Stavros Soiris. was assessed for match misconduct for physical abuse. Official. Verbeek was also charged with game misconduct for instigation by coaches and team staff, and all penalties were assessed 22 seconds into the third period.
“Certainly, I don't think we'll know (Friday) night if that score necessarily told the real story of the game,” Mercurio said. “They're opportunistic, but tonight we were a little more opportunistic and took advantage of our scoring chances.”
Watertown has three games remaining in the regular season, including its final home game against Binghamton on Sunday at 7:05 p.m.
“I feel like the St. Louis Blues (hockey), so hopefully we can go to the playoffs and win there as well,” added Thornton, who had 16 goals in 49 games this season through Saturday. “Just being dedicated, just chasing the puck, being the first guy and just being a hard-working team, that’s all we can ask for.”
The Wolves then travel to Virginia next week to take on the Wytheville Blue Ridge Bobcats on Friday and Saturday.
“It's awesome. It's awesome to be here playing all the way to playoff hockey,” Black said.
“It’s a lot of fun,” said Mercurio, who played on the Wolves league championship team in 2021-22. “Obviously, I was lucky to be a part of the team a few years ago and I feel like I worked hard again, but it's a little different with this team. We have our own identity this year, but we're still looking forward to the magic of the playoffs.” I’m definitely starting to feel it.”
Elmira has two games remaining, playing at Danbury on Sunday and finishing the regular season at Binghamton next Saturday.
Note: The Wolves wore special white jerseys with blue pinstripes in honor of the Watertown Rapids baseball team. Watertown Rapids will begin the college season with a home game on May 31st. Current Timberwolves owner Tyler Weese recently purchased a majority stake in the Rapids franchise. … The league announced Saturday that both Verbeek and Gurich have been suspended for four games and fined an undisclosed amount. For Watertown, Leeson was suspended for one game, Joshua Tomasi was suspended for four games and Dakota Seaman was suspended for 11 games. In addition, Stavros was suspended for three games, and Elmira's Matt Langer and Frankie McClendon were suspended for two and one game, respectively.
