Sharks Riding Three Game Point Streak - Worcester Sharks Weekly

Published on November 22, 2011 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Worcester Sharks News Release


The Worcester Sharks chomped four out of a possible six points last week in three games highlighted by a 3-1 win over the Penguins on Sunday afternoon at the DCU Center. Worcester grabbed a point in a 3-2 overtime loss in Springfield on Wednesday followed by another 3-2 overtime loss in Manchester on Friday. The Worcester Sharks player of the week nominee is defenseman Matt Irwin; as he scored two more power play goals to up his total to six, added two assists, and fired 11 shots in three games last week. The Sharks are riding a three game point streak (1-0-2-0) heading into this week's action vs. Manchester (at MCH on Wed) and Portland (at POR on Fri and vs. POR on Sat)

Top 3... Last Week!

#1 Benn Ferriero scores twice in the first period to lift the Sharks 3-1 over the Penguins on Sunday!

#2 Tyson Sexsmith makes 34 saves to backstop the Sharks to a 3-1 win over the Penguins on Sunday!

#3 Brandon Mashinter scores and fires a team high nine shots in 3-2 overtime loss in Manchester on Friday!

Last Week: (1-0-2-0) 4pts, 3gp

Wed. 11/16 OTL Worcester SHARKS 2 @ Springfield Falcons 3

Fri. 11/18 OTL Worcester SHARKS 2 @ Manchester Monarchs 3

Sun. 11/20 W Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins 1 @ Worcester SHARKS 3

This week:

Wed. 11/23 Worcester SHARKS @ Manchester Monarchs - 7:00pm

Fri. 11/25 Worcester SHARKS @ Portland Pirates - 7:00pm

Sat. 11/26 Portland Pirates @ Worcester SHARKS - 7:00pm

Rewind the Tape:

11.16.11 - Worcester 2 - Springfield 3 - OTL - Mass Mutual Center

Worcester Sharks rookie Mike Connolly was stopped on a penalty shot in the overtime period before AHL sniper Alexandre Giroux scored on the power play to send the Falcons to a 3-2 victory over the Sharks at the MassMutual Center on Wednesday evening. Sena Acolatse and Matt Irwin each scored on the power play and added an assist for Worcester while Tyson Sexsmith was sharp with 30 saves in goal in the loss.

11.18.11 - Worcester 2 - Manchester 3 - OTL - Verizon Wireless Arena

Matt Irwin continued his mastery on the man advantage with his AHL leading 6th power play goal of the season from the blue line but it was the Monarchs stay at home defenseman Andrew Campbell with his first score of the season with 1:16 left in overtime to lift the Monarchs to a 3-2 victory over the Sharks at the Verizon Wireless Arena on Friday evening. Brandon Mashinter also scored for Worcester and Harri Sateri was excellent with 32 saves in goal in a rough n tough Atlantic Division battle.

11.20.11 - Worcester 3 - Wilkes-Barre / Scranton 1 - W - DCU Center

Benn Ferriero scored twice in the first 7:10 of the first period and Tyson Sexsmith was solid in goal with 34 saves as the Sharks defeated the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins 3-1 at the DCU Center on Sunday afternoon. Brandon Mashinter scored in his second straight game while Mike Connolly and Tommy Wingels each added two assists as the Sharks gave the Penguins their first regulation loss on the road this season (8-1-0-2).

Sharks in the Atlantic: The Sharks are swimming in 5th place with 16 points (6-4-2-2) in the Atlantic Division through 14 games, which is 11 points behind the first place St. John's Ice Caps (18gp), three points behind the 2nd place Manchester Monarchs (19gp), two points behind the 3rd place Providence Bruins (20gp), and one point behind the 4th place Portland Pirates (16gp), to round out a very choppy Atlantic Division.

Coaching Milestones....

*400 WINS!....With the 4-1 victory vs. Springfield on November 1, 2009, head coach Roy Sommer became just the 4th coach in AHL history to reach the 400 win plateau.

*500 WINS!.... Coach Roy Sommer is just 16 wins away from 500 in his AHL coaching career.

*1000 GAMES... With the 3-1 victory at Springfield on January 14, 2011, head coach Roy Sommer became just the 4th coach in AHL history to reach the 1,000 games plateau.

