Wolves Fight to the Final Horn in Carolina

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Anthony Shrum stopped 44 shots for the second straight night, Zeke Endy scored for the third time in two nights, and the Watertown Wolves pushed the Twin City Thunderbirds to the final horn before falling 3-2 on Saturday night at the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds Arena.

It was the second one-goal game in as many nights against Twin City, and the Wolves never stopped coming. Down 3-1 in the third, Watertown outshot the Thunderbirds 13-11 in the final period, pulled Shrum for the extra attacker with 1:06 left, and kept pressing until the final buzzer.

Endy stayed hot to tie the game in the first. After Zach Papapetros opened the scoring for Twin City at 10:02, Endy answered at 17:36, finishing a feed from Gavin Abbott and Brendan Hussey for his third goal of the weekend. Joseph Kennedy put Twin City back in front at 9:18 of the second.

After a long second intermission — the game was delayed while a pane of glass in center ice was replaced — the Thunderbirds struck early in the third, with captain Zach White scoring at 2:57 from Jacob Schnapp and Roman Kraemer to make it 3-1. Abbott pulled one back for Watertown at 12:23, unassisted, capping a goal-and-an-assist night for the forward.

Shrum finished with 44 saves on 47 shots for the second night in a row — 88 saves on 94 shots across the weekend — while Ayvin Eidsness stopped 25 of 27 for Twin City. Neither team scored a power-play goal. Twin City outshot Watertown 47-27 overall, but the Wolves' 13-shot third period was their best of the night.

The Wolves return home Friday, Nov. 20 to host the Motor City Rockers.