SHARKSPAGE

Taormina’s overtime strike lifts WorSharks over IceCaps 3-2

The Worcester Sharks stumbled and bumbled their way through most of Saturday night’s game at the DCU Center against the St John’s IceCaps, including not getting a single shot on goal during a full two minute five on three skater advantage, and found themselves trailing in the third period when WorSharks all-time goal scoring leader John McCarthy connected for his 63rd franchise goal to help get Worcester into the extra stanza where defenseman Matt Taormina’s blast through traffic found the back of the net to give the WorSharks the 3-2 overtime win. Goaltender Troy Grosenick had 18 saves for his 19th win on the season.

Worcester Sharks defenseman Matt Taormina scored his second overtime goal of
the season to give the WorSharks a 3-2 victory over the St John's IceCaps.
The goal gives him nine on the season. Photo courtesy of TEAMSHRED

For video highlights we’ll once again use the Worcester Sharks YouTube channel.

Scratches for Worcester were Konrad Abeltshauser, Chris Crane, Dylan Demelo, Petter Emanuelsson (shoulder/out for season), Jeremy Langlois (foot), Trevor Parkes (broken leg), Joel Rumpel, and Joakim Ryan. Aaron Dell was the back-up goaltender. There was no official word from the WorSharks on Parkes’ injury, and as the team is in “playoff mode” odds are there won’t be, but it’s pretty clear that Parkes season is over unless Worcester makes a deep playoff run. As of posting time there was no word of a WorSharks defensive recall to San Jose with Marc-Edouard Vlasic being injured and unavailable for Sunday’s game in Pittsburgh.

Many games have a point where you can go back and say that was the moment the game was won or lost. For Worcester and St John’s it appeared that moment was going to be in the second period when IceCaps winger Joel Armia was called for holding and then got an unsportsmanlike minor for disagreeing with referee Kendrick Nicholson–the writer disagreed with Nicholson too but went unpenalized–and before his first minor expired teammate Patrice Cormier was sent off for hooking in a play that probably saved a goal. Had Worcester scored in the first 16 seconds of that five on three the two man advantage would have continued as Armia’s first minor would have been the penalty to come off the clock, but not only did the WorSharks not score in those opening seconds they failed to get off a shot in the entire two minutes of two man advantage. With Taormina’s overtime goal what could have been an important moment in the game became nothing but a footnote.

Prior to the game the Worcester Sharks, along with a handful of former WorSharks and IceCats players, raised a banner with the names of every player to dress in a game for Worcester–up until the point the banner was made, of course–in the American Hockey League’s twenty year run in the city. In the ceremonial puck drop Worcester Sharks Booster Club President Rich Lundin dropped the puck between WorSharks all-time scorer McCarthy and Worcester all-time leader in almost everything Terry Virtue.

With the goal and an assist McCarthy moved into a fourth place tie with Jame Pollcok for all-time goals for Worcester with 63, and inched closer to fourth all-time in points as he’s now just five behind Eric Boguniecki’s 155. McCarthy is also five shy of Tom Cavanagh’s WorSharks franchise assist record. Presuming he stays healthy McCarthy will pass Nick Petrecki’s franchise record for games played on April 12th against Albany, and with ten regular season games remaining McCarthy needs three goals to catch Justin Papineau for third all-time.

The three stars of the game were
1. WOR – 20 Matt Taormina (OTgwg)
2. WOR – 17 John McCarthy (g)
3. STJ – 25 Blair Riley (g)

The Sharkspage player of the game was Bryan Lerg.

Even strength lines
Lerg/Trupp/Willows
McCarthy/Carpenter/Hayes
Haley/Oleksuk/Coetzee
Bonneau/Schwartz/Ciampini

Stollery/Doherty
Taormina/Tennyson
Young/Fedun

BOX SCORE

St. John’s 1 1 0 0 – 2
Worcester 1 0 1 1 – 3

1st Period-1, Worcester, Trupp 15 (Lerg, Willows), 10:49. 2, St. John’s, Balisy 17 (Kichton, O’Neill), 17:39 (PP). Penalties-Riley Stj (fighting), 15:03; Doherty Wor (fighting), 15:03; Stollery Wor (cross-checking), 16:19.

2nd Period-3, St. John’s, Riley 6 (Blanchard), 10:28. Penalties-Lipon Stj (tripping), 0:17; Fedun Wor (tripping), 7:34; Armia Stj (holding, unsportsmanlike conduct), 10:45; Cormier Stj (hooking), 12:31.

3rd Period-4, Worcester, McCarthy 14 (Trupp, Lerg), 10:11 (PP). Penalties-Brouillette Stj (delay of game), 8:35; Walker Stj (hooking), 12:58; Kosmachuk Stj (high-sticking), 18:16.

OT Period-5, Worcester, Taormina 9 (McCarthy, Carpenter), 2:38. Penalties-No Penalties

Shots on Goal-St. John’s 7-7-6-0-20. Worcester 13-8-12-3-36.
Power Play Opportunities-St. John’s 1 / 2; Worcester 1 / 7.
Goalies-St. John’s, Budaj 0-9-1 (36 shots-33 saves). Worcester, Grosenick 19-10-1 (20 shots-18 saves).
A-3,641
Referees-Kendrick Nicholson (44).
Linesmen-Ed Boyle (81), Todd Whittemore (70).