AHL COACHING WINS - ALL-TIME

1. Fred "Bun" Cook 1937-56 19seasons 1,171GP 636 WINS

2. Frank Mathers 1956-85 18seasons 1,256GP 610 WINS

3. John Paddock 1981-2010 16seasons 1,125GP 589 WINS

4. Roy Sommer 1998-current 14seasons 1,054GP 484 WINS

*Worcester Sharks Head Coach Roy Sommer, who plays a major role in developing players for the San Jose Sharks, is currently the longest-tenured coach (14th season) in the American Hockey League. His current regular season record is now: 484-437 -48 -46 -39. (W-L-T-OTL-SOL)

*In Coach Sommer's first AHL victory.... The Kentucky Thoroughblades defeated the Albany River Rats 6-4 at the Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky on October 17th 1998. Coincidentally, Assistant Coach David Cunniff recorded an assist as a member of the River Rats in the hockey game.

*Assistant Coach David Cunniff has joined Coach Sommer in 330 of the 484 victories (68%).

Shark Bites:

*Captains for the 2011-12 season: Mike Moore was named the Sharks 4th captain in team history on Feb 11, 2011 and was named captain again before the start of the 2011-12 season. Alternate captains for this season: veteran forward Ben Guite and forward John McCarthy. Tommy Wingels, Sean Sullivan, and Jimmy Bonneau have also worn the "A" in the absence of an injured Ben Guite and Mike Moore.

*From east to west..... The Worcester Sharks have had 2 players (2 call-ups) receive at least one call up this season to San Jose... Currently; Andrew Desjardins, Justin Braun, Jamie McGinn, Logan Couture, Jason Demers, Joe Pavelski, Marc-Edourd Vlasic, and Doug Murray are all former Worcester Sharks that are currently playing with the San Jose Sharks.

*Games'... The Sharks have played the fewest amount of games in the AHL (14gp), while Manchester has already played 20 games already this season.

*Leaders among us... Mike Connolly ranks 4th in the AHL among rookies with 15 points (5-10-15)... Curt Gogol leads all AHL rookies with 50 penalty minutes followed by Nathan Moon in 2nd with 38... Tyson Sexsmith is 3rd in the AHL with a 1.84GAA... Matt Irwin and Sean Sullivan rank 2nd among AHL defensemen with two game winning goals each... Matt Irwin is 4th in the AHL defensemen scoring race with 13 points (6-7-13), leads the AHL d-men with six goals, and is 1st in power play goals with six.

*Atlantic Road Warriors.... It has been tough going for home teams in the Atlantic Division this season... Atlantic Division teams are a combined 23-22-2-3 on home ice... however, Atlantic Division teams have a combined record of 20-16-4-2 on the road so far this season.

*Movember... currently the entire Worcester Sharks hockey team is growing moustaches for Movember to raise awareness for HP4K and men's health. For more information please click HERE.

*Scoring D... 11 of the Sharks 39 team goals have been scored by defensemen this season, accounting for 28% of the Sharks offense. (Irwin 6, Sullivan 2, Moore 1, Acolatse 2)

*PP Specialist...Matt Irwin's six power-play goals have put him in good position to set some team records, but he is not there yet. The record for most power-play goals in a season by a Sharks defenseman is nine, done by Garrett Stafford in 2006-07. The career record is 16, done by Derek Joslin. Irwin had six last year, so has 12 for his career.

*Mash the Shooter... Brandon Mashinter fired a season high nine shots on goal in Manchester on Nov 18. Mash leads the team with 43 shots through 14 games. (3.07 shots per game)

*Tallest Shark.... Worcester Sharks rookie defenseman Taylor Doherty is the tallest player in team history standing at 6'7" 230lbs.

*Score first... the Sharks have scored FIRST 10 times in 14 games last season (6-1-2-1); Curt Gogol 2,Benn Ferriero 2, Nathan Moon 1, Mike Moore 1, Tommy Wingels 1, John McCarthy 1, Matt Irwin 1, Sena Acolatse 1

*First Pro Goals this season... Curt Gogol (Oct 9 @ PRO vs. Khudobin), James Livingston (Oct15 vs. ALB vs. Frazee), Mike Connolly (Oct15 vs. ALB vs. Frazee), Nathan Moon (Oct 21 @ PRO vs. Khudobin), Sena Acolatse (Nov 1 vs. STJ vs. Pasquale), and Brodie Reid (Nov 5 vs. STJ vs. Pasquale)

*100 AHL goals.... Veteran Ben Guite scored his first goal as a member of the Worcester Sharks in a 6-1 win over the Devils on October 15. The goal turned out to be his 100th AHL goal in his career. Ben also has 19 NHL goals in 175 career NHL games.

