SHARKSPAGE

WorSharks Lose 2-1 To Portland, Playoff Hopes On Life Support

The Worcester Sharks really needed two points Tuesday night but were lucky enough to escape with one after losing a 2-1 shootout final to the Portland Pirates at the DCU Center in Worcester, Massachusetts in front of 2,555 fans. The WorSharks now trail the Connecticut Whale by a point with two regular season games remaining for Worcester. Connecticut has both a game in hand and owns the tie breaker over the WorSharks.

This season has been full of ups and downs and oddities, but those faithful in attendance saw nothing odder than the goal lights flashing at both ends of the ice at the same time. The bad news for Worcester fans was the one behind WorSharks netminder Harri Stalock was the one that counted. After a slapshot from Nick Schaus beat Pirates netminder Jeff Jakaitis and rang off the far post the goal judge turned the light on. Referee Terry Koharski emphatically indicated the puck did not cross the goal line as play headed back toward the Worcester end, where Paul Byron banged home a rebound to light the lamp behind Sateri.

To make matters even worse, Schaus hit the post behind Jakaitis again on his next shift.

The shots would be even after two periods, but Portland had the edge in play and scoring chances. The one area the WorSharks did have an edge in was winning fights, as Cam MacIntyre and former WorSharks enforcer Dennis McCauley duked it out for the third time this season. Just like their two previous bouts MacIntyre came out on top, both literally and on the scorecard as MacIntyre landed on McCauley after getting the take down. McCauley went to the penalty box, but after the next stoppage in play left to go to the locker room favoring his right shoulder. He did not return.

The WorSharks would get the equalizer at 8:19 of the third when Matt Irwin blasted a slapshot from the blue line that T.J. Trevelyan tipped past Jakaitis. After the goal Worcester would have several good chances to take the lead but couldn’t get the puck to bounce their way. After a scoreless overtime that included a power play chance for Worcester that can at best be called “pathetic”, Portland’s Mark Parrish would be the only player to connect in the shootout.

GAME NOTES
With Mike Moore added to the injury list with a cut hand that required surgery, rookie Taylor Doherty made his pro debut in his place. Carter Hutton was the back-up netminder.

The three stars of the game were
1. POR – 31 Jeff Jakaitis (36 saves)
2. POR – 13 Mark Parrish (SO game winner)
3. WOR – 35 Harri Sateri (30 saves)

The Sharkspage player of the game, for the third game in a row, was T.J. Trevelyan.

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

Petrecki/Loprieno
Schaus/Irwin
Doherty/Sullivan

Power play lines
McGinn/Wingels/Trevelyan
DaSilva/McCarthy/Mashinter

Irwin/Ferriero
Sullivan/Petrecki

Penalty kill lines
McCarthy(Quirk)/Davis
Ferriero/McGinn

Sullivan/Schaus
Petrecki(Irwin)/Loprieno
Irwin/Doherty

BOXSCORE
Portland 1 0 0 0 – 2
Worcester 0 0 1 0 – 1

1st Period-1, Portland, Byron 22 (Dimmen, Whitmore), 0:57. Penalties-Fienhage Por (interference), 5:57; Wingels Wor (hooking), 6:45; Conboy Por (cross-checking), 14:15; Tropp Por (hooking), 18:36.

2nd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Petrecki Wor (boarding), 3:16; McCauley Por (fighting), 9:14; MacIntyre Wor (fighting), 9:14; Duffy Por (slashing), 10:43; Lagace Por (slashing), 17:20; Loprieno Wor (roughing), 17:20; Petrecki Wor (slashing), 17:20.

3rd Period-2, Worcester, Trevelyan 19 (Irwin), 8:19. Penalties-Fienhage Por (interference), 1:36; Ferriero Wor (slashing), 15:32.

OT Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Adam Por (hooking), 3:16.

Shootout – Portland 1 (Parrish G, Tropp NG, Byron NG, Adam NG, Lagace NG), Worcester 0 (Ferriero NG, Trevelyan NG, DaSilva NG, Wingels NG, Mashinter NG).
Shots on Goal-Portland 11-12-5-3-1-32. Worcester 11-12-9-5-0-37.
Power Play Opportunities-Portland 0/4; Worcester 0/6.
Goalies-Portland, Jakaitis 4-3-0 (37 shots-36 saves). Worcester, Sateri 1-2-1 (31 shots-30 saves).
A-2,555
Referees-Terry Koharski (10), Mark Lemelin (84). Linesmen-Ed Boyle (81), Bob Paquette (18).

Sharks earn fourth consecutive Pacific Division title with 6-1 win over Los Angeles, Western Conference teams battling for playoff spots starting to hit the wall

The Sharks earned an impressive 6-1 win against the Los Angeles Kings by sticking to the basics. The basics against the 2nd best defense in the Western Conference resulted in 6 different goal scorers, a 20-5 margin in blocked shots, and a 31 save effort for goaltender Antti Niemi in his 34th consecutive start. The Sharks sparked their turnaround in mid-January with defensively responsible play in their own zone, and a gameplan to get the puck deep and utilize a strong forecheck to create turnovers and to wear down opponents. In recent games San Jose has been generating scoring chances from all 4 lines, and a renewed confidence for several key contributors is bad news for the rest of the Western Conference. The Sharks, a team that has gone 26-4-4 since January 13th, is still gaining steam.

With the win over Los Angeles, the Sharks leapfrogged Detroit for 2nd place in the Western Conference. They also ensured home ice advantage in the first round by clinching their 4th straight Pacific Division title, 6th overall. San Jose head coach Todd McLellan noted the home ice advantage was the main takeaway. “That is the benefit, not the banner or anything else. The benefit is that you will be able to start in the 2 or 3 spot. We will be able to start in front of great fans,” McLellan told reporters after the game. “We worked hard to earn that right. Now we need to take advantage of it when it does arrive.”

Looking ahead has never really been a problem for this franchise, starting the playoffs with the proper intensity has. Not just content to turn around his team for the regular season, McLellan has molded his club into one that should exude several different traits for the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Instead of padding the scoresheet with statistics, the Sharks are content to use possession or to get the puck deep to set up the next line change in the proper position. For close to two months the majority of the Sharks wins came in 1 or 2 goal games, but they have also shown a penchant for a 60 minute effort with several late or last second comebacks. Beefs or inopportune penalties have gone by the wayside. Opponents are going to have to work harder to draw penalties. The overall them has been more of a responsible team effort, as opposed to inconsistent individual efforts. Given the depth the Sharks have up front, on the blueline, and in goal, they exhibit more characteristics with last year’s defending Stanley Cup Champions with each passing day, and not just with the same netminder between the pipes.

On the other side of the ice, the pressure may be starting to wear down several Western Conference teams battling for playoff spots. With their season on the line, Calgary folded with an 0-1-2 record on the road against each Californian team. Their worst effort by far was saved for San Jose. With only 4 games remaining on the season, that same lethargic effort continued for 2 periods against St. Louis on Friday night. Jarome Iginla’s 1000th goal was the only bright spot for the Flames. Whatever Brent Sutter said during that 2nd intermission had an effect, as Calgary stormed back with a pair of goals to earn the win. Another victory a night later at Colorado, and suddenly the Flames are back in the playoff picture (albeit trailing Chicago by 1 point with 2 less games to play on the season). Leading the Pacific Division in the first half, the Dallas Stars nearly dropped off the playoff map losing 9 of their last 11 games. A 6-0 loss to San Jose was their worst loss of the season. It prodded guest radio analyst and former Shark Dave Maley to say that it looked like their was only 1 team playing on the ice. The Stars came back with a controversial 4-3 win over Anaheim on Sunday, but the lack of effort and intensity against San Jose was palpable. Even more shocking when you consider the Hatfield vs Mccoys feel to the prior two games between the teams.

Los Angeles had a little more room to maneuver in the standings than Calgary and Dallas, but after losing both of their leading scorers to injury they could not afford to have an off night down the stretch. After really dictating play and controlling the pace and the line of scrimmage 2 weeks ago in a 4-3 shootout win over San Jose, that dominance and effectiveness against the Sharks lasted for only a few parts of the first period. I thought both teams were loose in the first period, ours included. Here goes a coach again, he is going to complain about a 6-1 win. We were attrocious in the faceoff circle. They had the puck for most of the first period,” Sharks head coach Todd McLellan said after the game. “We turned that around in the second and third. It worked in our favor. I was happy we got to use everybody tonight, there was some good minutes had by our fourth line. It was nice to see guys get rewarded offensively.” The Sharks lost power forward Ryane Clowe after he logged only 1:43 of ice time in the first period, but the first and third scoring lines took over and McLellan made adjusments to Couture and Heatley’s line as the game went on.

Los Angeles Kings head coach Terry Murray did not take the glass half full view after the game. “When you come into this building, you know you have to play good. You’ve got to show up and compete real hard. We gave up that first goal, and it’s the goals I don’t like,” Murray said. “You’ve got to show up against a real good hockey club, and play well, and we didn’t do they. They came right back, after we made it a 2-1 game, and that’s just the way they approach business. They come right back and score, and after that it was all their game.”

Many pundits, bloggers and analysts predicted a tight, defensive affair between San Jose and Los Angeles. That decidedly was not the case. “We weren’t in positions. Whether it was on the checking part of the game, without possession, or if we had possession we were not in the proper lanes. Our centermen were not there, our wingers were not in position, our defensemen were looking up and they’re almost seeing the seat of the pants,” Murray said. “There’s no way to get the puck up the ice, unless they get their feet going and get to the red line themselves. It got a little bit better in the second half of the game, but early, my goodness, structurally we were really broken down.” Complicating matters was the line changes Murray made after the loss of Anze Kopitar and Justin Williams.

After a strong push by LA early, Joe Pavelski put the Sharks on the board at 1:47 with his 19th goal of the season. After an offensive zone faceoff loss, Torrey Mitchell kept a clearing attempt in along the half wall and fired a shot on goal. Pavelski slid to the open area of ice in the slot, but then positioned himself between the defense. He got a shot on goal before the defense could turn, and it beat Jonathan Quick clean. Defensive defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic’s goal in the first was a textbook display of the Sharks gameplan. With Pavelski and Mitchell on either side of Quick with their sticks on the ice, Kyle Wellwood slid a pass through the crease to a pinching Vlasic on the left point. As Quick went down thinking Pavelski or Mitchell would bang a 1-timer, he got up and tried to get over to his right. Vlasic buried it up high before he did. 2-0 Sharks. A brief Jamal Mayers and Kyle Clifford tussle, and a subsequent Mayers hook were the only penalties called in the first 2 periods. The Sharks finished off the first with a hard Wellwood cut through the offensive zone. He started on the right wing, and angled hard to his left through 2 players. He fired a backhand off the right shoulder of Quick. Wayne Simmonds tried to hammer defenseman Douglas Murray with a check, but was briefly shaken up after the collision.

It was a night for defensive defenseman to take center stage, and Matt Greene made a spectacular play on the Kings goal 1:57 into the second. After the Sharks killed off a power play, Greene took two hard strides to open up a shooting lane on the left point. He fired an across the grain shot that Niemi stopped, but could not control. The puck dropped to the ice and was hammered home by Handzus. Wallin had marked his man on the right side, but Thornton could not get back in time to cover Handzus on the right. Defenseman Ian White was up high on Ponikarovsky after taking a puck off his body. All three of the Sharks defensive tandems are working well together, but the d-zone coverage starts to fray when they get more than 20 feet from their net.

The Sharks answered 22 seconds later with their 3rd goal of the game, cutting short any momentum the Kings were hoping to gain. First announced as Vlasic’s second goal, Kyle Wellwood was credited for his 5th of the season as he tipped a Vlasic shot by Quick. Rookie center Andrew Desjardins, playing in a 4th line role with Scott Nichol recovering from an injury, made a solid play to start the scoring sequence on the mixed and matched line. Desjardins took a hit along the end boards, but still managed to get the puck up to Vlasic on the point. After his highlight reel goal against Calgary, Desjardins recorded his first NHL assist of a similar highlight reel variety. Desjardins has shown versatility in a number of different roles given his limited ice time. He may have earned a playoff roster spot on or off the ice if everyone returns to the lineup. With a fourth line of Eager, Mayers, Desjardins and Nichol only Scott Nichol was not sprinkled occasionally on the top 3 lines. That was probably because head coach Todd McLellan was saving him for the penalty kill.

After a huge Douglas Murray point shot deflected violently off the side of the net, his defensive partner Dan Boyle scored his 8th goal of the season at 5:33. It came as he weaved inside, and then outside on Willie Mitchell before lasering a wrist shot. Joe Thornton held on to the puck for an inordinate amount of time while Dan Boyle gathered speed in the neutral zone. He would finish the game with a goal, an assist, and a fight for a Gordie Howe hat trick. The route was on. “We have been putting the puck in the net the last few games, myself and Pickles. We haven’t done that too much this year. It is nice to chip in,” Boyle told reporters after the game.

On how the Sharks have been generating so much offensive of late, Boyle noted that it stems from responsible play in the defensive zone. “It is just because we are playing good defense, it leads to good offense,” Boyle said. “We are taking care of the puck and being patient. Our goal scorers are scoring right now, it is a good sign.”

Quick was done for the night, replaced by young netminder Jonathan Bernier. Joe Thornton scored his 20th goal of the season, the 999th point of his career, and Devin Setoguchi added his 22nd as the Sharks finished out the scoring in the 2nd. It nearly could have been 7 -1 after a quick release by Ben Eager ricocheted off the post.

“You want to win your division so you get home ice. We have a pretty darn good division, so it is a feather under your cap. We still got some work to do. We are still fighting to get that second seed. It is a good step for us,” Joe Thornton said after the game. He also repeated the good defense, good offense mantra. “We are playing good defense, it leads to good offense. We are taking care of the puck and being patient. Our goal scorers are scoring right now, it is a good sign.”

Not content to play out the string, the Sharks continued to wear down Los Angeles in the third period. Not having to come back and force an overtime as they did in their previous meeting, the Sharks used puck possession and a strong forecheck to fluster a strong defensive team. In one of several scoring chances created after Joe Pavelski stole the puck in the neutral zone, a quick Pavelski, Mitchell to Demers sequence saw the young Sharks defenseman ring a shot off the post.

Niemi was strong as usual, effectively shutting off the lower portion of the net against Los Angeles. He made an explosive pad save on a Wesgarth rebound attempt. Later in the period, he stopped Lewis in front and Wesgarth tried to push Niemi, the pile, and the puck into the back of the net. As Wesgarth looked like he was trying to push a large boulder up a hill, Lewis also tried to kick the puck in. Jonathan Bernier answered on the other side of the ice with a quick acrobatic save on Joe Pavelski.

