SHARKSPAGE

Sharks blow the doors off of the Kings, 6 different players light lamp against Los Angeles in 6-3 win

#8 JOE PAVELSKI, #29 RYANE CLOWE BOTH SCORED GOALS AGAINST LA

#45 ROOKIE G JONATHAN BERNIER STOPPED 28 OF 34 SHOTS

FANS AT HP PAVILION CELEBRATE SCOTT NICHOL GOAL IN 2ND

#40 KENT HUSKINS HELPS #39 LOGAN COUTURE WIN FACEOFF IN 3RD

More notes from the San Jose Sharks 6-3 win over the Los Angeles Kings will be posted soon. A photo gallery from the game is available here. Video highlights from youtube are available here.

WOTH Muaythai-MMA FC8 recap: Phanuwat ‘Coke’ Chunhawat defeats Jose Palacios, Alex Crispim fight of the night, Petro unifies USMF and MTAA titles

PHANUWAT 'COKE' CHUNHAWAT PREPARES FOR MUAYTHAI FIGHT AT WOTH FC8

BRYAN PETRO UNIFIED USMF MTAA WW TITLES, QUALIFIED FOR THAILAND

BJJ BB ALEX CRISPIM (B) FIGHTS KIMURA ATTEMPT BY CHRIS DAVID (T)

FAIRTEX WOTH RING GIRLS MISSY AND ASHLEY

The eighth edition of the WOTH Fighting Championship was held Saturday night at the Santa Clara Convention Center. On display was a top heavy muaythai kickboxing/mma hybrid card with 15 amateur and professional fights. Strikeforce and Palace FC veteran Alexander Crispim defeated Pure Combat FC Bantamweight champion Chris David in the most flamboyant mixed martial arts bout in the history of War of the Heroes promotion, veteran Phanuwat ‘Coke’ Chunhawat earned a split decision over Cung Le trained Jose Palacios in a professional Muaythai bout, and Bay Area native Bryan Petro unified the United States Muaythai Federation and Muaythai Association of America amateur welterweight belts to highlight a stacked night of competition.

The United States Muaythai Federation has continually pushed for Olympic recognition for the sport. Part of that campaign involves qualifying the top American Muaythai talent to compete at the IFMA World Muaythai Championships in Bangkok Thailand, held to celebrate the King of Thailand’s birthday November 27-December 5th. In the final undercard bout, current USMF and IFK North American welterweight amateur kickboxing title holder Bryan Petro (10-1, Combat Sports Academy) faced off against the MTAA welterweight titlist Roy Corona (7-2, MTS USA) for the right to represent the United States in Thailand.

Both fighters came to an immediate clinch at the start of the first round, unleashing a series of knees in tight. Petro scored a hard trip takedown that bounced Corona off the mat. After a short feeling out process, the left hook began to assert itself and back Corona into the corner. A flurry up against the ropes punctuated the round for Petro. The Muaythai School USA trained Roy Corona landed two pinpoint punches early in the second round, but Bryan Petro quickly stormed through the attack and pressed him up against the ropes. After a whithering onslaught, Corona crumpled and Petro raised his arms in celebration.

After the fight Combat Sports Academy and USMF Team USA trainer Kirian Fitzgibbons noted both of the Northern Californian and Southern Californian Muaythai association representatives ringside. After congratulating the Americans who medaled last year in Thailand, Fitzgibbons added “unity is what it is going to take to get Muaythai into the Olympics.”

The evening’s most entertaining bout came in the main-event MMA match between Strikeforce and Palace FC veteran Alexander Crispim De Almeida (5-2) and Pure FC bantamweight champion Chris ‘Dark Lotus’ David (13-8-2).

The ‘dark lotus’ entered the ring with the aura and confidence of a champion. Entering the ring to a heavy bassline by Gangstarr, Crispim had the wildman unpredictability. Alexander Crispim scored an early takedown to start the first round, but in a scramble for top position David regained his feet. A second Crispim takedown resulted in a partial guillotine choke that sank in deeper the longer Alex held on to the single leg. Eventually the Ralph Gracie BJJ black belt gained waist control, and slid around for back control with both hooks in. Crispim pounded on David from above, and worked to secure a rear naked choke. In 22 MMA matches, David has never been submitted. He escaped the choke attempt, and withstood a 30 second ground and pound to finish the round.

After an exchange early in the second round, Chris David gained top position and focused on wrist control to secure a kimura lock. David torqued on Crispim’s arm like a chicken wing, but he could not pry it free. Alex Crispim has a long history of international BJJ competition, and eventually he freed his arm and worked back to his feet. After ducking a David jab, Alex Crispim scored another takedown, then pushed him across the mat and up against the ropes. The native Brazilian worked over David in the corner alternating ground and pound and submission attempts.

The third round came as both fighters decided to trade on their feet. Chris David mixed jab and low kick combinations, before Crispim eventually drove him into the ropes and then back into the corner. David could not spin out, and eventually Crispim scored a single leg takedown. The Sacramentan made it back to his feet, but his corner shouted that he needed a knockout to win the fight. David pressed forward, but weary from long, intense groundwork, he could not fire off enough punches or kicks to turn the tide. Alex Crispim earned a 30-26, 30-27, 30-27 unanimous decision. Then the Brazilian executed a partially successful backflip off the turnbuckle, and unsuccessfully tried to hug a female CSAC official. After thanking his family, coaches and students, he hopped the ropes onto the scorers table and was gone.

A more conventional 5-round professional Muaythai bout took place between veteran Thai native Phanuwat ‘Coke’ Chunhawat (141-21-1, 20KO’s, Pacific Ring Sports) and the Cung Le trained kickboxer and martial artist Jose Palacios (19-2, USH fight team). Chunhawat was announced as the WMC and WBC muaythai champion at 142 pounds. Palacios has experience in Muaythai kickboxing, San Shou kickboxing, and has competed for Strikefoce kickboxing and MMA promotions in the past. Palacios showed excellent footwork and movement early, landing from multiple angles while ‘Coke’ tried to measure up from outside. A left hand dropped Chunhawat in the first.

Palacios continued with quick hands in the second round, and scored a violent trip takedown that sent ‘Coke’ hurtling backwards. After scoring a trip takedown of his own, Chunhawat stormed forward and locked in a muaythai clinch around the neck. The move has become so dominant in K1 kickboxing that new rules were passed to allow only one hand on the neck in a clinch. Chunhawat landed a series of heavy knees to the body scoring enough points to take the round.

The fight ebbed towards Palacios in the third round, as the south bay fighter landed more punches and low kicks. ‘Coke’ Chunhawat tried to land power punches, but Palacios did not remain static in front of him. Jose finished with a flurry, landing a flashy spinning backfist and a spinning back kick in the final 10 seconds. The fourth round swung in the opposite direction. Palacios began to slow down enough that Phanuwat Chunhawat’s big knees began to land with regularity. ‘Coke’ scored with several knees to the body up against the ropes, then again in the center of the ring. In the final 10 seconds, this time it was ‘Coke’ landing two heavy hooks before the bell.

The fifth and final round came with the scorecards up in the air, legitimately this fight could have been scored down the middle. Palacios pushed the pace gaining the edge in two early flurries, but again Chunhawat drove forward landing power knees to the body. The fight finished with each fighter trading punches in the center of the ring. While Sharkspage scored the fight 48-47 Palacios, the referees awarded a 48-47, 49-46, 47-48 split decision win to Phanuwat ‘Coke’ Chunhawat.

Saturday night also featured popular Unlimited MMA fighter Tristan Arenal against NorCal FF’s Mikey Gonzalez in a pro MMA bout. Tristan blitzed Gonzalez quickly before gaining top position agains the ropes. Arenal sunk in a rear naked choke so quickly that many ringside did not see the choke attempt or the tap. In a pair of professional Muaythai kickboxing bouts, Combat Fitness fighter Brandon Banda battered Paul Brown en route to a 4th round TKO, and Fairtex SF’s Chris Aldea wore down Sheldon Gaines before stopping him with a 3rd round TKO. In amateur Muaythai action, former ISKA, former USMF, former IKF and former WSCC title holder Ryan Ratcliff (Combat Fitness) earned a unanimous decision win over Erik Alignay (Fight and Fitness). World Team USA fighter T.J. Archangle put on a striking clinic against Brett Todoroff. Archangle was able to land punches and kicks from any angle, eventually bloodying Todoroff and earning a doctor stoppage 28 seconds into the third round. AKA’s Alex Numeski earned a split decision win over Las Vegas trained Nate ‘half black, half amazing’ Chambers (30-27, 29-28, 28-29). Eisrael Verdusco earned a unanimous decision win over Jose Martinez, Chrisente Joaquin narrowly emerged from a slugfest with Graham Cruz, and Steve Tomayo scored a unanimous decision win over Gabriel David.

On hand to watch the event ringside were Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez, Strikeforce competitor and Sac native Scott Smith, recently debuted UFC fighter Daniel Roberts, former K1 champion Carter Williams, and Dutch kickboxing champion Germaine de Randamie. Fairtex Mountain View’s Chris Moore had a professional MMA bout scratched due to a no show, and an advertised professional muaythai bout with massive Brazilian Gilmar China Sales was cancelled in advance.

There is no highlight video from the event, a photo gallery is available here. War of the Heroes FC9 will return February 5th, 2011. For more information on muaythai in California, visit usmf.tv or muaythaiassociationofamerica.com.

Hockey Night in San Jose: Sharks grind out 4-3 win over Calgary Flames, Pavelski-Clowe-Couture line combines for 9 points

The Sharks avenged their worst lost of the season as the second line of Joe Pavelski, Logan Couture and Ryane Clowe exploded for 3 goals and 9 points en route to a 4-3 win against the Calgary Flames on Saturday night. In front of a sellout crowd at HP Pavilion in San Jose and a national audience as the night game on Hockey Night in Canada, Joe Pavelski and Ryane Clowe each snapped 8-game scoreless streaks and goaltender Antti Niemi stopped 28 of 31 shots to register his first win since the season opening game October 8th in Sweden.

After the win San Jose captain Joe Thornton had a thinly vieled comment for the Flames. “Are they (a rival)? They are not like Anaheim, I guess they have played (San Jose) a couple of times in the playoffs. It is not quite there like us and Anaheim, but it is getting there.”

One of the steps towards that rivalry was October 24th on the road in Calgary. After blitzing goaltender Antti Niemi for 3 goals inside of 9 minutes, the Sharks were left looking inward at a lack of disciplined play and defensive zone coverage. Less than a minute into the first period on Saturday night, newly minted right wing Joe Pavelski made sure that game number 242 of the 2010-11 NHL season had a different storyline. A low cycle by the Clowe-Couture-Pavelski line created a point blank scoring chance for Pavelski. Calgary’s Olli Jokinen was forced to take an interference call to prevent a backhand shot on goal.

The Sharks would waste no time converting the first of five power play opportunities. Defenseman Jason Demers found Thornton open across the slot, and fired a cross-ice pass on his stick. Joe Thornton buried it for his team leading 6th goal of the season (tied with Couture, Heatley, Marleau). Thornton also leads the Sharks in assists (10, tied with Boyle) and points (16) despite recently being tabbed with a 2 game suspension.

The Calgary Flames are a team struggling to keep their head above water. In the midst of a 1-6 stretch heading into San Jose, the fans and media in Alberta are starting to look for scapegoats. Last season the media began grinding down 27-year old defenseman Jay Bouwmeester. With a $6.6M cap hit, Bouwmeester underwhelmed with only 3 goals and 26 points in a full 82 games last year. Hockey Night in Canada zero’d in on his play of the puck out of his own zone, and kept a constant mention of his lack of goal production from the blueline. Against the Sharks Bouwmeester was suiting up for his 440th NHL game, the NHL’s current ironman record.

In a slump that has seen The Calgary Flames drop to second to last place in the Western Conference, this Saturday’s Hockey Night in Canada focused on captain Jarome Iginla. The 2-time 50-goal scorer, 2-time Rocket Richard winner (2002, 2004), and 3-time Canadian Olympian was said to have had his worst game on Friday with 0 points and a -4 against the Phoenix Coyotes. Worse than the stat line were several highlights showing Iginla caught out of position, without moving his legs to get back into plays. One commentator described Iginla’s body language as that of a “beaten” player. On Saturday’s Coach’s Corner, Don Cherry said that Iginla is a star player that needs 20-22 minutes a night instead of 12-14. Prior to meeting the Sharks, there were rumors he would be demoted to the 4th line.

San Jose would keep its foot on the gas pedal in the second half of the first period, but Iginla was playing like a forward possessed. After Thornton was tossed for a defensive zone faceoff, Marleau won a clean backhand draw to his left for defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic. Vlasic was immediately challenged and knocked down by Iginla, who proceeded to “fall” on the defenseman and hold him down with his knee. Vlasic was able to poke the puck up the wall, and Marleau beat Craig Conroy to clear the play out of the zone.

The Sharks would add to their margin at 10:24 as Ryane Clowe scored his third goal of the season, his first in 8 games. With Logan Couture set up as a screen in front, Clowe hammered a shot up high blocker side. The offensive opportunities would continue as Calgary defenseman Cory Sarich took a double minor for high sticking Devin Setoguchi later in the period. Despite solid offensive zone time and puck possession, San Jose could not convert on the 4 minute man advantage.

