Aberdeen Wings push Bismarck Bobcats to Game 5 in their playoff series

WATERTOWN — The Watertown Shamrocks didn't go down without a fight. The Shamrocks' first-ever North American Hockey League Central Division semifinal playoff appearance ended on Saturday, April 24, 2026, with a 4-3 overtime loss the Austin (MN) Bruins in the Prairie Lakes Ice Arena. The top-seeded Bruins finished off the best-of-five series in three games, the final two of which ended in 4-3 overtime decisions.

The Shamrocks, in only their second year of existence, compiled a 31-23-3-2 (wins, losses, overtime losses and shootout losses) regular-season record in 2025-26. They went 19-33-2-5 in their initial season in 2024-25. The Bruins advance to meet either the No.

2 Bismarck (ND) Bobcats or No. 3 Aberdeen Wings in the NAHL Central Division championship playoff series. Game 3 recap for Watertown-Austin After dropping the first two games of the series on April 17 and 18 in Austin, the Shamrocks returned to Watertown to play their first ever home playoff game in franchise history.

It started when Owen Fask converted on a power-play for a 1-0 lead less than four minutes into the game. Nathan Williams added a power-play goal for Austin with only 11 seconds left in the opening period and the two teams battled from there. After Michael Coleman scored for Austin, Henry Miller and Payton Struck each found the net in the second period to give Watertown a 3-2 advantage with 11:58 left in the period.