The game finished with a physical element, and a little bad blood to position both teams in case their is a Battle of California playoff series down the line. The Oakland Seals and Los Angeles Kings met for the only playoff series featuring all-California teams, and Monday night was the 35 anniversary of the last game ever played in Oakland (a 5-2 win over the Kings). 5-foot-11, 190 pound Kings forward Brad Richardson pulled up hard on defenseman Douglas Murray along the right wing in the offensive zone. As Murray closed in, Richardson tried to spin around and reverse direction down into the corner. The 250-pound Murray pasted him against the glass. The Kings maintained possession, and a Richardson-Clifford give and go along the blueline resulted in an even larger collision between Murray and Richardson. This time the 6-foot-3, 210-pound Clifford raced over to challenge Murray and defend his teammate. As Murray fought Clifford and Richardson, Dan Boyle came over to siphon off Richardson from the scrum. He earned an extra 2 minute penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.

“I turned around and I saw two guys hitting Dougie,” Dan Boyle said after the game. “I know he can probably take on two guys any day of the week, but I just wanted to go in there and help him out like he has helped me out all year. It just kind of happened pretty quick.” As the teams chatted back and forth on the bench, head coach Todd McLellan quickly squashed any extra carricular activities. His focus was on keeping the team focused on the task at hand, earning 2 points against the Los Angeles Kings. Mission accomplished. Next mission, Anaheim on Wednesday night.

[Update] Three reasons why this year’s San Jose Sharks team is different – Former Battle of California blogger and current NBC Pro Hockey Talk writer James O’Brien. Agreed on all points, except the baggage claim is a bit of a tenuous one. It is an issue, this is a team built and paid to go all the way, but it is also an issue constructed for the most part by individuals who do not watch the team on a regular basis. You could tell there were major problems with this team in December and January, but you could also tell at that time that there were the tools needed for a rebuild within the current lineup. The additions of Ben Eager, Kyle Wellwood and Ian White added more veteran skill, and speeded up the process. And given all the comments regarding Niemi, he is playing inspired hockey but there is still growth potential.

[Update2] Could this finally be the Sharks’ year? – Erik Duhatshek for the Globe and Mail. I do not think this is a “Stanley Cup or bust” year, a question that was posed to Todd McLellan prior to a past playoff appearance. This may differ with the Sharks message, but if they give 100% effort throughout a 7-game series and still lose, it would be a successful season. In the past too much talent was left on the table, and the Sharks were outworked in the playoffs far too often. Trying to play and score your way out of holes in the postseason doesn’t work. This team has been playing a playoff style of defensive, grind it out hockey since mid-January, and has gone 26-4-4 in that span.

[Update3] Here’s what we little we heard about Clowe: lower body tweaking, know more Tuesday – David Pollak’s Working the Corners blog.

The Hockey News/XM Home Ice 204 Podcast: New York Rangers, NHL expansion, Stanley Cup Playoff races, listener questions

[audio:http://www.thehockeynews.com/upload/audio/THNRadioShowApril12011.mp3]

Last Friday on The Hockey News Radio Show with Adam Proteau and Jim ‘Boomer’ Gordon on XM Satellite Radio Home Ice Channel 204: Adam and Boomer are at XM Radio’s Toronto studios for another edition of THN Radio. In the first segment, the Ask Adam mailbag deals with questions on Glen Sather and the New York Rangers, NHL expansion, and Brayden Schenn’s arrival time as a bona fide NHL star. In the second segment, THN senior writer Ken Campbell calls in to discuss playoff races, the frontrunners for the league’s coach-of-the-year honors, and the legitimacy of the Toronto Maple Leafs’ late-season surge. In the final block, Adam and Boomer continue answering and debating listener questions.

This podcast is posted here with permission. Visit thehockeynews.com and XM Radio NHL Home Ice 204 for more NHL coverage. Download the podcast via Itunes, or directly via the MP3 file here.

Hockey Notes – April 4th, 2011

LA DEFENSEMAN #8 DREW DOUGHTY AT HP PAVILION IN EARLY NOVEMBER

RW #17 WAYNE SIMMONDS COMING OFF 1G, 1A VS DALLAS

– The Sharks play out the final week of their 20th anniversary season with 4 games in 6 nights, all against Pacific Division opponents. San Jose has the opportunity to leapfrog Detroit for second in the West, and the opportunity to clinch home ice advantage in the first round with a win over the Los Angeles Kings tonight. As he has for most of the season, Sharks head coach Todd McLellan downplayed extraneous storylines and projections and zero’d in on what mattered, picking up 2 points against a dangerous Kings squad.

“You guys have been all over us about pennants, clinching and everything. You know what my answer is going to be again. We play against Los Angeles tonight and they are going to be a very good team. That is all we are focused on,” McLellan said. “It is not about clinching, we have focused on that before. It has done absolutely nothing for us.”

Center Anze Kopitar skated a game-high 24 minutes for forwards in a 4-3 shootout win over the Sharks March 24th in Los Angeles. Only defenseman Dan Boyle and Drew Doughty logged more ice time. Leading his team with 25 goals and 73 points, Kopitar was injured in a game against Colorado. He suffered ligament damage and underwent surgery last Wednesday. He will be out for the season. Second leading scorer Justin Williams, two points ahead of team captain Dustin Brown, suffered a dislocated shoulder March 21st against Calgary. He returned to the training facility in El Segundo yesterday for preliminary practice. Without a pair of top 6 scoring forwards, the Kings will have difficult matchups against a deep Sharks team rolling 4 lines.

“In watching this team and pre-scouting, I really believe this Los Angeles team has a strong defensive foundation. When you lose some of your offensive players, guys tend to turn to their strengths or their identity and they play even better,” Todd McLellan told the media this morning. “It might make our task even tougher. After a loss to Vancouver on Thursday, the Kings instituted wholesale line changes to mix things up according to Yahoo Sports. Kyle Clifford and Brad Richardson were moved up to form a first line with Wayne Simmonds, MIchal Handzus and Dustin Penner joined Dustin Brown on the third line, and the second line of Ryan Smyth and Jarret Stoll gained the services of Oscar Moller. The Kings have the second best defense in the West, and the third best defense in the NHL. Combined with the hot play of goaltender Jonathan Quick, they will be a formidable opponent for San Jose on Monday night with one caveat. Defense does not score goals. It may be an issue moving forward for LA.

– Kingston Frontenacs captain Taylor Doherty was assigned to the AHL Worcester Sharks today for the remainder of the season. The 6-foot-8, 230-pound defenseman registered 14 goals, and a career best 39 assists and 53 points in 68 OHL games this season. Drafted by San Jose in the 2nd round, 57th overall in 2009, many NHL and Team Canada eyeballs will be focused on Doherty’s development at the pro level.

– San Jose Sharks EVP/GM Doug Wilson was interviewed on KNBR 680AM’s Razor and Mr. T program two weeks back. Wilson was on the NHL committee that evaluated head shots and discussions, and he answered a few questions on that topic for KNBR. A few selected quotes from the interview:

(On recent penalties, suspensions, and concussion injuries) “When we first put this rules package in place 6 years ago, we knew we were going to speed up the game. We had serious thoughts at that point, that you are going to have guys, we call them predators, that are out there trying to take advantage of a guy who is susceptible to getting hit, and to try to hurt them. I am not going to talk about other team’s player, but the most recent suspension was to a player who was a repeat offender. We always talk about getting that out of the game. We have two of the toughest guys in the league, Douglas Murray and Ryane Clowe. They play hard, they hit hard, they will fight if they have to, but they play within the rules. We don’t want to see anyone in this game get hurt. Injuries are going to happen anyhow, but we always talk about making this the best game it can be. We also want to make it the safest environment for players.”

(On different degrees of violations) “To me there are three categories. There is accidental, accidental on purpose, and then there is intent, the malicous one. I think most people can take a look at the one, and say here is a situation where a guy took advantage where a guy was exposed, and he tried to hurt him. Those are the ones you are trying to take out of the game. The second one, the accidental on purpose, the intent is still there. You have to be responsible for the type of blow you deliver. Douglas Murray is a great example. He will hurt some people just by delivering a body blow because he is so big and strong. That is going to happen in this game, and when you play this game you sign up for that for that. Sometimes you get a concussion from the whiplash affect. Not a blow to the head, but because the collision was so forceful. Unfortunately, we are not going to be able to get all concussions out of the game because it is a contact game of guys traveling 30 miles an hour. The accidental ones, where there was no intent, just guys colliding, that is going to be part of the game. I do think we all targeted the ones where guys were intentionally trying to harm somebody. There is no room in this game for that.”

(On the number of dirty players in the league) “There are not many of them. Those players can still play in this game, we want competitors. Scotty Nichol plays hard, he will hit you north and south. Sometimes he goes across the line. Players know, there are certain guys that do this on purpose. We want that out of the game. Even the players who do it, you don’t want to take away their livelyhood but they have to adjust to the game. They can lay off a guy. If it is north south and he is right in front of you, that is fine. If it is from the side, or you come in and deliver a blow to the guy’s head, he can’t protect himself, I’m sorry. There is no one I have talked to, whether it be players or coaches, GM’s or owners or anybody that could justify that type of hit. Suspensions take care of that.”

According to a study released by the NHL earlier this season, 44% of concussions were caused by legal hits, 26% were caused by accidents, 17% were caused by illegal hits to the head, 8% occured as a result of fights, 5% were undefined. New concussion protocols enacted after a meeting by NHL GM’s call for a player to be removed from a game for examination if he exhibits any concussion-like symptoms.

– On the last Dudes on Hockey podcast (#141), Mike and Doug discuss the Dallas 6-0 blowout, take a look at the season series and the season ending home at home with the Phoenix Coyotes, talk about Douglas Murray’s hit on Mike Ribeiro and compare Ribeiro’s past track record with that of Milli Vanilli, discuss the Anaheim Ducks, the Sharks defense and whether Antero Niittymaki will get a start over the final 4 games of the regular season.

– The San Francisco Chronicle has scaled back its coverage of the NHL and the San Jose Sharks considerably after the buyout of Ross McKeon a few years back. Occasional columns by baseball beat writer Susan Slusser have been featured sparingly. A reader forwarded a Sharks-Ducks preview by the Chron’s Jake Leonard covering some of the hype surrounding the remarkable turnaround in Anaheim. Teemu Selanne’s resurgence, a very underrated move picking up defenseman Toni Lydman, Lubomir Visnovsky leading the NHL in defensive scoring, Corey Perry’s late run at an MVP and/or Art Ross campaign, bringing in Ray Emery and Dan Ellis after the vertigo symptoms suffered by Jonas Hiller did not pass, even Cam Fowler plummeting in last year’s draft right into Anaheim’s hands.

A number of pieces had to fall into place for Anaheim to make a playoff run this year. One thing left unmentioned about ESPN’s “team of destiny”, it came from the same news org whose top 3 hockey writers labeled the Sharks as “pretenders” at the halfway mark. Since January 13th (stat taken from ESPN this morning), the Sharks have beeen 25-4-4. Jake Leonard’s column was a thought provoking one. Unfortunately, there are rumblings online content from the San Francisco Chronicle may go the way of the New York Times behind a paywall. The largest paper in the Bay Area has suffered massive staffing cuts, but in order to get a lot of the hockey fans on board they are going to have to show a lot more dedication to the sport than they have over the last 2 seasons.

There is a similar issue with ESPN’s centerpiece program SportsCenter. With teams battling at a heightened level the last 3-4 weeks of the season, NHL highlights on SportsCenter outside of the top-10 list have been almost non-existent. It is shocking considering how central a role the NHL played for ESPN when it covered regional sports in Connecticut. A regular broadcast schedule of NHL games also helped lure the NBA, NFL and later the MLB as ESPN went national. Now with the expiration of Versus’ exclusive negotiating window for NHL broadcast rights, there comes a potential ESPN battle with Comcast. Two things are certain: ESPN executives will be far more respectful regarding negotiations with the NHL, and if NBC wants to remain as a partner it will have to pay a rights fee instead of the current revenue sharing arrangement.

Two other factors could play a major role in ESPN’s pursuit of a NHL broadcast deal. If the NHL labor dispute continues unabated, which should be tested when players and their representation start missing game checks, there will be a lot of open space on the ESPN programming schedule. A slightly less contentious labor dispute could ignite when the NBA’s current deal expires on June 30th. “A lockout is by no means inevitable,” NBA labor attorney Howard Ganz told Sports Illustrated on March 31st. With the Golden State Warriors missing the playoffs for the 15th season out of the last 16, the first time under new management, and the Sacramento Kings potentially leaving for Anaheim, the NBA is a sore topic among fans in Northern California.

If being respected and being given a prominent place on the Versus network is an important selling point to the NHL, shouldn’t ESPN take advantage of this by offering more coverage of the NHL’s stretch run and playoffs? Also, isn’t hedging your bets against possible protracted labor disputes by 2 of the 4 major sports leagues a wise business decision?

Last word goes to the most popular radio host in the U.S., Jim Rome. An avid hockey fan and former WHA Los Angeles Sharks season ticket holder as a youth, Rome disccused the lack of hockey coverage last month on his show. He noted that during the NHL Olympics, hockey topics and hockey calls on his show were featured almost daily. Since the Olympics, NHL stories and interviews have been few and far between. To increase exposure, it may be in the NHL and NHLPA’s best interest to have an open arrangement with more than one television broadcast partner. For new NHLPA boss Donald Fehr, a lockout or work stoppage when the NHL CBA expires in 2012 would be the worst possible scenario for the league. Even with the NHL’s resurgence, many beat writers, team employees and fans still have not returned from the downsizing neccessitated by the 2004-05 lockout. There is a window of opportunity for the NHL and the NHLPA. Whether or not they can take advantage of it to keep the game on its current growth track remains to be seen.

– Versus finding its place at NBC Sports, New NHL pact will play big factor in cabler’s future – Variety.

– 5 Storylines Kings: Hoping to reel in the Sharks – Dan Arritt for ESPN Los Angeles.

1. No help needed — The Ducks couldn’t take care of business so it’s up to the Kings to clinch their own playoff berth. If the Ducks had beaten the visiting Dallas Stars in regulation Sunday evening, postseason planning could have begun in Los Angeles, Phoenix and Anaheim. Instead, the Stars kept their own playoff hopes alive with a 4-3 victory. A regulation win in San Jose would also keep Los Angeles in the hunt for a Pacific Division title and a top 3 seeding for the playoffs. Any type of loss and the Sharks win their fourth straight division title, and the Columbus at Dallas game Tuesday night becomes must-see TV for the Kings.