Dany Heatley took a boarding minor with 17 seconds left to play in the first period. Early in the second, defenseman Dan Boyle fired a puck over the glass to give the Flames a lengthy 5-on-3. Niemi made a hard push left to right on a pass across the crease, but as he lifted his pad to extend furthur to his right, a shot by defenseman Mark Giordano slipped under him.

Cory Sarich, who has a history with the Sharks after elbowing Patrick Marleau in the head in the first round of the 2008 WCQF, leveled Jamie McGinn with a hip check along the players bench late in the second period. Linemate Jamal Mayers immediately took exception with the hit and dropped the gloves. Mayers was given an instigator, 5 minutes for fighting, and a 10 minute misconduct. The Sharks right wing dropped Sarich with a long right hand, but it forced another penalty kill scenario, one of 7 they would face on the night.

Despite leading the Sharks with 68 shots on goal, center turned right wing Joe Pavelski has been held scoreless for 8 games. Pavelski finally broke through at 16:22. After Vlasic kept the puck in at the point, and wired a pass around the boards to Clowe behind the net, both Couture and Pavelski drove forward. A quick pass by Clowe deflected off Couture, and was kicked off the skates by Pavelski. Craig Conroy skated through the stick of Pavelski before he could shoot, but Logan Couture spun and fired a shot off the leg pad of Kiprusoff. Alone with the puck on the far side, Pavelski fanned on the shot but got enough for the puck to trickle 5-hole. 3-1 Sharks.

San Jose head coach Todd McLellan described the effort of Pavelski and Clowe. “They have been snakebit. They have been our best line the last 2 or 3 games. When you have been playing hard and doing the right things, eventually you are going to get rewarded.”

A desperate Flames squad would press hard in the third period. Defenseman Jay Bouwmeester beat Patrick Marleau to the front of the net after a 3-on-3 rush, and Matt Stajan threaded a pass through traffic to his forehand. Bouwmeester scored his second goal of the season 9:14 into the third period.

The Sharks were reeling early in the third, outshot 6-1 and outscored by a goal when Ryane Clowe drove the puck down the right wing. On a 2-on-1 with Logan Couture, Clowe pulled up inside of the blue line and saucered a pass out of the reach of defenseman Brendan Mikkelson. The left shot Couture coasted in on a frozen Miikka Kiprusoff, forcing the Sharks forward to make the first move. That first move was a quick wrist shot that found the back of the net for his 6th goal of the season, assisted by Clowe and Pavelski.

Antti Niemi battled hard against Calgary. He looked focused in goal, and saw the bulk of the shots coming at him. Hockey Night in Canada analyst and former Sharks goaltender Kelly Hrudey said that Saturday night, “Niemi had his best game in that uniform.” With 54.5 seconds left, he would be tested again as the Flames pulled Kiprusoff for an extra attacker. Tanguay and Giordano created shooting lanes with passes on the point, and Iginla buried a top shelf one-timer from a hard angle on the left wing. It was also Iginla’s first goal in 8 games. The Flames would continue to push, but Iginla and Tanguay could not get subsequent shots through traffic as time ran out.

“We won, there is a real positive,” San Jose Sharks head coach Todd McLellan replied what positives his team could take away from the game. “Our penalty kill had to do well today, they had to work far too many times again, just some not very smart plays putting us in that position.” When asked how his team needs to respond to recent struggles, McLellan was blunt. “We are competing hard enough, we have to find a way to get the frustration out of our game. We will probably do that by executing for 60 minutes, not 55, not 50. We are constantly a work in progress.”

[Update] Johnson: Familiar problem dogs Flames as they hit vital stretch – Calgary Herald.

With 16 games, or virtually one-fifth of the season, gone, they can look back positively on Rene Bourque’s hot streaks; what 35-year-old Canuck cast-off Brendan Morrison has added on the ice, as well as his professionalism in the room; Kiprusoff, naturally; Mark Giordano, also naturally; Curtis Glencross, off and on; Cory Sarich’s appetite for contact.

But two goals from Niklas Hagman? Not enough. One from Matt Stajan? Not enough. Three from Iginla? Not near enough. Six points from a guy that skates as fluidly as Jay Bouwmeester? Not enough. A minus-10 from Ian White? Ewwwww…

[Update2] Coach’s Corner: Iginla needs more ice time – HNIC.

[Update3] Flames Insider: Iginla issue picks up steam – Calgary Herald.

Moore Crazed Rats Equals WorSharks Victory

The Worcester Sharks got two goals from Mike Moore and seven points from the revamped Crazed Rats line to defeat the Norfolk Admirals 3-1 Sunday afternoon at the DCU Center in Worcester, Massachusetts in front of 2,404 fans. The win allowed the WorSharks to split their four game season series with Norfolk, with each team winning both of their home games.

The WorSharks came out with same intensity as they did against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Saturday night, but despite Worcester carrying the play the best scoring chance early in the opening stanza came from Norfolk when Pierre-Cedric Labrie broke in on Worcester goaltender Alex Stalock all alone. Labrie fired a hard wrist shot toward the low corner, but Stalock made a great stretching glove save to keep the score even.

It was the revamped Crazed Rats line that would get Worcester on the board first after center Andrew Desjardins shot went wide to the left of Admirals netminder Cedrick Desjardins. The puck rebounded off the back wall to the opposite side of the net where Kevin Henderson, playing on the line’s left wing, scooped up the puck and found Dan DaSilva standing all alone with a nice backhand pass. DaSilva, who had to that point gone without a goal all season, wasted no time in firing the puck into the Norfolk net for the 1-0 lead at 14:37.

Norfolk almost got the game even with about nine minutes left in the second period while on the power play on a lucky bounce, but it turned out the WorSharks were just a little bit luckier. While blocking a shooting lane from the left wing side Desjardins was just able to get a stick on a huge blast from the point. Stalock had a bead on where the shot was originally heading, but couldn’t get over in time to block the redirected puck as it streaked toward the low corner. Luckily for Worcester, the puck rang off the low post and deflected right across the open goal mouth and out of harm’s way.

The Crazed Rats would figure on Mike Moore’s first of the season after the defenseman gathered up a pass from center Desjardins and lead the rush up ice three on two. Just as Moore got to the blue line he fed Henderson the puck and went directly to toward the net where Henderson’s return pass from the left wing hit him in stride. Moore’s blast from the slot beat goaltender Desjardins five-hole to light the lamp at 13:27 of the second period.

Norfolk would cut the lead in half at 18:06 after Worcester got caught running around in their own zone. After Norfolk was able to make a rolling change of players while hemming the WorSharks into their own zone Stalock made a save of Radko Gudas’ blast from the blue line through a screen. But unfortunately for Worcester the puck bounced away and Admirals’ center Paul Szczechura was able to break away from the pack of players in the slot to gather the puck and fire it over the downed Stalock into the top corner.

Worcester would light the lamp again in the second period with 17.4 seconds remaining after Jonathan Cheechoo knocked a high rebound into the Norfolk net, but it was clear to those in press row that it was knocked in with his hand and the goal shouldn’t count. Referee Terry Koharski originally ruled the goal good, but after a wild scrum of players was broken up behind the Norfolk net the two linesmen conferred with Koharski at the referee’s crease. After what seemed like a very long time to discuss the play Koharski correctly changed his call to no goal.

Moore’s second goal of the game would count without question, and it came off a play that looked harmless for Norfolk. After Worcester passed the puck around the zone it ended up on Moore’s stick at the left wing point. With no better option open to Moore he fired the puck on net into a screen of players in front of goaltender Desjardins. The puck went through the group of players and past the screened Desjardins into the top corner to give Worcester a 3-1 lead at 6:26 of the third. DaSilva and Henderson had the assists on the goal.

Norfolk would try to up the pressure but Stalock and the defense would hold firm, including a great diving play by Sean Sullivan to foil a potential breakaway attempt by the Admirals. After Norfolk’s Mathieu Roy was called for holding after hauling down T.J. Trevelyan at 18:54 with goaltender Desjardins off for an extra attacker head coach Roy Sommer took away the chances of Norfolk making a miracle shorthanded comeback by putting out the Crazed Rats in place of his normal power play unit. He did add Moore to the defensive mix in an attempt to get the blue liner a hat trick, but Moore and his teammates showed more interested in keeping the puck away from the Admirals as opposed to trying to score.

GAME NOTES
The WorSharks went with the same line-up as Saturday night except for the expected change, with Matt Irwin playing and Joe Loprieno sitting out as a health scratch. Worcester’s injury list remains unchanged with Cam MacIntyre (groin), Carter Hutton (groin), and Tony Lucia (concussion) all still sidelined. Riley Gill was the backup netminder. There might be some good news on MacIntyre, who has started skating but still isn’t participating in any contact. MacIntyre has yet to play in a game this season.

Not only were the Crazed Rats on the ice for all three WorSharks goals, the defensive pairing of Nick Schaus and Mike Moore were also on the ice for all the tallies. Each of the five finished the game at +3. At one point this season every Worcester player was even or worse, but lately the pendulum has swung the other direction and now six players are in positive numbers.

Mike Ricci joined head coach Roy Sommer and assistant coach Dave Cunniff behind the bench.

The three stars of the game were
1. WOR – 8 Mike Moore (2g,+3)
2. WOR – 23 Dan DaSilva (g,a,+3)
3. WOR – 47 Kevin Henderson (2a,+3)

Mike Moore was also the AHL’s third star of the day.

The Sharkspage player of the game was Kevin Henderson.

Even Strength Lines
Cheechoo/Ferriero/Wingles
Mashinter/Zalewski/Trevelyan
Henderson/Desjardins/DaSilva
(everyone)/Quirk/Marcou

Moore/Schaus
Petrecki/Sullivan
Leach/Braun
Irwin

Penalty Kill Lines
Desjardins/Henderson
Quirk(Ferriero)/Wingles

Moore/Schaus
Braun(Sullivan)/Leach

Power play Lines
Trevelyan/Cheechoo/Marcou
Mashinter/Zalewski/Wingles

Ferriero/Braun
Sullivan/Irwin

BOXSCORE
Norfolk 0 1 0 – 1
Worcester 1 1 1 – 3

1st Period-1, Worcester, DaSilva 1 (Desjardins, Henderson), 14:34. Penalties-Durno Nor (holding), 15:51; Gudas Nor (hooking), 17:44.

2nd Period-2, Worcester, Moore 1 (Henderson, Desjardins), 13:27. 3, Norfolk, Szczechura 8 (Gudas, Labrie), 18:06. Penalties-Marcou Wor (holding), 2:45; Schaus Wor (tripping), 9:10; Zalewski Wor (roughing), 14:28; Jones Nor (hooking), 18:42.

3rd Period-4, Worcester, Moore 2 (DaSilva, Henderson), 6:26. Penalties-Braun Wor (interference), 9:52; Roy Nor (hooking), 18:54.

Shots on Goal-Norfolk 6-10-12-28. Worcester 11-6-8-25.
Power Play Opportunities-Norfolk 0/4; Worcester 0/4.
Goalies-Norfolk, Desjardins 4-3-1 (25 shots-22 saves). Worcester, Stalock 5-5-1 (28 shots-27 saves).
A-2,404
Referee-Terry Koharski (10). Linesmen-Bob Bernard (42), Chris Aughe (74).

WorSharks Iced By Penguins, 2-0

The Worcester Sharks played one of their best games of the season but made two costly defensive mistakes and couldn’t convert on any of their 38 shots on goal in route to dropping a 2-0 decision to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Saturday night at the DCU Center in Worcester, Massachusetts in front of 5,007 fans on Alex Stalock bobble head night.

While Wilkes-Barre/Scranton doesn’t have the most points in the AHL–only because they’re tied for the fewest games played in the league–they do own the league’s highest winning percentage at .846, and last night Worcester fans saw why the Penguins are the cream of the AHL crop. Saturday night’s effort from Worcester would have been good enough to beat the Bridgeports and Hartfords of the league, but when you’re playing a bigger, faster team like the Penguins it takes more than just hard work to put the puck in the net. And none of the bounces went the way of the WorSharks, including several great third period chances turned aside by goaltender Brad Thiessen.

Depending on how you look at it, Worcester either had no luck or Thiessen had a ton of it. In one quick third period spurt Thiessen made two blind saves, lost his stick, made a blocker save without the stick, and then had a WorSharks chance killed when the puck bounded off the lost stick. But Thiessen didn’t just rely on that luck, making several great saves to keep Worcester at bay.

Alex Stalock was nearly as good on the other end, and did enjoy a lucky bounce or two of his own. The only blemishes on his night were because of defensive errors, and unfortunately for Worcester fans those mistakes came from players that are expected to be the backbone of the team.

Mike Moore made the first costly defensive error late in the first period while Worcester was killing the Penguins first power play chance. After recovering a loose puck instead of clearing it out of the zone Moore attempted to stick handle through a little traffic, and the puck bounced off his stick and right on to the tape of Penguins captain Ryan Craig. Craig wasted no time in firing the puck past Stalock for the 1-0 lead at 18:58 of the first.

Despite the recent trend by WorSharks head coach Roy Sommer of dressing seven defensemen Worcester uses four forwards on the power play, and every so often doing that bites you in the backside. Saturday night was one of those times when Benn Ferriero playing the left point missed both the puck and the player as he tried to keep the puck in the Penguins zone. Robert Bortuzzo’s outlet pass sent Dustin Jeffrey and Tim Wallace off on a two on one against Justin Braun. Braun played it well, but Jeffrey was able to get a pass over to Wallace who flipped it into the net for a 2-0 lead at 12:44.

