SHARKSPAGE

Sateri shines in WorSharks 3-2 shootout win over St. John’s

The Worcester Sharks have all season found different ways to lose games, but after failing to hold two one leads they found a new way this season to win one as for the first time in the 2013-14 campaign the WorSharks went into a shootout and behind some key saves from goaltender Harri Sateri Worcester got the bonus point when defenseman Sena Acolatse lit the lamp in round nine to give the WorSharks a 3-2 shootout win at the Mile One Centre at St. John’s Newfoundland in front of another sellout crowd of 6,287

Worcester Sharks goaltender Harri Sateri makes a save against the IceCaps Kyle MacKinnon
in round 7 of the shootout Friday night. The WorSharks would score in round 9 to win.
Photo courtesy of the ST. JOHN'S ICECAPS

This highlight video, courtesy of the IceCaps YouTube channel, is worth it just to listen to Brian Rogers’ play by play. It’s a well known fact that in the AHL broadcasters tend to be on the homerish side–Worcester’s Eric Lindquist is no exception–but this is to the point of being a caricature.

Scratches for Worcester were Jimmy Bonneau (leg), Lane Scheidl (knee), Matt Pelech (suspended, game two of two), Nick Petrecki, and Daniil Tarasov (unknown). Troy Grosenick was the back-up goaltender. With Pelech serving the last game of his suspension the WorSharks now wait to see if captain Rob Davison will also be getting a couple games off for his boarding major (and game misconduct) in the middle of the second period after hitting Kyle MacKinnon. Bigger worries are with Tarasov, who was announced as an injury scratch just prior to warm-ups Friday night.

Friday was the second time in WorSharks franchise history where a shootout went nine rounds. They first did it November 6, 2009 against Manchester when Worcester’s Alex Stalock outdueled Jonathan Bernier for the Monarchs. That shootout also ended in a Worcester win with a goal by a defenseman, Danny Groulx. The nine round shootout Friday sets the IceCaps team record.

Even strength lines (thanks to Al Parker in St. John’s)
Reid-Hamilton-Kearns
Hayes-Viedensky-Comrie
Schwartz-Oleksuk-Stalberg
Gogol-Brace-Livingston

Acolatse-Tennyson
Doherty-Abeltshauser
Davison-Demelo

The three stars of the game were
1. WOR – 35 Harri Sateri (27 save win)
2. STJ – 17 Jerome Samson (gtg)
3. WOR – 14 Sena Acolatse (SO game winner)

The Sharkspage player of the game is Adam Comrie.

Boxscore

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

1st Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Doherty Wor (fighting), 3:51; Schnell Stj (fighting), 3:51; Demelo Wor (kneeing), 8:46; Gogol Wor (fighting), 8:46; Gordon Stj (fighting), 8:46; Lowry Stj (slashing), 15:46.

2nd Period-1, Worcester, Tennyson 1 (Comrie, Kearns), 10:55 (PP). 2, St. John’s, Jaffray 6 (Kichton), 12:16 (PP). Penalties-Doherty Wor (high-sticking), 8:08; O’Dell Stj (cross-checking), 8:53; MacKinnon Stj (delay of game – faceoff violation), 10:37; Davison Wor (major – boarding, game misconduct – boarding), 11:43; Cormier Stj (interference), 12:39; Stalberg Wor (roughing), 19:11.

3rd Period-3, Worcester, Hamilton 3 (Reid, Comrie), 7:16. 4, St. John’s, Samson 5 (Gordon, Kichton), 9:50 (PP). Penalties-Klingberg Stj (interference), 3:46; Doherty Wor (slashing), 9:18; Acolatse Wor (tripping), 10:41.

OT Period- No Scoring.Penalties-No Penalties

Shootout – Worcester 3 (Reid NG, Kearns NG, Hamilton NG, Comrie NG, Livingston G, Stalberg G, Schwartz NG, Viedensky NG, Acolatse G), St. John’s 2 (Samson NG, Mouillierat NG, O’Dell G, Gordon NG, Jaffray NG, Albert G, MacKinnon NG, Kichton NG, Klingberg NG).
Shots on Goal-Worcester 4-10-4-4-1-23. St. John’s 11-6-12-0-0-29.
Power Play Opportunities-Worcester 1 / 4; St. John’s 2 / 8.
Goalies-Worcester, Sateri 2-6-0 (29 shots-27 saves). St. John’s, Pasquale 7-6-1 (22 shots-20 saves).
A-6,287
Referees-David Banfield (77), Keith Kaval (40).
Linesmen-Jim Vail (5), Joe Maynard (24).

WorSharks can’t put away IceCaps, lose 3-2 in overtime

The Worcester Sharks took a two goal lead into the third period against the St. John’s IceCaps Wednesday night but despite still holding a one goal advantage late in the third period and going on the power play couldn’t hold on and ended up dropping a 3-2 contest in overtime at the Mile One Centre in St. John’s, Newfoundland in front of a sellout crowd of 6,287.

Worcester Sharks defenseman Sena Acolatse reacts to the St. John's IceCaps scoring a shorthanded
game tying goal with 1:45 remaining in regulation. The WorSharks would lose 3-2 in overtime.
Photo courtesy of the ST. JOHN'S ICECAPS

Scratches for the WorSharks were Jimmy Bonneau (leg), Adam Comrie, Dylan Demelo, Matt Pelech (suspended, game one of two), and Lane Scheidl (knee). Harri Sateri was the backup goaltender. As the scratches note, Pelech was suspended two games by the AHL for his check to the head penalty in Saturday’s loss to Providence. Riley Brace was recalled from San Francisco to take his place on the game roster. Bonneau did not make the trip to Newfoundland with the team.

One big question that needs to be asked is why Worcester head coach Roy Sommer went with Travis Oleksuk to start the four on four overtime period. Oleksuk hasn’t scored a goal since March 23rd of last season and has just two assists and was -11 since that point. Knowing Sommer’s difficulty with setting his lineup perhaps he meant to put Freddie Hamilton (#21) on the ice instead of Oleksuk (#21). We won’t even get into that whole giving up a shorthanded goal that late in a game thing.

Worcester has twice been called for delay of game – closing hand on puck, a penalty that will thanks to Michael Fornabaio of the ConnPost will forever be referred to as DOGCHOP, and in both instances the player called for the penalty was crosschecked onto the puck by an opponent. Is it too much to ask that the crosscheck be called at some point? And while we’re whining about officiating, referee Keith Kaval called Taylor Doherty for interference just 15 seconds after Eriah Hayes was called for DOGCHOP. After watching the game video twice I’m uncertain if Doherty commented that infraction even once in the entire sixty plus minutes of the game, never mind while Worcester was already a man down.

WorSharks beat reporter Bill Ballou didn’t make the trip to Newfoundland, so the Telegram and Gazette is using a stringer named Ed Veilleux. It would have been nice of Mr. Veilleux to talk to a person from Worcester for his game story. Maybe next time.

The three stars of the game were
1. STJ – 17 Jerome Samson (game tying & winning goals)
2. STJ – 40 Eddie Pasquale (23 saves)
3. WOR – 1 Troy Grosenick (27 saves)

The Sharkspage player of the game is Rylan Schwartz.

BOXSCORE

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

1st Period-1, Worcester, Schwartz 1 2:03 (SH). Penalties-Acolatse Wor (holding), 1:31; Schnell Stj (tripping), 8:49; Petrecki Wor (cross-checking), 14:24; Mouillierat Stj (goaltender interference), 18:28.

2nd Period-2, Worcester, Tarasov 7 (Viedensky, Hamilton), 6:58 (PP). Penalties-Abeltshauser Wor (roughing), 3:47; Gogol Wor (roughing, roughing), 3:47; Riley Stj (roughing), 3:47; Schnell Stj (roughing), 3:47; Mouillierat Stj (slashing), 6:03; Hill Stj (hooking), 8:17; Davison Wor (fighting), 11:25; Schnell Stj (goaltender interference, fighting), 11:25; Tennyson Wor (slashing), 12:32; Schwartz Wor (high-sticking), 17:46; Jaffray Stj (tripping), 18:06.

3rd Period-3, St. John’s, Gordon 6 (O’Dell, Kichton), 5:32 (PP). 4, St. John’s, Samson 3 (Jaffray, Melchiori), 18:15 (SH). Penalties-Hayes Wor (closing hand on puck), 3:50; Doherty Wor (interference), 4:05; Gordon Stj (interference), 17:12.

OT Period-5, St. John’s, Samson 4 (Gordon, Fredheim), 0:26. Penalties-No Penalties

Shots on Goal-Worcester 8-11-6-0-25. St. John’s 8-8-12-2-30.
Power Play Opportunities-Worcester 1 / 7; St. John’s 1 / 7.
Goalies-Worcester, Grosenick 2-2-0 (30 shots-27 saves). St. John’s, Pasquale 7-6-0 (25 shots-23 saves).
A-6,287
Referees-David Banfield (77), Keith Kaval (40).
Linesmen-Todd Horwood (34), Jim Vail (5).

WorSharks suffer Brown out, lose 4-3 to Pirates

The Worcester Sharks twice overcame single goal deficits on goals by Adam Comrie and Nick Petrecki, and took a third period lead on James Livingston’s tally only to have Portland winger Chris Brown score two goals of his own to help the Pirates defeat the WorSharks 4-3 Sunday afternoon at the DCU Center in Worcester, Massachusetts in front of 2,779 fans.

Worcester defenseman Nick Petrecki celebrates his second period game tying
goal Sunday afternoon. The WorSharks would eventually lose 4-3 to Portland.
Photo courtesy of TEAMSHRED

For video of Sunday’s game we again point to AHLlive.com.

Scratches for Worcester were Konrad Abeltshauser, Jimmy Bonneau (leg), Rob Davison (foot), and Lane Scheidl (knee). Troy Grosenick was the back-up goaltender. Prior to posting time–which is usually this late for Sunday games–the WorSharks recalled Riley Brace from San Francisco (ECHL). Worcester will be heading to St. John’s Tuesday for three straight this week in Newfoundland.

An early contender for ‘hit of the year’ goes to Petrecki’s huge check on Phil Lane early in the second period. Lane never saw Petrecki coming and the Pirates forward was very slow to get up and went straight to the dressing room. Lane did not return.

Petrecki also had another big hit, only this one accidental, when he crushed referee Terry Koharski into the boards in the first period. It was a tough night for Koharski as this writer can’t recall ever seeing a referee get hit with the puck more than Koharski did Sunday. And it wasn’t like Koharski was in the wrong spots either; no matter where he went the puck would just follow him. It was uncanny.

Head coach Roy Sommer really mixed up the lines from the previous two games. What we say early on was:
Stalberg/Oleksuk/Kearns
Tarasov/Hamilton/Livingston
Gogol/Viedensky/Hayes
Pelech/Schwartz/Reid

Acolatse/Tennyson
Doherty/Comrie
Petrecki/Demelo

The three stars of the game were
1. POR – 11 Chris Brown (2g)
2. WOR – 14 Sena Acolatse (2a)
3. POR – 9 Tobias Rieder (2g)

The Sharkspage player of the game was James Livingston.

BOXSCORE

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

1st Period-1, Portland, Rieder 3 3:55. 2, Worcester, Comrie 1 (Acolatse, Oleksuk), 12:17 (PP). 3, Portland, Rieder 4 (Kennedy, Yip), 16:59. Penalties-Miele Por (hooking), 12:00.

2nd Period-4, Worcester, Petrecki 1 (Tarasov, Hamilton), 6:58. Penalties-Pelech Wor (tripping), 7:59; Kennedy Por (high-sticking), 13:24; Demelo Wor (cross-checking), 15:05; Tarasov Wor (hooking), 17:44; Petrecki Wor (slashing), 18:24; Tennyson Wor (delay of game), 19:15.

3rd Period-5, Worcester, Livingston 2 (Acolatse), 3:52. 6, Portland, Brown 2 (Lessio, Miele), 8:01. 7, Portland, Brown 3 (Kennedy), 11:27. Penalties-Rieder Por (hooking), 8:27; Hagel Por (tripping), 13:01.

Shots on Goal-Portland 6-8-8-22. Worcester 11-14-8-33.
Power Play Opportunities-Portland 0 / 5; Worcester 1 / 4.
Goalies-Portland, Visentin 4-3-1 (33 shots-30 saves). Worcester, Sateri 1-6-0 (22 shots-18 saves).
A-2,779
Referees-Terry Koharski (10).
Linesmen-Jack Millea (23), Robert St. Lawrence (10).

