SHARKSPAGE

Sateri wins battle of Finnish goaltenders; WorSharks defeat IceCaps 2-1

The Worcester Sharks didn’t get many pucks past St. Johns IceCaps rookie goaltender Jussi Olkinuora, but for the second game in a row WorSharks netminder Harri Sateri took what little advantage Team Teal could give him and turned it into another two points after grabbing a 2-1 shootout win Saturday night at the Mile One Centre in St. John’s, Newfoundland in front of a sellout crowd of 6,287. The win gave Worcester five of a possible six points in their three game series at The Rock.

Worcester forward Brodie Reid beats IceCaps goaltender Jussi Olkinuora in the fourth round of the shootout.
St. John's captain Jason Jaffray would misfire on the next attempt to give the WorSharks the 2-1 win.
Photo courtesy of the ST. JOHN'S ICECAPS

Scratches for the WorSharks were Konrad Abeltshauser, Jimmy Bonneau (leg), Lane Scheidl (knee), Nick Petrecki, and Daniil Tarasov (unknown). The backup goaltender was Troy Grosenick. Good news from Newfoundland yesterday was Tarasov’s injury was not considered serious and he should be back in the line-up next Friday in Manchester. There are whispers that Bonneau, who suffered a serious skate cut to his leg in Springfield on October 26th, will also be back soon.

The win gave Worcester two wins in a row for the first time since defeating Portland on March 10th and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on March 13th of last season. That was also the last time the WorSharks earned five out of a possible six points as those two wins came after a shootout loss to Providence on March 9th. Sateri was the netminder during that streak.

Not only did Worcester and the IceCaps get to see each other three games in a row, but they also got to see referees David Banfield and Keith Kaval officiate in each game. This writer is not a fan of referees officiating consecutive games for the same team–never mind three in a row–because players are often penalized because of things that transpired in previous games. That happened several times in Saturday’s opening period as only six minutes were played at even strength. We won’t get into the fact that the first five minors were calls against Worcester and then the next six were called on St. John’s because one would think that was almost impossible.

Speaking of penalties, IceCaps pest Blair Riley was called for interference at 3:06 of the third period in what was clearly a check to the back of the head of WorSharks captain Rob Davison. It will be interesting to see if the AHL issues some supplementary discipline to him considering the video of the hit should be very clear.

It was the fourth time in Worcester Sharks history that the team played in three consecutive overtime games, which is one short of the team record four set in January of 2009. It was the first time the IceCaps had ever had three in a row go to the extra session.

The three stars of the game were
1. WOR – 35 Harri Sateri (24 save win)
2. STJ – 31 Jussi Olkinuora (32 saves)
3. WOR – 21 Travis Oleksuk (gtg)

The Sharkspage player of the game was Sebastian Stalberg.

BOXSCORE

Worcester 0 0 1 0 – 2
St. John’s 1 0 0 0 – 1

1st Period-1, St. John’s, Samson 6 (Jaffray, Albert), 3:25 (PP). Penalties-Gogol Wor (cross-checking, fighting), 2:29; Pelech Wor (fighting), 2:29; Chiarot Stj (fighting), 2:29; Riley Stj (fighting), 2:29; Kearns Wor (boarding, unsportsmanlike conduct, misconduct – unsportsmanlike conduct), 5:05; Davison Wor (slashing), 9:16; Acolatse Wor (cross-checking), 11:49; Riley Stj (tripping), 14:20; Lipon Stj (slashing), 16:50.

2nd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Cormier Stj (slashing), 9:18; Klingberg Stj (holding), 12:14.

3rd Period-2, Worcester, Oleksuk 1 (Stalberg, Comrie), 7:49. Penalties-Riley Stj (interference), 3:06; O’Neill Stj (high-sticking), 15:40.

OT Period- No Scoring.Penalties-No Penalties

Shootout – Worcester 2 (Livingston NG, Oleksuk G, Stalberg NG, Reid G), St. John’s 1 (Samson NG, O’Dell G, Mouillierat NG, Gordon NG, Jaffray NG).
Shots on Goal-Worcester 8-13-7-5-1-34. St. John’s 10-7-7-1-0-25.
Power Play Opportunities-Worcester 0 / 6; St. John’s 1 / 5.
Goalies-Worcester, Sateri 3-6-0 (25 shots-24 saves). St. John’s, Olkinuora 0-2-1 (33 shots-32 saves).
A-6,287
Referees-David Banfield (77), Keith Kaval (40).
Linesmen-Justin Day (79), Joe Maynard (24).

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