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Sharks Ride Three Game Winning Streak into December - Worcester Sharks Weekly

December 2, 2013 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Worcester Sharks News Release


Shark Snap Shot:

The Worcester Sharks (8-8-1-0, 17pts) chomped two out of a possible two points last week with a 3-1 victory at Lewiston, ME on Friday over the Portland Pirates. The Sharks are in the middle of a stretch where they will have played just once over an 11 day span and still have played the fewest amount of games (17) in the AHL.

The Worcester Sharks player of the week nominee is defenseman Rob Davison. The 33-year-old veteran captain recorded his first two points in a Worcester Sharks sweater with two assists, was +2, and blocked several shots in the Sharks only game last week; a 3-1 win over the Portland Pirates on Friday.

Few things to know....

- The Worcester Sharks are currently in 4th place (8-8-1-0, 17pts) in the Atlantic Division and 13th place overall in the Eastern Conference.

- The San Jose Sharks currently have 12 players on their roster that have spent time in Worcester (Couture, Desjardins, Pavelski, Sheppard, Wingels, Braun, Demers, Stalock, Irwin, Vlasic, Pelech, and McCarthy).

- The San Jose Sharks are currently in 1st place in the Pacific Division and 2nd place in the Western Conference with 41 points and an 18-3-5 record. The #SJSharks have currently won five straight games.

- Matt Nieto made his Worcester Sharks season debut on Friday in Lewiston, ME vs. the Pirates and fired three shots and was +1 after appearing in 19 games for the SJ Sharks this season.

- The Worcester Sharks have won three straight games (3-0-0-0), are 5-1-1-0 in their last seven games overall, and are .500 for the first time this season.

- The Worcester Sharks are tied for the AHL lead with four shootout victories (4-0).

- Veteran Bracken Kearns leads the #WorSharks with 14 points (4-10-14) through 17 games. Kearns also leads the club with eight power play points (3-5-8).

- Rookie goaltender Troy Grosenick ranks 2nd among all AHL goaltenders with a 2.03 GAA and is 4-2-0-0 this season.

- Goaltender Harri Sateri is 3-1-0 in his last four starts with an 1.92 GAA and a .920%.

- Despite missing six games due to injury, Daniil Tarasov leads the club with seven goals and 2nd with 12 points (7-5-12) through just 11 games. Tarasov is 3rd in AHL with three game winning goals.

- Adam Comrie leads all Worcester d-men with seven points (1-6-7) in 12 games.

- Worcester Sharks alumni Matt Nieto (Oct 8 vs. NYR) and Matt Pelech (Oct 10 at VAN) each have scored their first career NHL goals for the SJ Sharks this season

- Worcester Sharks alumni Alex Stalock is a perfect 3-0-0 with the San Jose Sharks this season with a 1.41GAA and a .952 save %.

- Coach Roy Sommer currently ranks 4th in the AHL with 548 wins in his career (16th season) and 2nd in games coached in the AHL with 1209.

- The Sharks will play three games in three days this weekend!

o Friday at 7:30pm the Sharks host the Portland Pirates with $2 hot dogs, popcorn, and soda all night long and tickets for college students just $9!

o Saturday at 7pm the Shark host the Providence Bruins! The first 3,000 fans will receive a Jimmy Bonneau BobbleFist Doll courtesy of Enterprise Cleaning!

o Sunday at 3pm the Sharks travel to Manchester, NH to battle the Monarchs.

Top 3... Last Week!

1. Rob Davison recorded two assists and blocked several shots in the Sharks 3-1 win over the Pirates on Friday!

2. Harri Sateri made 25 saves in his 4th win of the season in 3-1 win over the Pirates on Friday!

3. James Livingston scored his 1st game winning goal of the season (3rd goal of year) in the Sharks 3-1 win!

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

Fri. 11/29 W Worcester SHARKS 3 @ Portland Pirates 1

This week:

Fri. 12/6 Portland Pirates @ Worcester SHARKS - 7:30pm

Sat. 12/7 Providence Bruins @ Worcester SHARKS - 7pm

Sun. 12/8 Worcester SHARKS @ Manchester Monarchs - 3pm

Rewind the Tape:

11.29.13 - Portland 1 - Worcester 3 - W - Androscoggin Bank Colisee

The Worcester Sharks (8-8-1-0, 17pts) won for a season high third straight game with a 3-1 win over the Portland Pirates (7-7-1-2, 17pts) at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee on Black Friday. With the win, the Sharks improved to .500 for the first time this season and do not play again until next Friday at home vs. the Portland Pirates. Bracken Kearns and James Livingston scored in the second period while Harri Sateri was sharp with 25 saves in net. Freddie Hamilton sealed it with an empty net goal as Worcester recorded a three game win streak for the first time since the Sharks won three in a row on Dec 28-31st of 2012.