WorSharks drop yet another one, lose to Providence 5-2

The Worcester Sharks, in what is becoming an all too common theme this season, once again shot themselves in the foot and fell behind by multiple goals early without the weapons available to come from behind to catch up and dropped a 5-2 contest Saturday night to the Providence Bruins at the DCU Center in Worcester, Massachusetts in front of 5,616 fans.

Worcester Sharks rookie forward Eriah Hayes celebrates scoring his second goal of the
season during the WorSharks 5-2 loss to the Providence Bruins Saturday Night.
Photo courtesy of TEAMSHRED

For video of the game we again look toward AHLlive.com, although to be blunt it doesn’t look all that different from most previous games. As you can tell from the Hayes photo the Autism Awareness jerseys looked pretty cool, so at least the WorSharks are wearing something different to see.

The WorSharks went with the same line-up as Friday night in Portland, with Jimmy Bonneau (leg), Adam Comrie, Nick Petrecki, and Lane Scheidl (knee) all not dressing for Worcester. The only difference was Harri Sateri was the back-up goaltender. Word is that both Comrie and Petrecki will see action Sunday against the Portland Pirates.

With Worcester having so many issues scoring one has to wonder why Matt Pelech is on the ice for the power play. If he was out there to stand in front of the opponent’s goaltender that would be something that on paper might be a positive, but head coach Roy Sommer is sending the defenseman turned forward on to the ice with Travis Oleksuk and Sebastian Stalberg. Those two have bigger stone hands than Roberto Durán and generate virtually no scoring chances so it makes zero sense to send that line out there.

Former WorSharks captain Mike Moore made his first trip back to the DCU Center since his departure a couple of season ago, but while he was around for the start he was long gone by the time it ended after he received a third-man-in game misconduct for interfering in a bout between current Worcester captain Rob Davison and PBruins rookie Anthony Camara. Moore didn’t interfere much, and as soon as he did it he immediately started to plead his case to referees J.M. McNulty and Dave Lewis. It didn’t sway their opinion and he was shown the gate.

This writer’s second least favorite rule is the automatic delay of game minor a player gets for accidentally shooting the puck out of play from his defensive end, and the exact reason why was what happened Saturday night. Twice Worcester did that, once by Davison and once by Rylan Schwartz. Neither time was it intentional, and in the case of Davison it was back-breaking as his minor turned a 14 second two man advantage for Providence into a 2:06 five on three power play for the PBruins.

Boston Bruins first round pick (2012, 24th overall) Malcolm Subban came out the winner if the battle of rookie goaltenders as he made 25 saves on 27 shots for Providence for his first professional win. Troy Grosenick picked up his first pro loss making 22 saves on 26 shots for Worcester.

The three stars of the game were
1. PRO – 24 Ryan Spooner (3a)
2. PRO – 19 Carter Camper (2g)
3. PRO – 14 Craig Cunningham (g,a)

The Sharkspage player of the game is Eriah Hayes.

Even strength lines
Reid/Kearns/Tarasov
Schwartz/Hamilton/Hayes
Gogol/Viedensky/Livingston
Stalberg/Oleksuk/Pelech

Abeltshauser/Tennyson
Acolatse/Davison
Demelo/Doherty

Boxscore

Providence 1 2 2 – 5
Worcester 0 0 2 – 2

1st Period-1, Providence, Camper 1 (Morrow, Spooner), 16:15 (PP). Penalties-Knight Pro (hooking), 2:04; Schwartz Wor (delay of game), 4:55; Warsofsky Pro (tripping), 9:51; Kearns Wor (hooking), 15:00; Hamilton Wor (tripping), 16:09.

2nd Period-2, Providence, Cunningham 6 (Khokhlachev, Spooner), 6:30. 3, Providence, Camper 2 (Spooner, Warsofsky), 13:27 (PP). Penalties-Camara Pro (fighting), 2:44; Moore Pro (game misconduct – third man in), 2:44; Davison Wor (roughing, fighting), 2:44; Cross Pro (interference), 8:38; Pelech Wor (cross-checking), 10:21; Abeltshauser Wor (hooking), 12:07; Davison Wor (delay of game), 12:15; Demelo Wor (slashing), 19:11.

3rd Period-4, Worcester, Hayes 2 (Doherty, Hamilton), 4:16. 5, Providence, Lindblad 1 (Florek, Cunningham), 7:59. 6, Worcester, Kearns 3 (Tarasov, Acolatse), 15:09 (PP). 7, Providence, Robins 1 (Lindblad, Florek), 19:58 (EN). Penalties-Cross Pro (fighting), 5:39; Pelech Wor (checking to the head, fighting), 5:39; Cross Pro (tripping), 13:55.

Shots on Goal-Providence 13-5-9-27. Worcester 7-10-10-27.
Power Play Opportunities-Providence 2 / 9; Worcester 1 / 4.
Goalies-Providence, Subban 1-3-0 (27 shots-25 saves). Worcester, Grosenick 2-1-0 (26 shots-22 saves).
A-5,616
Referees-J.M. McNulty (9), Dave Lewis (46).
Linesmen-Jim Harper (59), Todd Whittemore (70).

WorSharks look like guppies in 5-1 loss to Pirates

The Worcester Sharks carried absolutely no momentum from last Saturday’s shutout win over St John’s with them as they made the three hour trek north to take on the Portland Pirates as despite controlling play in the opening parts of the game they fell behind early, and Matt Pelech’s second period goal was too little, too late for the WorSharks as they dropped a 5-1 contest to the Pirates at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee in Lewsiton, Maine in front of a crowd of 2,739.

Worcester's Daniil Tarasov takes down Pirates defenseman Connor Murphy
in a bout at the end of the second period Friday night.
Photo courtesy of the PORTLAND PIRATES

For video highlights of the game we once again point at AHLlive.com

Scratches for the WorSharks were Jimmy Bonneau (leg), Adam Comrie, Nick Petrecki, and Lane Scheidl (knee). Troy Grosenick was the back-up goaltender. Earlier in the week the WorSharks sent defenseman Collin Bowman and winger Riley Brace to San Francisco of the ECHL.

The assist on the WorSharks lone goal is Konrad Abeltshauser’s first pro point. The fight for Tarasov was his first in the AHL, but not his first as a pro. Tarasov fought Stockton’s Shawn Boutin on December 17th of last year, of which witnesses say Tarasov won, making him 2-0 as a pro.

Some “not so great” stats for Worcester:
*Friday night the Providence Bruins, who Worcester will face off Saturday at the DCU Center, scored eight goals. Worcester has eight goals over their last 12 periods of play.
*Bruins forwards Craig Cunningham and Matt Fraser had more goals for Providence last night, four and three respectively, than every Worcester player has all season excepting Tarasov, who has six.
*No AHL team has played fewer games than the WorSharks, but in spite of that they are 29th in the league in goal differential at (-9). Only the expansion Utica Comets (-19) are worse.

A scratch your head stat: every player for the Portland Pirates that had penalty minutes last night also had points excepting Andy Miele, who is usually the player that racks up points against the WorSharks. Go figure.

The three stars of the game were
1. POR – 38 Lucas Lessio (2g)
2. POR – 29 Mark Visentin (45 saves)
3. POR – 15 Brandon McMillan (g,a)

The Sharkspage player of the game is Matt Pelech.

BOXSCORE

Worcester 0 1 0 – 1
Portland 1 3 1 – 5

1st Period-1, Portland, McMillan 1 (Brown, Murphy), 6:37. Penalties-Yip Por (holding), 8:26; served by Lessio Por (bench minor – too many men), 14:14; Acolatse Wor (holding), 15:16; Livingston Wor (hooking), 19:20; Demelo Wor (roughing), 19:28; Brown Por (roughing), 19:28.

2nd Period-2, Portland, Yip 2 (McMillan, Murphy), 6:24. 3, Portland, Brule 3 (Yip, Gormley), 8:53 (PP). 4, Worcester, Pelech 1 (Abeltshauser, Stalberg), 10:21. 5, Portland, Lessio 1 (Todd, Brodeur), 14:01. Penalties-Miele Por (cross-checking), 1:32; Pelech Wor (elbowing), 7:43; Hayes Wor (interference), 14:17; Demelo Wor (roughing), 15:11; Brule Por (roughing), 15:11; Doherty Wor (roughing, fighting, game misconduct – secondary altercation), 20:00; Tarasov Wor (fighting), 20:00; Brown Por (roughing, fighting, game misconduct – secondary altercation), 20:00; Murphy Por (fighting), 20:00.

3rd Period-6, Portland, Lessio 2 (Brule, Gormley), 2:34. Penalties-Gogol Wor (unsportsmanlike conduct, misconduct – unsportsmanlike conduct), 3:04; Miele Por (slashing), 11:39; Gormley Por (slashing), 18:23; Miele Por (misconduct – unsportsmanlike conduct), 18:23.

Shots on Goal-Worcester 15-13-18-46. Portland 8-10-11-29.
Power Play Opportunities-Worcester 0 / 5; Portland 1 / 5.
Goalies-Worcester, Sateri 1-5-0 (29 shots-24 saves). Portland, Visentin 3-3-1 (46 shots-45 saves).
A-2,739
Referees-Jean-Philippe Sylvain (16).
Linesmen-Joe Andrews (32), Joe Ross (92).

San Jose Sharks from the past: where are they playing now? (2013-14 edition)

Every year we like to take a look where former San Jose Sharks are playing across pro hockey. Below is a list every former player for the Sharks still playing pro hockey but no longer in the San Jose organization, and where they are playing this season. The teams that are listed are the highest level a player had played this season. Back-up goaltenders and other players that were signed but did not appear in games are not listed. Players listed with NHL teams are in bold. This list is accurate as of November 1st.

Riley Armstrong – Landshut Cannibals (2.GBun)
Mark Bell – Iserlohn Roosters (DEL)
Steve Bernier – New Jersey Devils (NHL)
Brian Boucher – Zug (Swiss-A)
Brad Boyes – Florida Panthers (NHL)
Joe Callahan – Abbotsford Heat (AHL)
Brian Campbell – Florida Panthers (NHL)
Matt Carkner – New York Islanders (NHL)
Matt Carle – Tampa Bay Lightning (NHL)
Jonathan Cheechoo – Zagreb Medvescak KHL (KHL)
Ryane Clowe – New Jersey Devils (NHL)
Niko Dimitrakos – Wolfsburg Grizzly Adams (DEL)
Ben Eager – Edmonton Oilers (NHL)
Christian Ehrhoff – Buffalo Sabres (NHL)
Benn Ferriero – Utica Comets (AHL)
T.J. Galiardi – Calgary Flames (NHL)
Marcel Goc – Florida Panthers (NHL)
Scott Gomez – Florida Panthers (NHL)
Josh Gorges – Montreal Canadiens (NHL)
Thomas Greiss – Phoenix Coyotes (NHL)
Michal Handzus – Chicago Blackhawks (NHL)
Mike Iggulden – Chekhov Vityaz (KHL)
Derek Joslin – AIK (SweHL)
Lukas Kaspar – Donbass HC (KHL)
Tim Kennedy – Phoenix Coyotes (NHL)
Alexander Korolyuk – Chekhov Vityaz (KHL)
Viktor Kozlov – CSKA Moscow (KHL)
Lynn Loyns – Nottingham Panthers (EIHL)
Manny Malhotra – Carolina Hurricanes (NHL)
Brandon Mashinter – New York Rangers (NHL)
Jamie McGinn – Colorado Avalanche (NHL)
Frazer McLaren – Toronto Maple Leafs (NHL)
Milan Michalek – Ottawa Senators (NHL)
Torrey Mitchell – Minnesota Wild (NHL)
Travis Moen – Montreal Canadiens (NHL)
Dominic Moore – New York Rangers (NHL)
Mike Moore – Providence Bruins (AHL)
Andrew Murray – Zagreb Medvescak KHL (KHL)
Douglas Murray – Montreal Canadiens (NHL)
Evgeni Nabokov – New York Islanders (NHL)
Ville Nieminen – Tappara Tampere (SM-liiga)
Jed Ortmeyer – San Antonio Rampage (AHL)
Sandis Ozolinsh – Riga Dynamo (KHL)
Dmitri Patzold – Schwenningen Wild Wings (DEL)
Ville Peltonen – HIFK Helsinki (SM-liiga)
Tomas Plihal – Tappara Tampere (SM-liiga)
Mikael Samuelsson – Detroit Red Wings (NHL)
Nolan Schaefer – Ambri-Piotta (Swiss-A)
Teemu Selanne – Anaheim Ducks (NHL)
Alexei Semenov – St. Petersburg SKA (KHL)
Devin Setoguchi – Winnipeg Jets (NHL)
Brad Staubitz – Norfolk Admirals (AHL)
Marco Sturm – Cologne Sharks (DEL)
Jim Vandermeer – Kloten (Swiss-A)
Ryan Vesce – Zagreb Medvescak KHL (KHL)
Kyle Wellwood – Zug (Swiss-A)
Ray Whitney – Dallas Stars (NHL)
Brad Winchester – Rockford IceHogs (AHL)
Daniel Winnik – Anaheim Ducks (NHL)
Steven Zalewski – Lukko Rauma (SM-liiga)

WorSharks from the past: where are they playing now? (2013-14 edition)

Every year we like to take a look where former Worcester Sharks are playing across pro hockey. Below is a list every former player for the WorSharks still playing pro hockey but no longer in the San Jose organization, and where they are playing this season. The teams that are listed are the highest level a player had played this season. Back-up goaltenders and other players that were signed but did not appear in games are not listed. Players listed with NHL teams are in bold. This list is accurate as of November 1st.

