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Playoff Push Carries on for Sharks - Worcester Sharks Weekly

March 24, 2015 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Worcester Sharks News Release


Shark Snap Shot: The Worcester Sharks (34-23-4-2, 74pts) chomped four out of a possible six points in three home games last week. The Sharks began their three game home stand with a 3-2 loss to the Bears on Wednesday but bounced back in a 3-1 victory over the IceCaps on Friday. Worcester closed out the week with an impressive 6-1 win over the Phantoms on Saturday to close out the week with a 2-1-0-0 record.

Worcester sits in 4th place in the Atlantic Division with 74 points (34-23-4-2) and 9th overall in the Eastern Conference. The Sharks are 24-11-2-2 in their last 39 games and now just one point behind the 8th place Springfield Falcons for the final playoff spot in the East - Worcester has three games in hand. The Sharks have 13 games remaining (5 home, 8 away) on their regular season schedule which included two games this weekend vs. the Falcons! Click HERE for the AHL Primer courtesy of www.theahl.com.

Highlights from the week include John McCarthy surpassing Dan DaSilva (60 goals) for the most goals in franchise history as J-Mac scored his 61st career goal vs. Lehigh Valley on Saturday. Captain Bryan Lerg has been on fire has he scored five goals in three games last week to earn himself the CCM/AHL Player of the Week honors. Rylan Schwartz has goals in back-to-back games while Daniel Ciampini scored his first professional goal and added an assist on Saturday vs. the Phantoms. Aaron Dell stopped 52 of 54 (.962 save %) shots he saw on back-to-back wins on Friday and Saturday while Jimmy Bonneau picked up a pair of assists on Saturday for his first multipoint game of the season. Gus Young and Taylor Fedun each finished +5 in three games last week and head coach Roy Sommer picked up his 610th AHL win on Saturday to tie Frank Mathers for 2nd all-time in AHL history.

The AHL announced on Jan 30 that the Worcester Sharks are to move to San Jose, CA after the season and join a new Pacific Division for the 2015-16 season. More information can be found by clicking HERE.

TRANSACTIONS: Derek DeBlois was released from his PTO on March 18 and was returned to South Carolina (ECHL). Daniel Ciampini (Union) signed an AHL contract with Worcester on March 18th and played three games for Worcester (1-1-2). Vincent Arseneau was loaned to Allen (ECHL) on March 23.

The Worcester Sharks player of the week nominee is forward Bryan Lerg. The 29-year-old from Livonia, Michigan recorded five points (5-0-5) was +4, had two game winning goals, and fired 10 shots in three games to lead the way offensively for Worcester.

COMING UP:

The Worcester Sharks have a BIG 3-in-3 weekend as the push towards a Calder Cup playoff spot continues!

On Friday, the Sharks head to Springfield to battle the 8th seeded Falcons at 7pm.

On Saturday, the Sharks host the St. John's IceCaps at 7pm on Worcester Hockey Alumni Night. Help us celebrate 20 years of AHL action at the DCU Center with the first 1,000 fans receiving a special 20th anniversary Worcester hockey t-shirt! Mingle with former IceCats and Sharks players in the Bud Light Lounge beginning at 6-6:45pm. There will be a special on-ice ceremony before the game featuring Terry Virtue (the all-time Worcester leader in games played, points, and penalty minutes) and other Worcester hockey alumni players. Saturday night signings will occur during the first and second period intermissions with the alumni players.

On Sunday, the Sharks host the Springfield Falcons at 3pm on FINZ's Birthday! FINZ will be celebrating his birthday with a Star Wars themed party which will include mascots and Star Wars characters! Kids tickets are just $5 with the purchase of an adult ticket presented by Fisher Agencies.

Score a Family Fun Pack (4 tickets, 4 hot dogs, and 4 sodas) starting at just $79 by calling 508-929-0500 or visit www.SharksAHL.com.

You can listen to all three games live on WTAG Worcester or watch online for a small fee at www.AHLLive.com.