From that point on it was all Thiessen, and unfortunately for Worcester Superman wore a Penguins’ logo Saturday night.

GAME NOTES
After getting boarded Friday night Matt Irwin got the night off in favor of Joe Loprieno. Worcester’s injury list remains unchanged with Cam MacIntyre, Carter Hutton, and Tony Lucia all still sidelined. Riley Gill wore the ball cap on the bench as the backup netminder.

As opposed to Friday night’s two referee contest to apparently see who could call the most penalties, referee Chris Cozzan called a pretty good game considering all the huge hits thrown by both squads. He did have an interesting situation where he correctly called coincidental tripping minors when Worcester’s Sean Sullivan tripped Penguins’ captain Ryan Craig, who in turn tripped Sullivan as he tried to skate away. The stoppage in play resulted in the only fight in the contest, with Nick Petrecki (6’4″ 220#) taking on Keven Veilleux (6’5″ 219#) in a battle of heavyweights. Neither player landed anything worth mentioning although Petrecki did earn the take down. Cozzan’s late interference call on Petrecki was a bit of a head scratcher though as the Penguins player he was charged with fouling actually ran into defenseman as the play went back toward the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton end.

It was Alex Stalock bobble head night Saturday evening, with the first 3,000 fans through the doors receiving one. There was also a contest where if a fan received a gold painted bobble head they had a chance to win the jersey off of Stalock’s back. Stalock himself should have gotten a gold statue for his Oscar worthy performance for collapsing to the ice after being “crashed” into by Penguins winger Geoff Walkerto draw a penalty with under ten seconds remaining in the opening period.

Bryan Marchment joined head coach Roy Sommer and assistant coach Dave Cunniff behind the Worcester bench.

The three stars of the game were
1. WBS – 39 Brad Thiessen (38 save shutout)
2. WBS – 22 Ryan Craig (gwg)
3. WBS – 25 Eric Tangradi

The Sharkspage player of the game was Nick Petrecki.

BOXSCORE
W-B/Scranton 1 1 0 – 2
Worcester 0 0 0 – 0

1st Period-1, W-B/Scranton, Craig 3 (Walker, Veilleux), 18:58 (PP). Penalties-Potter Wbs (high-sticking), 2:46; Sullivan Wor (cross-checking), 17:50; Walker Wbs (goaltender interference), 19:51.

2nd Period-2, W-B/Scranton, Wallace 6 (Jeffrey, Bortuzzo), 12:44 (SH). Penalties-Vitale Wbs (high-sticking), 8:30; Potter Wbs (boarding), 11:22; Craig Wbs (tripping), 14:32; Veilleux Wbs (fighting), 14:32; Petrecki Wor (fighting), 14:32; Sullivan Wor (tripping), 14:32.

3rd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Petrecki Wor (interference), 15:49.

Shots on Goal-W-B/Scranton 10-10-6-26. Worcester 12-11-15-38.
Power Play Opportunities-W-B/Scranton 1/2; Worcester 0/4.
Goalies-W-B/Scranton, Thiessen 7-0-0 (38 shots-38 saves). Worcester, Stalock 5-5-1 (26 shots-24 saves).
A-5,007
Referee-Chris Cozzan (18). Linesmen-Todd Whittemore (70), Ed Boyle (81).

Ferriero, Stalock Lead WorSharks Over Manchester, 3-1

The Worcester Sharks got multiple point nights from three different players and another stellar goaltending performance from Alex Stalock to defeat the Manchester Monarchs 3-1 Friday night at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, New Hampshire in front of 4,014 fans. The win gives the WorSharks a sweep of their home and home series against their division rivals.

After a quick paced first period that saw each goaltender make a big save, the AHL’s newly installed two referee system reared its ugly head again slowing down the pace of play considerably as each team struggled to gain any sort of momentum in the penalty filled stanza. Luckily for Worcester they were the team that could capitalize, grabbing two second period goals.

Sean Sullivan had the first at 9:17 of the period with a nice video game style one timer to beat Monarchs netminder Jeff Zatkoff. Brandon Mashinter started the play with a nice rush into the Manchester zone, and his cross ice pass found Dan DaSilva breaking in along the right wing boards. DaSilva headed behind the net and threw a nice pass to Sullivan in the slot about 20 feet out for the lamp lighting blast.

Benn Ferriero, fresh off his recall to San Jose, would grab the second goal at 13:28 with a nice individual effort on the power play. Ferriero skated all alone down the right wing side into the Manchester zone and fired a laser of a wrist shot over Zatkoff for his eighth of the season. Sullivan and Jonathan Cheechoo would have the helpers.

Manchester would get within a goal with an Alec Martinez power play goal at 2:23 of the third, but after several big saves by Stalock Ferriero would ice the game for Worcester when he banged home a rebound of a Cheechoo shot. Zatkoff had made the original save easily, but the puck bounced right to Ferriero and he had all 24 square feet of net to shoot at. T.J. Trevelyan had the second assist. The Monarchs would continue to pressure the Worcester defense, but Stalock continued to rise to the challenge as Worcester was outshot 19-6 in the period and 38-19 overall.

After he hit a post last season Worcester fans are biting at the bit to have Stalock score a goal, and the second year netminder had another golden chance after the Monarchs pulled Zatkoff for an extra attacker, but hit latest attempt was just knocked away at center ice by the Manchester extra skater.

GAME NOTES
Earlier this week WorSharks rookie netminder Carter Hutton suffered an injury during practice–Bill Ballou of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette says it’s a “minor groin strain”–so Worcester has signed Riley Gill from Kalamazoo of the ECHL to a PTO to back Stalock up until Hutton is ready to play again. Hutton joins Tony Lucia (concussion) and Cam MacIntyre (groin) on the injury list. Joe Loprieno was the healthy scratch.

Worcester is now 2-0 this season when the two referee system is used, and in both games the officiating has severely impacted the game play. As has been noted before, this writer is not a fan of it being used in the AHL. The two refs for Friday night’s game were David Banfield, who splits time between the NHL and AHL and hasn’t been on WorSharks head coach Roy Sommer’s Christmas card list in some time, and Jamie Koharski, who at best can be called “wildly inconsistent”. The pair did get one important call correctly, showing Manchester’s Richard Clune the gate after he checked Worcester  rookie Matt Irwin from behind into the boards. According to the Monarchs Clune’s 26 penalty minutes on the game sets a season high for the team.

The three stars of the game were
1. WOR – 32 Alex Stalock (37 saves)
2. WOR – 37 Sean Sullivan (g,a)
3. MCH – 53 Alec Martinez (g)

How a player that scored two goals including the game winner isn’t a star of the game makes no sense, so I guess Benn Ferriero will have to be content with being the Sharkspage player of the game.

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

1st Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Desjardins Wor (fighting), 9:49; Clune Mch (fighting), 9:49; Moller Mch (slashing), 11:25; Kaunisto Mch (hooking), 16:26; Schaus Wor (boarding), 19:42.

2nd Period-1, Worcester, Sullivan 3 (DaSilva, Mashinter), 9:17. 2, Worcester, Ferriero 8 (Sullivan, Cheechoo), 13:28 (PP). Penalties-Wingels Wor (boarding), 1:10; Mashinter Wor (interference), 3:59; Kozun Mch (goaltender interference), 6:00; Mashinter Wor (roughing), 9:35; Clune Mch (boarding, roughing), 9:35; Moller Mch (slashing), 12:21; Ferriero Wor (roughing), 14:54; Clune Mch (roughing), 14:54; Quirk Wor (tripping), 16:42; Moller Mch (hooking), 17:06; Wingels Wor (tripping), 18:04.

3rd Period-3, Manchester, Martinez 4 (Holloway, Azevedo), 2:23 (PP). 4, Worcester, Ferriero 9 (Cheechoo, Trevelyan), 15:20. Penalties-Cheechoo Wor (tripping), 2:14; Mashinter Wor (interference), 2:59; Clune Mch (major – boarding, game misconduct – boarding), 6:33; Petrecki Wor (delay of game), 15:28.

Shots on Goal-Worcester 6-7-6-19. Manchester 6-13-19-38.
Power Play Opportunities-Worcester 1/6; Manchester 1/9.
Goalies-Worcester, Stalock 5-4-1 (38 shots-37 saves). Manchester, Zatkoff 4-5-1 (19 shots-16 saves).
A-4,014
Referees-David Banfield (44), Jamie Koharski (84). Linesmen-Joe Ross (92), Joe Andrews (32).

New York Islanders battle hard but can’t break 9-game losing streak, Sharks send them packing with 2-1 shootout loss

The Sharks have been inconvenienced by a 2-game suspension to captain Joe Thornton, and a scoring drought that has kept several key contributors off the scoresheet. The New York Islanders have been mired in a brutal 9-game slide that could change the makeup of the team, knock them out of playoff contention by Christmas, and have players and head coach Scott Gordon looking over their shoulders sooner rather than later. The Islanders could not hold on to their first lead in 9 games, eventually dropping a 2-1 shootout loss at HP Pavilion. Defenseman Dan Boyle scored once in regulation, and scored the deciding OT shootout goal to give the Sharks their 5th point in 3 games.

Joe Thornton returned to the lineup after serving a 2-game NHL suspension for an illegal hit to the head, but he was held scoreless for his third straight game. “We just have to bear down, then the floodgates will open,” he told reporters after the game. Sharks head coach Todd McLellan predicted a spirited effort from the Islanders, one day after they were shutout by backup goaltender Curtis McElhinney in Anaheim. “We felt it would be that kind of night,” McLellan said. “We haven’t been scoring a lot of goals offensively. It took until the end of the shootout, but it is two points in the bank. It hasn’t been happening often enough, so we will take it tonight.”

Right wing P.A. Parenteau put the Islanders on the board with a wrist shot from 44 feet out in the second period. To say the San Jose Sharks have had problems with officiating in recent games would be an understatement, but those problems were more metaphoric than physical. As defenseman Dan Boyle followed Parenteau in the corner, he ran into and was knocked down by one of the referees. The check sprung Parenteau loose at the point. The right shooting Parenteau circled back into the slot, and lasered a wrist shot through traffic that beat the Sharks goaltender cleanly. Antero Niittymaki raised his arms in frustration, signaling he was screened on the play.

The Sharks outshot New York 12-8 in the first period, but that would ramp up to an 18-7 differential in the second in part based on 4 Islanders penalties. Defenseman Jason Demers would make an impact on the first power play opportunity. After a nice effort to keep the puck in the zone, Demers unloaded a point shot with two Sharks forwards camped on the doorstep. Rolson blocked the lower portion of the net to make the save. On a subsequent possession at the top of the zone, Demers floated a pass that was intercepted by Josh Bailey and carried down the ice on a breakaway. Bailey lost the puck on a forehand to backhand move without getting a shot on goal. Demers was effective through two periods, sliding into the shooting lane and bombing 1-timers that created scoring chances in front of Roloson. The young Sharks defenseman would finish with 23:31 of ice time and 4 shots on goal (2 missed the net).

A short time after Ryane Clowe drilled 2009 first overall draft selection John Tavares at center ice, Sharks forward John McCarthy would create the second Sharks power play opportunity in front of the net. The 6-foot-1, 200 pound left wing has been a solid contributor for head coach Todd McLellan on both sides of the ice in recent games, but with 2 goals in his last 7 he was promoted to the third line with Torrey Mitchell and Devin Setoguchi. After two point blank backhand scoring chances trickled just wide in the first period, McCarthy received a shot/pass at the side of the net in the second. The former Boston College captain took a pair of quick whacks at the puck before being cross checked by defenseman Bruno Gervais. Gervais was given a 2 minute minor, but the Sharks first power play unit struggled on their first pp shift. Marc-Edouard Vlasic also struggled with timing shots from the point as the man advantage expired.

San Jose would finally break through 41-year old Dwayne Roloson late in the second period. Six seconds after defenseman Jack Hilen took an interference penalty at 14:04, defenseman Mike Mottau was called for a delay of game for shooting the puck over the glass. Joe Thornton found himself in an unusual position at the point, but after a faceoff win he made a b-line towards the far circle. Boyle, with room behind and Marleau in front, lined up a heavy point shot that he blasted through traffic.

“5-on-3, we have to score there,” Boyle said. “Essentially where it is one of those nights we are not scoring 5-on-5. We came through with a big goal. It was nothing special, just a shot the goalie didn’t see.”

Center Joe Pavelski apparently scored his first goal in 8 games in the third period, but after a brief celebration all eyes turned towards referees Stephane Auger and Dennis LaRue. After an initial awkward shot on goal off traffic, Pavelski beat a pair of Islanders defenseman to the loose puck behind the net. Keeping his feet moving, Pavelski drove towards the far side of the goal and wrapped a puck past Roloson. Apparently Logan Couture kept the Islanders goaltender from returning to his position in the crease.

“I understand the ruling, I don’t have to agree with it,” San Jose Sharks head coach Todd McLellan said. “I certainly understand what I was told. The goaltender has to have the ability to get back into the crease without any interference. It is a judgement call on the referees behalf. He made the call, we have to live with it and move on. Just another piece of adversity we have to face.”

