By The Watertown Shamrocks, which is also newest outfit for the North American Hockey League, played their first two exhibition games for the franchise over the weekend on Sept. 6-7 against the Alaska-based team, the Fairbanks Ice Dogs.
The games were held at the Prairie Lakes Ice Arena in East Watertown, which is being unveiled to the public in a formal capacity on Sept. 12 at 4 p.m. with ribbon cutting ceremonies and speeches from notable stakeholders, along with giveaways, tours, light refreshments, open skating, and a meet-and-greet with the Shamrocks.
As for the Shamrocks, single game tickets can be purchased on their website here. Tickets range from $16 for general admission to $22 for premium tickets. Kids tickets range from free for aged three or younger to $12 for up to 12-year-olds. Concessions are provided by the arena with premium beer and food provided by the Watertown Brewing Company for all guests.
The 1,500-seat arena is the culmination of over a decade of work from the community and the City of Watertown. Construction on the 91,000 square foot facility began in February 2022 and was recently completed this last February. The arena takes the place for the dated 1980s-era Maas Ice Arena by the airport on the west side of town.
The Shamrocks are a Title II junior ice team in the NAHL’s central division. They are the second South Dakota team in the league—with the Aberdeen Wings being the first—as all other division foes are in bordering states.
In the end, the Shamrocks lost their first two games against the Ice Dogs. In the first game, 579 of 1,500 people attended. The Shamrocks gave up a goal in the second, tied it up in the third, but lost in a shootout to the Ice Dogs at the end of regulation for a final score of 1-2.
The second game had better attendance with 679 of 1,500 tickets sold, but the Shamrocks game up a goal in the first, followed another in the second, and two goals in the third, for a final score of 0-4.