Riley Armstrong – Landshut Cannibals (2.GBun)
Mike Banwell – Reading Royals (ECHL)
Steve Bernier – New Jersey Devils (NHL)
Chris Blight – Cardiff Devils (EIHL)
Andy Bohmbach – Riessersee SC (2.GBun)
Mike Brennan – Iserlohn Roosters (DEL)
Matt Carle – Tampa Bay Lightning (NHL)
Jonathan Cheechoo – Zagreb Medvescak KHL (KHL)
Gerald Coleman – Alaska Aces (ECHL)
Jack Combs – San Antonio Rampage (AHL)
Mike Connelly – Augsburg Panthers (DEL)
Chad Costello – St. Charles Chill (CHL)
Dan DaSilva – Ontario Reign (ECHL)
Patrick Davis – SaiPa Lappeenranta (SM-liiga)
Ryan Del Monte – Kalamazoo Wings (ECHL)
Frank Doyle – Sheffield Steelers (EIHL)
Brennan Evans – Grand Rapids Griffins (AHL)
Bobby Farnham – Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL)
P.J. Fenton – Heilbronn Falcons (2.GBun)
Benn Ferriero – Utica Comets (AHL)
Matt Fornataro – Leksands IF (SweHL)
J.D. Forrest – Augsburg Panthers (DEL)
T.J. Fox – Denver Cutthroats (CHL)
Matt Francis – Nottingham Panthers (EIHL)
Riley Gill – Reading Royals (ECHL)
Josh Gorges – Montreal Canadiens (NHL)
Yanni Gourde – Kalamazoo Wings (ECHL)
Tommy Grant – Idaho Steelheads (ECHL)
Thomas Greiss – Phoenix Coyotes (NHL)
Sacha Guimond – Utica Comets (AHL)
Thomas Heemskerk – Quad City Mallards (CHL)
Kevin Henderson – Milwaukee Admirals (AHL)
Garet Hunt – Stockton Thunder (ECHL)
Carter Hutton – Nashville Predators (NHL)
Mike Iggulden – Chekhov Vityaz (KHL)
Jeff Jakaitis – South Carolina Stingrays (ECHL)
Kyle Jones – Braehead Clan (EIHL)
Derek Joslin – AIK (SweHL)
Lukas kaspar – Donbass HC (KHL)
Tim Kennedy – Phoenix Coyotes (NHL)
John Laliberte – Ingolstadt ERC (DEL)
Chris Lawrence – Kalamazoo Wings (ECHL)
Brady Leisenring – Heilbronn Falcons (2.GBun)
Louis Liotti – Vipiteno (Italy-A)
Erick Lizon – Oklahoma City Barons (AHL)
Nathan Longpre – Chicago Wolves (AHL)
David Marshall – Utica Comets (AHL)
Brandon Mashinter – New York Rangers (NHL)
Jon Matsumoto – San Antonio Rampage (AHL)
Dennis McCauley – Val Pusteria HC (Italy-A)
Jamie McGinn – Colorado Avalanche (NHL)
Jim McKenzie – Quad City Mallards (CHL)
Frazer McLaren – Toronto Maple Leafs (NHL)
Graham Mink – Dornbirn EC (Austria)
Torrey Mitchell – Minnesota Wild (NHL)
Nathan Moon – Evansville Icemen (ECHL)
Mike Moore – Providence Bruins (AHL)
Andrew Murray – Zagreb Medvescak KHL (KHL)
Douglas Murray – Montreal Canadiens (NHL)
Ian O’Connor – St. John’s IceCaps (AHL)
Sandis Ozolinsh – Riga Dynamo (KHL)
Dmitri Patzold – Schwenningen Wild Wings (DEL)
Michael Pelech – Cincinnati Cyclones (ECHL)
Todd Perry – Vladivostok Admiral (KHL)
Jason Pitton – Brampton Beast (CHL)
Tomas Plihal – Tappara Tampere (SM-liiga)
Ashton Rome – Duesseldorf EG (DEL)
Leigh Salters – Nottingham Panthers (EIHL)
Nolan Schaefer – Ambri-Piotta (Swiss-A)
Devin Setoguchi – Winnipeg Jets (NHL)
Peter Sivak – Alaska Aces (ECHL)
Dan Spang – Leksands IF (SweHL)
Garrett Stafford – Farjestads BK Karlstad (SweHL)
Brad Staubitz – Norfolk Admirals (AHL)
Dean Strong – Valpellice (Italy-A)
Sean Sullivan – Straubing Tigers (DEL)
Mikael Tam – Lake Erie Monsters (AHL)
T.J. Trevelyan – Augsburg Panthers (DEL)
Denny Urban – San Antonio Rampage (AHL)
Mitch Versteeg – Heilbronn Falcons (2.GBun)
Ryan Vesce – Zagreb Medvescak KHL (KHL)
Dane Walters – Elmira Jackals (ECHL)
Michael Wilson – Wichita Thunder (CHL)
Ty Wishart – Schwenningen Wild Wings (DEL)
William Wrenn – Texas Stars (AHL)
Steven Zalewski – Lukko Rauma (SM-liiga)

Grosenick, WorSharks blank IceCaps 3-0

Less than 24 hours after one of the worst losses in franchise history the Worcester Sharks played one of their best games in recent memory, and behind a 27 save performance from rookie goaltender Troy Grosenick and a multiple point night by Daniil Tarasov defeated the St. John’s IceCaps 3-0 at the DCU Center in Worcester, Massachusetts in front of 2,760 fans.

For video highlights that are much more palatable than Friday night’s debacle we once again point at AHLlive.com

Scratches for the WorSharks were Jimmy Bonneau (left leg), Collin Bowman (head), Riley Brace, Lane Scheidl (knee), Matt Pelech (unknown injury), and Nick Petrecki. The backup goaltender was Harri Sateri. Marek Viedensky returned to the lineup after missing four games due to a groin injury, and with the injuries to Pelech and Bonneau was wearing the alternate captain’s “A”.

The shutout for Grosenick in his second pro start Saturday was the fastest for a rookie in a Worcester Sharks jersey, breaking Alex Stalock’s mark of five starts with his 1-0 overtime shutout of the Springfield Falcons on October 24, 2009. It’s not the quickest all-time in a WorSharks jersey as journeyman pro Daren Machesney blanked those same Falcons 5-0 on February 11, 2011 in his first game under a PTO that season. Grosenick’s 27 saves are the most in Worcester Sharks history for a goaltender in their first shutout with the team.

Grosenick wasn’t the only player in a WorSharks jersey to make a save last night as Travis Oleksuk had one in the first period and Rylan Schwartz added a couple in the third during scrambles in front of the Worcester net. There were also significantly more blocked shots from the WorSharks than we usually see.

The most embarrassing thing for the WorSharks and their too many men penalty late in the second period wasn’t the fact they had six skaters on the ice for about 10 seconds, it was the fact they were trapped in their own end the entire time. If you can’t get the puck out of your zone with an extra guy out there perhaps you’re doing something wrong. For the record, the extra guy out there was Curt Gogol. He redeemed himself later though with a nice blocked shot that led to an unassisted shorthanded empty net goal to seal the victory.

Tough night for referee Trevor Hanson as he got cut on his left leg with a skate late in the first period and briefly went down the tunnel towards the WorSharks locker room for a quick repair by Worcester trainer Matthew White. Hanson was obviously hindered by the injury but gutted it out and it didn’t seem to have any effect on the game. His next scheduled game is currently Tuesday in Abbotsford, but the AHL may have to make a change there.

Every game has a point where one team or the other can seize the moment and either put the game away or if trailing get themselves back into it. That moment came at 8:03 of the third period just a shift after the WorSharks had taken a 2-0 lead and referee Hanson called Taylor Doherty for closing his hand on the puck. During the penalty kill Adam Comrie, who started the game at forward, had his stick broken. Freddie Hamilton correctly handed his stick to Comrie. Hamilton is a righty, Comrie is a lefty. To make matters worse, just a few seconds later Bracken Kearns blocked a shot with his stick and was forced to drop it when it snapped in two. It was more than a handful of seconds before Worcester could gain control and clear the puck. And with that, momentum stayed in Worcester’s corner.

More on that Doherty minor. Doherty had been crosschecked on top of the puck and briefly covered the puck with his hand in an attempt to stand back up. Ignoring the fact referee Hanson missed the crosscheck, he correctly called the minor on Doherty following the letter of the rulebook. But one has to wonder that if Hanson had a better feel for the game that the minor wouldn’t have been called. Doherty wasn’t trying to hide the puck–which is what the rule is intended to stop–he was trying to get back to his feet.

It seems obvious but based on some fan reaction it needs to be said. Saturday night’s game sort of proves a point, as Grosenick would not have gotten a shutout without the help of the 18 skaters in front of him. The converse is true, in that on Friday Sateri’s six goals allowed isn’t all on him either. With no help in front of him–and for a lot of the night Sateri had little to no help–a goaltender has no chance. That doesn’t mean Sateri wouldn’t like another chance on a couple of them, but when you lose 7-1 it’s not about your goaltending.

The three stars of the game were
1. WOR – 1 Troy Grosenick (27 save shutout)
2. WOR – 14 Sena Acolatse (g)
3. WOR – 5 Matt Tennyson (a)

The Sharkspage player of the game was Daniil Tarasov.

Even strength lines (during warm-ups)
Tarasov/Kearns/Reid
Schwartz/Hamilton/Hayes
Gogol/Viedensky/Livingston
Comrie/Oleksuk/Stalberg

Acolatse/Tennyson
Doherty/Abeltshauser
Davison/Demelo

BOXSCORE

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

1st Period-1, Worcester, Tarasov 6 (Tennyson, Kearns), 19:54 (PP). Penalties-Cormier Stj (kneeing), 18:59.

2nd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Kearns Wor (holding), 2:46; Fredheim Stj (roughing), 6:29; Mouillierat Stj (fighting), 9:53; Kearns Wor (fighting), 9:53; Davison Wor (interference), 13:56; served by Reid Wor (bench minor – too many men), 19:30.

3rd Period-2, Worcester, Acolatse 1 (Reid, Tarasov), 7:37. 3, Worcester, Gogol 1 18:01 (SH EN). Penalties-O’Neill Stj (interference), 0:51; Doherty Wor (closing hand on puck), 8:03; Tarasov Wor (slashing), 16:07.

Shots on Goal-St. John’s 8-6-13-27. Worcester 10-11-11-32.
Power Play Opportunities-St. John’s 0 / 5; Worcester 1 / 3.
Goalies-St. John’s, Pasquale 5-5-0 (31 shots-29 saves). Worcester, Grosenick 2-0-0 (27 shots-27 saves).
A-2,760
Referees-Trevor Hanson (47).
Linesmen-Kevin Keenan (22), Chris Millea (33).

WorSharks are no-shows in 7-1 lost to Bridgeport

The Worcester Sharks schedule said they had a Friday night game at the DCU Center but everyone on the team must have read the listing as a public skate as the WorSharks played virtually no hockey at all and got thrashed 7-1 by the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, the only team that started the night behind them in the AHL’s Eastern Conference. Freddie Hamilton was the lone Worcester skater to score.

If for whatever reason you wish to watch what looked like a Bridgeport practice session you can catch the game highlights via AHLlive.com.