– This Saturday’s Hockey Hotstove on Hockey Night in Canada featured a panel discussion about Pavel Datsyuk’s return from injury to the Detroit Red Wings, and the potential for Sidney Crosby to miss the entire postseason with concussion-related symptoms. San Jose Sharks winger Ben Eager was also featured on Coaches Corner. Eager’s slick, between the legs to backhand goal against Dallas received a shout out from Cherry (for Ben Eagen, but close enough). AHL President and CEO Dave Andrews was also featured in an informative intermission interview. Andrews noted that approximately half of the AHL players, around 350 or so, have been called up to play at the NHL level this season. He also discussed the possibility of shortening the AHL schedule, reducing 4 game in 5 night and 8 game in 10 night stretches, and the mandatory visor rule instituted a few years back. On the schedule, Andrews noted it would reduce injuries and leave the players with more energy should they be called up. With regards to visors, Andrews said there was no noticeable change after the rule implimenation, especially after similar visor rules are already in place in Canadian major junior and U.S. collegiete hockey.

– Canucks fans cautiously optimistic plus 30 thoughts – Elliotte Friedman.

10. Huge season for Cory Schneider. Clearly showed he’s ready for a No. 1 job. Asked him when he felt “the breakthrough moment.” He said it was in the exhibition season, following an 8-2 loss to Edmonton. “I was thinking, ‘Here we go again.’ But Rollie (Melanson) met with me, showed me everything that went wrong because I was too far out of the net. The next game, I won 3-1 [against San Jose]. That’s when I realized I was ready.”

11. Schneider added that you sit on the bench (or watch on TV) and think, “How am I going to stop a Dany Heatley shot?” Then, you get in a game, actually do it a few times and gain real confidence. He does admit, with a laugh, that RJ Umberger still owns him. Luongo, sitting next door, said his killer is Tim Jackman.

– TSN’s Darren Dreger touched on current and former Sharks on today’s edition of The Dreger Report. On former goaltender Evgeni Nabokov, Dreger reported that the New York Islanders were unwilling to allow Nabokov to play in exhibition contests for Team Russia prior to the World Championships. Nabokov signed a 1-year $570,000 contract with the Detroit Red Wings after leaving the KHL mid-season. He was claimed off waivers by the Islanders, but the 10-year NHL veteran refused to play for the team. TSN’s Bob McKenzie noted earlier in the season that the Islanders were looking to “toll” Nabokov’s contract, and petition the league to make it valid for 2011-12.

Dreger also touched on the turnaround in San Jose, key midseason additions by GM Doug Wilson, and noted that the best addition may have happened shortly before training camp when goaltender Antti Niemi was brought in after winning a Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks. While fellow Finn Antero Niittymaki was strong early in the season, Niemi grew into the system and has started 33 straight games. The Sharks are currently battling Detroit for 2nd place in the West. Antti Niemi signed a 4-year contract extension in March, locking in a starting goaltender in the post-Nabokov era long-term. In addition to Nittymaki, the Sharks have two high end goaltending prospects working their way up through the system. Alex Stalock, who suffered a season ending injury this year in Worcester, and Finnish netminder Harri Sateri are waiting in the wings to get a shot at suiting up for the “goaltending factory”.

– Thornton’s absence from faceoff circle — and 35th anniversary of the Seals final NHL game – David Pollak’s Working the Corners blog for the San Jose Mercury News.

– The Kings’ magic number remains at two, They can secure a spot if they beat San Jose on Monday. The Stars next face Columbus at Dallas on Tuesday – Helene Elliott for the Los Angeles Times.

The Kings are currently second in the Pacific Division with 96 points in 78 games played. They are tied with Phoenix for the 4th seed in the Western Conference based on the newly instituted standings tiebreaker for 2010-11: regulation and overtime wins sans those obtained in the shootout. The Sharks (3rd), Kings (4th), Blackhawks (8th), and Dallas (10th) are the only playoff contenders in the West with 4 games remaining on the season.

The magic number is a figure first used from baseball to determine the number of wins/losses by a competitor needed in order for a team to clinch a division or a league title. In hockey the figure has been commonly used to determine the number of points gained/lost by a competitor needed in order to qualify for the postseason, in addition to winning a divisional or conference title. The tragic number, abley promoted by Yahoo’s Greg Wyshynski, is a running tally counting down towards elimination for non-playoff teams. The differences between the usage of magic and tragic numbers have caused some confusion, but for the most part that is how the are commonly used by fans and the media at this point.

– Versus blogger Steve Lepore believes the Kings need to clinch sooner rather than later. Barring an epic collapse the Kings will make the playoffs, but simply making the playoffs is not enough for this Dean Lombardi built team. They broke a 6-year playoff drought last season, but bowed out in the first round to the Vancouver Canucks. The Kings as a franchise need more. The social and media capital of the west coast is stacked with an over-abundance of entertainment options. It is sometimes difficult for the Kings to move the needle locally. Last year’s playoff run generated excitement but was cut off before a lot of media and fans could join the bandwagon. In 43 seasons, Los Angeles has made the playoffs 24 times but advanced only 11 times including a Stanley Cup Finals appearance in 92-93. With the firepower and depth of Vancouver, Detroit and San Jose above them, the Kings need to lock in a 4th or 5th seed to have the best chance at going deep in the postseason. With recent injuries to second leading scorer Justin Williams (out 5 games) and leading scorer Anze Kopitar (out for season after surgery), Los Angeles has won 4 of 5 while handing the Sharks their only loss (SO) over the last 8.

– Spotted in the stands during the Sharks last visit to Los Angeles, late night talkshow host Craig Ferguson.

– The San Jose Sharks and Edmonton Oilers affiliate in the ECHL, the Stockton Thunder, finished off the home slate of their regular season schedule with a phenomenal 3-game in 3-night series last weekend against Victoria, and a 2-1 loss against Las Vegas on Wednesday. In the first of 3 games against the ECHL’s lone Canadian franchise, Stockton stormed back from an 0-2 defict to score 4 goals inside of 20 minutes. 5,830 fans watched the road team score 3 goals in the final 20 minutes to force overtime and win via shootout. On Saturday, 8,923 fans watched Stockton score 2 goals in the final minutes to complete a 3 goal comeback. The Thunder lost a second consecutive overtime shootout. In the finale Sunday, 7,974 fans witnessed center Jordan Foreman’s first career hat trick en route to a dominating 8-4 win. 9 different Thunder players registered points.

Three day attendance total for Stockton? 22,727 fans. Northern California’s second professional hockey team outdrew several AHL franchises that weekend, and a near 9,000 figure is larger than several struggling NHL franchises have put up on certain dates. Heavy Bay Area to Central Valley traffic on weekday’s hinders out of town attendance, but the team is building a core fan base. With tickets as low as $7 and parking for $10-15, a family of 4 can attend a game for the price of NFL parking elsewhere and still have money left over. It is a quality entertainment option in the region. Attendance occasionally dips in the playoffs because large group parties often schedule games months in advance. The Thunder will have home ice advantage in the first round of the Kelly Cup Playoffs against the Utah Grizzlies. In the 2-3 format, games 3 through 5 will be played at Stockton on April 9th, April 10th and April 12th.

– In addition to attendance success at the professional level (the Worcester Sharks AHL affiliate also registered their 4th highest home attendance figure of 6,242 for a recent game against Providence), the Sharks are also experiencing a boom at the grass roots level. Sharks Ice in San Jose, the San Jose Sharks practice facility and the largest 4-rink hockey facility on the west coast, recently hosted their third USA Hockey National Championship tournament. The 2007 Women’s/Girls National Championship in San Jose drew a large number of players and fans, and postive and inspirational media coverage for women’s and girl’s hockey meant expediting a return for USA Hockey. The Sharks and Sharks Ice followed that tournament up with the 12U Tier II Peewee National Championships last week. 34 teams were divided into 3A, 2A and 1A divisons to compete for titles.

The San Jose Sharks and Los Angeles Kings Jr programs are the heavyweights for developmental youth hockey in California. The 12AAA Jr Sharks scored twice in the third period, but could not overcome a 3 goal deficit losing to the Denver Jr Pioneers 3-2 in the Quarterfinals. Andy Choi lead the team with 6 goals in tournament play. The LA-based California Heat won the first National title for their youth hockey organization with a 2-0 shutout over the New Jersey Red Bank Generals in the finals. The Heat did not lose in 5 contests, and lead their divison with 27 total goals scored. In 12AA play, the Indianapolis Racers earned a title with a 5-2 win over the Pittsburgh 98’s. The Racers outscored their opponents 49-9 over 6 games. The Oklahoma City Oil Kings earned a 12A title with a 3-2 win over the North Carolina Charlotte Jr Checkers after 1 overtime.

In addition to the tiered hockey system, Sharks Ice recently hosted the ACHA D2 National club hockey championships. With NCAA hockey some distance off for colleges on the west coast, developing a stronger ACHA system is the first step in the right direction. At the largest roller hockey facility on the west coast, the 3-rink Rollin Ice facility in San Jose, the largest hockey tournament worldwide has been brought to town in 2 of the last 3 years. The enormous NARCh roller hockey championships drew over 200 teams and thousands of players and fans for several weeks worth of summertime hockey.

The Sharks are hoping the development outside of HP Pavilion eventually leads to homegrown players succeeding inside of the Tank. Earlier this year the Sharks inked their first ever local player when they signed 20-year old defenseman Sena Acolatse to an NHL contract. The Hayward-born defenseman registered 15 goals and 48 assists this year for the WHL Prince George Cougars. He was traded earlier in the WHL season from the Saskatoon Blades for a bantam draft pick in 2011. Sena grew up playing hockey at Sharks Ice in Fremont before moving to Edmonton with his family in 1998. According to Sharkspage’s Darryl Hunt, Sena Acolatse was recently signed to a ATO and has joined prospect Taylor Doherty on the Worcester Sharks blueline. One more step in the development of local hockey for Northern California.

– Two other local hockey notes: The San Jose Jr Sharks 12U girls team downed the East Coast Wizards 1-0 to win the USA Hockey’s Tier II Girl’s National Championship. This was the first USA Hockey national championship for a Jr Sharks team. While Sharks Ice in San Jose hosted the 12U boys championships, three rinks in the Anaheim area (Anaheim Ice, Westminster Ice, Orange County Ice Palace) hosted 48 teams from the 12U, 14U, 16U and 19U girl’s and women’s division.

“The entire Sharks organization is thrilled for the Junior Sharks program for this monumental accomplishment,” said San Jose Sharks Executive Vice President and General Manager Doug Wilson. “This is a moment the girls, their families and friends will never forget. It is also an important milestone representing the growth of hockey in the Bay Area and specifically, the incredible work done by Sharks Ice Hockey Director Robert Savoie, Junior Sharks President Tony Zasowski and Head Coach Burke. The quality of hockey teams coming out of Northern California is now on par with any other area of the United States.”

– A press release from the San Jose Sharks announced the creation of a new high school hockey league (the Bay Area, central California, and southern California have all seen high school hocky leagues created in the last few years):

SHARKS ICE AT SAN JOSE ANNOUNCES THE CREATION OF THE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA HIGH SCHOOL HOCKEY LEAGUE PRESENTED BY HP

SAN JOSE – Sharks Ice at San Jose is proud to announce the creation of the Northern California High School Hockey League presented by HP (NCHSHL). This league will run in conjunction with the current HP High School Hockey League.

The NCHSHL will consist of four school-sponsored teams: Archbishop Mitty, Bellarmine, Cardinal Newman (Santa Rosa) and Valley Christian. Previously, the four schools participated in the HP High School Hockey League, Varsity Division. The goal in separating these teams into their own league is to encourage other greater Bay Area high schools to sponsor their own squads.

“In the short term, the beginning of a school-sponsored league is exciting for the schools involved,” said Ken Shamanski, a faculty member at Valley Christian and moderator of the ice hockey club. “In the long term, it will mean greater growth of high school hockey in the Bay Area.”

The ultimate goal is make ice hockey an official California Interscholastic Federation (CIF)-sanctioned sport in the near future.

“High school hockey is coming of age in California,” Cardinal Newman Principal Graham Rutherford said. “We are fortunate to be part of this exciting experience.”

The NCHSHL teams, whose season will consist of ten regular season games, will play a couple of exhibition matches against teams in the HP High School Hockey League.

When the HP High School Hockey League debuted in 2000, just four teams comprised the entire league. In 2010, the league fielded 25 teams with players from as far north as Santa Rosa, Salinas to the south, Stockton to the east and Santa Cruz to the west. Of the 25 teams, 15 competed in the Junior Varsity Division while the other 10 skated in the Varsity Division.

Unlike traditional high school sports where junior varsity and varsity are predominantly decided by age, the divisions are decided exclusively by skill level. The Junior Varsity Division is made up of predominantly of recreational, house and travel players, while the Varsity Division is comprised of travel A and tier players.

A few NCHSHL games of note:

– April 3, 5 p.m., Redwood Empire Ice Arena in Santa Rosa – The Valley Christian Warriors travel north to play against the Cardinal Newman Cardinals. The game will be the first true home game for the Cardinals as in the past, they’ve played their home games at Oakland Ice Center operated by Sharks Ice

– April 13, 7:15 p.m., Sharks Ice at San Jose – The Bellarmine Bells face off against their cross town rivals, the Valley Christian Warriors

– April 15, 7 p.m.,, Sharks Ice at San Jose – The Archbishop Mitty Monarchs play hosts to the Cardinal Newman Cardinals in the last Friday night game of the regular season

– April 23, 5 p.m., Redwood Empire Ice Arena in Santa Rosa – The Bellarmine Bells go north to skate against the Cardinal Newman Cardinals on their home ice

– May 8, 4:30 p.m., Sharks Ice at San Jose – The NCHSHL Championship Game

For more information about the Northern California High School Hockey League presented by HP and the HP High School Hockey League, please visit www.sharksiceatsanjose.com.

– Changes in store for XM’s NHL Home Ice and the NHL Network via Patrick Hoffman of Kukla’s Korner. NHL Live will no longer be heard on NHL Home Ice, instead it will be heard on the NHL Network from 1-3PM PT. Former Toronto Maple Leafs GM will take over the 9-noon spot.

– Several NHL teams are on the cutting edge experimenting with equipment to improve the saftey and performance of their players on the ice. San Jose Mercury News columnist David Pollak reported on the Sharks use of cut resistant socks and sleeves. It became more of a focal point after highly regarded goaltending prospect Alex Stalock suffered a severed nerve behind his knee after being cut by a skate blade.

Young defenseman Jason Demers and 24-year old right wing Devin Setoguchi are early adopters of the cut resistant technology, but older players have shown some resistance. “Hockey players are idiots. You have to get hurt first so you know the value of it. That’s what we do,” defenseman Douglas Murray told Pollak. “I didn’t put a visor on until I took a puck in the eye and scratched my cornea. You don’t think you need stuff, and then you add on as you hurt yourself. It’s plain stupid.”