Sharks in the Atlantic:

The Sharks (8-8-1-0, 15pts in 16gp) are currently in 4th place in the Atlantic Division; which is 17 points behind the 1st place Monarchs (34pts in 23gp), eight points behind the 2nd place Bruins (25pts in 21gp), eight points behind the 3rd place IceCaps (25pts in 23gp), and percentage points ahead of the 5th place Pirates (17pts in 18gp) to round out a very choppy Atlantic Division.

Coaching Milestones....

*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.

*1200 GAMES... With the 5-1 loss in Lewiston, ME vs. the Pirates on November 8, 2013, head coach Roy Sommer became just the 2nd coach in AHL history to reach the 1,200 games plateau.

*500 WINS!.... With a 3-2 shootout victory in Hershey on February 11, 2012, head coach Roy Sommer became just the 4th coach in AHL history to reach the 500 win 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 16seasons 1,209GP 548 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 (16th season) in the American Hockey League. His current regular season record is now: 548-478-49-52-52. (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, Associate Coach David Cunniff recorded an assist as a member of the River Rats in the hockey game.

*Associate Coach David Cunniff has joined Coach Sommer in 393 of the 548 victories (72%).

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

Shark Bites:

*Captains for the 2013-14 season: Rob Davison was named the Sharks 6th captain in team history on October 12, 2013. Alternate captains for this season: Bracken Kearns and Jimmy Bonneau. - Brodie Reid and Marek Viedensky have also worn the A this season.

*From east to west..... The Worcester Sharks have already had four players (6 call-ups) receive at least one call up to the San Jose Sharks already this season. (Pelech, McCarthy, Kearns, and Hamilton)

*Breaking down October... The Sharks went 2-3-0-0 (4pts in 5gp) record in October with 12 GF and 14 GA. PP was 5-27 (18.5%); opponents PP was 2-for-22 (9.0%), and the Sharks had 10 fighting majors in October.

*Breaking down November... The Sharks went 6-5-1-0 (13pts in 12gp) record in November with 26 GF and 35 GA. PP went 7-for-51 (13.7%); opponents PP went 11-for-60 (18.3%), and the Sharks had 18 fighting majors in November.

*Welcome Back... Dan DaSilva returned to the Worcester Sharks on Nov 20 after leading the ECHL with 26 points (7-19-26) in just 14 games for the Ontario Reign and was recently named the ECHL Player of the Week for Nov 11-17. DaSilva currently ranks 9th all-time in Worcester Sharks history with 108 points (43-65-108) in 182 games for Team Teal and is the franchise leader in playoff points with 18 (5-13-18) in 23 Calder Cup playoff games. A member of the original Crazed Rats Line with John McCarthy and Andrew Desjardins; DaSilva had his best professional season with the Sharks in 2010-11 as he set career highs in points (53), goals (21), assists (32), and was +23 as the Sharks won the regular season Atlantic Division title with a 49-25-0-6 record.

*Tough scoring goals... the Sharks have scored just 38 goals this season (2.24 per game - 29th in AHL) through 17 games. Worcester has scored 12 goals on the PP, 2 shorthanded, 2 empty netters, 4 team shootout goals, and just 18 goals when at even strength this season... the Sharks have yet to score four goals in a game this season.

*Shooting %... the Sharks as a team have a 6.4% shooting percentage which is 30th in the AHL.

*However... Daniil Tarasov is tied for 3rd in the AHL with a 29.2 shooting %. Tarasov has seven goals on 24 shots!

*Firsts last week... Rob Davison picked up his 1st points (2 assists) as a member of the Worcester Sharks last week and Riley Brace picked up their first professional fighting major last week.

*5 goals / 5 points... despite just scoring five goals in regulation play in three games at St. John's Nov 13-16, the Worcester Sharks were still able to take five points in three games (2-0-1-0) in St. John's on Nov 12, 15, and 16.

*12 goals / 11 points... the Sharks have scored just 12 goals in their last seven games (1.71 per game) but have a 5-1-1-0 record during that span which includes four shootout victories.

*Strange but true... the Sharks have more fighting majors (14) than goals (8) in the first period and tied in the 2nd period (11 FM / 11 goals).