Pardon this longish rant. As long time readers will know this writer does not repost other reporter’s quotes. If I were interested in what a coach or player had to say I would go to the dressing rooms after the game and ask. Last night had I gone down there I would have likely been thrown out of the building. Worcester Telegram and Gazette reporter Carl Setterlund (who is taking normal beat report Bill Ballou’s place as Ballou recovers from the Red Sox World series run) headed down to gather some information and got a quote from WorSharks head coach Roy Sommer that has turned my simmering blood into a full boil. Sommer, as quoted by Setterlund:

“I thought we had a grittier bunch than we had in here. I saw a lot of stuff that turned my stomach. Not a lot of guys wanted that puck tonight. Some guys couldn’t get off the ice quick enough.”

What turned my stomach was in the last media timeout of the second period, while the game was still in theory competitive despite it being 3-0 down for Worcester, as every Sound Tiger player was at their bench being instructed by Bridgeport head coach Scott Pellerin and assistant coach Eric Boguniecki over on the Worcester side of the ice the players were milling about with their heads down as the alleged prospect development expert Roy Sommer stood behind his bench with his hands in his pockets. That sure seems to me to be a good spot to do some coaching. Apparently not for Sommer though. One has to wonder how having their behinds handed to them by the opposition and then having their head coach say nothing to them really helps their development.

Another from Sommer, on Worcester playing Saturday night: “I’m glad we do play, because we’ll see what we’re made of. We had a lot of no-shows.” The WorSharks sure did have a lot of no-shows, including the biggest no-show of them all who decided to point fingers instead of taking responsibility for his team. Maybe things would be better for Worcester if WorSharks GM Joe Will or Doug Wilson threw Sommer under the bus in the newspaper.

Not that it looked like anyone was really playing out there, but the actual scratches for the WorSharks were Dylan DeMelo, Konrad Abeltshauser, Lane Scheidl (knee), Collin Bowman (head), Marek Viedensky (unknown injury) and Jimmy Bonneau (leg). Troy Grosenick started the game as the backup goaltender and replaced starter Harri Sateri with a little more than 15 minutes to go in the game. During the second period it was noticed that Matt Pelech was no longer on the Worcester bench.

The injury to Bonneau took place last Saturday night when he got a skate cut to the back of his left leg after throwing a check. While it’s nowhere near as serious as the injury former WorSharks goaltender Alex Stalock suffered it’s still going to be a while before Bonneau can get back out there. There’s no official timetable for his return but it’s thought to be weeks instead of months. Bonneau was on crutches and was, as he almost always is, full of smiles while talking to fans along the concourse before the game.

The WorSharks even strength lines, at least during warm-up, were
Tarasov/Kearns/Reid
Schwartz/Hamilton/Hayes
Gogol/Brace/Stalberg
Pelech/Oleksuk/Livingston

Petrecki/Tennyson
Davison/Acolatse
Doherty/Comrie

The three stars of the game were
1. BRI – 18 Ryan Strome (2g,3a)
2. BRI – 26 Mike Halmo (2,2a)
3. BRI – 17 Nick Larson (g,a)

For the first time ever there is no Sharkspage player of the game.

BOXSCORE

Bridgeport 1 4 2 – 7
Worcester 0 0 1 – 1

1st Period-1, Bridgeport, Strome 2 (Lee), 15:51. Penalties-Tarasov Wor (hooking), 0:47; Diamond Bri (roughing), 9:58; Keenan Bri (delay of game), 18:04.

2nd Period-2, Bridgeport, Strome 3 (Halmo, Keenan), 3:17 (PP). 3, Bridgeport, Larson 1 (Halmo, Strome), 10:52. 4, Bridgeport, Halmo 3 (Lee, Strome), 16:47 (PP). 5, Bridgeport, Halmo 4 (Ness, Strome), 18:41 (PP). Penalties-Brace Wor (hooking), 2:12; Johnson Bri (roughing), 7:07; Petrecki Wor (roughing), 7:07; Halmo Bri (goaltender interference), 8:43; Tennyson Wor (roughing), 14:26; Doherty Wor (interference), 16:17; Gallant Bri (fighting, misconduct – continuing altercation), 16:54; Johnson Bri (misconduct – unsportsmanlike conduct), 16:54; Doherty Wor (fighting), 16:54; Comrie Wor (hooking), 18:09.

3rd Period-6, Bridgeport, Diamond 2 (Quine, Larson), 4:39. 7, Bridgeport, Persson 3 (Clark, Sundstrom), 6:12 (PP). 8, Worcester, Hamilton 2 (Comrie, Doherty), 13:03 (PP). Penalties-de Haan Bri (tripping), 1:23; Livingston Wor (hooking), 5:07; Petrecki Wor (slashing), 6:08; Doherty Wor (boarding), 8:11; Quine Bri (roughing), 11:19; Gallant Bri (roughing, misconduct – unsportsmanlike conduct), 19:30; Doherty Wor (roughing), 19:30; Gogol Wor (slashing, roughing), 19:30.

Shots on Goal-Bridgeport 9-17-10-36. Worcester 12-9-7-28.
Power Play Opportunities-Bridgeport 4 / 9; Worcester 1 / 5.
Goalies-Bridgeport, Nilsson 2-3-0 (28 shots-27 saves). Worcester, Sateri 1-4-0 (29 shots-23 saves); Grosenick 1-0-0 (7 shots-6 saves).
A-2,424
Referees-T.J. Luxmore (49).
Linesmen-Brent Colby (7), Luke Galvin (2).

Tarasov, WorSharks trick Falcons in 3-1 victory

The Worcester Sharks got their first hat trick in 263 games when Daniil Tarasov scored three goals in the first half of their Saturday night contest against the Springfield Falcons, and that was more than enough for goaltender Harri Sateri as the two combined to lead the WorSharks to a 3-1 victory over their Mass Pike rivals at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, Massachusetts in front of a crowd reported at 2,986 that contained a fair number of supporters of Team Teal.

Prior to the start of the game the Falcons held a moment of silence for Muriel Strauss, a longtime Springfield season ticket holder that passed away on October 20th. She was an AHL season ticket holder since 1936, starting with the Springfield Indians through their various name changes and then with the Falcons when the Indians franchise moved to, ironically enough, Worcester. Mrs Strauss served in the U.S. Navy (WAVES) during World War II, and was 92 when she passed.

Scratches for Worcester were Konrad Abeltshauser, Collin Bowman (head), Dylan Demelo, Lane Scheidl (knee), and Marek Viedensky (unknown injury). Troy Grosenick was the back-up goaltender.

Sateri’s save, such as it was, on Jake Hansen’s penalty shot attempt improved WorSharks goaltenders already impressive save percentage against penalty shots to 84.6% (11 for 13). Sateri (2-2) stayed perfect, along with Alex Stalock (4-4), Thomas Greiss (2-2), and Dmitri Patzold (1-1). Taylor Dakers faced three in his Worcester career and saved two, while Tyson Sexsmith allowed a goal in the only attempt he faced. To complete the record, WorSharks shooters are 4 of 12 in penalty shots, with Grant Stevenson, Mike Moore, Sean Sullivan, and Jon Matsumoto all lighting the lamp. Worcester has never faced nor taken a penalty shot in the playoffs.

In one of those things that makes you scratch your head, on Wednesday the Polar Beverages trivia question on Sharksvision at the DCU Center in the game between Worcester and the Manchester Monarchs asked who scored the last hat trick for the WorSharks. The answer then was Dan DaSilva on February 14th, 2010. Perhaps on Friday they can ask the last time the WorSharks made the playoffs.

The three stars of the game were
1. WOR – 19 Daniil Tarasov (hat trick)
2. WOR – 15 Brodie Reid (a, +2)
3. SPR – 21 Jake Hansen (g)

The Sharkspage player of the game is Bracken Kearns

BOXSCORE

Worcester 1 2 0 – 3
Springfield 0 1 0 – 1

1st Period-1, Worcester, Tarasov 3 (Kearns, Acolatse), 5:44 (PP). Penalties-Hayes Wor (slashing), 0:32; Joudrey Spr (high-sticking), 5:05; Petrecki Wor (holding), 9:17; Petrecki Wor (tripping), 12:52; Machacek Spr (diving/embellishment), 12:52; Aleardi Spr (high-sticking), 17:14.

2nd Period-2, Springfield, Hansen 3 1:54 (SH). 3, Worcester, Tarasov 4 (Reid, Kearns), 11:26. 4, Worcester, Tarasov 5 (Doherty, Comrie), 15:22. Penalties-Weber Spr (elbowing), 0:30; McNeill Spr (interference), 3:02; Gogol Wor (fighting), 6:48; Smith Spr (interference, fighting), 6:48; Pelech Wor (fighting), 16:46; Smith Spr (fighting), 16:46.

3rd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Acolatse Wor (slashing), 5:36; Collins Spr (high-sticking), 5:44; Pelech Wor (slashing), 11:09; Madaisky Spr (interference), 11:09; Livingston Wor (charging), 11:45; Pelech Wor (slashing), 13:20; Boyce Spr (roughing), 18:01.

Shots on Goal-Worcester 13-11-10-34. Springfield 7-5-6-18.
Power Play Opportunities-Worcester 1 / 7; Springfield 0 / 5.
Goalies-Worcester, Sateri 1-3-0 (18 shots-17 saves). Springfield, McKenna 2-1-0 (34 shots-31 saves).
A-2,986
Referees-Tom Chmielewski (43).
Linesmen-Luke Galvin (2), Chris Low (88).

WorSharks flop again in third period, lose 4-1

The Worcester Sharks continue to struggle late in hockey games and Wednesday night at the DCU Center in Worcester, Massachusetts in a trend that continues from seasons past gave up three third period goals to the Manchester Monarchs in dropping a 4-1 contest to their division rivals in front of 1,567 fans and nearly the entirety of the San Jose Sharks hockey front office staff.

Because of WorSharks head coach Roy Sommer’s error in filling out his lineup card for the contest Worcester was forced to go with just 17 skaters (11 forwards and six defensemen). The scratches for Worcester were Jimmy Bonneau (who was listed on the game roster but was apparently unavailable), Collin Bowman (head), Adam Comrie (who was dressed but was not on game roster), Nick Petrecki, Lane Scheidl (knee), Marek Viedensky (unknown injury). Troy Grosenick was the backup netminder. It was the third time this writer can remember Sommer making an error on his lineup card.

Prior to the start of the game there was a “State of the Sharks” style meeting for WorSharks season ticket holders. There was pretty much no information talked about at the gathering that one wouldn’t already be able to read in a newspaper. San Jose Sharks GM Doug Wilson and head coach Todd McLellan did most of the talking and answering of questions. WorSharks GM Joe Will answered a few questions about waivers and specifically answered about why in the past players like Benn Ferriero and Tim Kennedy weren’t send back to Worcester during the AHL playoff chance. Again, great information but not something that wasn’t already out there. John Tortora, Chief Operating Officer of SS&E, was available for questions and comments but did not speak at all.

The three stars of the game were
1. MCH – 14 Tanner Pearson (g,a)
2. MCH – 31 Martin Jones (32 saves)
3. WOR – 2 Dylan Demelo (a)

The Sharkspage player of the game was James Livingston.

BOXSCORE

Manchester 0 1 3 – 4
Worcester 0 0 1 – 1

1st Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Kearns Wor (hooking), 15:00.

2nd Period-1, Manchester, Pearson 4 (Toffoli), 0:32. Penalties-Tarasov Wor (high-sticking), 11:50; Shore Mch (hooking), 13:46.

3rd Period-2, Manchester, Toffoli 4 (Vey, Schultz), 4:29. 3, Worcester, Tarasov 2 (Demelo, Kearns), 7:32 (PP). 4, Manchester, Deslauriers 2 (Miller), 18:30. 5, Manchester, Toffoli 5 (Vey, Pearson), 19:11 (EN). Penalties-Campbell Mch (roughing), 2:00; Kozun Mch (tripping), 7:02; Demelo Wor (interference), 10:45; Deslauriers Mch (slashing), 12:11; Backman Mch (cross-checking), 13:54.

Shots on Goal-Manchester 15-7-10-32. Worcester 16-8-9-33.
Power Play Opportunities-Manchester 0 / 3; Worcester 1 / 5.
Goalies-Manchester, Jones 5-0-2 (33 shots-32 saves). Worcester, Sateri 0-3-0 (31 shots-28 saves).
A-1,567
Referees-Geno Binda (22), Mark Lemelin (41).
Linesmen-Brian MacDonald (72), Todd Whittemore (70).

