BLACK BEARS FALL TO WOLVES 7-4

BINGHAMTON - The Watertown Wolves defeated the Binghamton Black Bears on Saturday night inside Visions Veterans Memorial Arena, 7-4.

Watertown got out to a 2-0 lead with back-to-back goals by Alexander Jmaeff at 2:24 and 5:08 of the first period. Assists on the first goal were given to Michael Mercurio and Justin MacDonald and Cole McKechney and Brandon Day collected the assists on the second tally.

Geno DeAngelo scored to get the Black Bears on the board after a great pass from Troy Murray. From the right circle, Murray set up DeAngelo who tapped in his second of the year to get Binghamton on the board. The goal came 10:28 into the game and Binghamton trailed 2-1.

Shortly after, Mercurio added to the Watertown lead as Jmaeff and MacDonald set up a wrist shot for Mercurio to give the Wolves a 3-1 advantage. Mercurio’s goal came at 12:27 of the first and Watertown took the two-goal lead into the first intermission along with a 20-8 shot advantage.

To start the second period, Harley White replace Sheppard in net for Binghamton. Bret Parker and Josh Newberg scored just 53 seconds apart to tie the game at three. Parker lifted a shot under the cross bar and Newberg beat goaltender Gregory Hussey low through the legs and the game was tied 3-3. Assists on the goals were credited to Tyler Gjurich, Egor Borshchev, Nikita Ivashkin, and Sam Holeczy.

Just over one minute later, MacDonald got the lead back for Watertown. Cole McKechney and Rocco Dicostanzo put a puck on net that MacDonald cleaned up to give the Wolves a 4-3 lead at 9:57 of the middle frame.

Tyler Becker tied the game on the power play off an offensive zone faceoff. Becker took a wrist shot through traffic that sailed by Hussey. The goal was Becker’s second of the year with assists from Ivashkin and Newberg and came 16:22 into the second to even the score 4-4.

Less than a minute later, Colin Chmelka responded right away, and Watertown took a 5-4 lead into the third period. Michael Mann and Nolan Slachetka added goals in the third period to seal a 7-4 victory for the Wolves.

The Black Bears return home next Friday and Saturday against Port Huron! Saturday, New York football fans can come meet Super Bowl Champs, Mathias Kiwanuka and Jay Alford! Also, live music on the concourse and happy hour drink specials from 5:30 p.m. until puck drop at 7:00 p.m. 

Stay current with the latest team news by visiting www.binghamtonblackbears.com, by calling 607-722-7367, or visiting the front office on the third floor of the Visions Veterans Memorial Arena. Follow the Black Bears all year long on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.