In many San Jose eyes, adversity thy name is NHL official. Against the Islanders a ref opened up a shooting lane for P.A. Parenteau by knocking down Dan Boyle in the second period, and later kept a goal off the board in the third. Effective two-way effort. On Tuesday night, McLellan was not happy with a non-call when Devin Setoguchi was taken down in overtime prior to a Anaheim game winning goal. GM Doug Wilson was irate at the major penalty and game misconduct delivered to Joe Thornton for a hit on David Perron last week, and this blog was apoplectic that a routine hook staged by Martin Havlat resulted in a 5-on-3 game winning tally for goal starved Minnesota. Bringing up problems with officiating is taboo in NHL circles, and over an 82 game season they are supposed to even themselves out. If this was Vegas and you were counting cards, this would be the time to start doubling and tripling bets on the San Jose Sharks.

One of those bets would have to be on Joe Pavelski. Scoreless after registering 21 shots on goal in his last 4 games, he had his best scoring chance near the end of the third period. After Logan Couture curled at the top of the zone, he hit Pavelski with a pass in stride. The Wisconsin native deked around Parenteau to his left, but as he pulled the puck to his forehand the play was broken up with a diving stick check across the crease by defenseman Jack Hillen. The Islanders ramped up play in the third period. Tired on the second day of back-to-backs, they sensed an opportunity to break the three week long losing streak.

Longtime Sharks nemisis Dwayne Roloson turned in one of his best performances of the season, stopping 37 of 38 shots against and earning third star of the game from the San Jose media. The famously irritable goaltender earned his fourth straight start in goal over Rick DiPietro. Rick DiPietro, the Islanders franchise goaltender with 10 years remaining on his $67.5 million contract, allowed 13 goals on 61 shots in his last two starts. Roloson paid dividends late as his protestations directly lead to Pavelski’s third period goal being called off.

Both teams were looking for redemption as the game headed to a shootout. Logan Couture scored on Roloson with a slashing approach, and a forehand-to-backhand move that snuck inside the 5 hole. P.A. Parenteau snapped a shot that missed the net high. On the Sharks second shootout attempt, Joe Pavelski eschewed the “Pavelski move”, and instead tried to go forehand wide. Rolson extended his goalie pad wide to the post to make the save. After Antero Niittymaki made a sparkling extended glove save on Denmark’s-own Frans Nielsen, Dan Boyle faked a slapshot and slipped a backhand by Rolson for the deciding goal. Sharks win 2-1, and improve to a tie for 8th place in the Western Conference.

Asked about shootouts after the game, goaltender Antero Niittymaki waxed philosophical. “It’s fun when you win, it sucks when you lose.”

[Update] Aggregated NHL Power Rankings: Week 5 – Mike Chen for SBN’s From the Rink.

Trend Analysis – Even strength scoring vs. Power play scoring

SCORING AREA OF ICE, 2009-10 ES SCORING VS 2010-11 ES SCORING - NHL

SHOOTING ZONE ON NET, 2009-10 ES SCORING VS 2010-11 ES SCORING - NHL

SCORING AREA OF ICE, 2009-10 PP SCORING VS 2010-11 PP SCORING - NHL

SHOOTING ZONE ON NET, 2009-10 PP SCORING VS 2010-11 PP SCORING - NHL

The San Jose Sharks have been concerned with the pace of even strength scoring vs. goals scored on the power play. In recent stretches it has been feast or famine. Prior to Thursday night’s contest against the New York Islanders, the Sharks ranked 22nd in the NHL in scoring with 36 goals in 13 games played. 19 of those goals came at even strength, 15 came on the power play (5th in NHL). The New York Islanders were ranked 25th in even strength scoring with 35 goals in 15 games played. 15 of those were scored even strength, 16 came on the power play (9th in NHL).

Patrick Marleau lead the Sharks with 3 even-strength goals (.133 shooting percentage). Joe Thornton (.312 shooting percentage) , Dany Heatley (.167 shooting percentage) and Joe Pavelski (.050 shooting percentage) are tied for the Sharks lead with 3 power play goals. Marleau is the only Sharks play to score short handed, scoring low blocker side.

The trend analysis shows that early in the 2010-11 season, the San Jose Sharks are scoring less from the wings, and have overloaded from the top of the slot. Even strength goals from directly in front of the net have declined 14% over the 2009-10 season, and 23% from the lower area of the ice. A lack of goals from the doorstep could explain a 0 shooting percentage for the top center zone of the net. Without enough bodies in front, chipping second and third attempts over a prone goaltender will not happen.

On the power play, goals scored on shots from the point have a similar success (38% vs. 37%), but are more spread out across the ice. Despite having the 5th ranked power play in the NHL, goals scored from down low have decreased 4%. The shooting zone of the net on the power play is decidedly more balanced. With an extra player on the ice to outnumber the defense, the Sharks are able to lift more pucks in the center top zone (36% vs. 0%) but have shyed away from the gloveside for left-handed goaltenders.

All data and graphics via NHL GameCenter.

[Update] Better Late than Never: San Jose Sharks – Behind the Net Hockey.

DOH Podcast #123: Thornton suspension, David Perron, 3-game recap, secondary scoring

[audio:http://dudesonhockey.com/podcast/doh_2010_1110.mp3]

Mike Peattie and Doug Santana discuss the Joe Thornton suspension as a result of a hit on St. Louis Blues forward David Perron, Sharks parade to penalty box, Jamie McGinn, line adaptations, speculate on possible trade acquisitions including Sheldon Souray and James Wisniewski, whether the Sharks are really a .500 team and if fans should worry about the future on the 123rd 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.

Eleven fights cap a solid amateur mma card at Born to Fight 8 Sunday in Fremont

Amateur fightsports can feature wildy different skill levels. Two takeaways from the Born to Fight 8 amateur MMA event this Sunday in Fremont was how equally matched the competition was, and how polished several of the individual competitors were. Several hundred fans who packed the Saddlerack western bar saw decisive wins by a trio of undefeated fighters. American Kickboxing Academy’s John ‘Cali’ Davis (2-0) and Combat Sports Academy’s Idres Rahminai (3-0) earned a knockout and submission wins respectively, and World Team USA’s Vince Bordi upped his record to 4-0 with a dominant three round unanimous decision win over a very physical Brandon Hester.

Originally created as an amateur kickboxing and grappling tournament by former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Cung Le, now the Born to Fight series is presented by Le and American Kickboxing Academy founder Javier Mendez to feature several of the top amateur athletes from local MMA gyms. According to Vincit Magazine, 11 total gyms were represented from across the Bay Area. The event began with an in-ring performance by local Polynesian dance troupe Te Mau Tamari’i a Tiare.

The headliner was popular AKA light heavyweight John ‘Cali’ Davis. After bull rushing Felix Guel into the ropes hard enough to collapse the ring at the previous event in August, several fans ringside dove for cover when Davis drove Carlos Bosquez into the ropes early in the first round. ‘Cali’ does not just throw punches with bad intentions, he has power to end fights with either hand.

Davis wore down Bosquez in the corner and on the ground in the first two rounds, but the NorCal Fight Factor fighter used his size and leverage in spurts. After Davis scored a takedown early in the third round, he passed guard trapping both of Bosquez’s arms. Picking his spot, he rained down a series of heavy punches that quickly stopped the fight. He celebrated holding up a blue “Don’t Piss Me Off” shirt, one worn by several fans and pros seated rinkside including Herschel Walker. Also in attendance were UFC welterweight Jon Fitch, former Strikeforce lightweight champ Josh Thomson, Strikeforce heavyweight competitor and current KOTC/XMMA heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier, Strikeforce welterweight James Terry and Santa Cruz’s Luke Rockhold among others.

The co-main event featured controversy as Marco Del Real landed an illegal knee to the head to USH team member Justin Roman in the second round. Instead of disqualifying Del Real, Roman was allowed time to recover and the fight continued. Both traded on the feet at the start of the third, and Marco Del Real connected with a quick, in-tight two punch combination that dropped Roman. Del Real earned a KO 14 seconds in.

One complement for an mma athlete is to say that you do not want to go to the ground with him. With Combat Sports Academy’s Idres Rahminai, you do not want to be on the bottom, you do not want to be on top, and you do not want the fight to remain standing on the feet. Rahminai has the killer instinct needed to be successful in the sport. Taking down Alex Katrib at will in the first round, Rahminai expertly controlled shoulder and wrist position before trying a knee bar, and then doing a 360 into full mount.

Katrib whethered the storm as much as possible, but he ate a number of punches and elbows in the process. At the end of the first he showed good flexibilty defending another knee bar. In the second round Katrib started off with a kick to the midsection in part out of frustration, but Rahminai scored a powerful takedown that bounced Katrib’s head off the canvas. Alex Katrib made it back to his feet briefly, but Rahminai landed a kick of his own that folded Katrib and drew an ‘ooohh’ from the crowd. The east bay fighter quickly sunk in a rear naked choke and earned a submission win at 1:47 of the second round.

World Team USA light heavyweight Vince Bordi, also a standout on the previous BTF card in August, was featured in the toughest match of the night against powerful Tribull MMA fighter Brandon Hester. Against Jonathan Chaplain in August Bordi displayed solid wrestling throws and pinpoint striking, but Sunday night against Hester his grappling would earn him dominant position in all three rounds.

Hester torqued Bordi to the mat three times in the first two rounds with heavy throws. The first time the San Francisco fighter re-gained his feet. On the next two, as both went to the ground Bordi kept moving in the scramble until he was on top. Bordi wore down Hester with blows, but he could not flatten him out enough to sink in a submission. Brandon Hester fought off kimura and RNC attempts at the end of the second.

Assuming he was down 2-0 on the scorecards, Hester came out trying to throw bombs to start the third round. Bordi used good head movement to duck the punches, and then used a waist lock to drive him down to the mat. Bordi worked into full mount, then back control, and slammed Hester with a partial souflex when he tried to get to his feet. The Tribull fighter eventually got the fight back to standing, and landed several heavy shots at the end of the round, but it was too little, too late. The refs called for a unanimous decision for Bordi, 30-27, 30-27, 29-28.

There were several highlights on the undercard. A flamboyant swan dancing Radames Garcia came into the ring against Anthony Darino, who was beat himself wildly prior to the start of the fight. Darino tried a spectacular standing guillotine choke, and nearly finished Garcia in the first with a front choke. Orland ‘juicebox’ Cantbagan had a loud cheering section with Team OJ signs. Juicebox and Khashayar Erfanian tried to slug it out on their feet from the very start of the first round, before Cantbagan squeezed the juice out of Erfanian with a deep triangle choke 1:36 into the second round. It was the submission of the night. Tony “the Monster” Lawrence defeated Marc Talledo, Doyle Childs earned a unanimous decision win over Felix Guel, and AKA San Jose’s Zachary Parish defeated heavy handed Benji Silva in a controversial split decision. In earlier action, Paul Rice also scored a RNC submission over Martin Delanve and Ashley Smith earned a technical knockout due to strikes over Ashley Florence in the only women’s fight of the night.

Saturday November 13th, the United States Muaythai Federation and Fairtex will feature the War of the Heroes 8 Muaythai/MMA championships live from the Santa Clara Convention Center. Tickets are available via VBOtickets.com or at any Fairtex location (650) 938-8588. BTF8 announcer Jose Palacios will be featured in the main event against Phanuwat “Coke” Chunhawat. Massive Brazilian Gilmar China Sales, a USMF title fight between Bryan Petro and Corona Roy, Chris Moore, Tristen Arenal, and pro kickboxer Brandon Banda will also be on the card.

The inaugural California State Amateur MMA Championships started this summer with 8 regions each seeding 8 different weight classes. After regional quarterfinals, the Northern California edition of which were held on the undercard of Strikeforce Diaz-Noons II in San Jose, the state semifinals are scheduled for this weekend. The Southern California finals will be held November 12th in El Monte at the Florentine Gardens. The Northern California finals will be held November 12th at the Stockton Civic Auditorium. Date and location unknown as of yet for the overall state final. Visit camomma.org for more information.

Hockey Notes – 11/8

– In Saturday night’s 5-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning, right wing Jamie McGinn took umbrage with a second period hit along the endboards on linemate Torrey Mitchell. As Mitchell played the puck in the offensive zone, defenseman Randy Jones released coverage to a closing 6-foot-2, 220-pound Ryan Malone. A discombobulated Malone check first crunched Mitchell’s body, but the followthrough trapped his head up against the wall.

McGinn immediately grabbed the jersey of Malone with his left hand, and unloaded a quick series of 7-8 right hands. McGinn landed at least 3 haymakers, but the last right hand dropped his opponent flush. Malone may not be a true heavyweight but he has a meanness quotient similar to Ryane Clowe. He has fought quality competition at the NHL level with 30 fights in his last 7 seasons, including a trio of fights against Aaron Voros and a win in Tampa over Ryane Clowe. This was Jamie McGinn’s first recorded fight in the NHL during the regular season.

Hockeyfight.com’s John Chandler noted, “it was a relatively inexperienced fighter who stood out the most. Jamie McGinn scored an upset over Ryan Malone, hammering Malone with punches and knocking him down.” 93.9% of voters on HF awarded the decision to McGinn.

Skating past the penalty box and straight to the visiting locker room, Malone looked stunned at what just happened.

THORNTON JOINED RANDY HAHN, DREW REMENDA IN 2ND PERIOD

– Serving the first of a 2-game NHL suspension for a hit on David Perron, Joe Thornton joined the Comcast Sportsnet California broadcast team of Randy Hahn and Drew Remenda during the second period of the game on Saturday night. Thornton discussed the suspension, the appeals hearing held with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman on Saturday morning, Logan Couture, and the fans in San Jose among other topics.