WorSharks grab first win of the season in 3-2 victory over Portland

The Worcester Sharks got two power play goals from Bracken Kearns and a highlight filled 30 save pro debut from goaltender Troy Grosenick to earn their first victory of the season in a 3-2 decision against the Portland Pirates Sunday afternoon at the DCU center in Worcester, Massachusetts. The victory snapped a ten game winless streak at home for the WorSharks dating back to March 23rd of last season.

Worcester Sharks goaltender Troy Grosenick looks around Pirates forward Chris Brown
during the WorSharks 3-2 win over Portland Sunday. It was Grosenick's pro debut.
Photo courtesy of TEAMSHRED

The sendittonews.com video is so bad we won’t bother imbedding it and will again link to the AHLlive highlights which are significantly better.

Scratches for the Worcester Sharks were Collin Bowman (head), Nick Petrecki, Lane Scheidl (knee), and Marek Viedensky. Harri Sateri was the back-up goaltender. Prior to the start of the game the Worcester shuttle made an east coast stop as both Freddie Hamilton and John McCarthy were recalled from the WorSharks and Matt Pelech was assigned to the AHL. With both Hamilton and McCarthy out of the line-up defenseman Adam Comrie was pressed into service as a forward.

It’s tough for most AHL clubs to deal with the local NFL team playing at the same time, and despite the WorSharks moving the game up to 5pm to avoid the New England Patriots game attendance was pretty low for the game. The good news for Worcester is this is the only time this season they have to deal with the Patriots playing early and drawing fans’ attention away. It should be noted that the crowd was pretty loud for its size.

This writer is hoping the WorSharks stop the silly back-pass in the neutral zone while they’re on the power play. Not only does it result in four flat footed offensive players waiting to enter the zone, it’s a pass they do so often it’s just begging to be picked off. And Sunday, it was as Portland read the play and had a penalty killer just waiting for the pass to occur. A Daniil Tarasov slash not only ended that threat but also the Worcester power play.

The Worcester penalty killers were a perfect four for four, which is only noteworthy because the Pirates came into yesterday’s game with the best power play (30%) in the AHL. The WorSharks have also switched from “passive box” to a much more aggressive style. Once they get the kinks worked out it should be a positive switch.

The three stars of the game were
1. WOR – 16 Bracken Kearns (2g)
2. POR – 21 Andy Miele (2g)
3. WOR – 1 Troy Grosenick (30 save win)

The Sharkspage player of the game was Troy Grosenick.

BOXSCORE

Portland 1 1 0 – 2
Worcester 2 1 0 – 3

1st Period-1, Portland, Miele 2 (Brown, Szwarz), 4:25. 2, Worcester, Kearns 1 (Hayes, Reid), 6:24 (PP). 3, Worcester, Kearns 2 (Tarasov, Reid), 19:20 (PP). Penalties-Hextall Por (unsportsmanlike conduct), 5:40; Louis Por (unsportsmanlike conduct, fighting), 14:36; Bonneau Wor (unsportsmanlike conduct, fighting), 14:36; Brodeur Por (roughing), 17:26; Gogol Wor (tripping), 17:26; served by Hagel Por (bench minor – too many men), 18:24.

2nd Period-4, Worcester, Tarasov 1 (Brace, Demelo), 15:53. 5, Portland, Miele 3 (Murphy, Gormley), 17:49. Penalties-Miele Por (holding), 0:30; Tarasov Wor (slashing), 0:56; Yip Por (interference), 2:19; McMillan Por (slashing), 4:19; Schwartz Wor (delay of game), 13:19.

3rd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Hagel Por (interference), 3:32; Brace Wor (tripping), 8:35; Brown Por (unsportsmanlike conduct, roughing), 8:36; Doherty Wor (double minor – spearing (attempt)), 8:36; Tennyson Wor (holding), 11:16; Brisebois Por (slashing), 13:20; Brace Wor (misconduct – continuing altercation), 18:48.

Shots on Goal-Portland 13-8-11-32. Worcester 16-9-6-31.
Power Play Opportunities-Portland 0 / 4; Worcester 2 / 7.
Goalies-Portland, Lee 0-2-0 (31 shots-28 saves). Worcester, Grosenick 1-0-0 (32 shots-30 saves).
A-1,801
Referees-Trevor Hanson (47).
Linesmen-Bob Bernard (42), Chris Millea (33).

WorSharks drop home opener in heart-breaking 3-2 loss to Penguins

The Worcester Sharks couldn’t hold on to a couple one goal leads and then allowed a power play goal with less than a minute to play in the contest to lose 3-2 to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Saturday night in a fight filled contest at the DCU Center in Worcester, Massachusetts in the WorSharks home opener in front of 5,476 fans. The home loss was the tenth in a row for Worcester extending back into last season. They last won on home ice on March 25.

Below are video highlights from Sendittonews.com, but this video from AHLlive is much better but cannot be imbedded.

The start of the game was delayed about 20 minutes when after the Worcester player introductions and the national anthem the carpet laid on the ice for the opening ceremony caused an issue with the ice to the left of the Penguins net. The zamboni was called out for a quick repair, and while that was going on the two linesmen were pressed into duty to fill in a couple of gaps between the ice and the boards. With the Ringling Brothers circus and Pearl Jam playing at the DCU Center since it reopened from renovations the ice sheet hadn’t gotten “broken in” so to speak, and it showed early on in the game.

Scratches for the WorSharks were Collin Bowman (head), Riley Brace, Adam Comrie, Dylan DeMelo, Lane Scheidl (knee), and Daniil Tarasov (lower body). Troy Grosenick was the backup goaltender. Springfield Falcons defenseman Will Weber was suspended one game for his hit on Tarasov last Saturday. Tarasov was not seriously injured and is expected back soon. There was some confusion amongst fans when Worcester recalled Bowman earlier this week, but it turns out that Bowman was injured in the first preseason game between Worcester and Providence and has not recovered yet. Just like the NHL rule prohibiting injured players from being assigned to the AHL the American Hockey League has the same rule about assignment of injured players to lower league, which necessitated Bowman being added to Worcester’s roster.

One has to wonder if WorSharks head coach Roy Sommer notices when one of his players is not having a good game. Marek Viedensky looked pretty bad last night and yet Sommer had him out on the last game penalty kill. You could see that something was going to happen and when Viedensky was slow to get over to cover Penguins defenseman Brendan Mikkelson within a couple seconds the puck was behind Worcester goaltender Harri Sateri.

There was a scary moment last in the second period when Rob Davison was struck in the head by a booming slap shot. Davison crumpled to the ice and referee Gino Binda quickly blew the play dead. Davison skated to the dressing room under his own power and returned to start the third period.

It’s great that Bracken Kearns is willing to stand up for his teammates and himself, but being in the penalty box for 17 minutes–an instigator to go with his fighting major–is far too long for Worcester’s best offensive threat to be sitting. He needs to pick his spots better. Kearns’ 22 minutes in penalties in two games leads the WorSharks, and that’s not what you want from the player that’s supposed to be your best offensive weapon.

The three stars of the game were
1. WBS – 14 Tom Kuhnhackl (2g)
2. WOR – 12 Freddie Hamilton (g)
3. WBS – 25 Andrew Ebbett (g,a)

The Sharkspage player of the game was John McCarthy

Even strength lines
McCarthy/Kearns/Hayes
Schwartz/Hamilton/Reid
Gogol/Viedensky/Stalberg
Bonneau/Oleksuk/Livingston

Tennyson/Abeltshauser
Acolatse/Davison
Doherty/Petrecki

Boxscore

W-B/Scranton 0 0 3 – 3
Worcester 1 0 1 – 2

1st Period-1, Worcester, Hamilton 1 (Reid, Schwartz), 9:27. Penalties-McNeill Wbs (fighting), 1:43; Gogol Wor (boarding, fighting), 1:43; Gibbons Wbs (fighting), 1:54; Kuhnhackl Wbs (tripping), 1:54; Thompson Wbs (misconduct – continuing altercation), 1:54; Kearns Wor (instigating, fighting, misconduct – instigating), 1:54.

2nd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Letourneau-Leblond Wbs (unsportsmanlike conduct, fighting), 0:00; Bonneau Wor (unsportsmanlike conduct, fighting), 0:00; Acolatse Wor (interference), 2:02; Harrington Wbs (interference), 9:19; Schwartz Wor (goaltender interference), 12:27; Letourneau-Leblond Wbs (fighting), 15:16; Doherty Wor (fighting), 15:16; Livingston Wor (hooking), 18:14.

3rd Period-2, W-B/Scranton, Kuhnhackl 2 (Ebbett, Payerl), 1:48. 3, Worcester, McCarthy 1 (Acolatse, Kearns), 4:02. 4, W-B/Scranton, Ebbett 1 (Carman, Dumoulin), 12:45. 5, W-B/Scranton, Kuhnhackl 3 (Mikkelson, Harrington), 19:20 (PP). Penalties-Payerl Wbs (roughing), 1:48; Acolatse Wor (roughing), 1:48; Uher Wbs (hooking), 12:53; Tennyson Wor (holding), 17:40.

Shots on Goal-W-B/Scranton 4-10-9-23. Worcester 11-6-13-30.
Power Play Opportunities-W-B/Scranton 1 / 5; Worcester 0 / 2.
Goalies-W-B/Scranton, Mannino 1-0-0 (30 shots-28 saves). Worcester, Sateri 0-2-0 (23 shots-20 saves).
A-5,476
Referees-Geno Binda (22).
Linesmen-Brian MacDonald (72), Todd Whittemore (70).

WorSharks score too little, too late and drop season opener 4-3 to Springfield

The Worcester Sharks started off their 2013-2014 campaign remembering a lesson they should have learned well after last season, that playing catch-up hockey is losing hockey, when they fell behind by two goals in the opening period and never getting back to even in dropping a 4-3 contest to the Springfield Falcons Saturday night at the MassMutual Center in Springfield Massachusetts in front of a crowd of 2,788.

Not shown on the video was the Falcons second goal, the first of two scored by center Jake Hansen. As soon as the puck entered the net the WorSharks immediately appealed to referee Ryan Hersey saying it was intentionally directed in by Hansen’s leg, and while it may have been the case Hansen was a good distance from the net and Worcester goaltender Harri Sateri should have made the save anyway. Sateri ended the game with 15 saves on 19 shots, and probably wants another chance on a couple of the ones that beat him.

Scratches for the WorSharks were Dylan Demelo, Lane Scheidl (knee), Curt Gogol (injured), Sena Acolatse, and Travis Oleksuk. Troy Grosenick was the back-up goaltender. There were some number changes from last season, with Scheidl going from 39 to 11, Brodie Reid switching from 51 to 15, Eriah Hayes moving from 38 to 18, Rylan Schwartz from 24 to 27, and Dylan Demelo went from 15 to 2. That’s actually the third number Demelo has used as he had 44 in his brief stint with the team two season ago.

In what could be bad news for Worcester fans, forward Daniil Tarasov had to be helped off the ice with just over five minutes remaining in the third period after he was pasted against the boards by Will Weber. As he was helped off the ice Tarasov could not put any weight on his right leg. Weber received a cross checking minor.

It came as shock to no one that Rob Davison was named the sixth captain in team history. With John McCarthy, last season’s captain, likely to be spending a lot of time on the Worcester shuttle bringing in a veteran presence like Davison to help lead the team was a no-brainer. Bracken Kearns and Jimmy Bonneau are wearing the As for the WorSharks.

Prior to the start of the season one of the keys to getting the WorSharks back in to the playoffs was the team would be implementing the systems as San Jose uses. From this writer’s vantage point high up in the MassMutual Center–the only arena where I choose to sit high in a corner as it’s the best site line in the building–it looked exactly like last season as once again passes were going to players skating the wrong direction or to players not open. The zone entry looked the same, the power play looked the same, the penalty kill looked the same. It was exactly the same as last season. So much for changing.

It used to be that the automatic delay of game minor for accidentally shooting the puck out of play from a team’s defensive zone was the dumbest penalty in the rulebook (for the record, Springfield was called for it early in the third period), but that has been surpassed by the minor a center gets when a puck accidentally hits his hand on a face-off. Schwartz was called for it while Worcester was already shorthanded, and thirty seconds later the Falcons converted on their extended five on three power play.

The three stars of the game were
1. SPR – 21 Jake Hansen (2g)
2. SPR – 18 Jonathan Marchessault (g)
3. SPR – 6 Tim Erixon (3a)

The Sharkspage player of the game was Bracken Kearns.

