These Sharks Have Teeth - Worcester Sharks Weekly

Published on December 13, 2011 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Worcester Sharks News Release


Shark Snap Shot:

The Worcester Sharks chomped four out of a possible four points in two rock'em - sock'em games in St. John's last week. The Sharks scored three unanswered goals for a come-from-behind 4-3 win in St. John's on Friday followed by an even more thrilling 5-3 come-from-behind victory on Sunday behind four unanswered third period goals. The Worcester Sharks player of the week nominee is forward Tommy Wingels; as he scored three goals (all in the third period, and two were game winners), added an assist, fired nine shots, and was +5, in two games last week. The Sharks have points in five straight games (4-0-0-1) and continue their season long seven game road trip with four games this week; Tuesday at Springfield, Friday at Albany, Saturday at Binghamton, and Sunday at Manchester.

Top 3... Last Week!

#1 Tommy Wingels scores two third period goals, including the game winning goal for the 2nd straight game and was the #1 star in a 5-3 win at St. John's on Sunday!

#2 Benn Ferriero scores two goals, adds assist, +3, and is #1 star in 4-3 win at St. John's on Friday!

#3 John McCarthy has a five point weekend (1-4-5) in two victories in St. John's!

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

Fri. 12/9 W Worcester SHARKS 4 @ St. John's Ice Caps 3

Sun. 12/11 W Worcester SHARKS 5 @ St. John's Ice Caps 3

This week:

Tue. 12/13 Worcester SHARKS @ Springfield Falcons - 6pm

Fri. 12/16 Worcester SHARKS @ Albany Devils - 7pm

Sat. 12/17 Worcester SHARKS @ Binghamton Senators - 7:05pm

Sun. 12/18 Worcester SHARKS @ Manchester Monarchs - 3:00pm

Rewind the Tape:

12.9.11 - Worcester 4 - St. John's 3 - W - Mile One Centre Tommy Wingels scored late in the third period to complete a two goal deficit comeback to stun the first place St. John's IceCaps by the count of 4-3 at the Mile One Centre on Friday evening. The top line of Benn Ferriero, John McCarthy, and Tommy Wingels combined for eight points and Tony Lucia scored in his second straight game for the Sharks. Tyson Sexsmith made a game saver stop with 25 seconds remaining in the contest to seal his 5th victory of the season. The Sharks improved to 3-0-0-1 on their season long seven game road trip.

12.11.11 - Worcester 5 - St. John's 3 - W - Mile One Centre Tommy Wingels scored twice in a wild third period comeback for the Sharks in a 5-3 victory over the first place St. John's IceCaps at the Mile One Centre on Sunday afternoon. The Sharks improved to 2-0-0-1 on their season long seven game road trip after sweeping the IceCaps in back-to-back games in St. John's. John McCarthy, Ben Guite, and Marek Viedenski also scored for Worcester while Harri Sateri picked up his 5th win with 24 saves in goal. Tony Lucia extended his point streak to five games (2-3-5) with an assist on the game winning goal late in the third period in a game that featured five fights and 70 penalty minutes.

Sharks in the Atlantic: The Sharks are swimming in 4th place with 26 points (10-6-3-3) in the Atlantic Division through 22 games, which is eight points behind the first place St. John's Ice Caps (26gp) and Manchester Monarchs (28gp). The Sharks are one point behind the 3rd place Portland Pirates (27 points in 25gp) and three points ahead of the 5th place Providence Bruins (28gp), 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 12 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 1,062GP 488 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: 488-439 -49 -46 -40. (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 334 of the 486 victories (68%).

ECHL... Coach Sommer also has 176 wins in the ECHL coaching in five seasons with Roanoke Valley and Richmond.

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, Jimmy Bonneau, and Benn Ferriero 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 4 players (5 call-ups) receive at least one call up this season to San Jose... Currently; Matt Irwin, Andrew Desjardins, Frazer McLaren, 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 (22gp), while Providence and Manchester has already played 28 games already this season.

Breaking down December... the Sharks are 4-0-0-1 (9 points in 5gp) in December with 16GF and 12GA. PP is 3-for-20, opponents PP is 4-for-15. Worcester has 13 fighting majors in the month.

Long time for Lucia... forward Tony Lucia scored his first goal of the season in Manchester on December 4. It was Tony's first goal since his first professional goal on March 27, 2010 in Norfolk. Lucia currently has a five game point streak (2-3-5).

New line? The line of Tony Lucia, Ryan Del Monte, and James Livingston had a wicked good weekend on Dec 2-4. In three games, the line scored three of the Sharks seven goals and fired a combined 23 shots on goal. Ryan Del Monte had the game winner on Dec 3 vs. the Senators and Tony Lucia forced overtime with a third period strike in Manchester on Dec 4.

Worcester/Manchester Rivalry... the Sharks and Monarchs have already slugged it out through five of 12 games this season. The two teams have combined for 271 penalty minutes in the five games (124 WOR, 147 MCH) and 11 sets of fighting major penalties. Worcester is 1-2-1-1 vs. Manchester this season.