Several teams are using a brand called Tactics Armoured Skate Socks. A bright yellow fully suplemated sock with a black and grey foot is the most frequently displayed model. According to Sportsnet, from the knee to the ankle features a kevlar-woven surface that protects from most indirect and direct blade contact. According to Pollak, the Sharks are working with southern California based Kozo Shimano on testing new products. Last season Hockey Night in Canada’s Don Cherry ran a segment that featured several Achilles tendon injuries. He urged young players to wear a simple hard plastic tendon guard on the back of their skates. “You see guys with their Achilles always open, they don’t tie up their top lace, so therefore the back kind of gets open,” Sharks center Joe Thornton told CBC at the time.

After injuries to Joe Corvo, Andrei Markov and Robert Lang in the past, the NHL was hit with another serious skate blade injury this year when Dion Phaneuf went down in a Toronto Maple Leafs game against the Ottawa Senators. Phaneuf suffered a deep cut to the back of his leg after an akward collison with Peter Regin in the corner, but the Maple Leafs defenseman struggled to regain his feet. “As soon as the skate hit me, I knew I was cut for one thing,” Phaneuf told Leafs TV. “I could feel something a little deeper. I knew something was up, that is for sure.” The Leafs were more aggressive using cut resistant hockey socks, with as much as twice the participation of other teams after the Phaneuf injury according to reports.

The NHL is testing saftey products across the board. According to Star Tribune reporter Michael Russo, the NHL approved new Fusion Safety Pads that will go on stantions at many NHL hockey rinks. After 6-foot-9 Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara checked 6-foot-2 Montreal forward Max Pacioretty into the metal stantion between benches, the saftey of NHL facilities became a hot issue around the league. In addition to considerations for glass placement between benches, the glass itself may be changed in as many as 6 NHL rinks. Seamless glass offers a better view for customers in the stands, but the rigid surface has no give and can cause significant injuries to players. Panes of plexiglass held together by metal stantions around the rink offer more give, and many veteran defenseman can place their body up against the glass and slingshot opponents to the ice when they attempt a check. Montreal, Calgary, Colorado, Minnesota, Nashville and Phoenix are the teams that currently utilize seamless glass.

– Puck Daddy chats with Easton President Chris Zimmerman about stick breaks, concussions, Chara’s endorsement and growing hockey – Greg Wyshynski for Yahoo.com.

As a maker of protective gear for players, what are your thoughts regarding that gear coming under fire as part of the concussion problem in the NHL?

We’re involved, aware and concerned with player safety and in particular with head protection. It’s a critical mission. We just launched in the fall our helmet technology center. We just introduced last week, for lack of a better term, a “pitcher’s helmet” that fits over a ball cap and provides protection in the key areas where the pitchers are vulnerable on the mound.

In hockey, we’re one of the smaller players in the helmet business; the bigger ones are Bauer, CCM and Reebok. But we think we have a knowledge base, and we’re working right now on creating more protective helmets that can minimize risk. Preventing all concussions isn’t a reality in the sport.

So it’s not just about the equipment; it needs to be a two-pronged solution with the NHL or another League creating legislation that prevents concussions, too?

I think all parties have a role. Quite honestly, part of the issue, and I have a 15 year old son that’s played hockey all his life and has had a couple of concussions, is understanding the nature of concussions. Creating appropriate return-to-play guidelines.

There’s multiple stakeholders that need to step forward. But in the end, we want to create a safer game. People are going to continue to become bigger and faster and stronger. We need to understand that and create equipment and rules.

Sateri, WorSharks Beat Providence 2-1

The Worcester Sharks got goals from T.J. Trevelyan and Jamie McGinn and an absolutely incredible goaltending performance from Harri Sateri to defeat the Providence Bruins 2-1 Sunday afternoon at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence, Rhode Island in front of a crowd of 7,332 fans.

Both teams would have numerous great chances in the opening twenty minutes, and the score could have easily had been 6-5–in either direction–were it not for some incredible stops by Sateri and P-Bruins netminder Anton Khudobin. Goaltending was again the story in the second period, and there was no bigger save in the period than Sateri’s incredible glove save on Jamie Arniel’s shorthanded breakaway in the middle of the period. It was on that man advantage, at 14:30 to be exact, the WorSharks that Trevelyan finally got one past Khudobin. McGinn and Dan DaSilva had the assists on the goal.

McGinn would make it 2-0 with an unassisted goal at 7:56. After McGinn broke in alone through the P-Bruins zone Khudobin made the original save but couldn’t control the rebound, and McGinn was able to pick the puck loose and put it in the net for the 2-0 lead.

Providence would cut the lead in half just 58 seconds later when Alain Goulet threw a centering pass from behind the goal line to Maxime Sauve in the slot, who beat Sateri to make it 2-1. But from that point on Sateri was unbeatable, making several great saves to keep Providence at bay and to grab two important points.

Unfortunately for Worcester Connecticut also won Sunday against the Portland Pirates, the toughest team remaining on their schedule, keeping their two point lead over the WorSharks with just three games remaining. Worcester will face those same Pirates Tuesday in their final regular season game at the DCU center.

GAME NOTES
The WorSharks have confirmed Nathan Longpre was released from his ATO. His spot in the line-up was taken by Frazer McLaren. Other than that, and Carter Hutton being the back-up netminder, the WorSharks went with the same line-up all weekend.

T.J. Trevelyan has a two game goal streak (2g). Cam MacIntyre has been even or better for ten straight games

How good were Harri Sateri and Anton Khudobin Sunday? If a highlight video of saves in the game was made for each of them it might be longer than you could put together for some goaltenders for a full season.

The three stars of the game were
1. WOR – 44 Jamie McGinn (g,a)
2. WOR – 35 Harri Sateri (33 saves)
3. PRO – 30 Anton Khudobin (40 saves)

The Sharkspage player of the game was T.J. Trevelyan.

BOXSCORE
Worcester 0 1 1 – 2
Providence 0 0 1 – 1

1st Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Laliberte Pro (roughing), 5:36; Sullivan Wor (roughing), 18:53.

2nd Period-1, Worcester, Trevelyan 18 (McGinn, DaSilva), 14:30 (PP). Penalties-Loprieno Wor (tripping), 1:07; Reich Pro (tripping), 4:57; Warsofsky Pro (holding), 12:44; Goulet Pro (holding), 18:52.

3rd Period-2, Worcester, McGinn 8 7:56. 3, Providence, Sauve 21 (Goulet, Arniel), 8:54. Penalties-No Penalties

Shots on Goal-Worcester 14-17-11-42. Providence 7-13-14-34.
Power Play Opportunities-Worcester 1/4; Providence 0/2.
Goalies-Worcester, Sateri 1-2-0 (34 shots-33 saves). Providence, Khudobin 26-16-2 (42 shots-40 saves).
A-7,332
Referee-Chris Ciamaga (41). Linesmen-Bob Paquette (18), Jack Millea (23).

WorSharks Can’t Get It Done Against Providence

The Worcester Sharks were dominated in nearly every aspect of the game at a time when they needed to be playing at their best, and while goaltending usually keeps the WorSharks in games this season when their play is less than stellar that wasn’t the case Saturday night in a 4-1 loss to the Providence Bruins at the DCU Center in Worcester, Massachusetts in front of an overflow crowd of 8,075. The loss keeps Worcester two points (and a tie breaker) behind the Connecticut Whale for the last guaranteed playoff spot in the AHL’s Atlantic Division.

Providence’s opening tally at 1:51 of the opening period had WorSharks fans thinking it would be a long night as carter Hutton totally misplayed Maxime Sauve’s shot from the low left wing circle. Hutton was not squarely against the near post and as the puck fluttered around between the netminder and post Jamie Arniel was able to just poke it over the goal line.

Worcester had a great chance early to get that goal back when Dan DaSilva found himself all alone at the far post just over six minutes into the contest, but P-Bruins goaltender Michael Hutchinson was able to get across the crease to make the save. The WorSharks did finally get back to even with 56 seconds remaining in the period with a power play goal after a wild scrum in front of the Providence net. Benn Ferriero, playing on the point, blasted a shot on net from the blue line that deflected off Tommy Wingels and slowed significantly. The puck got to Hutchinson at just about the same time as the WorSharks forwards crashed the net, and with the P-Bruin penalty killers in the mix a huge pile of players developed at the top of the crease. T.J. Trevelyan was somehow able to direct the puck just over the goal line to make it 1-1.

The Baby-Bs second goal of the game brought huge groans from the Worcester faithful when Providence converted on a broken play after Hutton misplayed another shot. With the WorSharks playing a P-Bruins rush well enough to prevent a clear scoring attempt from down low Stefan Chaput was able to get just enough of a bouncing puck to settle it in the slot for Lane MacDermid. From about twenty feet out the winger’s half slapshot low along the ice beat Hutton five hole to make it 2-1 Providence at 5:22.

As poorly as Hutton played he still made several great saves, and there was none bigger than while the WorSharks were on the power play as Providence broke in shorthanded two on one. Hutton made a great save after a cross ice pass left an onrushing P-Bruin penalty killer with a yawning open net. The save put Hutton down and out, and it looked like the return blast would give the Baby-Bs a two goal lead, but Matt Irwin was able to get to the front of the net to make the save for his goaltender.

Early in the third period Worcester had two great chances to get the tying goal, but after a great feed from DaSilva to a wide open Trevelyan the forward misfired from the slot with a lot of net available for him to hit. A few minutes later Brandon Mashinter was also all alone in front, in almost the exact same spot as Trevelyan’s miss, but Mashinter’s blast rang off the crossbar and bounded away harmlessly.

The P-Bruins would get the back breaker at 7:46 of the third on another shot Hutton should have had that ended going into the net through his legs. With defenseman Mike Moore all over Sauve down the left wing side, the onrushing forward was able to get a shot off that Hutton got a piece of, but the puck trickled through his legs and just over the goal line. After a turnover by Ferriero at the Providence blue line Jeremy Reich would add an empty net goal at 18:53 for the 4-1 final.

GAME NOTES
The WorSharks went with the same line-up as Friday night. The blue line for Worcester is starting to get crowded as the WorSharks have signed Sena Acolatse to an ATO and San Jose has reassigned Taylor Doherty from Kingston of the Ontario Hockey League. The transactions on the AHL’s official website reports that Nathan Longpre, who played Saturday night, has been released from his ATO. There has been no other confirmation from any other source.

Saturday’s crowd of 8,075 was the second largest in the Worcester Sharks era. The largest was the 9,803 fans that saw Worcester IceCats tribute night on January 22 against Bridgeport. The crowd was the 13th time in WorSharks history they’ve had over 7,000 in the house, and while many Worcester fans seem to think “they always lose” in front of large crowds that isn’t the case as Worcester has gone 8-4-1 in those games. The official sell out number is 7,230, and the WorSharks are 4-1-0 in games at that number of fans. Six times Worcester has raised the end curtains and sold tickets beyond the normal ticket limits, and Worcester has a respectable record of 3-2-1 on those games. It’s not shocking news to hear that of the 13 times there has been 7,000 or more at the DCU Center nine of them were against the Providence Bruins. Worcester is undefeated against the three other teams they’ve faced at home in front of those large crowds, having two wins over the Portland Pirates and single victories over the Manchester Monarchs and Lowell (now Albany) Devils.

The WorSharks announced their team awards during the game:
Rookie of the year: Tommy Wingels
Man of the year (community contributions): Nick Petrecki
Unsung hero: Dan DaSilva
Three stars: Johnathan Cheechoo
MVP: Andrew Desjardins

The three stars of the game were
1. PRO – 7 Maxime Sauve (g,a)
2. PRO – 35 Michael Hutchinson (33 saves)
3. PRO – 12 Jamie Arniel (g,a)

The Sharkspage player of the game was T.J. Trevelyan

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

Irwin/Ferriero
Sullivan/Moore

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

Moore/Sullivan
Petrecki/Loprieno

BOXSCORE
Providence 1 1 2 – 4
Worcester 1 0 0 – 1

1st Period-1, Providence, Arniel 23 (Sauve, Button), 1:51. 2, Worcester, Trevelyan 17 (Wingels, Ferriero), 19:04 (PP). Penalties-Whitfield Pro (tripping), 6:50; Schaus Wor (hooking), 9:38; Goulet Pro (hooking), 16:32; Chaput Pro (cross-checking), 18:40.

2nd Period-3, Providence, MacDermid 7 (Chaput, Estoclet), 5:22. Penalties-Warsofsky Pro (slashing), 15:34.

3rd Period-4, Providence, Sauve 20 (Arniel), 7:46. 5, Providence, Reich 14 (Whitfield, MacDonald), 18:53 (EN). Penalties-No Penalties

Shots on Goal-Providence 7-6-15-28. Worcester 17-6-11-34.
Power Play Opportunities-Providence 0/1; Worcester 1/4.
Goalies-Providence, Hutchinson 12-10-1 (34 shots-33 saves). Worcester, Hutton 11-6-2 (27 shots-24 saves).
A-8,075
Referees-Chris Cozzan (18). Linesmen-Scott Whittemore (96), Chris Aughe (74).

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).

Sharks score a touchdown with no extra point against Dallas, 6-0 win clinches seventh straight playoff appearance

#12 PATRICK MARLEAU: 2G, FRANCHISE RECORD 12SOG, +3

SJ FANS MODEL LATEST PLAYOFF ACCESSORY, THE SHARK HAT

#32 KARI LEHTONEN FIGHTS OFF SHOT, #39 LOGAN COUTURE IN 2ND

Notes from the San Jose Sharks 6-0 win over the Dallas Stars will be posted soon. A photo gallery from the game is available here.

WorSharks Booster Club Announces Awards

The Worcester Sharks Booster Club held its 5th annual awards banquet Tuesday evening at the DCU Center’s Convention Center.

The awards were voted on by the Booster Club members during early March. The winners, as announced by Booster Club President Rich Lundin, were:
Best Offensive Player – Jonathan Cheechoo
Best Defensive Player – Justin Braun
Tough Guy Award – Brandon Mashinter
7th Player – Sean Sullivan
Rookie of the Year – Tommy Wingels
Fan Favorite – Mike Moore
Best Single Game – Carter Hutton; 20 save shutout vs Prov 2/5/11
MVP – Alex Stalock

It should be noted that Hutton’s shutout of Providence took place on the day he started the day on the bench for San Jose in Boston and then drove to Worcester to take on the Baby-Bs.

Also handed out were the player of the month awards for the season, and those winners were:
October – Benn Ferriero
November – Sullivan
December – T.J. Trevelyan
January – Braun
February – Mashinter

WorSharks Salvage Weekend With 3-1 Victory Over Adirondack

The Worcester Sharks, coming off two embarrassing losses, finally put together three decent periods and got an outstanding goaltending performance from Carter Hutton to defeat the Adirondack Phantoms 3-1 Sunday afternoon at the DCU center in Worcester, Massachusetts in front of 5,003 fans.