BOXSCORE

Worcester 0 2 1 – 3
Springfield 2 2 0 – 4

1st Period-1, Springfield, Sedlak 1 (Erixon, Goloubef), 3:05. 2, Springfield, Hansen 1 (Erixon, Chaput), 15:07. Penalties-Hayes Wor (slashing), 3:47; Bonneau Wor (fighting), 17:16; Smith Spr (fighting), 17:16; McNeill Spr (delay of game), 18:26.

2nd Period-3, Worcester, Hayes 1 (Tarasov, Kearns), 3:14. 4, Springfield, Marchessault 1 (St. Denis, Madaisky), 14:39 (PP). 5, Springfield, Hansen 2 (Joudrey, Erixon), 16:16 (SH). 6, Worcester, Reid 1 (Tarasov, Viedensky), 17:41 (PP). Penalties-Davison Wor (fighting, game misconduct – secondary altercation), 3:43; Kearns Wor (fighting), 3:43; Boyce Spr (fighting, game misconduct – secondary altercation), 3:43; Weber Spr (fighting), 3:43; Chaput Spr (holding), 5:06; Tarasov Wor (slashing), 14:05; Schwartz Wor (delay of game – faceoff violation), 14:09; Collins Spr (holding), 15:21; Smith Spr (goaltender interference), 16:57.

3rd Period-7, Worcester, Livingston 1 (Kearns, Doherty), 5:22. Penalties-Little Spr (delay of game), 1:05; McCarthy Wor (slashing), 1:52; Doherty Wor (elbowing), 8:32; Weber Spr (cross-checking), 14:52.

Shots on Goal-Worcester 7-13-9-29. Springfield 9-6-4-19.
Power Play Opportunities-Worcester 1 / 6; Springfield 1 / 5.
Goalies-Worcester, Sateri 0-1-0 (19 shots-15 saves). Springfield, Smith 2-0-0 (29 shots-26 saves).
A-2,788
Referees-Ryan Hersey (8).
Linesmen-Glen Cooke (6), Robert St. Lawrence (10).

WorSharks defeat Providence 2-1 in preseason action

The Worcester Sharks, or at least a bunch of guys wearing WorSharks jerseys, took on the Providence Bruins in preseason action Friday night at the New England Sports Center in Marlborough, Massachusetts and defeated their division rivals 2-1. Two “locks” for the opening night roster, rookie defenseman Konrad Abeltshauser and fan-favorite enforcer Jimmy Bonneau both scored against Providence goaltender Malcolm Subban. Jared Knight beat Worcester netminder Troy Grosenick for the PBruins lone goal.

Worcester Sharks rookie defenseman Konrad Abeltshauser scored the WorSharks opening goal
in a 2-1 win over Providence in AHL exhibition action Friday night.
Photo courtesy of STEVE CONWAY

For the particulars of the game, Darcy Hamilton has the recap on WorSharks official site, and Bill Ballou took some time off from covering the playoff bound Boston Red Sox to throw together a brief recap with a feature on Bonneau for the Worcester Telegram & Gazette. The Providence Bruins have their version of the events on their site.

Worcester broadcaster Eric Lindquist was taking some video of the game and just happened to catch Bonneau’s game winner.

The spotlight was on Abeltshauser Friday and if last night was any indication teams are going to have to pay close attention to him because he was often times the best player on the ice for the WorSharks. Paired with Sena Acolatse most of the night Abeltshauser looked like a professional out there, something that many young players have an issue with early in the season as they settle in. Obviously this was just an exhibition game and Abeltshauser played against many guys that won’t be making the PBruins opening night roster, but those are the guys he needs to dominate over and he did.

Another player that looked good was Marek Viedensky, who is trying to get his career back on track after a season that saw him split time between San Francisco (ECHL) and the WorSharks and suffer a couple of injuries. To show how confident the organization in is his abilities Viedensky is wearing the captain’s “C” here in the preseason. And he wore it well, looking like a player that’s ready to have a breakout year.

To complete the record, James Livingston and Acolatse wore the “A” for Worcester.

Grosenick looked decent in net, and made several big stops in the second period to keep the WorSharks in the lead. The third period was a different story as Providence beat him five times in the stanza, but three found the iron behind him and a fourth trickled just wide. Knight’s knuckleball of a shot that beat Grosenick five-hole is the only official stain on his record.

The WorSharks even strength lines were
Tarasov/Schwartz/Reid
Caporusso/Viedensky/Stalberg
McDonough/Brace/Livingston
Bonneau/Oleksuk/Crane

Abeltshauser/Acolatse
Comrie/Goggin
Tarasuk/Kidd

I didn’t keep any notes about special teams lines, but it’s entirely possible the only player that didn’t kill penalties last night for Worcester was back-up goaltender J.P. Anderson.

There were no official three stars of the game, so after a quick polling of the usual suspects Sharkspage will go with:
1) WOR- Jimmy Bonneau (gwg)
2) WOR- Konrad Abeltshauser (g)
3) PRO- Malcolm Subban (29 saves)

WorSharks announce 2013-2014 regular season schedule

For longtime Worcester Sharks fans the 2013-2014 schedule will look a lot like previous seasons, and that’s actually good news for WorSharks fans. Thirty-three of the 38 WorSharks home games will be played on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. Of the five remaining weekday games, two are during the Christmas school vacation.

The schedule breakdown by team is division rivals Providence, Portland, and Manchester twelve times each and remaining division member St John’s ten times. Worcester will play Springfield six times, and Bridgeport, Hartford, Hershey, and Norfolk four times a piece. Two games with Adirondack, Albany, Binghamton, and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton round out the schedule.

As has become tradition, Sharkspage tries to predict the number of nights the WorSharks will spend in hotels. Knowing that the team will take advantage of an extra travel day or two built into the schedule it looks like Worcester will be spending 15 nights on the road. If the WorSharks head up to Lewiston, Maine a day early to take on the Pirates that number would jump to 18.

Sat 10/12/13 7:00 PM @ Springfield
Sat 10/19/13 7:00 PM W-B/Scranton
Sun 10/20/13 5:00 PM Portland
Wed 10/23/13 7:00 PM Manchester
Sat 10/26/13 7:00 PM @ Springfield
Fri 11/1/13 7:30 PM Bridgeport
Sat 11/2/13 7:00 PM St. John’s
Fri 11/8/13 7:00 PM @ Portland (Lewiston)
Sat 11/9/13 7:00 PM Providence
Sun 11/10/13 3:00 PM Portland
Wed 11/13/13 7:30 PM @ St. John’s
Fri 11/15/13 7:30 PM @ St. John’s
Sat 11/16/13 7:30 PM @ St. John’s
Fri 11/22/13 7:00 PM @ Manchester
Sat 11/23/13 7:00 PM Bridgeport
Sun 11/24/13 3:00 PM Manchester
Fri 11/29/13 7:00 PM @ Portland (Lewiston)
Fri 12/6/13 7:30 PM Portland
Sat 12/7/13 7:00 PM Providence
Sun 12/8/13 3:00 PM @ Manchester
Fri 12/13/13 7:30 PM Manchester
Sat 12/14/13 7:00 PM @ Portland (Lewiston)
Fri 12/20/13 7:05 PM @ W-B/Scranton
Sat 12/21/13 7:00 PM @ Hershey
Sun 12/22/13 5:00 PM @ Hershey
Thu 12/26/13 7:00 PM Providence
Fri 12/27/13 7:30 PM St. John’s
Sat 12/28/13 7:00 PM @ Hartford
Tue 12/31/13 5:00 PM @ Adirondack
Fri 1/3/14 7:05 PM @ Providence
Sat 1/4/14 7:00 PM @ Hartford
Sun 1/5/14 3:05 PM @ Providence
Fri 1/10/14 7:30 PM Hartford
Sat 1/11/14 7:00 PM Norfolk
Sun 1/12/14 3:00 PM Portland
Fri 1/17/14 7:30 PM @ Norfolk
Sat 1/18/14 7:15 PM @ Norfolk
Tue 1/21/14 7:00 PM @ Portland
Fri 1/24/14 7:00 PM @ Manchester
Sat 1/25/14 7:00 PM Providence
Sun 1/26/14 3:00 PM Manchester
Wed 1/29/14 7:00 PM Binghamton
Fri 1/31/14 7:30 PM Springfield
Sat 2/1/14 7:00 PM Providence
Sat 2/8/14 7:30 PM @ St. John’s
Sun 2/9/14 4:00 PM @ St. John’s
Fri 2/14/14 7:00 PM @ Manchester
Sat 2/15/14 7:05 PM @ Binghamton
Sun 2/16/14 3:00 PM @ Springfield
Fri 2/21/14 7:30 PM St. John’s
Sat 2/22/14 7:00 PM St. John’s
Sun 2/23/14 3:00 PM @ Manchester
Fri 2/28/14 7:00 PM @ Portland
Sat 3/1/14 7:00 PM @ Bridgeport
Sun 3/2/14 3:00 PM Springfield
Fri 3/7/14 7:05 PM @ Providence
Sat 3/8/14 7:00 PM Portland
Sun 3/9/14 3:00 PM Albany
Fri 3/14/14 7:05 PM @ Providence
Sat 3/15/14 7:00 PM @ Bridgeport
Sun 3/16/14 3:00 PM Manchester
Fri 3/21/14 7:30 PM Springfield
Sat 3/22/14 7:00 PM Hershey
Sun 3/23/14 3:05 PM @ Providence
Wed 3/26/14 7:00 PM @ Portland
Fri 3/28/14 7:00 PM @ Manchester
Sat 3/29/14 5:00 PM @ Albany
Tue 4/1/14 7:00 PM Portland
Fri 4/4/14 7:05 PM @ Providence
Sat 4/5/14 7:00 PM Hershey
Sun 4/6/14 3:00 PM Manchester
Wed 4/9/14 7:00 PM Hartford
Fri 4/11/14 7:30 PM Adirondack
Sat 4/12/14 7:00 PM Norfolk
Fri 4/18/14 7:30 PM St. John’s
Sat 4/19/14 7:00 PM Providence

Does Mike Mudd’s departure signal the beginning of the end for the WorSharks?

Professional hockey is a business. Sometimes players you like don’t make the cut, other times players are pushed out by cheaper alternatives or maybe by the latest up and coming future superstar taking over the spot of an aging fan favorite veteran. If a player has the ability to play at the next higher level he almost always gets that chance, because every team is looking for the “next guy” to make their team better. It might take a while, but talent usually wins out. Score enough goals, make enough solid defensive plays, save enough pucks and someone somewhere will notice. You’ll get your shot.

The same holds true for the front office people. Show your worth and your ability to make your team better, either on the ice or on the balance sheet, and up the ladder you’ll eventually go. Can you imagine how valuable a person that could increase attendance nearly 20%, increase revenues, and cut financial losses over the same three seasons that his team had the second fewest wins and third lowest winning percentage in the league? San Jose showed how valuable that kind of person is.

They fired him.

Make no mistake, despite the press release saying that former team President Mike Mudd had “stepped down”, he was fired. The American Hockey League’s Executive of the Year for 2011 went to work one morning and at the end of the day no longer had a job he still wanted to have because his employer told him he no longer worked for them. That’s “fired” no matter what business-speak San Jose uses.

Just when the Worcester Sharks were once again on the cusp of breaking through on the business side of things a decision from 3,000 miles away cuts them off at the knees. Usually it’s hockey operations failing to field even a marginally competitive team that reduced significant positive gains the business side had made that is the issue, but this time it was allegedly a business decision.

San Jose has indicated that John Tortora, Executive Vice President and General Counsel for Sharks Sports & Entertainment (SSE), has been named as Mudd’s replacement in title only. He will generally remain in San Jose and, along with his other duties, run the WorSharks from California. As quoted by Bill Ballou in the Worcester Telegram & Gazette Tortora said, “This was not performance-related. We decided as an organization that we didn’t need the position of president of our minor league team, and that in doing this we could enhance the communication between San Jose and Worcester.”

So San Jose doesn’t need a guy that business-wise successfully promoted one of the very few AHL teams to not make the playoffs over the last three seasons? And how could removing such a successful executive “enhance the communication between San Jose and Worcester”?

Long time hockey fans in Worcester have seen this all before, and have asked similar questions. During the St Louis Blues years here owning the Worcester IceCats the organization had a very capable president running things in John Ferguson, Jr. He was so successful running the business side of the franchise that he was wooed away by the Toronto Maple Leafs to become their general manager. The Blues decided not to replace Ferguson and instead had Larry Pleau run the show from St. Louis. The folks in Worcester can tell you it was all a smoke screen because three season later the IceCats were sold to the owners of the Peoria Rivermen, the Blues ECHL affiliate at the time, and moved to Illinois. Until the very end the Blues denied the IceCats were for sale.

