SHARKSPAGE

McCarthy Nets Two As Hutton Blanks Monarchs

The Worcester Sharks got another outstanding performance from goaltender Carter Hutton and used John McCarthy’s two goal game to defeat the Manchester Monarchs 2-0 Friday night at the DCU Center in Worcester, Massachusetts in front of a crowd of 3,508. The win, coupled with the Connecticut Whale’s 3-2 loss to the Providence Bruins, reduces the WorSharks deficit for the last guaranteed playoff spot in the Atlantic Division to just two points.

With the shot totals so close–Manchester had the 27-23 edge–on would think that territorially the game would be about even. But those in attendance know better as huge stretches of the game were played in the WorSharks end. The keys were Worcester’s ability to keep Manchester on the perimeter and away from the WorSharks net and Hutton being in perfect position to make the big saves when called upon. It appeared that Worcester made a concerted effort to keep the Monarchs away from the front of the net, and for the most part, they succeeded. That strategy limited the second chances for Manchester to just a very few, where Hutton, some good team defense, and couple lucky bounces kept the Monarchs off the board.

Both teams would be perfect in four tries on the penalty kill in the game, but Worcester’s second power play unit was still able to get them on the board midway through the first period. After killing a minor to Dwight King for boarding Benn Ferriero the Monarchs were unable to clear the puck from their zone. Brandon Mashinter out-muscled three Manchester players along the right wing half boards and found defenseman Sean Sullivan at the blue line. McCarthy headed for the net to screen Monarchs netminder Martin Jones and to look for a rebound, but instead Sullivan’s shot hit the forward on the backside as he stood at the top of the crease. Worcester got a lucky bounce as the puck went right to McCarthy’s stick, and Jones had no chance on the blocker side shot at 11:55.

The WorSharks would make it 2-0 at 9:16 of the second period when Manchester lost track of McCarthy after an odd man rush. The play started when Nick Petrecki gathered a loose puck at the Worcester blue line and drove deep into Monarchs territory down the right wing side. The Manchester defense forced Petrecki wide, where his hard backhander sailed wide behind the net. Mashinter, who this time was set up along the left wing halfboards, flipped the puck back around the net where Tommy Wingles picked it up and drove hard toward the far post to wheel the net. But instead of trying to jam the puck home inside the post Wingels saw McCarthy streaking through the slot all alone and hit him with a nice backhand pass. McCarthy had the whole 24 square feet to shoot at and he didn’t miss.

From that point on the game was virtually all Manchester, but the WorSharks defense and Hutton stood tall and kept the Monarchs at bay. Long time AHL fans knew that referee Terry Koharski isn’t inclined to put away the whistle late in close games, but Joe Loprieno didn’t need to make to so easy for a penalty to be called with an obvious trip with just over two minutes to go. The power play was really six on four as the Monarchs pulled Jones, but the extra attacker looked to hinder the Monarchs power play more than help it. Any chance of a comeback was squashed by some great hard work by Patrick Davis, who for the second time in as many games out-muscled an opponent for a loose puck with nothing but the empty net in front of them. This time, however, instead of breaking free to score the bonus goal Davis was hauled down by Justin Azevedo. The reward, a badly needed WorSharks victory, was the same.

GAME NOTES
Worcester’s scratches were Jonathan Cheechoo, Jon Landry, Tony Lucia, James Marcou, Frazer McLaren, Alex Stalock, and Mike Swift. All but Landry are on the injury list, but the good news was Cheechoo skated in warm-ups and will hopefully be available some time this weekend. McLaren also skated in warm-ups, so one must presume his injury is not too serious. Harri Sateri was the back-up goaltender.

In the playoff race, Worcester now trails Connecticut by two points and a tie breaker for the last guaranteed playoff spot in the Atlantic Division. The WorSharks have a home and home with the Providence Bruins to finish the weekend and then are home Tuesday to take on the Portland Pirates. They then head to Charlotte to take on the Checkers in a pair of games next weekend to finish out the regular season. The combined winning percentage the Worcester will face is .568. Unfortunately for Worcester Connecticut’s schedule is far easier as three of their remaining five games are against teams that are eliminated from the playoff chase. The Whale travel to Springfield to take on the Falcons Saturday night and then face the Pirates in Hartford on Sunday. Next weekend Connecticut has a home and home with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, and then will finish off the season next Sunday at home against the Norfolk Admirals. The combined winning percentage the Whale will face is .510. Currently Connecticut’s magic number to eliminate Worcester is eight.

The three stars of the game were
1. WOR – 30 Carter Hutton (27 save shutout)
2. WOR – 7 John McCarthy (2g)
3. WOR – 53 Brandon Mashinter (2a)

Carter Hutton was also the AHL’s number three star of the night.

The Sharkspage player of the game was Tommy Wingels.

Even strength lines
Davis/Ferriero/McGinn
Mashinter/McCarthy/Wingels
Henderson/Longpre/DaSilva
Trevelyan/Quirk/MacIntyre

Moore/Sullivan
Petrecki/Loprieno
Schaus/Irwin

Power play lines
McGinn/Wingels/Trevelyan
DaSilva/McCarthy/Mashinter(Davis)

Irwin/Ferriero
Sullivan/Moore

Penalty kill lines
McCarthy/Davis
Ferriero/McGinn
Quirk/Wingels

Moore/Sullivan
Petrecki/Loprieno

BOXSCORE
Manchester 0 0 0 – 0
Worcester 1 1 0 – 2

1st Period-1, Worcester, McCarthy 5 (Sullivan, Mashinter), 11:55. Penalties-served by Kozun Mch (bench minor – too many men), 2:00; Schaus Wor (tripping), 6:17; King Mch (boarding), 9:50; Johnson Mch (roughing, roughing), 16:58; Mashinter Wor (roughing), 16:58.

2nd Period-2, Worcester, McCarthy 6 (Wingels, Mashinter), 9:16. Penalties-Schaus Wor (interference), 4:18; Schaus Wor (interference), 10:56.

3rd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Loprieno Wor (tripping), 17:47; Azevedo Mch (holding), 19:37.

Shots on Goal-Manchester 7-10-10-27. Worcester 6-10-7-23.
Power Play Opportunities-Manchester 0/4; Worcester 0/4.
Goalies-Manchester, Jones 22-12-1 (23 shots-21 saves). Worcester, Hutton 11-5-2 (27 shots-27 saves).
A-3,508
Referees-Terry Koharski (10).Linesmen-Bob Bernard (42), Jack Millea (23).

One Response to “McCarthy Nets Two As Hutton Blanks Monarchs”