After being blown out 7-2 Saturday night by the hapless Springfield Falcons the WorSharks knew they needed to pick up the intensity, and from the opening drop of the puck Worcester did everything they could to erase the foul taste of the weekend from their mouths. The reformed Crazed Rats line, this time with college try-out player Nathan Longpre at center, would strike first when Kevin Henderson would get a stick on Nick Petrecki’s blast and deflect it past Adirondack netminder Michael Leighton at 1:21. Dan DaSilva began the play by dumping the puck along the right wing boards to Petrecki at the left point.

Henderson would have another golden chance again about four minutes into the period when DaSilva threw a pass over to the onrushing forward, but his blast rang off the iron behind Leighton. It was one of three shots that would find the pipes for Worcester in the period.

At the other end of the ice Hutton was, unlike Saturday, his usual stellar self making many nice saves to keep the Phantoms off the board. None was better than the incredible glove save Hutton made on Tom Sestito, who had a yawning open net to shoot at with about 8 minutes to go in the opening period. Sestito’s blast was about a foot off the ice, and Hutton was able to get across the crease and flash the glove out to grab the puck right at the goal line. It happened so quickly that fans didn’t even react to the save until it was replayed on SharksVision.

Adirondack would get their lone goal of the contest early in the second period when Harry Zolnierczyk left a nifty drop pass in the high slot for Jonathon Kalinski, who fired a laser over the glove of Hutton and just inside the far corner at 3:59. The WorSharks would find themselves shorthanded three times for a total of eight minutes in the middle stanza, but good penalty killing and a couple of nice saves by Hutton kept the score even. The Phantoms would get another puck past Hutton at 6:24 of the period, but referee Gino Binda waved off the tally for the goal being off its pegs.

Worcester would get the eventual game winner off another Petrecki blast, this time from the right side. After a Sean Sullivan dump in from the left side DaSilva raced behind the net and forced the puck along the right wing boards to Petrecki. Like his earlier shot from the opposite side Petrecki unleashed a cannon shot that T.J. Trevelyan was able to get a piece of, and the puck slowly rolled over the goal line for the 2-1 lead at 11:46 of the third period. Sullivan was credited with the second assist, but it will likely be changed to DaSilva at some point.

Hutton made several stops to keep the WorSharks in the lead, and after an extended time with Leighton on the bench for an extra attacker and the Phantoms swarming the net Patrick Davis was able to out-muscle Adirondack defenseman Erik Gustafsson away from the puck and shot it into the empty net at 19:46. Any chance of a miracle comeback for the Phantoms was squashed when Binda called a bench minor for unsportsmanlike conduct against Adirondack just after the goal as the team was complaining he missed several penalties–and he did–in the wild scrum in front of Hutton just prior to the empty net tally.

With the win Worcester is now four points–and a tie breaker–behind the Connecticut Whale for the last Atlantic Division playoff spot with six regular season games remaining.

GAME NOTES
The WorSharks went with the same line-up all weekend, with Jon Landry being the only healthy scratch. Harri Sateri was the back-up netminder.

The three stars of the game were
1. WOR – 30 Carter Hutton (34 saves)
2. WOR – 24 T.J. Trevelyan (gwg)
3. ADK – 49 Michael Leighton (27 saves)

The Sharkspage player of the game was Patrick Davis

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

Moore/Sullivan
Petrecki/Loprieno
Irwin/Schaus

Penalty Kill lines
Ferriero/McGinn
McCarthy/Davis

Moore/Sullivan
Petrecki/Loprieno

Power Play lines
Wingels/McCarthy/McGinn
Henderson/Longpre/DaSilva

Petrecki/Ferriero
Sullivan/Moore

BOXSCORE
Adirondack 0 1 0 – 1
Worcester 1 0 2 – 3

1st Period-1, Worcester, Henderson 8 (Petrecki, DaSilva), 1:21. Penalties-Henderson Wor (hooking), 10:39; Marshall Adk (slashing), 19:39.

2nd Period-2, Adirondack, Kalinski 6 (Zolnierczyk, Syvret), 3:59. Penalties-Marshall Adk (roughing), 5:31; McLaren Wor (roughing), 5:31; Trevelyan Wor (boarding), 5:31; served by Trevelyan Wor (bench minor – too many men), 7:40; Longpre Wor (double minor – high-sticking), 10:00; Zolnierczyk Adk (roughing), 13:58; Sullivan Wor (roughing), 13:58.

3rd Period-3, Worcester, Trevelyan 16 (Petrecki, Sullivan), 11:46. 4, Worcester, Davis 7 (Moore, McGinn), 19:46 (EN). Penalties-Testwuide Adk (hooking), 6:58; Zolnierczyk Adk (roughing), 9:45; Moore Wor (roughing), 9:45; Hamel Adk (hooking), 14:20; served by Sestito Adk (bench minor – unsportsmanlike conduct), 19:46.

Shots on Goal-Adirondack 14-11-11-36. Worcester 5-7-18-30.
Power Play Opportunities-Adirondack 0/4; Worcester 0/4.
Goalies-Adirondack, Leighton 11-12-3 (29 shots-27 saves). Worcester, Hutton 10-5-2 (36 shots-35 saves).
A-5,003
Referees-Geno Binda (22). Linesmen-Scott Whittemore (96), Brian MacDonald (72).

DOH Podcast #140: Calgary, Los Angeles and Phoenix wins, first round playoff matchups, reader questions

[audio:http://dudesonhockey.com/podcast/doh_2011_0327.mp3]

Mike Peattie and Doug Santana discuss recent Sharks wins against Calgary, Los Angeles and Phoenix, examine potential first round Stanley Cup Playoff opponents, and answer reader questions on the 140th episode of the Dudes on Hockey podcast.

This Sharks podcast is posted here with permission. Visit dudesonhockey.com for more coverage of the team or download the MP3 file directly here.

WorSharks Drop Another ‘Must Win’ Game; Playoff Hopes Looking Bleak

The Worcester Sharks twice overcame one goal deficits but couldn’t do it a third time as they dropped a 4-2 contest to the Providence Bruins Friday night at the DCU Center in Worcester, Massachusetts in front of 6,242 fans.

With the WorSharks chasing two teams for the final playoff spot in the AHL’s Eastern Conference every game falls into the “must win” category, but if they continue to play as they did Friday night they won’t have to worry about winning games as they’ll be quickly eliminated from playoff contention. All season long the WorSharks have been plagued by an astonishing lack of fundamentals, and that’s what caused Providence’s first goal when the entire WorSharks team stood around and watched Kirk MacDonald skate behind the net and throw a pass out front to a virtually uncovered Trent Whitfield at the top of the crease. Worcester netminder Harri Sateri had no chance on the one timer at 6:07.

Worcester would drag themselves back to even on a nice deflection by Patrick Davis. T.J. Trevelyan started the play with a nice backhand feed to the left point from the halfboards. Defenseman Matt Irwin delayed just long enough for a screen to begin to develop and blasted the puck on net, where Davis deflected the waist high blast past P-Bruins’ goaltender Anton Khudobin at 11:34.

The next shift is proof the WorSharks really miss center Andrew Desjardins. Head coach Roy Sommer just about always sends The Crazed Rats out on the ice after every goal that’s scored, but with Desjardins on recall to San Jose the Rats have been temporarily caged. After Worcester got caught too deep on the forecheck a bad bounce sent Providence on a two on one break against Sean Sullivan, and Jamie Arniel held the puck the entire way and beat Sateri five-hole with a wrist shot just 27 seconds after Davis’ tally.

Benn Ferriero showed why he’s already penciled into San Jose’s line-up next season with a great individual effort that got Worcester back to even again. Nick Petrecki grabbed a loose puck deep in the Worcester zone and started skating up ice, where he spotted Ferriero all alone along the left wing boards. The center collected Petrecki’s pass and skated wide around the left side face-off dot and cut to the front of the net around Providence defenseman Alain Goulet. Ferriero’s low shot beat Khudobin at 16:47. Sateri had the second assist on the play for his first point in North America.

Worcester would play well in the second period but never really got that great scoring chance to force Khudobin to make a big save. Their lack of fundamentals would come back to bite them again when Frazer McLaren made a lazy pass in the offensive zone into the slot that was intercepted by Providence allowing for an odd man rush back the other direction. The puck eventually ended up on Whitfield’s stick, and he fired a shot over a diving Joe Loprieno and into the net just before the cage was driven off the pegs at 12:15 of the second.

The WorSharks would have two power play chances after that point but couldn’t generate a single scoring chance on either, and as time ticked away in the third period MacDonald added an empty net goal to ice the game for the P-bruins and likely ice the season for Worcester.

GAME NOTES
Over the week the Worcester Shuttle dropped off Brandon Mashinter from the left coast. The WorSharks also released BU forward Joe Pereira from his ATO. Pereira was quickly signed to an ATO by Bridgeport (NY Islanders), who are now fielding a team that looks like it should be competing in the NCAA’s Frozen Four as opposed to the AHL. T.J. Trevelyan was back after missing one game due to injury, and Jon Landry was the team’s only healthy scratch. Carter Hutton was the backup goaltender.

There is one addition to the injury list for the WorSharks as Director of Youth Hockey and Community Relations and fill-in PA announcer Mike Myers suffered a minor head injury in a freak tricycle accident. Myers was originally scheduled to play goaltender for the Worcester Police and Fire Department team in a Guns n’ Hoses contest against the Bridgeport, CT Fire Department Saturday afternoon, but he will now miss the contest and is unofficially listed as “day to day”. The great news is his injury did not prevent him from enjoying his normal quantity of Reese’s Mini Peanut Butter Cups from the WorSharks Booster Club table, which was seen as a huge step in Myers making a full recovery.

In a scoring change from Sunday’s contest in Manchester, the first goal of that game was been switched from Patrick Davis to Frazer McLaren. McLaren’s backhander was originally thought to have hit Davis, but it instead deflected off the Monarchs defender and into the net. Davis was awarded the secondary assist on the goal, and newcomer Nathan Longpre’s assist was upgraded to the primary one.

Some streaking WorSharks: Patrick Davis has a two game goal streak and a three game point streak (2g,a). Matt Irwin (3a) also has a three game point streak going. In a not so positive streak, Frazer McLaren has gone 11 games without a fighting major. When your enforcer doesn’t fight one has to wonder why he’s even playing.

The three stars of the game were
1. PRO – 23 Trent Whitfield (2g, +3)
2. WOR – 21 Benn Ferriero (g)
3. PRO – 12 Jamie Arniel (g)

The Sharkspage player of the game was Patrick Davis.

Even Strength lines
DaSilva/Ferriero/Mashinter
McGinn/McCarthy/Wingels
Davis/Trevelyan/Henderson
Longpre/Quirk/McLaren

Moore/Sullivan
Petrecki/Loprieno
Irwin/Schaus

Penalty Kill lines
Ferriero/McGinn
McCarthy/Davis
Quirk/Henderson

Moore/Sullivan
Petrecki/Loprieno

Power Play lines
Wingels/McCarthy/McGinn
DaSilva/Trevelyan/Mashinter

Petrecki(Irwin)/Ferriero
Sullivan/Moore

BOXSCORE
Providence 2 1 1 – 4
Worcester 2 0 0 – 2

1st Period-1, Providence, Whitfield 15 (MacDonald, LaVallee-Smotherman), 6:07. 2, Worcester, Davis 6 (Irwin, Trevelyan), 11:34. 3, Providence, Arniel 20 (Caron, Goulet), 12:01. 4, Worcester, Ferriero 16 (Petrecki, Sateri), 16:47. Penalties-McLaren Wor (boarding), 3:18.

2nd Period-5, Providence, Whitfield 16 (LaVallee-Smotherman, MacDonald), 12:15. Penalties-Wingels Wor (high-sticking), 12:22; Miller Pro (roughing), 18:34.

3rd Period-6, Providence, MacDonald 13 19:06 (EN). Penalties-Moore Wor (hooking), 1:38; Cohen Pro (delay of game), 6:13.

Shots on Goal-Providence 9-5-10-24. Worcester 13-13-8-34.
Power Play Opportunities-Providence 0/3; Worcester 0/2.
Goalies-Providence, Khudobin 25-13-2 (34 shots-32 saves). Worcester, Sateri 0-2-0 (23 shots-20 saves).
A-6,242
Referees-Chris Brown (86). Linesmen-Luke Galvin (2), Todd Whittemore (70).

Calgary Flames playoff hopes nearly extinguished, 0-1-2 road trip in California concludes with lifeless performance in San Jose

ONE OF 2 MAJOR SETOGUCHI COLLISIONS WITH KIPRUSOFF, THIS IN 2ND PERIOD

SHARKSPAGE PLAYER OF THE GAME #17 TORREY MITCHELL -- 2G, 5S, +2

SAN JOSE C #17 TORREY MITCHELL LIFTS 2ND PERIOD GOAL OVER KIPRUSOFF

The Calgary Flames came into Wednesday night’s contest proclaiming the need for a Game 7 playoff effort to keep their playoff hopes alive. What they offered on the ice was anything but. What was expected to be a tight, defensive affair gave way to a 6-goal first period, and an eventual 6-3 win by the San Jose Sharks. Second, third and fourth efforts regularly seen in playoff elimination games were not there for Calgary. The tough, grueling attrition style of play in front of their own net was also gone. There was no urgency from the Flames, and only hints of the playoff rivalry that gripped both cities in 2004 and 2008. The Sharks barely slowed down to give them any pause.

In the tight Western Conference playoff picture where even winning games is not enough, Calgary has been in a freefall. Having lost 3 of 4 previously, Hockey Night in Canada described the Flames 3-game California road trip as “their season”. Struggling with an enormous crush of injuries, 318 man games lost prior to Wednesday night, Calgary had to battle 3 hardened Pacific Division opponents without David Moss, Freddy Modin, Brendan Morrison and Daymond Langkow among others. Niklas Hagman was injured during the second stop in LA. The Flames battled back from a 3-0 deficit in Anaheim with 4 goals, but Teemu Selanne and Corey Perry scored to give Anaheim a 5-4 OT win. In Los Angeles one night later, Olli Jokinen forced overtime with his 16th goal of the season, but Jarret Stoll and Anze Kopitar put the Flames away with a 2-1 shootout win.

Then came San Jose on Wednesday, and with the Flames season on the line many expected a whithering assault. Instead there was no intensity on the ice, no urgency by Calgary. no pushing hard for the win. Instead it looked like they were playing out the string. With several missteps and a chance to gain momentum in the second period, the Flames did not take it. The Sharks kept getting the puck deep, smartly setting up crisp line changes, and punishing Calgary for 200 feet as they tried to carry the puck up ice.

Fatigue may have been a factor, and the weather in California of late has been one of steady rain, but the internal and external pressure a Canadian team faces down the stretch also takes a toll. Hockey dominates the conversation in Canada in March and April. For a team battling for one of the final playoff positions, that focus and pressure increases significantly. Occasionally Canadian teams, even traditionally hard working ones like the Flames, wilt under that pressure.