So with that history here in Worcester it’s only natural for folks to be a little concerned it’s happening again, especially when it’s well known here that Mudd had previously made several complaints to hockey operations in San Jose that the team needed to be better. Could the enhanced communications that Tortora refers to translate to “we won’t have to deal with Mudd complaining how poor the team is anymore”? With three more seasons left on San Jose lease with the DCU Center, are the Sharks simply biding their time until they can leave?

One other issue is the timing of Mudd’s termination, on a Friday afternoon before the most popular vacation week in the country and within 48 hours of the NHL draft starting. Could San Jose have been thinking that people would be distracted and not notice? A quick polling of fans and a reading of Facebook and twitter posts shows that virtually no one thinks this is any sort of positive move for the organization here in Worcester. Despite some poor teams on the ice the majority of fans speak highly of the front office here.

WorSharks Booster Club president Rich Lundin perhaps said it best, “Regardless of the Sharks future plans in Worcester, we need to support them, and back professional hockey in Worcester in general. We have a strong, positive relationship with the Worcester Sharks office, and we hope this continues for years to come. It is vital for the fiscal health of the DCU Center, surrounding businesses, local charities, and for all the relationships us fans have built amongst each other over the years.”

Professional hockey is a business. And Mike Mudd is really good at it. Don’t be surprised when he lands a job with another NHL organization and helps lead them to a Stanley Cup before San Jose can win one. In fact, you should probably bet on it.

WorSharks 2012-2013 final report card

As the American Hockey League playoffs continue on and many more teams join the Worcester Sharks in having the summer off it’s time to grade the WorSharks players. We’ve set the arbitrary limit at 30 games, and then made an exception for enforcer Jimmy Bonneau. The players are listed by position, with forwards going first, followed by the defense and goaltenders. The last section is off ice personnel.

Players have been graded on how well they’ve done against the expectations that have been set for them and how well they’ve done compared to the other players on the roster. When looking at the grades remember that a “C” is average, meaning the player has done what was expected of them or that their play based on the other players on the roster has been average in nature. The contract status listed is what they will be as July 1st at the time of this posting, and NHL salary listed is their potential amount against the NHL salary cap.

Forwards
Bracken Kearns (66 games, 21-25-46, -2, 73PIM)
Contract status: NHL UFA
Statistically Kearns had an average season for him, but those numbers were good enough to be the WorSharks leader in goals, assists, points, shots, and was second only to Tim Kennedy in points per game. He was the WorSharks lone representative at this season’s AHL All-Star Classic, replacing the injured Kennedy. Simply put, Kearns was Worcester’s best all around player. He’s a player Worcester fans would love to have back next season.
Grade: A

Tim Kennedy (37 games, 13-24-37, +8, 19PIM)
Contract status: NHL UFA
When he was recalled to San Jose Kennedy was the team leader in every offensive stat you can think of. Despite playing in far less games that most of the top scorers Kennedy still ended up tied for fourth in goals, and second in assist and points. His +8 was second on the team, and he was one of only three regular players to be plus on the season. Kennedy was the only WorSharks player to average a point per game. Without him in the line-up Worcester’s anemic offense sputtered even more.
Grade: B

Jon Matsumoto (60 games, 14-18-32, -17, 30PIM)
Contract status: NHL UFA
Matsumoto was the biggest disappointment on Worcester’s roster this season. Entering this campaign on a five season 20 goal streak Matsumoto sleepwalked through most of the year netting just 14 goals and had a team worst (-17) on the season. His three game winning goals all came in a seven game span over the Christmas holidays, but other than that he was basically invisible. And for the highest paid player on the team, that is simply unacceptable.
Grade: F

Danill Tarasov (43 games, 14-14-28, E, 20PIM)
Contract status: 1st of 2 year NHL ELC ($800K/$60K)
After spending the first half of the season on the AHL roster but only playing in a single game (the WorSharks have never officially commented as to why that was) Tarasov was sent off to San Francisco. After posting 14 points in 17 ECHL games Tarasov was recalled to Worcester and never looked back, averaging a point per game over his next 12 AHL contests and ending up fourth on the team in scoring. Toward the end of the season it looked like many teams were shadowing Tarasov. High praise for a rookie.
Grade: B

Freddie Hamilton (76 games, 13-13-26, -9, 16PIM)
Contract status: 2nd of 3 year NHL ELC ($878,333/$67,500)
The scouting report on Hamilton was a shutdown defensive forward, but the rookie showed lots of offensive skills notching a team leading four game winning goals and two shorthanded tallies. It took Hamilton a little while to catch on to many of the pro “tricks” on taking face-offs, but by season’s end he was Worcester’s top centerman on draws in their defensive end. The WorSharks don’t have a “best prospect” award, but if they did Hamilton would be an easy winner.
Grade: A

John McCarthy (65 games, 9-16-25, -12, 12PIM)
Contract status: 2nd of 2 year NHL contract ($612,500)
It would take only a handful of seconds looking at the stats to see this was the worst season so far in McCarthy’s pro career. Effort wasn’t issue, it was purely a results problem. Perhaps it was the pressure of wearing the captain’s “C”, or maybe it was one of a myriad of possibilities, but obviously there was something different this season from the previous three. Despite the one-way contract for next season odds are good he’ll be starting the season in the AHL. It’s up to him how long he stays there.
Grade: D

James Sheppard (34 games, 8-15-23, E, 52PIM)
Contract status: NHL RFA
The only reason Sheppard was even here in Worcester was the NHL lockout, but it’s hard to tell who benefited more from him being here. Even though Sheppard had some rough games the WorSharks were a different team–and not in a good way–when he wasn’t here. Sheppard is a bona-fide NHL player, and it showed the vast majority of games he was out there. Short of a conditioning assignment Sheppard will likely never see the AHL again.
Grade: B

Brodie Reid (34 games, 10-11-21, -1 19PIM)
Contract status: NHL RFA
Reid matched his goal total from last season in half as many games, but the problem is he only managed to play in half as many games. Like last season when his season was cut short due to an injury Reid suffered two serious injuries that limited him to just 34 contests. Despite making huge gains in his offensive skills the big question about Reid is if he can stay on the ice for a full pro season. Hockey is full of players with lots of skill that can’t stay healthy. Hopefully for Reid doesn’t turn into one of those players.
Grade: B

James Livingston (67 games, 7-14-21, +13, 78PIM)
Contract status: 3rd of 3 year NHL ELC ($605K/$60K)
There’s a reason Livingston was a unanimous choice in the post season awards for 7th player/Unsung Hero, and his +12 on a roster full of minus players is the reason. While Livingston’s offensive numbers were virtually identical to last season he was a significantly better all-around hockey player. Not blessed with the talent that some of his teammates have Livingstone uses hard word and tenacity to overwhelm his opponents. If Livingston can find a way to add just a little more offense to his game he might find himself in the NHL sooner than later.
Grade: A

Yanni Gourde (54 games, 8-6-14, -11, 41PIM)
Contract status: AHL UFA
Gourde has all the tools to play at the AHL level but it took a long while, and a trip to the ECHL, for him to really catch his stride this season. He is without a doubt the fastest skater on the team but seemed reluctant to use that speed at times, many times peeling off with the puck in the offensive zone instead of going to the net. Despite Gourde not having the kind of season everyone was hoping he would have Worcester should look at bringing him back. The ability is there, the only question is if the WorSharks can tap into it.
Grade: D

Travis Oleksuk (60 games, 3-10-13, -13, 12PIM)
Contract status: 2nd of 2 year NHL ELC ($925K/$70K)
After a senior year at UMN-Duluth that saw Oleksuk score a point per game Worcester was looking for the pro rookie to generate some offense. Unfortunately, averaging under .25 points per game wasn’t exactly what the doctor ordered. Oleksuk was simply not able to compete at the AHL level, and the preseason talk of him getting spot duty in the San Jose line-up quickly died down. The holes in Oleksuk’s pro game are numerous, and a single off-season may not be enough to fix them.
Grade: F

Curt Gogol (38 games, 4-2-6, -4, 139PIM)
Contract status: 2nd year of 3 year NHL ELC ($551,667/60K)
Gogol has some talent to play hockey but it often gets lost with him looking to be an agitator. At some point in his career Gogol has to decide if he wants to be an AHL/NHL hockey player or a minor league side show. That point is probably now. And if he chooses to be a side show, his pro career will be a short one. There are lots of players at this level–and lower–that are better at that than he is. But he does get to make that choice. Hopefully he chooses wisely.
Grade: C

Jimmy Bonneau (26 games, 1-0-1, -3, 81PIM)
Contract status: AHL UFA
Ask Bonneau what he is and he’ll come right out and tell you: a fighter. But he probably has the most “hockey smarts” on the WorSharks roster. On the ice you get what you get with Bonneau, but because starting next season he’s classified as an AHL veteran he may have a hard time hooking on in the league. But when his career is over he’ll have no issues getting a job in the sport. Some day Bonneau could make the NHL…behind the bench.
Grade: A

Defensemen
Matt Tennyson (60 games, 5-22-27, -6, 44PIM)
Contract status: 2nd of 2 year NHL ELC ($1.175M/$70K)
After three years at Western Michigan this season was supposed to be the year he got his pro career seasoned a little to make a potential run at an NHL roster spot for 2013-14, but injuries in San Jose forced the organization to rush him to the big club maybe a little before he was ready. Despite it being a little too early for him it can’t be looked at anything but a positive in his development into a solid two-way NHL blueliner. He still has a little ways to get there, but the remaining journey will be a short one.
Grade: B

Sena Acolatse (50 games, 4-17-21, -7, 62PIM)
Contract status: 3rd of 3 year NHL ELC ($900K/$67,500)
For the second season in a row a freak facial injury required Acolatse to wear a cage for long periods of time, and that really took away from his physical style of game. It’s almost like Acolatse should get two grades, one before his injury and one after, because his play was remarkably different afterward simply because of the head gear he was forced to wear. A solid two way player, the loss of the threat of him dropping the gloves gave opponents a situation they were more than willing to take advantage of.
Grade: C

Denny Urban (36 games, 4-13-17, -11, 10PIM)
Contract status: AHL UFA
An offense-first defenseman Urban really shined when he first arrived in Worcester, grabbing more than half his points in his first 14 games with the WorSharks. But soon after teams were able to figure out his defensive shortcomings and started targeting him during odd man rushes. Urban is a decent AHL depth defenseman, but unless his defensive liabilities can be worked out he’s likely reached his developmental ceiling. Urban also saw spot duty at forward and didn’t look out of place.
Grade: C

Danny Groulx (33 games, 4-12-16, +4, 24PIM)
Contract status: NHL UFA
Without a doubt Groulx lost a step or two since his Eddie Shore Award (best AHL defenseman) winning campaign in 2009-10, but despite that he was still a viable AHL blueliner that breathed some life into the WorSharks power play. Perhaps because of his previous season in Worcester the bar was set too high for Groulx, and a concussion that caused him to miss nearly two months didn’t help. Groulx was eventually loaned to Chicago (AHL) by San Jose in exchange for Derek Joslis,
Grade: D

Matt Irwin (35 games 1-14-15, E, 26PIM)
Contract status: 1st of 2 year NHL contract ($1M)
Irwin was a solid two-way defenseman with the WorSharks, and was expected to see spot duty in the NHL this season. Due to injuries in San Jose Irwin spent a significant amount of time with the big club, and was named their “rookie of the year”. There’s a very good chance we’ve seen the last of Irwin as being an everyday player in Worcester.
Grade: B

Taylor Doherty (40 games, 1-9-10, -2, 67PIM)
Contract status: 3rd of 3 year NHL ELC ($840K/$67,500)
The best thing that can be said about Doherty is he got better since his rookie campaign last season. Of course, he really had no place to go but up. The defenseman with the offensive skills that San Jose drafted from the Kingston Frontenacs in 2009 is a thing of the past, and right now Taylor isn’t anywhere near close to being a defenseman with NHL level talent. At age 22 Doherty really needs to learn how to use his 6’8″ frame in the pro game, because being a physical shutdown defenseman is the only way he’s making it to the NHL.
Grade: D

