Venom lose 3-2 in overtime despite 58 saves by rookie Rahul Sharma

POUGHKEEPSIE -- Despite a 58-save performance by 21-year-old Rahul Sharma in his pro debut, HC Venom dropped a 3-2 overtime decision to the Watertown Wolves at McCann Ice Arena on Friday.

Sharma dominated much of the game, but it was Wolves forward Trevor Grasby who played hero in the end, scoring the overtime winner at 2:17. Davide Gaeta and Trevor Lord each netted third-period goals to send the game to overtime, erasing a 2-0 deficit for Watertown.

Connor Craig and Lester Brown scored the goals for the Venom, while Brett Jackson, Austin Pickford, Stavros Soilis and Dzianis Zaichyk each picked up an assist.

Sharma set a Venom franchise record by stopping 58 of 61 shots. That he did so in his professional debut simply made this an incredible story, albeit in a losing effort. The Wolves did not test him early; the puck spent most of the first period in the Watertown end until an unsportsmanlike conduct bench minor against the Venom at 13:55 put the Wolves on the power play.

The man-up advantage kickstarted the Watertown offense. They put three shots on goal but had their best chance to score erased by a sliding Isaac Embree, who put his body on the line to keep the score knotted at zero.

The Venom got a power play of their own before the period ended when Ian McDonald went to the box for roughing at 2:05. They peppered Anton Borodkin with four shots on goal, but failed to get one past him. The first period ended in a scoreless deadlock, with Borodkin stopping 18 shots and Sharma 16.

The Venom and Wolves came out of the break energized, and each team had a breakaway chance in the first minute of the second period, though neither scored.

Sharma continued his dominant play in net as the Venom killed back to back powerplays, including 37 seconds of five-on-three hockey. The Venom finally broke the ice, scoring the game's first goal at 10:53 to give Sharma a lead to work with. Craig sent a wrist shot through traffic from near the blue line; before Borodkin could read it, the puck was past him for Craig's third goal of the season.

Less than five minutes later at 15:10, Craig got called for hooking to set up another power play for the Wolves, who aimed to even the score at one. Sharma played savior again, making five saves through the two-minute power play. By the end of the period, the Wolves fired 40 shots on goal through 40 minutes, but none past Sharma.

The Venom gave Sharma some more breathing room early in the third period. At 3:00, Soilis fired the puck toward the net. Camped in front, Brown got his stick on it, deflecting the puck past Borodkin to push the Venom lead to 2-0.

The Wolves lit the scoreboard during a four-on-three powerplay; Lord broke Sharma’s shutout bid at 9:51. Gaeta, a former member of HC Venom, tied the game 2-2 at 12:58, going top shelf on Sharma.

The game stayed tied at two after 60 minutes of play, setting the stage for a five-minute overtime period. On an odd-man rush, Grasby scored the game winner on a nice pass from Lord at 2:17.

While Sharma stole the show with 58 saves, Borodkin held his own at the other end, tallying 45 saves of his own.

The Venom have a quick turnaround as they go on the road to take on the Binghamton Black Bears on Saturday at 7 p.m.