*Thanks Ballou... despite being 4-0 in the shootout this season, the Sharks are just 25W-43L overall.

*OT... the Sharks were the last team to play an overtime game in the AHL in their 3-2 OTL at St. John's on Nov 13. However, the Sharks have now played five of their last seven games past regulation (OTL, SOW, SOW, L, SOW, SOW, W).

*Shootout Success... the Sharks are 4-0 in the shootout this season with a 45% scoring percentage (5th) and an 82.6% saves percentage (6th).

*Shootout Game Winners... Brodie Reid (2) is tied for the AHL lead with two shootout game winners while Sena Acolatse (1) is tied for the AHL lead in shootout winners among defensemen.

*Dirty Harri... goaltender Harri Sateri was brilliant in St. John's on Nov 15 and 16 posting back-to-back shootout wins. Sateri allowed just three goals on 54 shots (.944%) and went 11-14 in the shootout (78.5%).... Harri is 3-1-0 in his last four starts with an 1.92 GAA and a .920%.

*Home shutout... the 27 save shutout by Troy Grosenick on Nov 2 vs. the St. John's IceCaps at the DCU Center was the 1st shutout on home ice for the Sharks in almost a year. Alex Stalock had the last shutout on Nov 4, 2012 vs. the Manchester Monarchs in a 1-0SOW. Coincidentally, Stalock also made 27 saves in the victory.

*Score first... the Sharks have scored FIRST just 6 times in 17 games this season (4-1-1-0) - Freddie Hamilton 1, Daniil Tarasov 2, Rylan Schwartz 1, Brodie Reid 1, Bracken Kearns 1.

*GWG.... Despite only playing in 11 games due to injury, Daniil Tarasov is 3rd in the AHL with thee game winning goals.

*Just like in college.... Sharks rookie forward Eriah Hayes led the NCAA last season with 186 shots on goal with Minnesota State - Mankato... Hayes is 2nd on the the Sharks with 41 shots on goal through 17 games this season.

*Streakers... the Sharks have won three straight games.... the Sharks have won four straight games that have gone to the shootout... the Sharks have outshot their opponents in five straight games... the Sharks have not allowed a power play goal in four straight games (7-7)... and Bracken Kearns has a two game point streak (1-2-3).

*Pro Debuts: Konrad Abeltshauser (Oct 12 at SPR) and Troy Grosenick (Oct 20 vs. WBS).

*3-for-3!...veteran defenseman Rob Davison became the second player (Jonathan Cheechoo is the other) to play for the SJ Sharks AHL affiliate in three different cities after his game for Worcester on Oct 12 at Springfield. Davison played 72 games for the Kentucky Thoroughblades in 2000-01 and 112 games for the Cleveland Barons in 2001-03!

*3 National Champions... The Sharks have three players that have won the NCAA Division 1 Championship.... Travis Oleksuk with University Minnesota Duluth in 2011... John McCarthy was co-captain for Boston University in 2009... and Nick Petrecki with Boston College in 2008.

*Memorial Cup... rookie defenseman Konrad Abeltshauser won the Memorial Cup in 2013 with the Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL) and was named to the 2013 Memorial Cup All-Star Team.

*Young Guns... the Sharks have dressed six rookies already this season. (Troy Grosenick, Konrad Abeltshauser, Eriah Hayes, Rylan Schwartz, Riley Brace, and Dylan Demelo)

*Tallest Shark.... Worcester Sharks rookie defenseman Taylor Doherty is the tallest player in team history standing at 6'7" 235lbs.... Doherty scored his first professional goal in game #70 and added an assist in the Sharks 3-2OTL to the IceCaps on Nov 3, 2012. Doherty has two goals in 122 games with the Worcester Sharks.... Doherty leads Worcester with 56 penalty minutes, 2nd with four fighting majors, and a +1 rating.

*Four straight seasons with 20?.... Forward Bracken Kearns scored his 21 goals last season and hit the 20 goal plateau for the third straight season having scored 20 and 22 goals the previous two seasons with San Antonio.... Bracken has four goals and 10 assists in 17 games this season.

*First Pro Goals this season... still waiting!

*Sharks in the Atlantic... Worcester went 19-14-3-4 in the Atlantic Division in 2012-13 and are 6-5-1-0 vs. the Atlantic this season.

*Massachusetts!... the Sharks have one player that hails from Massachusetts that suited up for the team this season (John McCarthy - Andover) In addition, associate coach David Cunniff hails from South Boston.