In my opinion, it was a clean hit. We had a talk the other day. They thought my intent was to hit him in the head. My intent is never to hit anybody in the head, unless we are obviously in a fight. I don’t intent to hit anyone in the head with my shoulder. (Did the size differential make a difference?) It has to. I am 6-foot-4, I don’t know how tall he is, maybe 5-foot-9ish.

Gary Bettman was on the phone (for the appeal hearing), Bill Daly, Doug Wilson, coach (Todd McLellan), the NHLPA, my agent and myself. Going over it again, coach (McLellan) and Doug Wilson didn’t see it the way the league saw it. They wanted to revisit it, but it didn’t work.

There was really no answer to what I should have done differently. I think as players, you want them to tell you, “you did this wrong, you should have done this instead”. They really didn’t have an answer for me.

(On Logan Couture replacing Thornton on the top line with Marleau and Heatley) He has played with them in the past. Logan is such a smart player. I think Patrick and Dany like playing with him because he is a good goal scorer, he has a good shot, but he is a good playmaker as well.

(On the fans in San Jose after a number of “Free Jumbo” signs were shown) These fans are the best. It is one of the reasons I signed back here. They sell out every night. These fans love hockey here.

– Patrick Marleau’s shorthanded goal at 12:16 of the first period on Saturday night broke a 156:59 goalless drought, the third longest in team history according to CSN. The Sharks road goal drought is still on at 185:15 after three straight shutout losses. The next opportunity to break that drought will come after the current 5-game homestand, November 16th at Colorado.

– San Jose Mercury News beat writer David Pollak reports more on the backlash against embellishment claims after David Perron missed 2 subsequent games with concussion symptoms. All involved expressed concern for Perron’s safety, but several questioned the Blues and their medical staff for allowing him to return to the game so quickly. “If a player goes down motionless like that, if the league is really serious about concussions, he shouldn’t really be able to come back into the game,” Thornton told Pollak.

David Pollak also noted that several members of the Blues were not happy with a blog post written by radio analyst and former player Jamie Baker — The NHL was wrong. In the post Baker wrote that the NHL used the suspension to back the call of its referees, and that he believed Perron embellished the effects of the hit to draw a major penalty. “It is a trend that I am starting to see; players diving or faking injuries to draw penalties,” Baker said on the initial blog.

Pollak followed up with Baker and received an apology for making the claim. “I was wrong in saying Perron was faking an injury and I owe him an apology for that,” Baker said. The apology should also be repeated in a subsequent blog post on sjsharks.com.

– Blues forward David Perron scratched from Saturday night game against Boston with headaches – Sharkspage.

– In an interview with Damian Cristodero of the St. Petersburg Times, defenseman Dan Boyle described the former Tampa Bay Lightning ownership tandem of Oren Koules and Len Barrie as poison. “They got rid of the poison at the top,” Boyle told Cristodero. Refering to new owner Jeff Vinik and new GM Steve Yzerman, Boyle added, “I couldn’t be happier for the organization and the people back there that they’ve turned it around.”

– In addition to defenseman Dan Boyle, goaltender Antero Niittymaki also faced his former team and he came out on top. Niittymaki was tested repeatedly by former teammate Steven Stamkos. Stamkos is the current NHL leader in points with 22, and in goals scored with 11. Last year he earned a Rocket Richard trophy for the NHL scoring lead, tying Sidney Crosby with 51 goals.

Saturday night Stamkos finished with 6 shots on goal and 22:18 of ice time, but his best scoring opportunities came at the end of each period. Shorthanded with less than 15 seconds left in the first period, St. Louis broke Stamkos out of the zone with a bank pass off the boards. The first overall draft pick in 2008 had 3 or 4 steps on a backchecking Ryane Clowe, and 15 feet of open space.

At full speed Stamkos broke his wrists to fake a forehand shot, then tried to wait out Niittymaki and lift a backhand far side. Niittymaki’s pad got a piece of the initial shot, but the followthrough kept the blade behind the puck and lifted it over. The puck deflected off the back handle of Niittymaki’s goalie stick, and both the stick and the puck fluttered wide of the post. Possibly his best save of the season to date.

With less than 2 minutes left in the second period, Stamkos and Downie criss crossed at the blueline. Stamkos created room with a burst of speed to the left of defenseman Niclas Wallin. Using a long reach on his backhand, he cut towards the front of the net. Niittyamki waited for Stamkos to make the first move, but the puck trickled off his stick and was kicked wide. The Sharks goaltender was halfway out in the crease, not giving Stamkos a lot of options other than a move to his forehand. A late whack by Wallin may have been enough to break up the play.

Moving your feet is a good rule of thumb for the modern NHL, but Stamkos finally broke through for a goal with his feet planted in the offensive zone. On the power play, down 5-1 with less than 2 minutes left in the game, Vincent LeCavalier tried to move the puck from the boards back out to the point. The puck deflected off of the leg of Jamie McGinn, and traveled across the slot to Stamkos. The stationary sniper wasted no time cocking his stick, and blasting a 1-timer by his former teammate.

– ESPN Suits Up for NHL Rights Brawl – Media Week.

In a move that would serve to kneecap the ambitions of Comcast-NBC Universal, ESPN is poised to take a run at the rights for the National Hockey League. And the battle for the NHL could function as a dry run for ESPN’s pursuit of a far bigger prize: the Olympics. That said, Bristol does not have an open field spread out before it; as the incumbent cable rights holder, Comcast’s Versus has first dibs.

Since signing a three-year, $207.5 million NHL deal in 2005––one that came front-loaded with a three-year renewal option––Versus has boosted its sub count by 11 million households while quadrupling its ad sales revenue. Per Kantar Media estimates, Versus took in $107.4 million in sponsor dollars in 2009, notching a 5 percent gain in the thick of the recessionary doldrums.

– Tonight at 4:30PM (PT) on Versus, the Phoenix Coyotes at Detroit. Tuesday at 4PM on Versus, the Washington Capitals visit Madison Square Garden for the New York Rangers.

– Five Things: Coaching hot seat, Kings’ strong start – Scott Burnside for ESPN.

Burnside points to former Columbus Blue Jackets head coach Ken Hitchcock as the leading candidate for a turnaround if Calgary, Toronto or New York Islanders teams continues to struggle. Hitchcock was on the NHL Live radio program this afternoon, and as usual he was one of the more informative and insightful guests that have had on.

After killing host Don Lagreca, “you can dress like you are in the hunting lodge, but you can’t look like the moose”, Hitchcock offered a few thoughts on the Western Conference. Describing teams that stretch out defenses and play with a quick transition attack, he pointed to St. Louis, Detroit, Los Angeles and Vancouver as teams currently playing playoff-style hockey. “There is common ground among all those teams because they play so quick. When you have the puck, they are on you so fast. They never spend any time in their own zone. When they are out, the defenseman are head manning the puck and everybody is gone.” He added that the speed on defense makes an impact on both sides of the ice. “Even though it may be 1-0, 1-1 or 2-1, you just know you are not going to get too many scoring chances when they are playing this way.”

It is hard to to look at this from a San Jose Sharks perspective. While the win over the Colorado Avalanche on October 21st was a notable one, San Jose put the game out of reach late with all 4 lines getting the puck deep and playing physical defensive hockey for 200 feet. Shift after shift, they got the puck low and Colorado could not get it past the neutral zone. The next game the Sharks earned a 6-1 win over the struggling Oilers, but it was against a limping Edmonton team that would lose 4 or their next 5. Their young forward corps repeatedly burned the Sharks defense with speed on the wings, and it was a warning sign that would surface in three subsequent road shutout losses.

General manager Doug Wilson and his hockey staff remain in contact with all 29 other NHL teams during the season to keep track what is available, and they are rumored to have a ghost roster of each opposing lineup. In a salary cap hobbled league, room for general managers to move has been severely limited. Wilson may see the success speed on the backend has had for St. Louis, Detroit, Los Angeles and Vancouver, and it may result in activity before the NHL trade deadline at 12PM (PT) on March 2nd, 2010.

– According to Hockey Night in Canada, topics on the docket for the NHL General Manager’s meeting Tuesday in Toronto: review of illegal hits to the head, rwitter/social media policy, review of OT/shootout, trash talking or instigation during warmups, Allstar Game in Carolina 2011, coaches request/challenge for video review, NHL scouting combine.

– Debating Rule 48, plus 30 thoughts – Elliotte Friedman for CBC.ca.

1. (Doug) Wilson did raise one interesting issue: that the Thornton hit was very similar to Willie Mitchell/Jonathan Toews, which is considered acceptable under the new guidelines. This is going to lead to a lot of debate about hitters coming out of the penalty box. Players will tell you that anyone skating by is extremely vulnerable because you’re not expecting someone to come from there. David Perron was much closer to the boards than Toews, which gave him less time to react.

2. The St. Louis training staff deserves credit for pulling Perron off the ice the moment he reported dizziness Saturday morning, but I still wonder how anyone who goes down and stays down after a hit like that is allowed to return in-game so quickly. A second collision would have been very serious.

– Flames Corey Sarich doesn’t expect to hear from NHL – Montreal Gazette.

– An NHL press release details several online success stories for the league’s digital strategy: NHL Gamecenter Live subscriptions up 25%, one million fans on facebook.com/NHL, unique visitors up 29% on NHL.com, video starts up 155%, Versus up 18% in total households, 12% in viewership over this time last season, and the announcement of a new HBO 4-episode series previewing the Winter Classic between Washington and Pittsburgh among other points of interest.

[Update] Accountability – Part 1 – Sharks radio analyst Jamie Baker for SJsharks.com.

With Joe Thornton out, Patrick Marleau, Dany Heatley and Antero Niittymaki lead Sharks 5-2 over East powerhouse Tampa Bay

SJ GOALTENDER #30 ANTERO NIITTYMAKI MADE 33 SAVES IN WIN OVER TB

TB CAPTAIN #4 VINCENT LECAVALIER REGISTERED 2A, 5SOG

#43 MCCARTHY, #10 MAYERS, #21 NICHOL CELEBRATE GOAL IN 2ND

Conventional wisdom would suggest that losing your top scorer would make it more difficult to break a 156 minute, 59 second long scoring drought, but the Sharks are anything but conventional. With Joe Thornton serving the first of a 2-game suspension, the top line of Patrick Marleau, Logan Couture and Dany Heatley combined for 6 points in a 5-2 route of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Goaltender Antero Niittymaki turned in one of his finest performances of the season, stopping 33 of 35 shots against his former team. The win snapped a streak of 2 straight shutout losses, and put the Sharks on positive footing as they start a critical 5-game homestand.

“I thought we had a pretty good gameplan tonight,” San Jose Sharks head coach Todd McLellan told reporters after the game. “The fact that pucks went to the net and went in, they weren’t pretty goals. We had second and third opportunities, which we were looking for in our previous two games on the road.” The Sharks 2nd ranked power play converted 1 of 7 opportunities with the man advantage (14%), while the Lightning’s 2nd ranked penalty kill was effective as well killing of 6 of 7 (85.6%). San Jose also cut back on the revolving door to the penalty box after allowing opponents 16 power plays in their last 2 games.

The play was decidedly tilted towards Tampa Bay at the outset. After back-to-back losses on Wednesday and Thursday night in southern California, including a physical 1-0 loss to Los Angeles, the Lightning pushed the pace in the neutrazl zone and outnumbered the Sharks down low. “The first 6 or 7 minutes we faced something new,” defenseman Dan Boyle noted after the game. “We were prepared for it, but until you actually play against it, it is something a little different.” The former Lightning defenseman also described the team’s playing style under rookie head coach Guy Boucher. “With that coach they play a different style of game, they don’t forecheck all that much. They have 5 guys back. It is a cookie cutter league. Most teams do the same thing, but these guys play differently than everybody else.”

Antero Niittymaki was stellar early on shutting down Martin St. Louis on a pair of shots, including a long wrister deflected wide with his blocker. NHL goal (11) and point (22) scoring leader Steven Stamkos combined with Steve Downie for a quality scoring chance down low, while Vincent Lecavalier floated to an open space in the slot to hammer a shot on goal from distance.

Niittymaki was equal to the task. “It was nice to get a lot of shots early on,” he said post-game. “I am used to 4 or 5 in the first period, tonight they had 10. It got me into the game.” The Tampa Bay Lightning also out-Sharked the Sharks at times, getting the puck out to the defense before quick shots were fired through traffic on goal. 19-year old phenom defenseman Victor Hedman, and former Colorado Avalanche defenseman Brett Clark hammered shots from the point. Each time left wing Sean Bergenheim narrowly missed punching home the rebound.

The complexion of the game turned halfway through the first period when defenseman Douglas Murray took an interference call for checking center Dana Tyrell along the end boards. With the Lightning aggressively looking to capitalize on the power play, Stamkos floated a pass out of his own zone that was intercepted by Patrick Marleau. Marleau changed directions, took a hard stride and buried a heavy slapshot 5-hole on goaltender Mike Smith. At the end of a long west coast road trip, the Tampa Bay Lightning were visibly deflated after the Sharks first shorthanded goal of the season.

Tampa Bay would answer back as the penalty on Murray expired. Stamkos exploded off the wall with the puck, and fired a quick wrist shot on goal from the point. Martin St. Louis deflected the puck wide of Niittymaki and just inside the post to tie the game at 1-1. It was his 6th goal of the season.