Matt Pelech (58 games, 3-4-7, -16, 238PIM)
Contract status: NHL UFA
Arguably one of the most physical players in the AHL, Pelech split duty at forward and defense for Worcester this season. Starting–and ending–the campaign on the blue line it was obvious that onrushing players wanted no part of Pelech and his bone crunching body checks. Nearly every puck that went into the zone on his side was dumped in. At forward Pelech was just as much a monster, creating scoring chances by pulverizing opponents at they tried to break out of their zone. He’s the kind of player most teams want at the AHL level.
Grade: B

Nick Petrecki (42 games, 1-5-6, -2, 135PIM)
Contract status: NHL RFA
The last couple of season have been the same for Petrecki, where it looked like he was ready to make the jump to the NHL only to suddenly forget everything he learned and turn into that bumbling rookie player he was four seasons ago. San Jose has a big decision this off season in if they’ll keep Petrecki one more season or not. His flashes of brilliance show there’s something there, but his inability to keep his level of play high enough for NHL play is becoming an issue for him.
Grade: D

Goaltenders
Harri Sateri (39 games, 14-21-3, 2.89, .903)
Contract status: NHL RFA
Statistically Sateri’s numbers are pretty close to last season, but his play was much better overall. Like many Finnish goaltenders Sateri really needs to work on catching the puck, but despite still not being very good at it even in that aspect of the game he improved greatly. Next season Sateri should start out as the number one goalie in Worcester–provided he re-signs–and will get ample opportunity to make his mark in the organization.
Grade: C

Alex Stalock (38 games, 17-16-4, 2.60, .912)
Contract status: NHL RFA
The heir presumptive to San Jose’s starting goaltender’s job in the near future, Stalock showed he was completely healed from his nerve injury of two seasons ago. Stalock’s play was nearly as good as his record setting rookie campaign, and had there been a better team playing in front of him Stalock may have come close to matching those numbers. There are no glaring holes in Stalock’s game, and after a season as the back-up in the NHL should easily step into the starting role in San Jose.
Grade: B

Off ice personel
Head coach Roy Sommer
On paper this was a team that should have had no issues making the AHL playoffs. Instead for the third season in a row they finish outside the playoffs and for the second time in as many season end up 13th in the conference. At some point hockey operations in San Jose has to realize the Roy Sommer era needs to end, and that some new blood in developing prospects might help them in winning the Stanley Cup.
Grade: F

Associate coach David Cunniff
Given a title bump before the season started and one of the final candidates for a vacant assistant coach job in San Jose over the summer its time to hand the reigns to Cunniff. He is the coach that specializes in the defenseman, and not too surprisingly that’s where many of San Jose’s better home-grown players have come from recently. The man deserves a chance, and it’s time the Sharks organization gave it to him
Grade: B

GM Wayne Thomas
Not sure how much more Thomas could have done this season. He went out and got what should have been solid players to start the season and signed some decent talent when the NHL lockout ended and Worcester needed bodies, but it all went for naught as the team once again missed the playoffs. This season, however, the only blame he’ll get is if he and San Jose GM Doug Wilson don’t make a coaching change here for the WorSharks during the off season.
Grade: B

WorSharks President Mike Mudd
Once again Mudd and his staff get this writer’s vote for the best in the AHL. There pretty much isn’t any more that can be said that I haven’t repeated multiple times already.
Grade: A

The “210 Awards” for the WorSharks 2012-2013 season

With the Worcester Sharks regular season campaign coming to an end without a playoff run for the third season in a row, it’s time to start with the end of season paperwork. Up first are the “210 Awards”. For those new to the “210 Awards”, they are a mix of serious and (hopefully) slightly humorous awards named for the moniker this writer uses on many message boards. This season’s winners are…

Best Forward: While some might think it’s lame to just name the team’s highest scorer as its best forward, for the WorSharks and Bracken Kearns it’s the right choice. With the departure of Tim Kennedy to San Jose Kearns was called upon night in and night out to generate offense on a club that was short on goal scorers. Kearns lead Worcester in goals, assists, and points. Kearns’ .7 points per game was second only to Kennedy (1.00) on the team.

Best Defenseman: In what was supposed to be the teams strength Worcester ended up dressing 17 blue liners, and none of them truly stood out head and shoulders above the rest. Had Matt Irwin played in more than 35 games this season he would have likely won the award simply because he was the player almost always against the opponent’s top line and the team was never really the same defensively after he left. So we’ll name rookie Matt Tennyson as the best defenseman as he was the most solid of the rest.

Tough Guy Award: There is no player on the WorSharks tougher to play against than Matt Pelech. Opponents do everything they can to avoid even getting near him knowing that he’s virtually impossible to get past without him blasting them into the boards. Bringing the same intensity at forward as he does on defense Pelech doesn’t look great statistically mostly because the AHL doesn’t officially track blocked shots. If they did he would most certainly he near the top of the list in that category.

Best Single Game Performance: Until last Friday night’s game in Wilkes-Barre Harri Sateri had this sewn up with his 50 save win against Providence on December 2nd, but then Freddie Hamilton came along and notched two shorthanded goals on the same penalty kill. Yeah, one of them was an empty netter, but it was still a big goal scored from his own end while the Penguins were throwing everything at the WorSharks.

Most Improved: When you look at James Livingston‘s points from last year to this you’d see they are virtually identical (7-13-20 this season vs 6-14-20 last). What the big difference is in plus/minus, which went from a (-1) to +12, and that is a direct result of improvements in every aspect of Livingston’s game. He settled in nicely to the third line checking role, and using a much more controlled physical game turned into one of the WorSharks best two way forwards.

Seventh Player: James Livingston. No contest here.

Rookie of the Year: Probably the toughest of all the awards to give out this season, in a close race it goes to Daniil Tarasov. While he lead all rookies in just about every offensive category it was the fact that opposing teams were usually putting their best defensive players on the ice against him that truly speaks to how good he really is. Entering the season Tarasov was on an AHL contract, but midway through the campaign San Jose signed him to an entry level deal that starts next season.

Most Valuable Player: Breaking a three year run of goaltenders winning the MVP award Bracken Kearns was undoubtedly not only the best player on the team all season but the one that when he wasn’t in the line-up was missed the most. He is an easy choice for the winner here.

The Sharkspage Player of the Year: Harri Sateri, for being named Sharkspage player of the game seven times this season, the most on the team.

So now that we’ve gotten the serious awards out of the way, here’s a few that this writer thinks should be handed out…

The Tom Cavanagh Award: If everything comes together this will likely become a real team award next season, but since right now the WorSharks don’t have an official award for perseverance and dedication to hockey we will add one here, and the first winner is goaltender Alex Stalock for his overcoming a potentially career threatening injury late in the 2010-2011 season. After missing almost a full season Stalock showed he was completely back from his injury by returning to his high level of play in the 2012-2013 campaign.

The Two-By-Two Award: Matt Tennyson, for having the most penalty minutes (44) without major.

The Iron Man Award: Freddie Hamilton for playing in all 76 regular season games.

The Man In The Box Award: For the first time we had a three way tie for this award with Adam Comrie, Nick Petrecki, and bench minors (yes, bench minors) being the reason Worcester was shorthanded when a power play goal was scored against them. Each was in the box five times, but Comrie “wins” the award due to fewer games played.

The Dead-Eye Award: Matt Irwin, for having the lowest shooting percentage of any player with 50 or more shots on goal (1 for 100, easy math says that’s 1%).

The Buzzer Beater Award: Freddie Hamilton, for his game tying goal vs Manchester on April 7th at 19:58.3 of the third period.

The Whose Jersey Is This? Award: Mike Banwell, Adam Comrie, Peter Sivak, and Rylan Schwartz all share this award, just as they all shared the #24 jersey this season.

The “It’s not how many, it’s when” Award: Nick Petrecki, who scored his only goal of the season against Springfield in overtime on January 11th.

The Welcome Back Award: Danny Groulx, who became the first player to leave the WorSharks and then return after playing for another organization. The funny thing is Groulx was traded midseason for Derek Joslin, who then became the second player to leave the organization and return.

The “35” Award: Head coach Roy Sommer, who circled Harri Sateri’s number 35 in the starting line-up 12 times in a row this season. The only problem was it should have been 11, as the twelfth time he was supposed to circle Thomas Greiss’ number 1.

The “Don’t Tell That Story Again” Award: Matt Tennyson, for his slightly less than inspirational story at the WorSharks Booster Club Christmas Party

The WWE Award: The American Hockey League. Two separate groups of people asked this season if the AHL was fixed like wrestling. But the AHL doesn’t have an officiating problem, just ask them.

The SuperFan Award: Chris O’Shea, Worcester Sharks Booster Club treasurer, who made it to 67 of the WorSharks 76 games this season. The only two road cities she didn’t make it to this season were Norfolk and St. John’s.

The David Haas Award: For the sixth time in seven seasons, there is no winner of this “prestigious” award that goes to the player with the most talent that chooses to use none of it.

Historically the last award mentioned is the Haas, but last season we broke with tradition to give departing captain Mike Moore a shout out. This season we’re starting a new tradition and announcing a new award:

The Mike Moore Award: For the player that gives 100% every single shift no matter the score or the situation, and the inaugural Mike Moore Award goes to Matt Pelech. If you’ve seen him play in Worcester, you know why.

WorSharks end 2012-13 campaign with shootout loss in Syracuse

The Worcester Sharks final game was a lot like their whole 2012-2013 campaign, falling way behind early and then managing to rush forward to get back into it, only to trip up at the very end as the WorSharks dropped a 4-3 shootout contest to the Syracuse Crunch at the Onondaga County War Memorial at Oncenter in Syracuse, New York. Worcester got three out of a possible four points on the two game road trip to end their season.

Scratches for Worcester were Jimmy Bonneau, Yanni Gourde, Tommy Grant, Bracken Kearns, Christophe Lalancette, John McCarthy, Matt Pelech, Brodie Reid, Denny Urban, Marek Viedensky, and Dane Walters. Harri Sateri was the back-up netminder. With Lalancette being a scratch the WorSharks used an even 50 players in games this season, one off the team record. Only one player, Freddie Hamilton, skated in all 76 games this season.

The shootout loss dropped Worcester record to 31-34-4-7 for a .480 winning percentage, the second lowest in franchise history. It’s the second season in a row Worcester has failed to reach the .500 mark, and in the era of three point games that’s something that simply should never happen. This is also the third consecutive season the team has failed to win half its games played. With one day left in the AHL’s regular season the WorSharks sit 13th in the Eastern Conference and 26th overall. If St. John’s beats Toronto this afternoon Worcester will drop one spot in both the conference and league standings. Last season the WorSharks finished in nearly the same spots, 13th in the East and 27th in the AHL.

The three stars of the game were:
1. SYR – 28 Brett Connolly (g,a)
2. SYR – 9 Tyler Johnson (g)
3. WOR – 19 Daniil Tarasov (g)

The Sharkspage player of the game was Eriah Hayes.

BOXSCORE

Worcester 0 0 3 0 – 3
Syracuse 1 2 0 0 – 4

1st Period-1, Syracuse, Connolly 31 (Sexton, Barberio), 11:39. Penalties-Paradis Syr (roughing), 3:12; served by Gogol Wor (bench minor – too many men), 9:38; Lee Syr (holding), 14:13.

2nd Period-2, Syracuse, Devos 7 (Connolly, Namestnikov), 3:50. 3, Syracuse, Johnson 37 (Brown, Cote), 5:40. Penalties-Lee Syr (closing hand on puck), 14:54; Comrie Wor (interference), 15:11; Comrie Wor (unsportsmanlike conduct), 19:39.

3rd Period-4, Worcester, Gogol 4 (Comrie, Demelo), 6:37. 5, Worcester, Hayes 3 (Comrie, Tarasov), 8:20. 6, Worcester, Tarasov 14 12:26. Penalties-Hayes Wor (high-sticking), 2:21; Schwartz Wor (double minor – high-sticking), 10:46; Richard Syr (high-sticking), 12:07; Petrecki Wor (fighting), 15:57; Cote Syr (fighting), 15:57.

OT Period- No Scoring.Penalties-No Penalties

Shootout – Worcester 0 (Tarasov NG, Hayes NG, Nieto NG), Syracuse 3 (Sexton G, Connolly G, Richard NG, Wyman G).
Shots on Goal-Worcester 7-7-8-0-0-22. Syracuse 8-11-7-3-1-30.
Power Play Opportunities-Worcester 0 / 3; Syracuse 0 / 6.
Goalies-Worcester, Stalock 17-16-4 (29 shots-26 saves). Syracuse, Desjardins 15-18-3 (22 shots-19 saves).
A-5,438
Referees-David Banfield (77).
Linesmen-Justin Prusak (70), Jeff Walker (28).