6 Regulation losses... Worcester has the 2nd fewest regulation losses in the AHL with 6, and the fewest in the entire Eastern Conference. Houston has only 4 regulation losses in the Western Conference.

Just saying... if the Sharks WIN all of their game in hand games (4) over the first place St. John's IceCaps... Worcester would be in first place in the Atlantic Division and the entire Eastern Conference with 34 points... just saying!

Road Warriors... the Sharks have taken a point in 9-of-10 road games this season (4-1-3-2) and currently 2-0-0-1 on their season long seven game road trip.

Behind in December? ... No problem!... In the 3-in-3 weekend on 12/2-12/5/11 the Worcester Sharks went 2-0-0-1 despite leading for only 4:13 in the entire three games! In their next two games in St. John's on Dec 9 and 11, Worcester outscored the IceCaps 5-0 in the third period for a pair of come-from-behind victories!

Streakers!.... Tony Lucia has a five game point streak for Worcester (2-3-5)... John McCarthy (1-4-5), Tommy Wingels (3-1-4), and Benn Ferriero (2-2-4) all have a two game point streak. Worcester has a point in five straight games (4-0-0-1).

3rd period success!... the Sharks are outscoring their opponents 27-17 in the third period this season (+10).

Leaders among us... Curt Gogol is 3rd among AHL rookies with 62 penalty minutes and 3rd with 6 fighting majors...Tyson Sexsmith is 4th in the AHL with a 1.90GAA...Matt Irwin is 5th in the AHL defensemen scoring race with 16 points (7-9-16), 2nd in among AHL d-men with seven goals, 1st in power play goals with six, and 1st in shots with 81.

OT Penalty Shot... On November 16, Springfield goaltender Manny Legace faced Worcester forward Mike Connolly on a penalty shot 52 seconds into overtime and saved both the attempt and the game, as just over a minute later the Falcons won, 3-2, on a goal by Alexandre Giroux. Since the 1992-93 season, there have been 27 penalty shots taken in overtime of an AHL game (including four in the playoffs); goalies have stopped 25 of them.

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.

Tallest Shark.... Worcester Sharks rookie defenseman Taylor Doherty is the tallest player in team history standing at 6'7" 230lbs. Taylor is tied with Brodie Reid with a +7 rating for the best mark on the club.

Score first... the Sharks have scored FIRST 12 times in 22 games last season (8-1-2-1); Curt Gogol 2,Benn Ferriero 3, Nathan Moon 1, Mike Moore 1, Tommy Wingels 1, John McCarthy 2, 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), Brodie Reid (Nov 5 vs. STJ vs. Pasquale), and Marek Viedenski (Dec 11 at STJ vs. empty net)

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)

Sharks in the Atlantic... the Sharks had a 29-20-4-7 record against Atlantic Division prey last season and are 4-6-2-2 in the division this season.

Good when leading... the Sharks are 5-1-1-1 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.

These Sharks have teeth!.... Worcester is 3rd in the AHL in penalty minutes averaging 21.41 penalty minutes per game and are 1st with 36 fighting major penalties.

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... Moore has missed the last 11 games due to injury.

Sherriff McLaren... Sharks tough guy Frazer McLaren was called up to San Jose on November 26 after a conditioning assignment in Worcester. #10 ranks 2nd all-time in Worcester Sharks history with 435 penalty minutes (42 FM) in 178 games. Brad Staubitz holds the top stop with 462 pims in 162 games.

Thanks Ballou... the Worcester Sharks are 4-6-1-0 when they fire 47 or more shots on goal during a game.

Massachusetts!... the Sharks have four players born from Massachusetts (John McCarthy - Andover, Benn Ferriero - Essex, Sean Sullivan - Braintree, and Brian O'Hanley - Quincy) In addition, assistant coach David Cunniff hails from South Boston.

Hockey East Alumni!... the Worcester Sharks have eight players currently from Hockey East Schools (Irwin - UMass-Amherst, Ferriero - BC, McCarthy - BU, Sullivan - BU, Reid - NU, O'Hanley - BC, Guite - UMaine, Petrecki - BC)

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 3-1-0-1 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 six players with NHL experience totaling 311 games led by veteran Ben Guite with 175... breakdown of the rest... John McCarthy 41, Mike Moore 6, Benn Ferriero 63, Matt Pelech 5, Brandon Mashinter 13, and Tommy Wingels 8.

Like Father, Like Son... Rookie Curt Gogol leads the Sharks with 62 penalty minutes and six fighting majors through 19 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 six fighting majors in 13 games this season for the Sharks. Jimmy has 76 fighting majors in 208 AHL games along with 595 penalty minutes.

Acolatse can throw... Worcester Sharks rookie defenseman Sena Acolatse has been quite impressive in his first three professional hockey fights this season. The 5-11, 205 pounder and native of Hayward, CA native has dropped Richard Clune, Brett Hextall, and Dane Byers so far this season. Sena led the Prince George Cougars in WHL with 15 fighting majors in 66 games last year, and also added 15 goals.