*Hockey East Alumni!... the Worcester Sharks had four players from Hockey East Schools; (McCarthy - BU, Reid - NU, Petrecki - BC, Stalberg - Vermont)

*I'll take a draft... Nine Worcester Sharks players were drafted by the San Jose Sharks. (Abeltshauser, Davison, Hamilton, Doherty, McCarthy, Nieto, Petrecki, Sateri, and Viedensky)

*NHL Experience.... The Sharks have seven players on their roster with NHL experience led by Rob Davison with 219.... Breaking down the rest....John McCarthy 67, Matt Pelech 13, Bracken Kearns 7, Matt Tennyson 4, Freddie Hamilton 4, and Nick Petrecki 1.

*Keeping your hat on (Thanks Ballou)... Worcester had gone 263 games without one of its players recording a hat trick before Daniil Tarasov scored three goals in Springfield on Oct 26. That was easily the longest active streak in the AHL. The Sharks' last hat trick had belongs to Dan DaSilva, who scored three times in Manchester during a 5-2 Worcester victory in Manchester on Feb. 14, 2010. No Worcester player has recorded a hat trick on home ice in more than three years, or since P.J. Fenton had one on Feb. 28, 2009 in the Sharks' 7-3 victory over Springfield. The home-ice drought has lasted for 173 games. In all, Worcester players have recorded hat tricks only eight times in the franchise's 557 games. The Sharks are 8-0 in those games and 1-11-3 in the 15 games in which the opposition has had a hat trick.

* Brothers... Sebastian Stalberg is the younger brother of Viktor Stalberg, who currently plays with the Nashville Predators.... Freddie Hamilton is the older brother of Dougie Hamilton, who currently plays with the Boston Bruins.... Rylan Schwartz is the younger brother of Jayden Schwartz, who currently plays for the St. Louis Blues.

*Franchise Player... Sharks defensemen Nick Petrecki is 2nd in Sharks history with 251 games played (Mike Moore had 253)... Nick also ranks 2nd in penalty minutes with 489 (Frazer McLaren had 577).... Nick made his NHL debut in San Jose's 3-2SOW over the Anaheim Ducks on 1/29/13 and played 11:58... the 216 games before his first NHL game was the most of any Worcester Sharks graduate to San Jose.

*200/50.... John McCarthy played in his 200th game for the Sharks on Jan 26, 2013... J-Mac scored his 50th goal as a member of the Worcester Sharks joining Riley Armstrong, Mike Iggulden, Graham Mink, and Brandon Mashinter as the only five players to score 50+ goals as a member of the Worcester Sharks... JMac is currently on recall with the San Jose Sharks and has played 15 games (0-0-0).

*Like Father, Like Son... Rookie Curt Gogol finished 2nd on the Sharks with 139 penalty minutes in just 38 games in 2012-13... 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.... Gogol has 4 fighting majors, 2 goals, and 48 penalty minutes in 15 games this season.

*Piling up the PIMS with Pelech... Forward/Defenseman Matt Pelech played in his 300th AHL game on Oct 20, 2012 vs. the Devils. The 6-foot-4 bruising defenseman turned forward from Toronto, ONT has accumulated 1,034 penalty minutes and 81 fighting majors in 359 AHL games. "Pelly" led the Sharks with 238 penalty minutes last season in 58 games. #23 is only the 2nd player in Worcester Sharks history to hit the 200 pim plateau (Evans 211 in 2007-08). Matt led the Worcester Sharks with 17 fighting majors and had one fighting major (Jared Boll) in two games last year with the SJ Sharks in 2012-13... Pelech has 22 penalty minutes and his 1st NHL goal in five games with San Jose this season.... With his two game suspension this season by the AHL, Pelech has missed 19 games due to suspension in the last 25 months with the Worcester Sharks.

*Major Bonneau... Worcester Sharks tough guy Jimmy Bonneau has racked up 38 fighting majors in 87 games for the Worcester Sharks. Bonneau has set the Worcester Sharks record for most fighting majors in a season in 2011-12 with 22, surpassing Frazer McLaren (21 in 2008-09). Jimmy has 109 fighting majors in 279 AHL games along with 828 penalty minutes.... Jimmy has 5 fighting major and 33 penalty minutes through 7 games this season.