The Sharks for their part were trying to keep things on the ice “business as usual”, although Wednesday saw the return of head coach Todd McLellan, and two thirds of their second line in Logan Couture and Dany Heatley. McLellan returned after missing a game to attend the funeral of a family member in Canada. Heatley returned after serving a 2-game suspension for an elbow to the head of Steve Ott, and Logan Couture did not miss a game after he lost an edge and slammed hard into the end boards against Calgary. The fact that Couture was not more severely injured was a huge bullet dodged for the Sharks, and the second in as many games. Dan Boyle had a similar awkward fall, but he was able to play without missing a game as well. Couture’s development into what should be a Calder finalist this season has added that much depth up front for the Sharks. It allowed versatile Joe Pavelski to drop down to the third line and act as a catalyst for Torrey Mitchell and Kyle Wellwood.

On Wednesday night the fireworks started early. On a line change, Joe Thornton held on to the puck at the blueline and waited for more of his teammates to get on the ice and build up steam. As he was challenged, he dumped the puck into the opposite corner and ducked a check. Torrey Mitchell beat defenseman Jay Bouwmeester to the puck along the halfwall, and after dumping the puck down low, Mitchell beat Bouwmeester again off the wall and to the net. Jamal Mayers drove wide drawing two players to him, then he spun and fired a hard shot towards the net. Mitchell deflected it by Miikka Kiprusoff for the first goal of the game.

San Jose defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Calgary defenseman Mark Giordano were both mentioned as underrated defenseman who do not get enough media attention prior to the game. On Wednesday night this blog tried to isolate each player during the game to focus on their contributions. Giordano made his first impact play of the game, and the end result was a game tying goal for Calgary. In a play for a loose puck behind his own net, Giordano hammered Ryan Clowe up against the boards. Clowe lost his footing, making the impact that much harder. Responding to the hit, Heatley followed up on Giordano from behind and earned 2 minutes for boarding. After a strong first PK shift by Patrick Marleau and Joe Pavelski, the Flames tied the game at 1-1 on a goal by captain Jarome Iginla. Olli Jokinen’s pass deflected off the skate of Logan Couture, and off the right leg pad of Niemi, directly to Iginla. Jarome buried his 475th career NHL goal up high.

Just over two minutes later, the back and forth nature of the game would continue. Rookie center Andrew Desjardins, only the second player in NHL history to wear #69 and a founding member of the Worcester Sharks ‘Crazed Rats’ line, carried the puck up the left side. Again, Jamal Mayers drove the front of the net and drew 2 players to him. Desjardins crisscrossed at the blueline, stepped around to snap a high inside out slapshot, recording about as pretty a rookie goal as you are going to score in this league. Desjardins tried to act like he had been there before, and not celebrate too much on the ice. Once he got to the bench he was smiling and pantoming a replay for his linemates.

Cory Sarich scored with a Tim Jackman screen in front to tie the game at 2-2, but from then on it was all San Jose. Patrick Marleau scored his 30th goal of the season, 350th of his career, by exploding around defenseman Jay Bouwmeester on the left side. Marleau got a step on Bouwmeester, then protected the puck until he unloaded a quick backhand shot. This is the third straight season Marleau has reached 30 goals, and the 5th time in his 13 year career.

Marleau was not finished. Calgary took a pair of late first period penalties that would come back to haunt them on the scoreboard, and put them behind the 8-ball to start the second. Marleau scored his 31st goal of the season on the power play assisted by Setoguchi and Pavelski, with a hat tip to Joe Thornton. In traffic, Thornton fired a short pass to Pavelski, who while falling got a shot towards the front of the net. The puck bounced off Setoguchi, and he responded trying to stuff it past Kiprusoff. Marleau pinched down from the left point to net front, and he buried the open rebound.

In the second period the Calgary Flames had an opportunity to gain momentum, but they could not take advantage of it. Antti Niemi was strong early, blocking an intial shot by Rene Bourque, then smothering a Matt Stajan shot up high. The Sharks responded to that push with a turnover, an offsides, another turnover, and another offsides, but the Flames could do nothing with that. Olli Jokinen was hammered by a clean Douglas Murray check in the neutral zone. A subsequent 3-on-1 rush was turned into a 3-on-2 rush with a hard skating Bouwmeester getting back into the play, but Miikka Kiprusoff turned in the save of the game on Devin Setoguchi. Thornton saucered a pass that landed directly on Setoguchi’s stick. As he has done multiple times in recent games, Setoguchi tried to come in hard behind the deflection attempt. Kiprusoff deflected the puck and Setoguchi wide of the net. It was the first of two major Setoguchi vs. Kiprusoff pileups on the night.

The momentum had clearly swung back to San Jose’s favor when Rene Bourque finally punched through Antti Niemi. A backhand wraparound shot deflected off a stick and over Niemi to bring the game to 4-3. The crowd settled down after repeatedly getting out of their seats on recurring end-to-end San Jose rushes. They were settling in for the next Calgary push which never came. Joe Pavelski was 15-2 in faceoffs after 2 periods, and in an intermission interview he said he would have been 16-1 if not for the scorekeeper. One of those clean faceoff wins resulted in the Sharks 5th goal. Pavelski fired 2 shots on goal, Mitchell and Wellwood both drove the net and were there for the rebound. Mitchell chipped a backhand high for his second goal of the game.

The third period started with another massive Setoguchi collision into Kiprusoff. Setoguchi went hard around the defense, but was knocked off balance and he slammed hard into the Flames goaltender. Seto slid another 7 feet past the crease, Kiprusoff took the net off its moorings and came to rest near the end boards. Flames fans in attendance, of which there were many, held their breath until he got back to his feet. Kiprusoff adjusted his helmet, did not complain to the ref, and took his spot back in front of the net.

The incident clearly was not over. On the next shift, a headhunting Cory Sarich took an unsuccessful shot at Ryan Clowe high in the zone, then he tracked back and upended Couture along the wall in the corner. Clowe made a b-line for Sarich and both dropped the gloves. Sarich is listed at 6-foot-4, 207 pounds, but he was in over his head. He looked competitive in the fight until right hand stopped him in his tracks. From then on it was survival, and not get hit mode for the visor-wearing Sarich. If you are going to cheap shot an opposing team’s players, hockey fighting etiquette demands you take your helmet off before fighting if you are wearing a visor. Sarich did not. Clowe fought through Sarich’s attempts to lock him up, but in tight he had to throw short hammerfists and uppercuts to get around the visor. Eventually he let loose with long right hands, some of which bounced off the helmet, some off the visor, some of the chin of Sarich, and some off the shoulder pads. Part of Clowe’s reaction to Sarich was for the hit on Couture, part had to be a belated response to Cory Sarich’s elbow to the head of Patrick Marleau in Game 3 of the 2008 WCQF. A hit where Sarich was not penalized, Clowe was for retaliation, and the Flames earned a PP goal.

Sarich was not through on Wednesday night. He tried to catch Patrick Marleau playing the puck at the neutral zone. Sarich slammed hard into Marleau, but he hit a brick wall and was flung back on the ice. Marleau bounced off him, and was able to get the puck deep in the Calgary zone. It would happen over, and over, and over again in the third period. The Sharks would get the puck deep, and force the Flames to work hard to get it out of their own zone. In their best scoring chance of the period, a prone Niemi got his glove up on a heavy slapshot by Robyn Regher.

A few minutes later, Logan Couture broke in on a 2-on-1 rush with Dany Heatley. While he looked right to fake the pass, Couture turned and ripped a shot past Kiprusoff. New Shark beats old Shark. The goal was Couture’s 28th of the season, a gift for the Sharks who only days earlier were contemplating what adjustments they might have to make if he was seriously injured. Twice Couture grimmaced after collisions on the ice, but for the most part he skated as if there wasn’t an issue.

Marc-Edouard Vlasic’s biggest impact on the game may have come in the third period. Repeatedly he anticipated Flames passes, and turned the puck up ice on transition or dumped the puck out of danger into the neutral zone. While you can talk about a burst of speed on offense for Dan Boyle or an Ian White, Vlasic uses that burst of speed to close down an angle on a rush, or to get over and cover a forward on the other side of the crease. Several times in the third, Vlasic barked at his defensive partner or at forwards on the ice, letting them know they had to make a quick play on the puck. Vlasic finished with 19:23 of ice time, +2, and 1 blocked shot. His counterpart on the other side of the ice, Mark Giorando, finished with 23:54 of ice time, -1, 2 blocked shots. Giorando is a little more aggressive on the offensive side of the ice, but using anticipation and an intelligent game in the defensive zone is his strongest asset. In the shift before Mitchell’s second period goal, Giorando and Heatley tried to get in each other’s heads skating slowly around the goal crease. Neither backed down, instead skating slowly pressing against each other. The referee had to come over and wedge them apart.

A photo gallery from the game is available here.

McCarthy, WorSharks Stun Pirates 5-4

The Worcester Sharks gave up three early goals but turned the tide with a Patrick Davis unassisted shorthanded tally and then used a Joe Loprieno game tying goal in the third period to get to overtime, where John McCarthy scored just 16 second into the extra session to give the WorSharks a 5-4 victory over the Portland Pirates in a Tuesday morning contest at the Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland, Maine in front of 5,108 fans.

Sharkspage didn’t make the trip due to the game having an 11am start and the Cumberland County Civic Center being full of several thousand screaming children on a field trip to the game, so the particulars you’ll have to check out Bill Ballou of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette with his game story and notes column all rolled into one. For the Portland side of the story Paul Betit of the Portland Press Herald has his musings. Chris Roy of the Maine Hockey Journal also braved the mass of school children to file a story.

And as per usual, the WorSharks and Pirates official sites have their unique points of view.

GAME NOTES
As was expected after the Manchester game, T.J. Trevelyan was added to the injury list. To take his place in the line-up the WorSharks signed former Boston University winger Joe Pereira to an ATO. He was released after the game.

Tommy Wingels six game point streak ended after he was given in the first period game misconduct during a line brawl. Sean Sullivan was also ejected in the altercation.

The three stars of the game were
1. WOR – 7 John McCarthy (ot gwg,a)
2. WOR – 3 Joe Loprieno (game tying goal)
3. POR – 12 Paul Byron (g)

John McCarthy was also the AHL’s number two star for the day.

The Sharkspage player of the game was Jamie McGinn.

BOXSCORE
Worcester 1 2 1 1 – 5
Portland 3 1 0 0 – 4

1st Period-1, Portland, Tropp 10 0:13. 2, Portland, Whitmore 25 (Persson, Lagace), 15:09. 3, Portland, McCauley 11 (Brennan), 16:05. 4, Worcester, Davis 5 17:38 (SH). Penalties-Tropp Por (hooking), 2:53; McCarthy Wor (roughing), 16:24; McGinn Wor (charging, fighting), 16:24; Sullivan Wor (fighting, game misconduct – secondary altercation), 16:24; Wingels Wor (fighting, game misconduct – secondary altercation), 16:24; Conboy Por (roughing), 16:24; Crawford Por (fighting), 16:24; Stuart Por (fighting, game misconduct – secondary altercation), 16:24; Tropp Por (fighting, game misconduct – secondary altercation), 16:24.

2nd Period-5, Worcester, DaSilva 16 (Henderson, Irwin), 3:06 (PP). 6, Portland, Byron 20 (Adam), 5:03. 7, Worcester, Schaus 4 (Quirk), 12:29. Penalties-Biega Por (holding), 2:34; Adam Por (tripping), 7:49; served by McCauley Por (bench minor – too many men), 10:10; Landry Wor (high-sticking), 14:31; Ferriero Wor (hooking), 18:20.

3rd Period-8, Worcester, Loprieno 3 (McGinn, McCarthy), 16:37. Penalties-Ellis Por (tripping), 3:07; McLaren Wor (hooking), 8:14.

OT Period-9, Worcester, McCarthy 4 (McGinn, Moore), 0:16. Penalties-No Penalties

Shots on Goal-Worcester 9-14-7-1-31. Portland 7-12-9-0-28.
Power Play Opportunities-Worcester 1/5; Portland 0/4.
Goalies-Worcester, Hutton 9-4-2 (28 shots-24 saves). Portland, Leggio 21-6-0 (31 shots-26 saves).
A-5,108
Referees-Mark Lemelin (84), Marcus Vinnerborg (45). Linesmen-Jeremy Lovett (78), Landon Bathe (80).

Strikeforce sale an opportunistic business deal for UFC, strategic business deal for San Jose Sharks parent company SVSE

STRIKEFORCE HW FABRICIO WERDUM CELEBRATED 2010 UPSET OF FEDOR - PHOTO JON SWENSON

GINA CARANO FACED OFF AGAINST 'CYBORG' SANTOS IN 2009 - PHOTO JON SWENSON

STRIKEFORCE LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT SANSHOU CHAMP CUNG LE IN 2005 - PHOTO JON SWENSON

The landscape of mixed martial arts changed significantly on March 11th, possibly for the last time. UFC parent company Zuffa Inc. bought it’s fifth major MMA competitor after previously swallowing the WFA, IFL, PrideFC and WEC. Given the state of the industry, there will not be a sixth. Zuffa purchased the rival San Jose-based promotion Strikeforce for an undisclosed sum and stated that both would be run as seperate entities until the expiration of the Showtime television contract in 2014.

Will the longstanding Strikeforce brand remain as a viable entity after that point, or could an agreement be made before then to fold it into the UFC? “Who knows, anything is possible and I would never say never to anything,” UFC President Dana White said via a conference call announcing the sale. “Right now Strikeforce will continue to run their shows on Showtime.”

“This is a historical day for the sport of mixed martial arts,” Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker said. “This is something we have thought long and hard about.” The agreement offers tantalizing matchups at almost every weight class for both of the major fight promotions, but it is also the culmination of a business grown and developed in the South Bay. Starting at an early age as a regional kickboxing promoter in San Jose, Coker helped ignite and fuel interest in kickboxing when his company developed K1 programming for ESPN. After a phenomenal kickboxing finale in 2005 that showcased four different flavors of kickboxing at HP Pavilion (Full contact, Olympic, Muaythai, SanShou), Coker and Strikeforce promoted the first ever sanctioned MMA event in California with Gracie vs. Shamrock on March 10th, 2006. The non-televised event drew a then-record 18,265 fans, and prospects for Strikeforce as an MMA promotion exploded.

In 2008, the San Jose Sharks parent company Silicon Valley Sports and Entertainment invested in a 50% stake of Strikeforce. “We got into mixed martial arts, we viewed it as one of the best opportunities for us to use some of our core competencies,” SVSE EVP/CFO Charlie Faas told Sharkspage. “We could use them in exploring a sport where the growth rate was off the charts.” According to both the San Jose Business Journal and Forbes, that growth rate was phenomenal. After earning a reported $4M in revenue in 2006, that figure was expected to increase significantly to around $30M for the fiscal year ending in June according to SJBJ reporter Eli Segall.