Five for fighting...The Sharks have 36 fighting majors this season good for 1st in the AHL... 13 different players dropped the mitts this season for the Sharks this season: (Jimmy Bonneau 6, Curt Gogol 6, Nick Petrecki 1, Cam MacIntyre 4, Nathan Moon 4, Brandon Mashinter 2, Mike Moore 2, Frazer McLaren 2, Sena Acolatse 3, Taylor Doherty 1, Matt Pelech 3, Tommy Wingels 1, and Ryan Del Monte 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: 10-6-3-3, 26 points - 4th in Atlantic

Win percentage: .591% - 14th in AHL

Home Record: 6-5-0-1

Away Record: 4-1-3-2

Attendance: 45,404 through 12 games at DCU Center 3,784average) - 24th in AHL

Goals Scored: 60, 2.73 goals per game, 20th in AHL

Goals Allowed: 57, 2.59 goals against per game, 4th in AHL

Shots per game: 35.36 - 2nd in AHL

Shots allowed per game: 27.68 - 6th in AHL

Score 1st: 8-1-2-1 when scoring first (.792%)

1 goal games: 5-3-3-3 in one goal games

PP: 16.2%, 22nd in AHL (17-105)

PK: 81.8%, 19th in AHL (18-99)

SHG - 2 shorthanded goals scored

SHGA - 2 shorthanded goals allowed

PIMS - 21.41 penalty minutes per game, 3rd in AHL

Fighting Majors: 36 - 1st in AHL

OT Games - 8 - (2-3 record in OT)

SO Games - 3 - (0-3 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 - 4 (Braun, Ferriero, McLaren, Irwin)

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

Call-ups to San Jose - 5 different call-ups to San Jose this season

Coming and goings from the Shark Tank:

DELETE - Matt Irwin recalled from Worcester to San Jose on Dec 11

ADD - Antero Niittymaki sent to Worcester from San Jose on a conditioning loan on Dec 12

Top Worcester Sharks:

o Goals Ferriero (8)

o Game Winners Irwin (3)

o Assists McCarthy (12)

o Points Ferriero (8-9-17)

o Power play Points Irwin (6-4-10)

o Shots Irwin (81 shots)

o PIM Gogol (62)

o Fighting Pen. Bonneau and Gogol (6)

o Plus/Minus Doherty and Reid (+7)

o Wins Sateri and Sexsmith (5)

o G.A.A. Sexsmith (1.90)

o Save % Sexsmith (.931)

o Shutouts N/A

Sharks in the Pacific:

The San Jose Sharks are 15-10-2 with 32 points through 27 games and currently in 3rd place in the Pacific Division; which is one point behind Dallas (28gp) and Phoenix (29gp). Former Worcester Sharks playing for San Jose: Joe Pavelski (12-9-21), Logan Couture (11-9-20), Marc-Edouard Vlasic (2-10-12), Torrey Mitchell (3-3-6), Douglas Murray (0-3-3), Andrew Desjardins (2-4-6), Jamie McGinn (6-3-9), Jason Demers (1-4-5), Justin Braun (1-2-3), and Frazer McLaren (0-0-0). Thomas Greiss is 4-4-0 with a 2.37GAA and .918 save %.

Week ahead:

Tue., Dec 13 at 9:00pm at Colorado

Thu., Dec 15 at 10:30pm vs. Colorado

Sat., Dec 17 at 10:00pm vs. Edmonton

Sharks in the ECHL:

The Stockton Thunder are 12-9-1-2 in 24 games this season with 27 points which is 5 points behind the first place Las Vegas Wranglers (25gp) in the Pacific Division. Thomas Heemskerk is 8-3-0 with a 3.07 GAA and a .899 save %.

Week Ahead:

Fri., Dec 16 at 10:30pm vs. Idaho

Sat., Dec 17 at 10:30pm vs. Idaho

Coming Up:

Worcester's season long seven game road trip continues with four games this week!

On Tuesday, the Sharks travel to the Mass Mutual Center for a 6pm date with the Springfield Falcons!

On Friday, the Sharks battle the Devils in Albany at 7pm!

On Saturday, the Sharks travel to Binghamton for a 7:05pm faceoff with the Senators!

On Sunday, the Sharks conclude their season long seven game road trip in Manchester at 3pm!

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!

Enjoy a Worcester sharks Experience Pack! The Sharks are offering groups to partake in a Sharks hockey experience with many interactive activities; including friends and family skates on the DCU Center ice before or after a game, the high FIN tunnel (high-fiving players as they take the ice), singing the National Anthem, intermission performances, and more.

Marina Riva, Jonathan Forsberg, Jason Jones, Chris Curtis, and Kristyn Galante are ready to take your orders and answer your questions today! Jump in today and save up to 35% off box office prices! Some of the exclusive benefits for full season ticket holders will include:

Guaranteed same seat for all 38 home dates and playoff home games at the DCU Center

Priority access to purchase tickets to other DCU Center events (subject to availability)

Seven FREE friends and family vouchers

Exclusive events with Sharks players

Merchandise discounts and much, much, more!

Season ticket packages and group tickets for the 2011-12 season are on sale now by 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.

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



American Hockey League Stories from December 13, 2011


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central