The Sharks top line of Patrick Marleau, Dany Heatley and Logan Couture began to roll. After two offsides early on Marleau and Heatley, they started getting the puck deeper in the zone with the feeling they were eventually going to punch through the Lightning’s collapsing defense. With Vincent Lecavalier in the box for hooking Marleau, Patrick Marleau scored his second goal of the game 15:26 into the first. A shot/pass by defenseman Dan Boyle to Marleau resulted in an attempted shot/pass to Heatley at the side of the net. Tampa defenseman Mattias Ohlund tried to cover the pass, but instead he deflected it by Smith 5-hole. Clutch saves by Mike Smith on McCarthy, and Antero Niittymaki on a late Stamkos shorthanded breakaway kept the score at 2-1 after 20 minutes.

San Jose Sharks head coach Todd McLellan discussed his team’s struggle to score goals. “We have 70 games left to play. We will score goals. The biggest difference tonight was that we were not on the penalty kill.” Without a constant effort to chase down opponents shorthanded, the Sharks had more energy in the second period. The net result was goaltender Mike Smith facing a firing range. He was forced to smother pucks down low, and flash the blocker as well as the glove as San Jose outshot the visiting side 20-6. Two early penalties on Sean Bergenheim, and a double minor on Ryan Malone, forced the Lightning on their heels.

Heatley, Couture and Marleau kept pushing forward and generating scoring chances. At 11:27 of the second period Heatley scored his 6th goal of the season. Dan Boyle moved the puck up to Couture along the half wall, and the young centerman fired a shot on goal. Heatley buried the rebound into what looked like 8 feet of open net. The Sharks have been struggling to find secondary scoring, but the fourth line of Jamal Mayers, John McCarthy and Scott Nichol delivered at 17:27. Mayers reached a dump down low, and fired a hard pass to McCarthy at the front of the net. The rookie one-timed it for his second goal of the season, and a 4-1 lead.

Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Guy Boucher discussed how injuries and a long road trip took a toll on his team late in the game against San Jose. “Malone was sick as a dog, Downie should have never played, Thomson is sick. You guys know our injuries, it hurt us today. What hurt us tonight was the second period… the second period killed us with a million penalties. We couldn’t get momentum. They got it, they were smart. They played hard and got a lot of shots on net.” Defenseman Victor Hedman was able to return from a foot contusion suffered against Anaheim and Steve Downie played with an injured back, but forwards Dominic Moore (groin) and Simon Gagne (neck) were not in the lineup.

In the third period, Logan Couture drove to the front of the net and was rewarded. After Dany Heatley entered the zone with possession, Couture set up in front of Mike Smith and deflected a shot home for his 5th goal of the season 27 seconds in. “We hve a ton of confidence in (Couture),” McLellan said. “He has been one of our top forwards from training camp onwards. We feel real confident playing him in all situations.” The tally by Couture ensured that each member of the top line would score a goal, Marleau netting two. Couture success on both sides of the ice is a glimpse of his future potential. He has shown the ability to fill a playmaking role on the top line, or to deliver a shutdown shift late in a game.

Tampa Bay’s Steven Stamkos scored on the power play at 18:13 for his league leading 11th of the season. Antero Niittymaki (5-1-1, .932SV%, 1.78GAA) stopped 33 of 35 shots for his 5th win of the season. Tampa Bay goaltender Mike Smith (4-2-0, .881SV%, 3.43GAA) stopped 34 of 39 shots against. The Sharks outshot Tampa Bay 39-35, outhit them 20-15, and finished 37-34 from the faceoff circle (52%). Patrick Marleau lead both teams with 8 shots on goal, Jamal Mayers and Jamie McGinn lead both teams with 3 hits, and defenseman Dan Boyle blocked a game high 4 shots. Worcester Sharks leading scorer Benn Ferriero was called up to replace Thornton in the lineup. The Lightning are 1-6 in their last 6 visits to HP Pavilion.

A photo gallery from the game is available here.

[Update] Sharks snap skid, drub Lightning – SF Chronicle.

[Update2] Lopsided loss could have been worse, Tampa Bay Lightning loses to San Jose Sharks 5-2 – Damian Cristodero for the St. Petersburg Times.

“At some point in the game, we got away from the structure a little bit,” Lightning captain Vinny Lecavalier said. “Little things, but structure is the most important thing — backchecking the right way, being first on the puck.

“That’s our motto; we have to be first on the puck. If we’re not, then we’re not playing our game.”

[Update3] Lightning’s West Coast woes continue with loss to San Jose – Tampa Tribune.

Fan Photo of the Game

SHARKS FAN DISPLAYS THORNTON CAPTAIN MORGAN SIGN SAT. NIGHT

Fan of the game Saturday night vs. Tampa Bay.

WorSharks Power Themselves To Victory Over Manchester, 3-2

The Worcester Sharks scored three power play goals and got a solid goaltending performance from Alex Stalock in route to a 3-2 win over the Manchester Monarchs Saturday night at the DCU center in Worcester, Massachusetts in front of 3,419 fans. The two teams meet again Friday night in Manchester to complete the divisional home-and-home series.

After a scoreless opening period that saw the WorSharks out shoot Manchester 12-8, Worcester would jump out to a 2-0 lead with a couple of early second period power play goals. The first came at 2:55 after James Marcou threw a nifty backhand pass from behind the goal line to Jonathan Cheechoo standing at the top of the crease. The Monarchs learned the hard way you can’t leave a former Maurice ‘Rocket’ Richard Trophy winner standing all alone in front of the net when Cheechoo banged the puck past Manchester netminder Jeff Zatkoff for the 1-0 lead. Sean Sullivan’s wide blast on net that was gathered in by Marcou earned him the second assist on the goal.

Brandon Mashinter had the second goal for Worcester when his booming one-timer beat Zatkoff at 4:50. After the WorSharks cycled the puck around the Monarchs zone Steven Zalewski found himself at the left wing half boards with a wide open passing lane to Mashinter, and he threw a perfect pass that Mashinter just crushed on net. Dan DaSilva was credited with the second assist on the goal.

But Worcester has had trouble holding leads this season, and unfortunately for Team Teal that happened again Saturday as Manchester was able to escape the period tied 2-2. Their first goal came at 8:02 on a breakaway chance by Ray Kaunisto after a missed open ice check at the WorSharks blue line sent him in all alone on Stalock. Monarchs defenseman Jake Muzzin carried the puck through the neutral zone and to the blue line when WorSharks defenseman Mike Moore saw an opening and attempted to throw a huge open ice hit on Muzzin. Moore effectively missed and ended up blocking Nick Petrecki from grabbing the loose puck. Kaunisto was there to grab it and after Stalock bit on his deke he skated around the downed netminder and threw a backhand into the yawning net.

Oscar Moller would get the tying goal after deflecting a Dwight King shot past Stalock at 14:41. Stalock immediately jumped to his feet to complain to referee Tim Mayer that Moller had interfered with his attempt to make the save on King’s shot, but Referee Mayer was not swayed by the goaltender’s argument.

The WorSharks would grab the game winner with six minutes remaining in the contest after a couple of players had cycled out of position. With center Zalewski at the point and defenseman Sullivan deep in the Manchester zone, Mike Moore fed Zalewski a pass along the blue line. Zatkoff made a pad save on Zalewski’s shot that looked to be going wide, and the puck bounced right to Sullivan. Sullivan held the puck as he moved toward the back of the net, and as Zatkoff scrambled to get back to the post Sullivan banked the puck off the netminder and into the net.

Worcester then had to hold on for dear life in the final 2:16 of the game after Andrew Desjardins was sent off for a very questionable kneeing minor, but Stalock and the WorSharks penalty killers kept Manchester from scoring. And after Desjardins won a last season face-off Worcester could add two to the points column.

GAME NOTES
Worcester’s healthy scratch was Joe Loprieno. Cam MacIntyre and Tony Lucia remain on the WorSharks injury list. Carter Hutton was the back-up netminder.

Twice in the contest WorSharks head coach Roy Sommer sent out his fourth line after Manchester had iced the puck, and the second time it directly lead to a Manchester goal. One has to wonder why he would not automatically put his best available line on the ice to take advantage of the Monarchs not being able to change lines.

It was another pretty good weekend for Nick Petrecki. The former first round draft pick played very physical but was smart about it, and twice Saturday night he was ready to go with Monarchs forward Jordan Nolan and Nolan wanted no part of him. He still needs to work a little with the puck, but the last couple of weeks he’s been far better than he had been. Petrecki did have a spurt like this last season and then it all fell apart, but this has a different look to it than last season and it really appears like he’s turned a corner since his record setting (-5) in Norfolk in October 16.

Referee Tim Mayer worked his first Worcester game Saturday night, and had a couple of head scratching calls. Cory Quirk’s hooking minor in the first was an odd call as Quirk had just pushed a loose puck to a line mate after fighting off a Manchester defenseman, and Andrew Desjardins kneeing penalty looked like a legal stick check that resulted in both players colliding with each other. Referee Mayer did get one odd play ruled correctly after rookie Tommy Wingles was called for tripping. You don’t see too many penalties for a forward tripping a goaltender, but that’s exactly what Wingles did to Manchester netminder Jeff Zatkoff behind the Monarchs net. There was no room to argue the call as Wingles’ stick got caught in Zatkoff’s skate.

WorSharks wore their 5th anniversary jerseys, which are San Jose’s road jerseys with Worcester’s anniversary “V” logo on them, and are this writer’s vote for the best Worcester jersey to date. The WorSharks should look into keeping the teal jerseys as their road jerseys next season.

The three stars of the game were
1. WOR – 37 Sean Sullivan (gwg,a)
2. MCH – 24 Ray Kaunisto (g,a)
3. WOR – 15 Steven Zalewski (2a)

The Sharkspage player of the game was Alex Stalock.

Even strength lines
Trevelyan/Zalewski/Cheechoo
Henderson/Desjardins/DaSilva
Mashinter/Wingles/Marcou
(everyone)/Quirk/Hunt

Moore/Schaus
Braun/Leach
Petrecki/Sullivan
Irwin/(everyone)

Penalty Kill Lines
Desjardins/Henderson
Quirk/Hunt
Wingles was a 5th penalty killer, teaming with all four others at points in the game.

Moore/Schaus
Braun/Leach

Power Play Lines
Trevelyan/Cheechoo/Marcou
Mashinter/Zalewski/DaSilva

Braun/Sullivan
Moore/Schaus(Irwin)

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

1st Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Wingels Wor (tripping), 4:25; Quirk Wor (hooking), 14:26.

2nd Period-1, Worcester, Cheechoo 5 (Marcou, Sullivan), 2:55 (PP). 2, Worcester, Mashinter 4 (Zalewski, DaSilva), 4:50 (PP). 3, Manchester, Kaunisto 2 (Muzzin), 8:02. 4, Manchester, Moller 1 (King, Kaunisto), 14:41. Penalties-Muzzin Mch (interference), 2:17; Kaunisto Mch (elbowing), 3:32; Nolan Mch (roughing, roughing), 4:56; DaSilva Wor (roughing, roughing), 4:56; Mashinter Wor (slashing), 8:59; Zeiler Mch (boarding), 17:29; Irwin Wor (hooking), 19:48.

3rd Period-5, Worcester, Sullivan 2 (Zalewski, Moore), 14:00 (PP). Penalties-Moller Mch (hooking), 0:39; King Mch (boarding), 12:22; Desjardins Wor (kneeing), 17:44.

Shots on Goal-Manchester 8-6-6-20. Worcester 12-3-13-28.
Power Play Opportunities-Manchester 0/5; Worcester 3/5.
Goalies-Manchester, Zatkoff 4-4-1 (28 shots-25 saves). Worcester, Stalock 4-4-1 (20 shots-18 saves).
A-3,419
Referee-Tim Mayer (19). Linesmen-Brian MacDonald (72), Joe Ross (92).

The Hockey News/XM Home Ice 204 Podcast: Angela James and Cammi Granato HHOF induction, blindside hits, Columbus Blue Jackets

[audio:http://rstorage.filemobile.com/storage/3436583/31.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 in Toronto for another edition of THN Radio – and in the opening segment of the show, women’s hockey legend and CBC reporter/analyst Cassie Campbell-Pascal speaks with the guys about the upcoming induction of female players Angela James and Cammi Granato into the Hockey Hall of Fame, as well as the challenges that still face the women’s game. In the second block, THN Web Editor Rory Boylen calls in and talks about blindside hits vs. hitting from behind, and the rise of the Columbus Blue Jackets (despite many of their star players underwhelming on the ice). In the final block, the Ask Adam mailbag deals with topics such as Avalanche star Matt Duchene’s recent benching, defending Sidney Crosby, and the possibility the NHL will go back to the days when all players used wooden sticks.

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

Saturday’s NHLPA appeal of Thornton suspension rejected

HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA PANEL DISCUSSES THORNTON SUSPENSION - CBC

The NHLPA appeal hearing for Joe Thornton’s suspension was held Saturday morning via a conference call with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly, NHL Sr. VP Colin Campbell, San Jose Sharks head coach Todd McLellan and GM Doug Wilson, NHLPA lawyer Matt Nussbaum, and Thornton’s agent and brother John Thornton among others. The NHL rejected the appeal and upheld the suspension which kept Thornton out of Saturday night’s 5-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lighting, and will keep him from suiting up for a Pacific Division contest Tuesday night against Anaheim.

According to a hotstove panel discussion yesterday on Hockey Night in Canada, the Sharks made the case that the Thornton hit on Perron was similar in circumstances to a 2009 Willie Mitchell hit on Jonathan Toews that the league included on a video sent to each team at the beginning of the season. The DVD was meant to clearly delineate what was an acceptable hit. In that specific instance, Mitchell also left the penalty box to deliver a shoulder-on-shoulder hit.

