Local pro hockey: Thornton sparks Wolves to much-needed win over Elmira in race for playoffs

Apr. 7—WATERTOWN — Facing a must win to remain in contention in the playoff race, Carter Thornton and the Watertown Wolves delivered while in the clutch Saturday night.

Thornton scored a pair of goals, including on a breakaway in the first period, and fellow rookie Jacob Black scored the game winner with a power-play goal late as the Wolves edged the Elmira River Sharks, 4-3, in a Federal Prospects Hockey League game before a crowd of 1,103 at Watertown Municipal Arena.

With the win, Watertown (18-35) drew within three points of Elmira (20-34) in the race to secure the final playoff berth in the Empire Division.

"It's a big win for us actually, we're three points out now and tomorrow we play again," Thornton said. "But this game, it's a six-point game, so it meant a lot."

The Wolves bounced back after losing at home to Elmira, 7-3, on Friday in a fight-filled night which resulted in a slew of suspensions, including a pair assessed to the head coaches of both teams.

"(Friday) was a lot, but we had the confidence 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 and I knew especially against that team that we could beat them. We just put in full 60 minutes and we did it."

With the game tied 2-2 entering the third period, Thornton provided the Wolves with the lead as he scored from the top of the slot 2 minutes and five seconds in, with Black assisting on the goal.

But exactly one minute later, Elmira's Neumann, Trevor tied the game on a goal set up by Bret Parker.

Later after they fended off an Elmira 5-on-3 man advantage, the Wolves went on the power play with Black converting by tapping in the puck into an open net off a pass from Trevor Lord with 6:17 left in regulation.

"He just gave a little slide (pass) back door there and I just tapped it in, so it was nice," said Black, who scored his first goal with the team and at this level. "Hopefully I can get going here now with some more goals."

Watertown was shorthanded again when Mercurio was assessed a five-minute major penalty for boarding and was later down two men for the final 1:17 after Elmira pulled goalie Sammy Bernard.

"We definitely showed some composure," Thornton said. "There were a lot more penalties today, but we killed them off and we got the win, so that's all that matters."

Rookie goalie Eloi Bouchard made 22 saves, including five stops in the third period, to secure the win.

Thornton gave the Wolves an early lift with his shorthanded breakaway goal while in the first period.

"That first one shorthanded felt really good and it lit up the team I felt like, it was really, really good to get that one there," Thornton said.

"For sure, Carter's been huge for us all year scoring big goals, timely goals and tonight was just another example of that," Mercurio said.

Thornton took a pass from Vadislav Pavlov and broke in alone to beat Elmira goaltender Sammy Bernard with 7:10 left in the frame.

"It was great tape-to-tape pass, it was perfect from Pavlov, so it was perfect," Thornton said.

But the lead didn't last long as Cameron Yarwood scored on a drive from the right point with Elmira on a 5-on-3 man advantage with 5:37 left in the period.

Mercurio provided Watertown with a 2-1 edge by scoring a power-play goal 38 seconds into the second period, with Lord setting up the goal.

Dustin Jesseau scored the tying goal for the River Sharks with a tally with 4:59 left in the second period.

The Wolves played without one of their offensive threats in Tate Leeson, who was one of several players and coaches suspended by the league, including Watertown head coach Brian Verbeek, after Friday night's game.

"It was a great bounce back for our group here, it took a big effort to win tonight and we got it done," Black said. "We did very well, it was a tough loss last night, so we battled a lot of adversity tonight again and came through in the end."

During Friday's game, Elmira coach and former Wolves player Tyler Gjurich received a game misconduct for inciting by a coach/team staff member early in the third period, as did Elmira assistant coach Stavros Soilis, who was also assessed a game misconduct for physical abuse of an official. Verbeek also received a game misconduct for inciting by a coach/team staff member, with all the penalties coming 22 seconds into the third period.

"For sure, I think (Friday) night I don't know if the score necessarily told the real story of the game," Mercurio said. "They're opportunistic and tonight we were a little more opportunistic and took advantage of our scoring chances."

Watertown now has three games remaining in the regular season, including their home finale when it hosts Binghamton at 7:05 p.m. on Sunday.

"It feels like St. Louis Blues (hockey), so hopefully we can go for the playoffs and win that as well," added Thornton, who has scored 16 goals in 49 games this season through Saturday. "Just dedicated, just going after that puck, being the first man in there and just being a hard-working team, that's all we can ask for."

The Wolves will then travel to Virginia next week to play the Wytheville Blue Ridge Bobcats next Friday and Saturday.

"It's awesome, it's great to play some playoff hockey all the way through here," Black said.

"It's a lot of fun," said Mercurio, who played on the Wolves league championship team in the 2021-22 season. "Obviously I was fortunate enough to be a part of the team a couple years ago and I feel another run, but it's little bit different for this team. We have our own identity this year, but it's that time of the year where we're starting to feel the playoff magic, that's for sure."

Elmira has two games left and will play at Danbury on Sunday and wrap up its regular season next Saturday at Binghamton.

NOTES: The Wolves wore special white jerseys with blue pinstripes in recognition of the Watertown Rapids baseball team, which will begin its collegiate season with a home game on May 31. Current Wolves owner Tyler Weese recently purchased a majority share of the Rapids franchise. ... The league announced Saturday that both Verbeek and Gjurich were both suspended for four games as well as fined an undisclosed amount. For Watertown, Leeson was suspended for one game, while Joshua Tomasi was suspended four games and Dakota Seaman was dealt an 11-game suspension. In addition, Stavros was suspended for three games while Elmira players Matt Lunger and Frankie McClendon received two- and one-game suspensions, respectively.