*Five for fighting... The Sharks have 28 fighting majors through 17 games and rank 5th in the AHL (Kearns 3, Bonneau 5, Davison 3, Gogol 4, Doherty 4, Pelech 4, Tarasov 2, Hayes 1, Demelo 1, and Brace 1). The Sharks had 84 fighting majors in 2012-13, 120 fighting majors in 2011-12 (1st in AHL), 81 fighting majors in 2010-11, 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: 8-8-1-0, 17 points - 4th in Atlantic

Win percentage: .500% - 20th in AHL

Home Record: 4-5-0-0

Away Record: 4-3-1-0

Attendance: 28,439 through nine games this season - 3,160 average - 26th in AHL

Goals Scored: 38, 2.24 goals per game, 29th in AHL

Goals Allowed: 49, 2.88 goals against per game, 17th in AHL

Shots per game: 31.35 - 8th in AHL

Shots allowed per game: 25.65 - 3rd in AHL

Score 1st: 4-1-1-0 when scoring first (.750%)

1 goal games: 5-3-1-0 in one goal games

PP: 15.2%, 21st in AHL (12-79)

PK: 84.1%, 11th in AHL (13-82)

SHG - 2 shorthanded goals scored

SHGA - 3 shorthanded goals allowed

PIMS - 25.00 penalty minutes per game, 4th in AHL

Fighting Majors: 28 - 5th in AHL

OT Games - 5 - (0-1 record in OT)

SO Games - 4 - (4-0 record in SO)

Roster Players - the Sharks have used 24 players this season

Goalies - the Sharks have used 2 goaltenders this season

Players receiving call-ups to San Jose - 4

NHL debuts - 1 Worcester Sharks alumni making their NHL debuts this season

Call-ups to San Jose - 6 different call-ups to San Jose this season

Coming and goings from the Shark Tank:

Date Player Team Transaction

11/25/2013 Matt Nieto (LW) Worcester ADD Returned on loan from San Jose (NHL)

11/25/2013 Matt Pelech (RW) Worcester DEL Recalled from loan by San Jose (NHL)

Top Worcester Sharks:

o Goals Tarasov (7)

o Game Winners Tarasov (3)

o Assists Kearns (10)

o Points Kearns (4-10-14)

o Power play Points Kearns (3-5-8)

o Shots Reid (44)

o PIM Doherty (54)

o Fighting Pen. Bonneau (5)

o Plus/Minus Doherty and Tarasov (+1)

o Wins Grosenick (4)

o G.A.A. Grosenick (2.03)

o Save % Grosenick (.920)

o Shutouts Grosenick (1)

Sharks in the ECHL:

The San Francisco Bulls are 6-12-1-1, 14pts through 20 games this season which is good for 3rd place in the Pacific Division.

Sharks players under an AHL contract currently playing in San Francisco include:

Forward Chris Crane (4-5-9) in 20gp

Defenseman Kyle Bigos (2-4-6) in 20gp

Goaltender JP Anderson - 1-6-0, 2.79 .899%

Forward Ryan McDonough (0-1-1) in 8gp

Defenseman Steve Tarasuk (0-2-2) in 18gp

Week ahead for the Bulls:

Fri. Dec 6 at 10pm (EST) at Ontario

Sat. Dec 7 at 9pm (EST) at Ontario

Sun. Dec 8 at 5:05pm at Las Vegas

Sharks in the NHL:

The San Jose Sharks are currently in 1st place in the Pacific Division and 2nd place in the Western Conference with 35 points and a 18-3-5 record.

Worcester Sharks alumni include: Logan Couture, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Tommy Wingels, Jason Demers, Matt Pelech, Matt Irwin, Andrew Desjardins, Justin Braun, James Sheppard, John McCarthy, and Alex Stalock.

Week ahead for the SJ Sharks;

Tue. Dec 3 at 7pm (EST) at Toronto

Thu. Dec 5 at 7pm (EST) at Pittsburgh

Fri. Dec 6 at 7pm (EST) at Carolina

Sun. Dec 8 at 6pm (EST) at Minnesota

Coming Up for the Worcester Sharks:

The Sharks look to build on their three game winning streak as they embark on another 3-in-3 weekend which includes two action packed games at the renovated DCU Center in Worcester!

On Friday, Dec 6, the Sharks host the Portland Pirates at 7:30pm at the newly renovated DCU Center. $2 hot dogs, popcorn, and soda all night long and tickets for college students just $9!

On Saturday, Dec 7, arrive early as the Sharks host the Providence Bruins at 7pm. The first 3,000 fans will receive a Jimmy Bonneau BobbleFist Doll courtesy of Enterprise Cleaning!

On Sunday, Dec 8, the Sharks wrap up the weekend with a 3pm start in Manchester, NH vs. the Monarchs!

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