While the Sharks believed that Thornton did not target the head of Perron, the NHL did not agree. Despite several different camera angles, there is not a good enough view for definitive proof of a head shot. Several seem to show that the 6-foot-4 Thornton appeared to initiate the check in the chest area of the 6-foot-0 Perron, not the head. As with the Mitchell hit on Toews, momentum carried the blow upwards. That lateral element also was not clearly defined. Thornton was looking directly at the crest of Perron’s jersey prior to the hit. In football parlance, he was “aiming for the numbers”.

The conversation in the hockey world quickly moved from Joe Thornton’s individual play on David Perron, to a more comprehensive look at how the Rule 48 “Illegal Check to the Head” policy has been implemented to date, and how it will be implemented in the future. “We are now in the precedent setting mode,” Mike Milbury said on HNIC Saturday. “Every one of these hits is going to make a difference in how these are judged going forward. (The Thornton hit) they dropped the ball on.”

Spelled out in Rule 48 specifically are lateral and blind side hits to an opponent, hits where the head is targeted and/or the principal point of contact. On paper, that is what players, teams and the NHLPA have to work with, but there are other elements that should be in play. Intent has to be a factor, possession of the puck has to be a factor, whether the opponent being checked is making an unsafe play, size disparity, the reputation of the player initiating the hit also needs to be evaluated. “Universally… there is confusion about Rule 48, and supplementary discipline,” Pierre LeBrun said on HNIC.

Evaluating the elements of the split second play Thornton’s hit on Perron fails on a number of levels. One there is not a definitive element of a head shot any more than recent hits by Dan Carcillo, a non-call, or Nick Foligno and Tom Gilbert, both $2500 Rule 48 fines, or the league approved video of Mitchell. How are players to differentiate between the fine-worthy, suspension-worthy and non-called infractions? Right now you can’t.

Possession? Perron kicked the puck off his skate moments before the check. Intent? Thornton took an aggressive boarding call on an earlier shift, but none of the parties involved claimed an intent to injure. Unsafe play? Perron skated for several seconds with his head turned behind him. In boxing competitors are told to protect themselves at all times. Size disparity? The larger Thornton said he lowered his shoulder and froze, allowing Perron to run into him. Video backs him up. Reputation? Thornton’s reputation completely accurate or not has been one of a finesse player, not a head hunter a la Carcillo or Matt Cooke.

“Two points, the (GM’s) know they don’t have it right, that is helpful,” Milbury said with regards to Rule 48 being on the agenda for the General Managers meeting in Toronto on Tuesday. “It has repercussions, this lack of clarity, around the league.”

In an ironic twist it was Sharks GM Doug Wilson and Red Wings GM Ken Holland who were two of the leaders pushing for a more definitive rule to protect against dangerous hits to the head. Wilson was reportedly angered after learning of the suspension. The Sharks players were almost as a whole dumbfounded.

[Update] Predatory hits take centre stage – John MacKinnon for the Edmonton Journal.

[Update2] Weekend wrap: More Joe Thornton fallout; Zach Parise gears up for talks – Pierre LeBrun for ESPN.com.

Blues forward David Perron scratched from Saturday night game against Boston with headaches

An unfortunate development in the Thornton-Perron situation played out Saturday as the 22-year old St. Louis Blues left winger was held out of a game with complications from a Joe Thornton hit delivered on Thursday. According to ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun and St. Louis radio host Andy Strickland, Perron was a scratch from last night’s 2-1 win over Boston due to dizziness and headaches.

“Joe Thornton is not a dirty player. But he crossed the line. We have a player that can’t play tonight because he got a shoulder to the head that was blindsided,” Blues President John Davidson told Lebrun. After practicing Friday, Perron experienced dizziness and headaches during the morning skate on Saturday and was replaced in the lineup by forward Nick Drazenovic.

After the NHL handed down a 2-game suspension to Joe Thornton late Friday afternoon, the San Jose Sharks locker room unanimously expressed a sense of confusion as to what was and was not a legal hit. There were also a number of comments skeptical of the nature of Perron’s injury, and whether there was embellishment involved on the side of the Blues forward.

Defenseman Douglas Murray said he was doubtful after Perron laid motionless on the ice for minutes, then got up and did not miss a power play shift less than 1 minute later in the game. Perron scored a second period insurance goal nearly 9 minutes into the period. Joe Thornton said he thought Perron was dead the way he laid motionless on the ice. “This guy just ran into me 100mph. I am stationary, and he is dead,” Thornton said. “It’s kind of like in soccer, when a guy goes down like he is shot. He is out on the power play 57 seconds later. It is just baffling.” Defenseman Dan Boyle said that Perron violated the player code. “If you’re hurt, you’re hurt. Stay down.”

The concern does not just involve how quickly Perron recovered or did not recovered after the hit on Thursday night, Perron himself raised questions in a post-game interview with Jim Hayes on Fox Sports Midwest. “I didn’t know if I would be all right or not (after the hit), I feel fine right now,” Perron told Hayes after the game. When asked if there were any lingering effects by Hayes, Perron replied “No, no, I am fine right now, hopefully it stays that way.” In an interview with AOL Fanhouse’s Susan Slusser, Sharks center Scott Nichol said that Perron admitted to trying to draw a 5-minute penalty on the play. The post-game interview above is currently not available on the video section of stlblues.com.

Perron’s ability to take an enormous hit, not miss a shift ,and score a goal less than 10 minutes later is more than possible. To feel fine after the game, fine on practice Friday, then suffer headaches and dizziness two days later when numerous comments about embellisment are made is also possible, but it does raise questions.

“The situation places a large foot directly in the mouth of some national commentators, who criticized Perron for embellishing the play, insinuating his ability to return to the game and score a goal as corroborating evidence,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter Dan O’Neill wrote today. O’Neill also quoted Blues president John Davidson, who criticized those who questioned Perron for embellishment. Davidson pointed to the case of Marc Savard, where it took several days for the effects of a concussion to present themselves.

Distinctly possible, although twice when I suffered sports-related head injuries the effects were far more severe and immediate. Once I partially woke up in an ambulance, before eventually waking up in the hospital. The second time after an elbow to the head I suffered two black eyes, a broken nose, and vomited off and on for nearly 10-15 minutes. Head injuries are serious business, and they affect each person differently. It is not being disrespectful or dishonest to speculate about the severity of Perron’s trauma. On the surface it did not appear to be as serious as it could have been, a sentiment expressed by David Perron himself the night of the hit.

Player saftey is a paramount concern for the league, and it should be subject to renewed focused at the GM meetings this Tuesday, but the Sharks do have valid concerns about the way this incident unfolded and continues to unfold.

Foot in mouth notwithstanding.

WorSharks Still Having Problems Closing Out Opponents, Drop 3-2 Contest to Albany

The Worcester Sharks, playing without leading scorer Benn Ferriero, allowed a last minutes goal to give up the lead and then went scoreless in the shootout to drop a 3-2 decision to the Albany Devils Friday night at the DCU center in Worcester, Massachusetts in front of 3,419 fans.

The Devils franchise, which made an off season move from Lowell to Albany, were eliminated from last season’s Calder Cup playoffs by the WorSharks. Despite the move and the new season memories of the very physical series were still very fresh in the player’s minds, and that set the tone for the game. Despite the heavy hitting, referee Jeff Smith called just three minors–one of them an automatic delay of game minor to Albany’s Dan Kelly–and the end to end play of the game resulted in the shortest overtime/shootout game in the AHL in at least three seasons. And it could have been even shorter had it not been for a defensive lapse by Worcester in the last minute of regulation.

The opening period saw no penalties and very few whistles as both squads threw big hits and had decent scoring chances turned aside by good back checking or saves by Albany netminder Mike McKenna and WorSharks goaltender Carter Hutton. Worcester had the two best chances, with Jonathan Cheechoo ringing one off the crossbar and Andrew Desjardins almost banging one home from a bad angle just as the period expired. Worcester had the edge early in the second period and but it was Albany that had what looked like a sure tally when Matt Anderson fired the puck at a yawning net after a scramble in the WorSharks end. As the Albany forwards raised their sticks to begin celebrating Hutton dove across the crease and made an incredible highlight reel paddle save to keep the game scoreless.

Despite the great save Albany continued to pressure Worcester and took the lead after converting on a three on one break in. With WorSharks defenseman Joe Loprieno as the lone defender back Devils defenseman David McIntyre’s outlet pass found Nick Palmieri racing down the right wing. Loprieno played it well, blocking the passing lane and keeping Palmieri to the outside, but Palmieri’s wrist shot from the face-off dot beat Hutton to the far post at 7:36.

It was Tommy Wingles’ fourth of the season on a nice bounce that knotted the game for Worcester. James Marcou jumped on a loose puck behind the Albany net and fired a hard pass to Cheechoo in the right wing circle. Cheechoo’s pass into the slot was deflected twice by defenders but bounced right onto the backhand of Wingles. The rookie forward held the puck for just a second as McKenna dove across leaving the upper part if the net undefended. Wingles easily flipped it into the wide open area to light the lamp.

Neither team could connect on their second period power play chance, with Albany failing to score on Loprieno’s head scratching interference minor and Worcester missing during Palmieri’s roughing minor that straddled the second intermission. The WorSharks would capitalize on their second power play chance to give them a 2-1 lead. With Kelly for clearing the puck into the stands Marcou and Cheechoo played give-and-go with the puck, resulting in a Cheechoo blast that rang off the crossbar and dropped into the net at 3:53. Justin Braun had the second assist on the goal.

Worcester then went into a defensive stance, and did a decent job of keeping the Devils from having a great scoring chance and keeping any rebounds chances. Albany would pull McKenna for an extra attacker, and unfortunately for the WorSharks it would take just a single shot to lose their lead after Matt Anderson into the center from the left wing boards and fire a shot off the far post. The puck looked to rebound off the post and then hit Hutton in the back, rolling back into the net.

After a scoreless overtime the game went into a shootout with Cheechoo, Brandon Mashinter, T.J. Trevelyan, Steven Zalewski, and Wingles all missing for Worcester. Hutton stopped the first four Devils attempts before Anderson scored through the five hole for the 3-2 final.

GAME NOTES
Just prior to the start of the game San Jose recalled Benn Ferriero to take the place of Joe Thornton, who was suspended two games for what appeared to this writer to be a legal open ice hit on St Louis’ David Perron. In another transaction earlier during the week, Mike Moore was assigned to Worcester after clearing waivers. Matt Irwin, Tony Lucia, and Cam MacIntyre did not dress for the WorSharks. Alex Stalock was the backup goaltender for the second game in a row.

While referee Jeff Smith was doing his best to stay out of the action, linesman Frank Murphy kept finding himself right in the middle of it. It would be only a slight exaggeration to say he was hit with the puck more than the goaltenders were, and several times he picked off players as they skated by. Luckily for both teams none of those events had a huge impact on play or resulted in a scoring chance.

The three stars of the game were
1. WOR – 14 Jonathan Cheechoo (g,a)
2. ALB – 29 Matt Anderson (g,shootout game winner)
3. WOR – 19 James Marcou (2a)

The Sharkspage player of the game was Justin Braun.

Even strength lines
Trevelyan/DaSilva(Zalewski)/Cheechoo
Henderson/Desjardins/Zalewski(DaSilva)
Mashinter/Wingles/Marcou
(everyone)/Quirk/Hunt

Moore/Schaus
Braun/Leach
Petrecki/Sullivan
Loprieno/(everyone)

Penalty Kill Lines
Desjardins/Henderson
Quirk/Wingles

Moore/Schaus
Braun/Leach

Power Play Lines
Trevelyan/Cheechoo/Marcou
Mashinter/Wingles/Zalewski

Braun/Sullivan
Moore/Schaus

BOXSCORE
Albany 0 1 1 0 – 3
Worcester 0 1 1 0 – 2

1st Period- No Scoring.Penalties-No Penalties

2nd Period-1, Albany, Palmieri 1 (McIntyre), 7:36. 2, Worcester, Wingels 4 (Marcou, Cheechoo), 12:16. Penalties-Loprieno Wor (interference), 14:46; Palmieri Alb (roughing), 18:54.

3rd Period-3, Worcester, Cheechoo 4 (Marcou, Braun), 3:53 (PP). 4, Albany, Anderson 2 (Sestito, Wiseman), 19:13. Penalties-Kelly Alb (delay of game), 2:12.

OT Period- No Scoring.Penalties-No Penalties

Shootout – Albany 1 (Henrique NG, Swift NG, Tedenby NG, Wiseman NG, Anderson G), Worcester 0 (Cheechoo NG, Mashinter NG, Trevelyan NG, Zalewski NG, Wingels NG).
Shots on Goal-Albany 6-8-8-2-1-25. Worcester 11-7-8-1-0-27.
Power Play Opportunities-Albany 0/1; Worcester 1/2.
Goalies-Albany, McKenna 2-2-0 (27 shots-25 saves). Worcester, Hutton 1-0-1 (24 shots-22 saves).
A-3,419
Referee-Jeff Smith (49). Linesmen-Frank Murphy (29), Jim Briggs (83).

Sharks captain Joe Thornton suspended two games for Perron hit, team expressed “confusion” at decision

SJ CAPTAIN JOE THORNTON SPEAKS WITH REPORTERS AFTER SUSPENSION

SJ ASST COACH JAY WOODCROFT, THORNTON DISCUSS FRI. PRACTICE

The NHL announced late this afternoon that Sharks captain Joe Thornton would receive a 2-game suspension after he was ejected from Thursday’s contest for a hit to St. Louis winger David Perron. The 13-year veteran will forfeit $77,419.36 in salary to the NHL Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund as a result of the suspension for what was termed an “illegal check to the head”.

