Black Bears Barrage Leads To Weekend Sweep

By Cole Parenti

Binghamton NY - The Binghamton Black Bears and Watertown Wolves met at the Visions Veterans Memorial Arena for the third time in one week. The Black Bears finished the three-game sweep as they beat the Wolves 9 to 1.

The first period saw goaltending steal the show as both were sharp out of the gate. Sam LiVecchi stopped all 10 shots he faced for Binghamton, while Watertown’s goaltender Eloi Bouchard made 14 of the 15 saves asked of him. Special teams also had their time to shine as Binghamton killed two penalties while Watertown killed one. The period seemed destined to go scoreless until Connor Smith sidestepped a hit and deposited the game’s first goal at 17:27 into the frame.

The Black Bears offense would erupt in the second period as they found twine four times. Andrew Logar started the barrage as he scored his second in as many nights on the powerplay. Next came the captain Tyson Kirkby as he cleaned up his own rebound in the slot. Then Daniel Stone would score on a heads-up play as the puck hit off his helmet and into the net. Chiwetin Blacksmith would respond for Watertown as he converted on his third goal of the weekend. With time running out, the captain found the back of the net once again with a beautiful backhander. Kirkby would send the Black Bears to the locker room with a 5 to 1 lead.

Owen Liskiewicz would take over in net for Watertown and the familiar face was greeted rather rudely. Jesse Anderson beat his former teammate with a seeing-eye shot right over Liskiewicz’s shoulder. Then Donald Olivieri would join the party as he beat the Watertown netminder at 15:25. Jestin Somero would be the next Black Bear to find twine when he scored on the powerplay. The ninth and final goal would come from Connor Smith as he found the puck in the pads of Liskiewicz and scored.

The Black Bears improve to 5-1-0-0 against Watertown, win their 9th straight at home, and continue to grow their lead in the Empire division. Sam LiVecchi finished with 25 saves on 26 shots while the Watertown tandem of Bouchard and Liskiewicz stopped 52 of the 61 shots they saw.

2023-24 Prorated Season Tickets are still on sale! Call the Black Bears office at 607-722-7367 or stop into the third-floor hockey offices of Visions Veterans Memorial Arena. Save up to 30% on tickets and receive over $200 in benefits.

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