Bruins' Comeback Falls Short in 4-3 Overtime Loss
January 17, 2025 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Austin Bruins News Release
AUSTIN, MINN. - Thought it wasn't pretty, the Austin Bruins (23-6-2-2) clawed their way back with three unanswered goals to force overtime in the team's return home to Riverside. The comeback, however, was stifled less than 30 seconds into the extra period as the Watertown Shamrocks (9-23-2-1) held on for a 4-3 overtime win Friday night.
The Bruins headed into Friday's matchup with two week's preparation after a weekend off following the team's loss in Watertown on the fourth of January. After a rocky start, the Bruins struggled to stop a flurry of Shamrock attacks. In the span of eight minutes, three different Shamrocks scored to give the Central Division newcomers their largest lead against the Bruins in a contest this season.
Second chances became the name of the game for the Black and Gold. At 16:42, Alex Laurenza cleaned up a shot from EJ Paddington to put the Bruins on the board. Two minutes later, on the power play, Evan Malkhassian took a pass from Emil Samuelsson and rifled it by the Watertown netminder to send the Bruins into the locker room only down by one.
Despite a few good chances in the second, the Bruins and Shamrocks were both unable to change the score, and the game remained 3-2 after two.
The game headed into a bit of a delay just 40 seconds into the final frame after Watertown forward Cam Markham took a cross check and hit the ice hard. After a brief delay, the teams dusted themselves off and prepared for a hard-hitting final period.
Gustav Svantesson completed the comeback for the Bruins, picking up a loose puck off a save and wristing it into a wide-open net to tie things up at 3-3. Things looked rocky moments later, after a double minor on Alex Laurenza for roughing and a bench minor sent the Bruins down two men for two minutes.
Defensemen Nathan Williams led the kill with several key blocked shots to keep the game tied after the two minutes. Incredible saves on both ends kept the game knotted up at three, forcing some extra hockey at Riverside.
Ryan Whiterabbit proved a hero for the Shamrocks, setting up right on the doorstep of the crease for a bullet of a one-timer past Carl Axelsson to give the Shamrocks their fourth straight victory and second straight against the Bruins.
The Black and Gold return to action Saturday night with the final regular season game against the Shamrocks at 7:05 pm at Riverside Arena. Tickets for the game can be purchased at tickets.austinbruins.com.
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