As the bottom line grew, so did the global ambitions for Strikeforce, but global ambitions cost money. The UFC invested millions and incurred considerable debt in the early Zuffa years of UFC promotion in North America. That investment was a bet on the heart stopping product inside the Octagon, and a bet on their ability to refine every aspect of their business operation to become as profitable as possible. From The Ultimate Fighter reality show, to web content, to promotion and marketing, the UFC has been a series of case studies on how to operate a fight promotion in a digital and new media environment.

After a very successful 2010, Strikeforce seemed to be on a similar track in 2011. They went large. A contract extention for former Pride FC Heavyweight Champion Fedor Emelianenko, an 8-man heavyweight tournament stacked with top-15 talent, and an attempt to bring North American MMA back to Japan were only a few of the homerun swings Strikeforce took earlier this year. With major Japanese promotions Sengoku and Dream floundering, unfortunately the Japanese debut for Strikeforce fell through. With the country reeling from a devestating earthquake and tsunami, UFC President Dana White said he is not looking to return there short term.

From the business of MMA to the business of hockey, the press conference released details that as early as December of 2010 Silicon Valley Sports and Entertainment was in discussions with the UFC and other suitors to sell their 50% position of Strikeforce. “There was a chance to bring together our organziation and the Zuffa organization to make the sport better,” SVSE CFO Charlie Faas said. “For us, (the sale) made sense economically and sports-wise.” Scott Coker echoed a similar sentiment at the press conference. “I think they wanted to get back to their hockey business,” he said.

Like Zuffa, SVSE is a private company that does not disclose financial information, but Forbes Magazine senior editor Michael K. Ozanian regularly profiles each major professional sports league and each individual team. Those financial profiles are “decent, not great,” according to Faas. The data from Forbes on the San Jose Sharks shows a targeted effort by SVSE to ice a championship caliber team. After averaging a -1.7M operating income from 2001 to 2008, that grew to a -5.5M average in 2009 and 2010. One of the major factors was the Sharks spending to the salary cap, supplementing developed talent with key additions to put them over the top.

“We are icing a team that is appropriate for us to ice. Given the league salary structure, the salary cap, and what have you. We don’t operate under a cap, we operate under a budget,” Faas said. “Sometimes our budget is not capped, sometimes it is different than that. We pride ourselves on spending effective money when it comes to our hockey team.”

According to Forbes, the San Jose Sharks franchise valuation has increased from $148 million in 2001 to $194 million in 2010. That ranks the San Jose as the 18th most valuable team in the 30-team National Hockey League. It is unclear how many variables factor into those valuations, but as a market SVSE and the San Jose Sharks have taken enormous strides to transform the Bay Area into a hockey community. In addition to numerous ice and roller hockey tournaments hosted in the South Bay, some with as many as 200 teams, SVSE and the Sharks have also managed several local hockey rinks and have developed an all ages interest that will only grow moving forward. According to a report recently issued by USA Hockey, hockey participation nationwide has increased from 195,000 players in 1990-91 to 475,000 players in 2009-10. A large segment of that growth comes from the state of California. San Jose hosts the largest ice hockey (4 rink) and roller hockey (3 rink) facilities west of the Mississippi. Despite those grass roots trends, SVSE and the Sharks are still focused on one thing.

“We expect to win a Stanley Cup,” Faas said. “We have still have to meet those expectations.”

The Sharks average approximately 44 regular season and preseason dates at HP Pavilion. During the NHL lockout in 2004, then San Jose mayor Ron Gonzales told Sharkspage it was difficult to determine a firm dollar amount for the impact of each lost game on downtown. During a Stanley Cup Playoff contest, that local business revenue figure would grow substantially. In addition to hockey, MMA and other sports properties, SVSE also drives traffic downtown with an event and concert business that has ranked as one of the top-5 busiest for North American facilities in each of the last three years.

“This company was a partnership with SVSE, which owns the hockey team, they ventured into many different businesses,” Scott Coker said in an interview with Bas Rutten on Inside MMA Friday. “They are trying to bring another sports franchise to San Jose, and to continue to focus on their hockey team.” The note by Coker about bringing in another sports franchise is an interesting one. He could have been hinting at possible NBA aspirations. During the Oakland Coliseum remodel in 1996, the Golden State Warriors played one season at HP Pavilion and earned a 30-52 record. Interest in the NBA has remained strong since that lone season. Earlier this month San Jose Mercury News columnist Tim Kawakami speculated that Oracle CEO Larry Ellison may be interested in buying the league owned New Orleans Hornets and moving them to San Jose.

Encorporating another major professional sports franchise into SVSE’s operation in downtown San Jose would fit into their philosophy more than investing heavily in a major mixed martial arts promotion looking to take their business to the next level. MMA has seen flamboyant and freespending promotions come and go, most recently with EliteXC and Affliction. “All you’ve got to do is go out and raise some cash and jump into the business,” Dana White said at the press conference. “All you’ve got to have is some big balls – some big balls and some money behind you.” Both SVSE and the UFC credited Scott Coker’s business acumen, but the growth prospects and the subsequent investment needed may have signaled a need for SVSE to move on. Strikeforce’s planned growth was not just from San Jose to other venues and/or countries, but also an expansion from premium cable and network television to possibly a pay per-view-model, something that could have taken place with the finale of the Heavyweight Grand Prix tournament. That put Strikeforce directly in line with the UFC’s bread and butter business model, pay-per-view.

The impact of the Strikeforce purchase on the sport of MMA is difficult to completely define, but one thing is certain. The UFC is now synonymous with MMA. “They are their own sport in a way,” ESPN MMA editor Josh Gross recently told Sherdog.com. Whether the purchase is good or bad for the sport is not the right question to ask according to Sherdog.com Editor and radio host Jordan Breen. “It redefines MMA. MMA is composed of tons of unique and disparate parties,” Breen told Sharkspage via email. “It’s tough for mid-tier fighters who lack negotiating power, but it’s great for a fighter like Gilbert Melendez who wants to be able to get a bigger profile and fight better competition.” Breen added that it is positive for one of the fundamental tenants of the sport, determining who is best inside the cage. “I think on the whole, it’s more positive than negative because I prize the ability to get definitive questions about who the best fighter in the world is.”

In his press conference detailing the sale, a press conference which suprised even SVSE who were expecting the official announcement on Monday, White sidestepped questions about competition between Strikeforce and the UFC. He also sidestepped questions about competition with the four major sports leagues and instead focused on the global growth prospects for his company and the talent needed to push the UFC towards those goals. “We need more fighters… we need more guys,” White said. “I don’t think (the NFL, NBA, NHL) are competition. There is demand out there. England, all the guys are pissed off we are not doing enough events over there. We haven’t been to Ireland in a long time. They are going crazy and want an event. Every time we go to Australia we sell the thing out. Every time we are going to these new markets, we are really going through these growing pains right now with the sport and with the UFC.” After putting together 27 events in its first 6 years of operation, the UFC delivered 24 in 2010. Strikeforce currently has about 140 men and women under contract. Crossover fights and fighters on expiring contracts could bolster the UFC PPV ranks as the schedule ramps up in the future.

For now, operations between both organizations will be “business as usual.” Last Saturday at the rock in New Jersey (aka the Prudential Center), the UFC saw the rise of another dominant potential superstar in Jon “Bones” Jones. The flamboyant and wildly unpredictable fighter earned the UFC Light Heavyweight title with a 3rd round TKO of former Pride Middleweight GP champion Maurício “Shogun” Rua. Another Pride favorite, Mirko “Crocop” Filipovic also lost on the undercard with a brutal knockout loss to Brendan Schaub. The former K1 kickboxing champion may be facing retirement. Former UC Davis wrestler and WEC champion Urijah Faber took a step towards his title ambitions with a solid decision win over Eddie Wineland. Business as usual for Strikeforce will mean a rare visit to the Stockton Arena for a Strikeforce Challengers card on April 1st, and the return of Strikeforce Championship MMA April 9th in San Diego. San Jose based Justin Wilcox will face Rodrigo Damm, and Japanese 2008 Olympic Judo gold medalist Satoshi Ishii will meet Scott Lighty in a heavyweight affair in Stockton. On April 8th, Nick Diaz will return to the hexagon against Paul Daley in a WW title fight, and Gilbert Melendez will headline with a LW title defense against the Japanese version of Bonecrusher Smith, Tatsuya Kawajiri.

The Sharks and SVSE noted an additional perk as a result of the sale. In addition to serving as home base for Strikeforce, the UFC may come to HP Pavilion down the line as well. “It would be phenomenal to have San Jose based UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez fight in our building,” Faas said. “This is the home base of Strikeforce, we will continue to hold Strikeforce events here, but we will also have UFC Fight Night and UFC PPV in the future. If you bring in a UFC PPV, you can plan on 16,000 or 17,000 people in the building. It is always an electric atmosphere.”

[Correction] The SVSE revenue figure reported by the San Jose Business Journal has been corrected to accurately reflect their reporting.

[Update] UFC buys rival Strikeforce – Josh Gross for ESPN.com.

[Update2] Sources: UFC’s Strikeforce purchase likely hastened by ProElite Inc. interest – Steven Marrocco for MMAjunkie.com.

The Hockey News/XM Home Ice 204 Podcast: Stanley Cup Playoffs, concussion talk, Joel Ward, Minnesota Wild

[audio:http://www.thehockeynews.com/upload/audio/THNRadioShowMarch182011.mp3]

Last Friday on The Hockey News Radio Show with Adam Proteau and Jim ‘Boomer’ Gordon on XM Satellite Radio Home Ice Channel 204: Adam and Boomer are back in XM Radio’s Toronto studios and open the show by speaking with Nashville Predators winger Joel Ward about the difficulty of being a player injured during a playoff race, and his experiences with concussions. In the second segment, THN contributor Alan Bass calls in to discuss his new book “The Great Expansion: The Ultimate Risk that Changed the NHL Forever” and what it was like learning the journalism trade as a THN intern. In the final segment, the Ask Adam mailbag deals with questions on in-game player interviews, the Minnesota Wild’s attractiveness to free agents, and more.

This podcast is posted here with permission. Visit thehockeynews.com and XM Radio NHL Home Ice 204 for more NHL coverage. Download the podcast via Itunes, or directly via the MP3 file here.

Ferriero, Hutton Lead WorSharks Over Monarchs 3-2

The Worcester Sharks got two goals from Benn Ferriero and a great goaltending performance from Carter Hutton to defeat the Manchester Monarchs 3-2 Sunday afternoon at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, New Hampshire in front of an announced crowd 7,011.

After long bus rides to and from Wilkes-Barre during the weekend it was imperative the WorSharks get off to a good start to give themselves any chance of beating the division leading Monarchs, and luckily for Worcester they did just that. And their early hard work paid off when Frazer McLaren, who had no better option from the right wing corner, fired a hard backhander toward the net. In this St. Patrick’s Day weekend luck of the Irish was with Worcester when the puck deflected off of Patrick Davis and past Manchester netminder Jeff Zatkoff for the 1-0 lead 12 minutes into the period. Newcomer Nathan Longpre had his first professional point with the second assist.

Worcester would make it 2-0 on a nice four on three power play goal at 18:11. With John McCarthy and Manchester’s Patrick Mullen in the box for matching roughing minors, David Meckler would join his teammate in the box to give the WorSharks the unusual power play. The WorSharks went with three forwards, with Ferriero occupying the left point. A Tommy Wingels pass to the top of the left wing circle found Ferriero all alone, and his return blast beat Zatkoff just inside the far post. Matt Irwin has the other assist.

During the second period every bounce went Worcester’s way, including several that kept the puck out of the WorSharks net and a few that gave Worcester great scoring chances. It was one of those bounces that got Worcester its third goal of the game. With time winding down in the middle stanza Ferriero broke into the Manchester zone but was cut off from heading to the net. Ferriero instead left a drop pass for Mike Moore in the high slot, and the onrushing defenseman uncorked a blast that Zatkoff could barely get the right pad on. The rebound when right to Ferriero, who kicked it to his stick and batted it into the net with 26 seconds remaining for the 3-0 lead. Dan DaSilva’s outlet pass to Ferriero earned him the second assist.

And that third goal was big because of Worcester’s issues in the third period over the course of the season, and the few WorSharks faithful in the stands were already expecting the worse when Oscar Moller used defenseman Sean Sullivan to screen Hutton and fired a hard wrist shot just inside the top corner to make it 3-1 at 1:45. Manchester would make it 3-2 with a power play goal when a wide open Corey Elkins beat Hutton just under the crossbar at 6:19.

But Worcester’s tired legs had just enough energy left in them to keep the Monarchs at bay the rest of the way, and hopefully the two points aren’t too little, too late.

GAME NOTES
Worcester’s injury list just keeps growing, this time it’s Cam MacIntyre. His injury left the WorSharks with just 18 healthy skaters, and head coach Roy Sommer was forced to use defenseman Jon Landry at forward. The list may be growing even larger as T.J. Trevelyan was injured early in the contest and didn’t return.

Tommy Wingels (5g,2a) extended his point streak to six games. John McCarthy’s streak was stopped at five games. Benn Ferriero (2g,a) and Dan DaSilva (g,a) both have two game streaks going.

It’s a well known fact that most AHL teams–the WorSharks included–count tickets sold as their attendance and not the actual count of people with their butts in the seats, but the 7,011 number announced by the Monarchs would mean there were about 3,000 no-shows for the game. Of course, it is possible Sunday was “dress as an empty seat” night in Manchester and there were some really great costumes, but this writer doubts it.

The three stars of the game were
1. WOR – 21 Benn Ferriero (2g)
2. WOR – 30 Carter Hutton (37 saves)
3. MCH – 6 David Kolomatis (2a)

The Sharkspage player of the game was Mike Moore.

BOXSCORE
Worcester 2 1 0 – 3
Manchester 0 0 2 – 2

1st Period-1, Worcester, Davis 5 (McLaren, Longpre), 12:00. 2, Worcester, Ferriero 14 (Wingels, Irwin), 18:11 (PP). Penalties-Landry Wor (roughing), 1:27; Petrecki Wor (cross-checking), 1:27; Azevedo Mch (roughing), 1:27; Campbell Mch (roughing), 9:23; McCarthy Wor (roughing), 16:33; Mullen Mch (roughing), 16:33; Meckler Mch (hooking), 17:43; Landry Wor (hooking), 19:24.

2nd Period-3, Worcester, Ferriero 15 (Moore, DaSilva), 19:34. Penalties-Sullivan Wor (hooking), 4:08; Campbell Mch (tripping), 8:14; Loprieno Wor (roughing), 11:14; Kaunisto Mch (roughing), 11:14.

