Sharks look to even score at home against Wolf Pack
April 20, 2009 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Worcester Sharks News Release
Rewind the Tape:
Game 1 at XL Center in Hartford on April 16th
The Sharks outshot the Hartford Wolf Pack 38-23 but came up empty offensively dropping game 1 in Hartford by a score of 2-0. Rookie netminder Matt Zaba made 38 saves in his first playoff appearance in the AHL for the shutout while Thomas Greiss made 21 saves for the Sharks. Artem Anisimov scored at 4:19 of the 2nd period slamming in a backdoor pass on to top the crease from Dale Weise past an outstretched Greiss. Dane Byers, playing in his first game since October 31st, gave the Wolf Pack some insurance at 7:20 of the 3rd period after he was set up on top of the crease after a great feed by Jordan Owens. The Sharks went 0-7 on the power play while the Wolf Pack went 0-5.
Game 2 at XL Center in Hartford on April 18th
In a feisty affair, the Sharks trailed 3-0 early, tied the game in the second period, but eventually lost game 2 by the count of 5-3 on Saturday night in Hartford. Artem Anisimov, Jordan Owens, and Bobby Sanguinetti scored first period goals on just eight shots in the opening period to charge to a 3-0 lead after 20 minutes. Worcester fired 22 shots on netminder Matt Zaba but came up empty in the first period. At 9:51 of the 2nd period, Brendan Buckley would fire a bouncing wrist shot from 60 feet which squeaked through the pads of Zaba to break the shutout streak at 89:51 to get the Sharks on the board. Just 29 seconds later, Andrew Desjardins went five hole on Zaba from a tough angle at the side of the net to get the Sharks within one. On the power play, a Riley Armstrong shot from on top of the right circle broke through Zaba and Cory Larose banged in the loose puck at 14:40 to tie the score at 3-3. Worcester outshot the Wolf Pack 41-13 after 40 minutes in a tied game. Mike Ouellette put Hartford ahead at 2:23 of the third period and Mark Bell scored an empty netter to put the game away as the Wolf Pack won game 2. The Sharks went 1-13 on the power play while the Wolf Pack went 1-7. The two teams combined for 76 penalty minutes as the Sharks outshot the Wolf Pack 47-19.
Important Playoff #'s:
Worcester Hartford
Goals For 1.50 - 15th 3.50 - 4th
Goals Agst 3.50 - 13th 1.50 - 2nd
Shots For 42.50- 1st 21.00 - 16th
Shots Agst 21.00 - 1st 42.50 - 16th
PP 1-20 (5%) - 13th 1-12 8.3% - 12th
PK 11-12 (91.7%) - 5th 19-20 (85.4%) - 4th
PIMS 23.50- 2nd 30.50 - 1st
Sharks in the Atlantic... (regular season)
The Sharks finished (42-35-1-2) swimming in a 4th place in the Atlantic Division with 87 points, 12 points behind the first place Hartford Wolf Pack. Worcester finished one point behind the Pirates for the 3rd spot and 7 points behind the Bruins for the 2nd spot. The 5th place Monarchs finished five points behind the Sharks and the Devils were eight points out in a very choppy Atlantic Division.
Push to the Playoffs!
Atlantic Division Semifinal - Series "B" (best-of-7)
A2-Providence Bruins vs. A3-Portland Pirates
Providence leads series 2-1 heading into Game 4
Game 4 - Thu., Apr. 23 - Providence at Portland, 7:00
Game 5 - Fri., Apr. 24 - Portland at Providence, 7:05
*Game 6 - Sun., Apr. 26 - Providence at Portland, 4:00
*Game 7 - Tue., Apr. 28 - Portland at Providence, 7:05
Playoff Bites:
*This is the 2nd ever playoff series for the Sharks. In 2007, the Sharks lost round 1 to the Manchester Monarchs four games to two.
*Brendan Buckley scored his first playoff goal in Game 2 in his 56th AHL playoff game.
*Rookie Andrew Desjardins scored his first AHL playoff goal in Game 2.
*The Sharks had a franchise record 13 power plays in Game 2.
*Kyle McLaren dressed in his first AHL playoff game on Thursday after playing in 70 NHL playoff games.
*Rookie Frazer McLaren recorded one assist in 75 regular season games but added an assist in Game 2.
*The Sharks have out shot the Wolf Pack 85-42 in the first two games.
Coming and goings from the shark tank:
No player movement this week.
Top Sharks:
o Goals Armstrong, Desjardins, Buckley (1)
o Game Winners
o Assists F. McLaren (1)
o Points several tied at (1)
o Power play Points Armstrong (1-0-1)
o Shots Vesce (12)
o PIM F. McLaren (10)
o Fighting Pen.
o Plus/Minus several tied at (+1)
o Wins
o G.A.A. Greiss (3.05)
o Save % Greiss (.854)
o Shutouts
Coming Up:
The Sharks host Game 3 and 4 this week at the DCU Center and Game 6 on Saturday if necessary.
Season ticket holders will get the first round of the Calder Cup Playoffs at home for free with a $50 deposit down per seat by April 22nd!
Any Sharks fan that mentions that they are growing a playoff beard will receive a discounted $15.00 best available ticket for any game at the DCU Center in the first round of the playoffs!
In addition, fans may purchase a variety of Playoff ticket packages:
- Family Fun Pack - 4 tickets, 4 hot dogs, and 4 sodas for just $65 ($16.25 per extra person).
- Playoff Fun Pack - 4 flex vouchers and either 1 signed Sharks stick or 4 Sharks camouflage hats for $66 (16.50 per extra person).
- Playoff Flex Pack - 10 flex vouchers for the entire playoffs for $140.
The Sharks reduced their 2009-10 season ticket prices and playoff tickets are on sale now! Purchases can be made by visiting the box office, contacting the Worcester Sharks office at 508.929.0500, or by crashing the net at www.SharksAHL.com.
All games can be heard live on 580AM and 94.9FM WTAG, as well as online through AHL Live, by following the link on the Sharks website at www.SharksAHL.com.
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