San Jose Sharks EVP/GM Doug Wilson released a statement on the suspension via sjsharks.com. “We strongly disagree with the two-game suspension handed down by the NHL today to Joe Thornton,” Wilson said. “What is most distressing is that we feel the suspension is not consistent to the recent reviews by the League following similar collisions resulting in players leaving the penalty box and establishing their place on the ice, including Willie Mitchell on Jonathan Toews.”

The play differs from other rulings because Joe Thornton exited the penalty box and skated directly into the lane as David Perron looked behind him to accept a breakout pass from Alex Pietrangelo. In the NHL’s briefly worded statement, there was no acknowledgement that individual players have a responsibility to be aware of their surroundings. Perron skated through the neutral zone with his head down, and he kicked a breakout pass off his skates in a textbook invitation to a dangerous open ice hit. It is unclear, and certainly not definitive, that Thornton targeted the head of Perron or did so with an intent to injure.

“In Joe’s case, it was clearly not a predatory-type hit with an intent to injure, shown by the fact that the player returned to the ice for his next shift so it is clear that the contact to the head was minimal,” GM Doug Wilson continued. “We put a lot of time and effort into helping define the NHL’s new rule on headshots but we feel strongly that this suspension is not a reflection of the rule’s true intent.”

More than anger, after a short practice in San Jose on Thursday the team expressed a measure of confusion across the board. Defenseman Douglas Murray, who lead the team last year with 233 hits, said he did not know what type of hit was legal and what wasn’t. “I think it is more confusing, because I thought when we watched the video it was from where the hit was delivered.” Murray said. “The situation is worse too, with the guy laying down. He is out there playing the next shift.” After receiving brief medical attention, Perron was able to take his regular shift as the game resumed and he scored an insurance goal nearly 9 minutes later in the second period. “If you are laying down like that after a hit, you are not popping up and feeling ok.”

Thornton had a quizzical expression as he joined reporters to discuss the 2-game suspension after practice. “I was shocked to be honest with you,” Thornton said of the announcement. “I got text messages from over a dozen people that it probably should not have even been a penalty. To hear I had a disciplinary hearing this morning, I was shocked. To hear that I got 2 games…” Thornton had trouble finishing the sentence. “I think guys are real confused about what is a legal hit is now to be honest with you.”

What is and what is not legal deserves another look back at the newly implemented Rule 48, llegal Check to the Head. In the 2010-11 NHL Rulebook, rule 48.1 explicitly bans “lateral or blind side hits” where the head is targeted and/or is the principal point of contact. As is the case with many controversial plays, each camera angle can tell a different piece of the story, and sometimes watching a play live is the worst angle of all. None of the available camera angles had a clear view of the play in St. Louis. One top down angle shows Perron’s head violently snap back after the hit, while a closer ice level viewpoint shows Thornton leading with a shoulder (not an elbow), in what appears to be a perfectly legal position.

“Looking (at the hit) today, it was pretty black and white. It was a legal hit. I really don’t know how it can be perceived as a dangerous play on my part,” Thornton said. Describing the disciplinary hearing via conference call, a hearing conducted by NHL VP of Operations Mike Murphy with Colin Campbell unavailable, Thornton said he simply told his side of what happened. “I think last night Colin Campbell made up his mind that I was going to get the penalty, it didn’t really matter what happened today or what my explanation was.” The Sharks captain said it felt like a predetermined decision was made. “He already had this perceived notion, I am going to suspend Joe Thornton.”

Yahoo’s Greg Wyshynski opined today that a lack of injury, lack of intent, and the loss of the Sharks’ best player for 2/3rds of a conference rival game could have been mitigating factors, but “the NHL was continuing the education process for Rule 48.” Wyshynski believes it was a message sending statement in line with an earlier 3-game suspension the NHL handed down to Phoenix captain Shane Doan for his hit on Anaheim’s Dan Sexton.

Sending a message via Joe Thornton is an odd choice for the NHL, given the fact that he may be the star player least afforded protection by NHL officials from obstruction and hooking. At times Thornton looks like a 6-foot-4 tackling dummy as he sets up around the crease, if tackling dummies were meant to be chopped and hacked by Easton sticks. “They are obviously taking a stand,” defenseman Dan Boyle said. “Whether a guy is hitting, following through or not, whether he is being careful or trying to take a guy out. They are taking a stand.”

“It doesn’t matter (if star players are called). Players are in limbo on what is a clean and dirty hit,” Thornton said. “Players just don’t know, and that is a problem.”

TSN reporter Darren Dreger broke the news of the suspension earlier this afternoon on TSN. Dreger reported that agent John Thornton has the option to file an appeal with the NHLPA, but that the decision is “unlikely” to be overturned. The news was not confirmed by the NHL for an extended period, putting the Sharks organization in a difficult position. They have a team policy of not commenting on an incident until there is an official statement from the league. The league’s Sr. Director of Media Relations John Dellapina noted to Sharkspage this morning that they do not comment or issue statements unless a suspension or fine is made. Even then, they do not always acknowledge supplementary discipline hearings. The Sharks were forced to watch stories and blog posts move on the wire without an official team reaction. A hiccup to be sure, but one not conducive to an already borderline situation.

Thornton will be held out of the first 2 games of an upcoming 5-game homestand, November 6th against Tampa Bay, and November 9th against Anaheim. He will be eligible to return next Thursday against the New York Islanders.

It comes with the territory that media, fans and blogs are going to criticize officials for calls, and potentially criticize the league for decisions made based upon those calls. The NHL needs to follow two simple directives — protect the saftey of the players, and get calls right. For the second straight San Jose Sharks game, the officials and the league have failed on a fundamental level. To say the Sharks are angry may not be the most accurate description, they are frustrated by a league at times operating arbitrarily with no cohesive message.

The statement made with a 2-game suspension of Joe Thornton may be an entirely different one than the league intended to portray.

[Update] Joe Thornton suspended two games – Pierre LeBrun for ESPN.com.

“So 11 games into the year and I get my first penalty, I was on pace to win the Lady Byng and all of sudden I get flagged for an illegal head check,” Thornton told ESPN.com. “That’s a little strange since I have no history with that. But it is what it is. You look at the new rule, I think they’re still in limbo at the rule in itself and they’re not quite sure maybe on how it should fly and I got caught in the middle of it.”

[Update2] San Jose Sharks radio play-by-play host Dan Rusanowsky posted an audio report on the league suspension with audio from Joe Thornton, defenseman Douglas Murray and Dan Boyle, and head coach Todd McLellan.

During Friday’s practice Rusanowsky mentioned former Shark Andrei Nazorov, and Director of Communications Roger Ross mentioned Bryan Marchment. Both were league-wide fine and suspension magnets. Nazorov earned 4-games for a head butting incident in 1995, and was allegedly suspended by a Russian hockey league for an entire year. Marchment, a current San Jose player development coach, was flagged for 13 suspensions in his first 12 seasons and still earns a steely glare when brought up in some Canadian hockey circles. Two Sharks suspensions that immediately came to mind for this blog were Owen Nolan’s 11-game suspension in 2001 for a vicious flying elbow to Grant Marshall, and the glass hopping tirade that earned enforcer Scott Parker 2-games as he tried to scale the partition between teams to get at Brendan Witt.

The one common element to all of the Sharks suspensions mentioned above was how eggregarious the violations were. The Thornton check on David Perron pales in comparison.

[Update3] For reference, here is the Willie Mitchell hit on Jonathan Toews Doug Wilson mentioned (hit occured in October 2009 before Rule 48 was implemented in March). Here is video of Ottawa center Nick Foligno’s hit on Carolina winger Pat Dwyer last month. Foligno was not called for a penalty during the game, and was fined $2500 post-game by the NHL. Here is video of Phoenix captain Shane Doan’s hit last month on Anaheim Ducks forward Dan Sexton. Doan was suspended for 3 games, forfeiting $73,387.11 in pay.

Of the three checks, Doan’s appeared to be the most flagrant. Mitchell registered a crushing hit, but it was clearly initiated shoulder-to-shoulder and the lateral element was minimal. Fogliano’s play was a glancing, sideways hip check similar to how former Sharks defenseman Kyle McLaren used to explode into opponents. Also of note was the point of contact in the body, and the focus on gaining possession of the puck instead of finishing the check. Doan’s hit on Sexton was the trifecta, a lateral play, a hit on a player without the puck, and a hit to the head (although this was disputed).

None of the three hits even remotely approached the March 7th, 2010 incident where Matt Cooke knocked Marc Savard cold with a blindside lateral hit, the play directly responsible for the implementation of Rule 48.

Joe Thornton given 5 minute major and game misconduct after second period hit on David Perron

#19 THORNTON 2ND PERIOD CHECK ON #57 PERRON - FSN BLUES

2010-11 NHL Rule Addition – Illegal Check to the Head

48.1 Illegal Check to the Head – A lateral or blind side hit to an opponent where the head is targeted and/or the principal point of contact is not permitted.

48.4 Game Misconduct – An automatic game misconduct penalty shall be assessed whenever a major penalty is assessed under this rule.

48.5 Match Penalty – The Referee, at his discretion, may assess a match penalty if, in his judgment, the player attempted to or deliberately injured his opponent with an illegal check to the head.

48.6 Fines and Suspensions – Any player who incurs a total of two (2) game misconducts under this rule, in either regular League or playoff games, shall be suspended automatically for the next game his team plays. For each subsequent game misconduct penalty the automatic suspension shall be increased by one game. If deemed appropriate, supplementary discipline can be applied by the Commissioner at his discretion.

San Jose Sharks captain Joe Thornton ran afoul of the NHL’s new Illegal Check to the Head rule tonight in St. Louis. Thornton was ejected from the game in the second period, and given a 5-minute major and a 10-minute game misconduct after a high hit on Blues right wing David Perron.

Exiting the penalty box nearly 5 and a half minutes into the second period, Thornton caught right wing David Perron with a heavy check at center ice. As Perron looked behind him on a breakout play, Thornton planted his shoulder into the jersey crest of Perron and momentum snapped his head back onto the ice. Perron was motionless for a brief period, but he was lead to the bench and able to take a regular shift less than a minute later. 8:43 later he inadvertantly blocked a shot from linemate T.J. Oshie, and backhanded an insurance goal by Antti Niemi.

The new NHL rule was instigated this season to cut down on the number of concussions and dangerous hits to the head. Specifically, calls would be made on hits where the “principal point of contact came on blindside, and lateral hits to the head.” Ostensibly this would afford players more protection against head shots they could not see coming.

In this particular instance Thursday night at the Scottrade Center, Thornton exited the penalty box and checked Perron from the front at a slight angle, negating the lateral element. Perron had his head turned behind him to receive a breakout pass from Pietrangelo that deflected off his skate. While St. Louis broadcaster Darren Pang noted that the puck was not on the stick of Perron at the time of the hit, the Sharks broadcasters also noted the height differential between Thornton (6-foot-4) and Perron (6-foot-0). Initially after the play, in a discussion with the ref Thornton pointed to his shoulder. In a subsequent discussion Dan Boyle pointed at the crest on his jersey, while the referee pointed towards Perron’s helmet.

“I thought it was a north-south hit,” Joe Thornton told reporters after the game. “He just ran into me to be honest with you, that is what I thought happened. I know he hit my shoulder, I don’t get my arms up on any hit.” Thornton went on to explain how he was notified of his ejection. “They didn’t even tell me I was out of the game. The lineseman brought me out of the box and told me to leave.”

“I didn’t know if I would be all right or not,” Perron said of the Thornton hit. “I feel fine right now. Fortunately I got to bounce back and score a big goal for us, and we got the win.” Perron finished with a goal, his fifth of the season, and 18:30 of ice time.

The Sharks killed off the 5-minute major, but it was the 5th power play handed to the Blues less than halfway into the game. St. Louis would finish the game 0-7 with 15 minutes of power play time. Tuesday San Jose allowed 1 goal on 9 power play opportunities for the Minnesota Wild. Discipline was a factor, and without their top scorer the Sharks would be shut out for the third consecutive road game. It is the first time in the 20-year franchise history they have not scored on the road for three straight games.

There is the possibility of supplementary discipline from NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman or Senior EVP of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell, but the nature of the play and the reputation of the player involved should make that a perfunctory effort. This is a far different scenario than Cory Sarich’s elbow to the head of Patrick Marleau in the 2008 Western Conference Quarterfinals, or Dion Phaneuf’s head hunting check on Marleau earlier in that same game. A hit which lead off the 2009-10 NHL rule video on hits to the head.

Video of Thornton’s post-game interview with reporters is available via Comcast Sportsnet California. Video of Logan Couture’s fight and the Thornton hit on Perron is available via Kukla’s Korner.

[Update] Thornton Faces Likely Suspension – Andy Strickland for Truehockey.com.

[Update2] Thornton to have disciplinary hearing for hit on Perron – TSN.

San Jose Sharks captain Joe Thornton is facing a 2pm et disciplinary hearing with the NHL for his hit on St. Louis Blues forward David Perron on Thursday night.

The hearing, which will be conducted via conference call, could result in a suspension for Thornton who was assessed a five minute major and a game misconduct for the hit that occurred in the second period.