3rd Period-4, Manchester, Moller 23 (Kolomatis, King), 1:45. 5, Manchester, Elkins 18 (Kozun, Kolomatis), 6:19 (PP). Penalties-Moore Wor (interference), 2:29; Ferriero Wor (holding), 6:07; Wingels Wor (kneeing), 15:52.

Shots on Goal-Worcester 10-12-6-28. Manchester 13-13-13-39.
Power Play Opportunities-Worcester 1/3; Manchester 1/6.
Goalies-Worcester, Hutton 8-4-2 (39 shots-37 saves). Manchester, Zatkoff 18-14-5 (28 shots-25 saves).
A-7,011
Referees-Ghislain Hebert (49). Linesmen-Bob Bernard (42), Brian MacDonald (72).

DOH Podcast #139: recent games, Steve Ott as NHL’s heroic savior, Heatley suspension, tournament play for Sharks prospects

[audio:http://dudesonhockey.com/podcast/doh_2011_0319.mp3]

Mike Peattie and Doug Santana discuss the Sharks recent games against Vancouver, Dallas and Minnesota, cast Steve Ott is his new role as league savior, discuss the NHL’s 2-game suspension to Dany Heatley, and profile several Sharks prospects competing in junior, collegiate and international tournament play on the 139th episode of the Dudes on Hockey podcast.

This Sharks podcast is posted here with permission. Visit dudesonhockey.com for more coverage of the team or download the MP3 file directly here.

Sharks power past Blues 5-3, rookie center Logan Couture left game with lower body injury in 2nd period

#28 CARLO COLAIACOVO SHOWERS #31 ANTTI NIEMI WITH ICE

#77 TJ HENSICK BATTLES #22 BOYLE FOR WRAPAROUND SHOT IN 3RD

#22 BOYLE SWEEPS HAT OFF ICE AFTER PAVELSKI HAT TRICK, GOAL LATER GIVEN TO MARLEAU

The Sharks earned another critical two points in the standings with a 5-3 win over the St. Louis Blues at HP Pavilion on Saturday night, but it may have come at a high cost. 1:04 into the second period center Logan Couture came hard at a loose puck along the end boards trying to beat RW Adam Cracknell and defenseman Roman Polak. Couture lost an edge and collided awkwardly into the wall. He was helped off the ice by linemates Ryane Clowe and Ben Eager. Couture was listed as doubtful with a lower body injury and did not return to the game. Afterwards interim head coach Trent Yawney described his injury as day-to-day.

Prior to the injury the Sharks put up a dominant first period against the St. Louis Blues and earned a rare 3-0 lead. “I think we broke out clean right away,” Patrick Marleau said. “We didn’t spend too much time in our own end at the start. We should have done that for the rest of the game. That allowed us to get our forecheck going in the other end.”

When San Jose was struggling earlier in the season, head coach Todd McLellan stepped in front of the bulk of the criticism. He opted against punishing his team and instead chose to refocus on compete level and fundamental defensive hockey. With McLellan attending the funeral of a family member in Canada along with broadcaster Drew Remenda, the Sharks players stepped up on the ice in his absence. Assitant coach Trent Yawney, who registered a 33-55-15 record in parts of two seasons as head coach of the Chicago Blackhawks, carried on with a business as usual strategy.

The hard work continued, but while the grinding for McLellan mostly occured in the defensive zone, under Yawney the Sharks were grinding in the offensive zone. Torrey Mitchell’s opening goal came on an extended sequence where several players won individual battles in front of the net. Mitchell initially lost the puck when he tried to carry it to the net 1-on-2. Pavelski’s attempt to swarm on the rebound was disrupted with a check by BJ Crombeen. As Crombeen lifted his stick, TJ Oshie came over and played the body. Pavelski spun off contact and was able to beat defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk to the loose rebound in front. Pavelski lifted Shattenkirk’s stick, then got inside body position and sent the puck back across the crease. Defenseman Ian White pinched and hammered a hard right shot on goal. Jaroslav Halak made the initial save, but Pavelski slid over to hack at the rebound. As Pavelski was hammered to the ice, a trailing Mitchell got to the second rebound and lifted it over a down Halak.

“We seem to be working to open spaces well,” Torrey Mitchell said of the success his line is having with Joe Pavelski and Kyle Wellwood. “There is a lot of good communication when we are out on the ice. That is a huge difference for us. A lot of talk, we have some speed and some skill to add to that. We have just been finding those open areas, and Pavs and Welly are pretty patient with the puck.”

St Louis Blues head coach David Payne pointed to a defensive lapse on the Sharks first goal. “We didn’t have the right amount of detail in our positional play earlier, against a team that can possess the puck in your own zone like San Jose can,” Payne said. “We got on the wrong side of people and gave up the first goal on d-zone coverage.”

After Halak was called for a delay of game penalty for shooting the puck over the glass, Patrick Marleau wound up on a big point shot that found the back of the net. Pavelski was initially credited with the tip, but after the game it was determined that the puck went in clean. As the San Jose Sharks twitter account noted, it was Pavelski who lobbied officials to make the scoring change. BJ Crombeen took an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty nearly 2 minutes later, and this time Pavelski wristed a power play shot off the crossbar and past Halak. Jaroslav Halak was done for the night, pulled for backup goaltender Ty Conklin.

The early second period injury to Couture cast a pall on the ice, but the Sharks players reacted with composure and did not let St. Louis gain any momentum. “I think the two points are what’s big, especially when the coach is gone,” Pavelski said of the overall effort. “(McLellan) set the foundation for us. The coaches stepped in and did a great job. We were ready to play.” Pavelski also said that after an early barrage, the Sharks needed to refocus on their game down the stretch. “There were times the game came easy to us and we got away from they way we want to play, and what makes us successful. We got away from the forecheck. It is something we always try to stay on. When you build a lead, you do play a little softer. You don’t want to give them anything free.”

The Blues fired 15 shots on Antti Niemi in the first period, and they would add another 15 in the second. The best scoring opportunity came on a broken play. After a Matt D’Agostini took a breakout pass from the red line to the Sharks blueline, D’Agostini split Dan Boyle and Douglas Murray to get a shot on goal. Niemi covered the net low to make the save, but the puck popped up in the air and neither Niemi nor Murray saw it. It bounced in front of the net, and an opportunistic TJ Hensick swooped in and swept it into the back of the net. The play flustered Murray somewhat, who had a difficult time on two subsequent clearing attempts.

The Sharks kept coming, and Devin Setoguchi gave the Sharks a 4-1 lead with a high wrist shot that deflected off traffic and in. Blues alternate captain David Backes nearly broke his stick swinging it in frustration after the goal, and several Blues players looked angered on the ice after letting this game get out of hand. With front line talent David Perron, Alex Steen, Barret Jackman and Vladimir Sobotka out of the lineup, the Blues have been struggling to put up consistent offense. Throw out wins against Columbus and Edmonton, and the Blues have sank like a stone in the standings losing 11 of 13. Past St. Louis teams have reacted bitterly to embrassment on the ice, and it nearly came to pass later in the second when Ryan Reaves and Cam Janssen repeatedly cross checked a prone Jason Demers in front of the Blues bench. Ryane Clowe came over with malice and forethought, but Clowe and Reaves were sent off with matching minors for unsportsmanlike conduct. It was a level of play that would flare up the rest of the game.

The Sharks kept pushing, and Joe Pavelski apparently scored his 100th career goal to seal a hat trick at 19:54. A Dan Boyle point shot was deflected by Pavelski in front. Fans tossed their hats on to the ice, but after the game a scoring correction would give one of the first period Pavelski goals to Marleau. The Blues were able to gain momentum in the third period, and turnovers lead to goals by David Backes and Andy McDonald.

“I think they have been doing all the things Todd (McLellan) has been preaching over the course of probably the last month,” Trent Yawney said after becoming 1-0 as a head coach of the San Jose Sharks. “I thought we shot the puck early. That team doesn’t give up a lot, and haven’t given up a lot. I thought we broke them down by shooting the puck. Todd has been emphasizing that over the course of the last month or so.” Yawney also noted the adjustments in the absence of Couture, moving Wellwood up for some shifts, and giving other players more opportunities. AHL callups Brandon Mashinter and Andrew Desjardins played a larger than usual role in the third period. “They are a proud team, they work hard,” Yawney said of the struggling Blues team. “We knew that before the game, and we knew that in the third period. They didn’t disappoint. They kept coming at us hard, and they kept trying to tie the game.”

A photo gallery from the game is available here.

[Update] Blues’ short-term future is murky – St Louis Post-Dispatch.

Concern that the Blues might be unable to add significant payroll to the budget this offseason grew into consternation last week when Dave Checketts officially announced that the team is for sale.

[Update2] Aftermath of 5-3 win over the Blues: No details on Couture’s injury, Pavelski loses his hat trick – David Pollak’s Working the Corners blog.

[Update3] Logan Couture commented on his injury via twitter Saturday night: “it isn’t as bad as it looked or first felt. Hope to be back soon!”

ACHA D2 National Championships: Grand Valley State wins first D2 title with 6-1 win over Michigan State

GRAND VALLEY STATE CELEBRATES 2011 ACHA D2 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP IN SJ

MICHIGAN STATE GOALTENDER #31 DRAKE TODD DEFLECTS SHOT IN 2ND

MICHIGAN STATE F #51 ZACK ROURKE BREAKS PUCK OUT OF ZONE IN 1ST

Michigan is a hockey powerhouse in the lower 48, feeding a steady stream of players everywhere from the NHL to the ACHA. At the 2011 ACHA D2 Finals in San Jose on Saturday night, Allendale, Michigan-based Grand Valley State University would face off against the East Lansing-based Michigan State with 44 of 50 players coming from the Great Lakes State. Grand Valley’s game plan against the Spartans? “Just win,” according to assistant coach Jack Williams. Mission accomplished.

GVSU would not flinch early. After goaltender Grant Lyon was forced to make a quick reaction save in the opening seconds, the “Lakers” would carry the play from wire to wire en route to a 6-1 win. Center Ryan Welch scored 33 seconds in, Scott Rood and C.J. Pobur also added first period goals to give Grand Valley State all the margin they would need. With the second largest team in the tournament and an aggressive defense, the Lakers tightened the grip on MSU in the neutral zone. The Spartans had trouble generating offense, and time of possession was lopsided against. A momentum swing presented itself when GVSU rung a shot off the post, and Michigan State created a 3-on-1 rush in the other direction. A backchecking Laker broke up the play and MSU’s best scoring threat of the first period.

Grand Valley came within one game of reaching the ACHA D2 Final Four in 2010, but a 4-3 loss to Colorado knocked them out of the tournament. After winning championships in 2005 and 2007, and performing well in the very deep Central region during the regular season, Michigan State was a favorite among many fans and media. With a level of team speed that was difficult for opponents to match, MSU rolled over Montclair State 6-2, host San Jose State 6-1, and top ranked Florida Gulf Coast 7-3 in pool play. Michigan State downed Michigan in the semis 9-3. In the second period of the title game, the Spartans filed slowly out onto the ice for the second period down 3-0. The Grand Valley bench noticed an opportunity. “Put it on them,” one player noted. “They are tired.”

GVSU continued the strong pace. A Laker defenseman leveled a Michigan State forward with a heavy check against the boards at the blueline. Michigan State forward Steven Short put the green and white on the board at 2:39, but it was all the offensive life they would see in the game. Grand Valley goaltender Grant Lyon made a highlight reel save stretching wide to smother a quick rebound attempt by Anthony Casali on the power play. Michigan State leaned heavily on the speed of forward Zack Rourke. #51 won a defensive zone faceoff, poked the puck off a GVSU forward in stride, and went end-to-end to register a shot on goal on the other side of the rink. Rourke was one of the few forwards able to carry the puck through the neutral zone, but he started to wear down with long shifts and the physical play of GVSU. On their power play, Grand Valley forward Jeff Anonick missed the net with the goaltender Todd out of position on a breakaway. A subsequent pileup on top of Drake Todd was similar to a rugby scrum, and #7 Scott Rood scored his second goal of the game with players falling on both sides of him. Derek Williams and C.J. Pobur added second period goals to effectively put the game out of reach.

ACHA D2 Commissioner Mike Radakovich was interviewed by the fasthockey.com broadcast team at second intermission. In subsequent comments to Sharkspage, Radakovich noted the support the tournament received from San Jose State University and the San Jose Sharks, as well as many other volunteers and sponsors. “Everything promised to the tournament was delivered,” Radakovich said. He was surprised at the early lead by Grand Valley State after 40 minutes. Radakovich also noted that the seperate ACHA Divisions (d1, d2, d3) are not strictly related to talent or experience, different divisions have different registration and credit requirements.

The third period started similar to the first two, with Grand Valley State controlling the play and creating several scoring chances in the MSU zone. With 4 minutes left in the contest, Michigan State started to play desperation hockey finally getting the puck deep and keeping it there. On two extended shifts, GVSU defenseman Dylan Dault battled MSU’s Kevin “Blue Ribbon” Pabst for position in front of the net. The refs basically let everything go, and Dault and Pabst jousted before, during and after play resumed. In the final minute, Anthony Brown tried to push home a loose rebound in front of Grand Valley goaltender Grant Lyon. Lyon blocked the net down low, and center Jeff Anonick shoveled Brown off the goaltender and pointed at the scoreboard. Two more point shots would be fired on goal in the final seconds, and the 24/5 positional battle in front continued.

After the final horn, Grand Valley players mobbed their goaltender behind the net. Five stars of the tournament final named by the ACHA: 1-Grant Lyon GVSU, 2-C.J. Pobur GVSU, 3- Josh Bareis MSU, 4- Derek Williams GVSU, 5-Stephan Short MSU. Comcast’s Randy Hahn was not the hardest working hockey broadcaster in the Bay Area for his work Saturday night against the Blues. The San Jose State broadcaster played the national anthem on guitar, called out the penalties and the goals, and handed out the championship trophy after the game.

A photo gallery from the game is available here.

[Update] Post-tournament MVP award and first and second team tournament allstars:

Tournament MVP: #16 Derek Williams (Grand Valley State)

1st Team
F #16 Derek Williams (Grand Valley State)
F #51 Zack Rourke (Michigan State)
F #11 Eric Hess (Michigan State)
D #2 Eric Emblad (Michigan)
D #8 John Bareis (Michigan State)
G #31 Grant Lyon (Grand Valley State)

2nd Team
F #12 Bradley Keough (Grand Valley State)
F # 11 Mike Lendino (Florida Gulf Coast)
F #61 Shaun McTigue (William Paterson)
D #28 Shane McCusker (Grand Valley State)
D #26 Stephen Terrio (Siena)
G # 30 Tyler Murphy (Miami)