*Great first impression... Curt Gogol became just the 5th Sharks player to score in his professional debut joining Joe Pavelski, Nate Raduns, Tony Lucia, and Cam MacIntyre. (Thanks Bill Ballou, Worcester TG)

*We like Providence... Worcester is 9-4-0-1 in their last 14 meetings at the Dunkin Donuts Center.

*Sharks in the Atlantic... the Sharks had a 29-20-4-7 record against Atlantic Division prey last season and are 2-4-1-1 in the division this season.

*Streakers!... Benn Ferriero has a four game point streak (3-3-6) and Brandon Mashinter has a two game point streak (2-0-2).

*Good when leading... the Sharks are 4-1-1-1 when leading after the 1st period of play and 4-0-0-1 when leading after the 2nd period of play this season.

*5 National Champions... The Sharks have five players that have won the NCAA Division 1 Championship.... Mike Connolly was co-captain for Minnesota-Duluth in 2011, John McCarthy was co-captain for Boston University in 2009... Benn Ferriero and Nick Petrecki with Boston College in 2008... and Ben Guite with Maine in 1999.

*Mean Sharks.... Worcester leads the AHL in penalty minutes averaging 21.43 penalty minutes per game.

*2 Men Down.... John McCarthy became just the 2nd Worcester Sharks player to score a shorthanded goal while the Sharks were two men down. JMac scored at 8:32 of the first period in a 3-2 win over Bridgeport on Nov 11. Steve Zalewski had the other 3-on-5 score in Houston on 11/22/08.

*200/300... Worcester Sharks captain Mike Moore became just the 2nd player in Sharks history to hit 200 games and 300 penalty minutes this season joining Riley Armstrong. #8 has played in 203 games for Worcester accumulating 302 penalty minutes.

*Welcome back Frazer... Sharks tough guy Frazer McLaren was assigned to Worcester from SJ on a conditioning stint on Nov 12. #10 ranks 2nd all-time in Worcester Sharks history with 430 penalty minutes (41 FM) in 176 games. Brad Staubitz holds the top stop with 462 pims in 162 games.

*Thanks Ballou... the Worcester Sharks are 4-6-0-0 when they fire 47 or more shots on goal during a game.

*Young Guns... the Sharks have dressed 12 rookies already this season. (Curt Gogol, Nathan Moon, Brodie Reid, James Livingston, Mike Connolly, Taylor Doherty, Tyson Sexsmith, Harri Sateri, Sena Acolatse, Tony Lucia, Marek Viedensky, Brian O'Hanley)

*Super Sunday... the Sharks went 14-4-0-2 on Sunday afternoon games in 2010-11 and are 2-1-0-0 on Sundays this season.

*I'll take a draft... Nine Worcester Sharks players were drafted by the San Jose Sharks. (Braun, Doherty, Lucia, McCarthy, O'Hanley, Petrecki, Sateri, Sexsmith, and Viedensky,)

*NHL Experience.... The Sharks have eight players with NHL experience totaling 343 games led by veteran Ben Guite with 175... breakdown of the rest... John McCarthy 41, Mike Moore 6, Benn Ferriero 63, Matt Pelech 5, Frazer McLaren 32, Brandon Mashinter 13, and Tommy Wingels 8.

*Heard it from Ballou.... The Sharks are 7-1-1-1 in their last nine games when Jamie Koharski is the lone referee.

*Like Father, Like Son... Rookie Curt Gogol leads the Sharks with 50 penalty minutes and four fighting majors through 12 games... his father Brent racked up 892 penalty minutes in 157 professional games in the IHL, CHL, EHL, and the AHL including 380 pims in 1978-79 in 57 games with the Flint Generals.

*Major Bonneau... Worcester Sharks tough guy Jimmy Bonneau has racked up two fighting majors in seven games this season for the Sharks. Jimmy has 72 fighting majors in 202 AHL games along with 569 penalty minutes.

*Five for fighting...The Sharks have 17 fighting majors this season good for 9th in the AHL... Nine different players dropped the mitts this season for the Sharks this season: (Jimmy Bonneau 2, Curt Gogol 4, Nick Petrecki 1, Cam MacIntyre 2, Nathan Moon 2, and Brandon Mashinter 2, Mike Moore 2, Frazer McLaren 1, Sena Acolatse 1)... The Sharks had 81 fighting majors last season, 73 fighting majors in 2009-10, 78 fighting majors in 2008-09, 68 fighting majors in 2007-08 and 54 in 2006-07.

Season by the numbers...

Record: 6-4-2-2, 16 points - 5th in Atlantic

Win percentage: .571% - 15th in AHL

Home Record: 4-4-0-1

Away Record: 2-0-2-1

Attendance: 33,992 through nine games at DCU Center 3,777 average) - 24th in AHL

Goals Scored: 39, 2.79 goals per game, 18th in AHL

Goals Allowed: 36, 2.57 goals against per game, 7th in AHL

Shots per game: 34.29 - 2nd in AHL

Shots allowed per game: 28.36 - 9th in AHL

Score 1st: 6-1-2-1 when scoring first (.750%)

1 goal games: 2-2-2-2 in one goal games

PP: 19.1%, 11th in AHL (13-68)

PK: 85.5%, 6th in AHL (10-69)

SHG - 2 shorthanded goals scored

SHGA - 2 shorthanded goals allowed

PIMS - 21.43 penalty minutes per game, 1st in AHL

Fighting Majors: 17 - 9th in AHL

OT Games - 5 - (1-2 record in OT)

SO Games - 2 - (0-2 record in SO)

Roster Players - the Sharks have used 27 players this season

Goalies - the Sharks have used 2 goaltenders this season

Players receiving call-ups to San Jose - 2 (Braun and Ferriero)

NHL debuts - 0 Worcester players made their NHL debuts this season

Call-ups to San Jose - 2 different call-ups to San Jose this season

Coming and goings from the Shark Tank:

ADD - Brian O'Hanley signed to a PTO on 11/20/11

Top Worcester Sharks:

o Goals Irwin (6)

o Game Winners Matt Irwin and Sean Sullivan (2)

o Assists Connolly (10)

o Points Connolly (5-10-15)

o Power play Points Irwin (6-2-8)

o Shots Mashinter (43 shots)

o PIM Gogol (50)

o Fighting Pen. Gogol (4)

o Plus/Minus Reid (+6)

o Wins Sateri and Sexsmith (3)

o G.A.A. Sexsmith (1.84)

o Save % Sexsmith (.929)

o Shutouts N/A

Sharks in the Pacific:

The San Jose Sharks are 12-5-1 with 25 points through 18 games and currently in first place in the Pacific Division. Former Worcester Sharks playing for San Jose: Joe Pavelski (11-8-19), Logan Couture (7-7-14), Marc-Edouard Vlasic (2-9-11), Torrey Mitchell (2-3-5), Douglas Murray (0-3-3), Andrew Desjardins (2-2-4), Jamie McGinn (2-2-4), Jason Demers (0-2-2), and Justin Braun (0-1-1). Thomas Greiss is 4-3-0 with a 1.99GAA and .929 save %.

Week ahead:

Wed., Nov 23 at 10:30pm vs. Chicago

Sat., Nov 26 at 10:00pm vs. Vancouver

Sharks in the ECHL:

The Stockton Thunder are 7-4-1-2 in 14 games this season with 17 points which is 3 points behind the first place Las Vegas Wranglers (17gp) in the Pacific Division. Worcester Sharks training camp invite, Gabriel Levesque, is 2nd on the Thunder with 11 points (5-6-11) in 11 games and Ian O'Connor with five points (3-2-5) through 11 games to lead the way offensively for the Thunder. Thomas Heemskerk is 5-1-0 with a 2.80GAA and a .903save %.

Week Ahead:

Wed., Nov 23 at 10:00pm vs. Alaska

Fri., Nov 25 at 10:30pm vs. Las Vegas

Sat., Nov. 26 at 10:30pm vs. Las Vegas

Coming Up:

On Wednesday, the Sharks visit the Manchester Monarchs at 7pm.

On Thursday, the Sharks would like to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!

On Friday, the Sharks travel to Portland for a 7pm date with the Pirates to kick-off a home-and home series.

On Saturday, the Sharks host the Portland Pirates on Teddy Bear Toss Night presented by Price Chopper! Please bring a new teddy bear to throw onto the ice after the Sharks score their first goal of the game to be donated in conjunction with "Give Moore for the Holidays"!

Score a family fun pack today for only $74! Four tickets, four hot dogs, and four sodas for a portion of the price! Available only through the Sharks front office for every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday games this season!

Get your holiday shopping done early with a Worcester Sharks Holiday T-Shirt Trio! Ticket to three Sharks games and a Sharks t-shirt starting at $39! Purchase two Holiday T-Shirt Trios and receive a FREE $20 gift card from Big Y and be entered to win a Sharks VIP experience for 4!

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American Hockey League Stories from November 22, 2011


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