MILESTONE ALERT:

Head Coach Roy Sommer surpassed Frank Mathers (1256 games coached) for the most games coached in AHL history on March 26, 2014 in the Sharks 5-3 win in Lewiston, ME over the Portland Pirates. Coach Sommer has coached 1331 AHL games - all with the SJ Sharks AHL affiliates. In total, Coach Sommer has been a head coach in 1,667 games in the AHL and ECHL. Roy surpassed John Paddock (589) for the 3rd most wins in AHL history in the Sharks 3-1 win in Providence on Jan 4, 2015. Coach Sommer picked up his 600th career AHL win in a 4-3 victory in Lehigh Valley on Feb 4, 2015 and is now tied with Frank Mathers (610 wins) for 2nd all-time in AHL history.

Forward John McCarthy has 147 points (61-86-147) and surpassed Dan DaSilva (144pts) for the franchise lead in points on March 11 in Bridgeport. J-Mac has played 269 games with the Worcester Sharks - 2nd only to Nick Petrecki (277gp).

Few things to know....

* The Worcester Sharks are in 4th place (34-23-4-2, 74pts) in the Atlantic Division and 9th place overall in the Eastern Conference. - the Worcester Sharks have the 8th best winning percentage in the Eastern Conference.

* The San Jose Sharks currently have 14 players on their roster that have spent time in Worcester (Couture, Pavelski, Wingels, Braun, Stalock, Irwin, Vlasic, Nieto, Mueller, Karlsson, Hertl, Goodrow, Tarasov, Tierney).

* The San Jose Sharks are in 5th place in the Pacific Division and 12th place in the Western Conference with 78 points and a 35-30-8 record.

* Welcome back captain!...John McCarthy was reassigned by the St. Louis Blues to Worcester on Jan 14 in exchange for Adam Burish. J-Mac made his return to the Sharks line up on Jan 16 and added an assist. McCarthy ranks 2nd all-time in games played (266), 1st in points (147) and 1st in goals (61).

* Rookie Chris Tierney has 24 points (7-17-24) in 27 games in Worcester this season and 12 points (3-9-12) in 34 games for the San Jose Sharks. Chris scored his 1st NHL goal vs. Ryan Miller in the Sharks 5-1 win in Vancouver on Feb 5. - Tierney is currently on recall with the SJ Sharks.

* AHL rookie Jeremy Langlois has 26 points (16-10-26) in 42 games. His 16 goals were most among AHL rookies before his injury. - Langlois is currently sidelined with a foot injury and has missed the last 19 games.

* AHL rookie Evan Trupp ranks 13th among AHL rookies with 34 points (13-21-34) in 60 games - Trupp is 2nd among all Worcester skaters with 34 points.

* Melker Karlsson has been impressive so far with the San Jose Sharks. Melker has 21 points (13-8-21) in 44 games with San Jose since his recall on Dec 8. He scored his 1st NHL goal on Dec 22 at Anaheim and also had a five game goal scoring streak!

* Daniil Tarasov is 7th on Worcester with 28 points (12-16-28) in 45 games this season. Daniil made his NHL debut on Feb 5 and recorded an assist on Chris Tierney's first NHL goal. Tarasov has played four games for San Jose this season (0-1-1) and is currently on recall with the SJ Sharks.

* Freddie Hamilton was traded to the Colorado Avalanche for Karl Stollery on March 2. Freddie had 30 points (9-21-30) in 52 games for Worcester and played one game for the SJ Sharks this season (0-0-0). Hamilton Finished his career in Worcester with 99 points (44-55-99) in 191 games.

* Matt Taormina is 2nd among Worcester d-men with 29 points (8-21-29) in 63 games. Matt picked up his 100th AHL assist vs. the Monarchs on Dec 26 and was selected to play in the AHL All Star Classic where he collected two assists. Taormina is the only player on the Sharks to play in all 63 games this season.

* Taylor Fedun is 1st among Worcester defensemen in points (32) and 1st on the club with 26 assists in 61 games. - Fedun ranks 15th in the AHL in points among defensemen.

* Micheal Haley is 1st on the club in goals (18), leads the club in fighting majors (8), and tops in penalty minutes (94). Haley picked up his 1,000th AHL penalty minute on Dec 13 and has also played four games with the San Jose Sharks this season. Haley leads Worcester in power play goals (8) and game winners (4).

* 50/50 - Defenseman Matt Tennyson has played 30 games in Worcester (3-7-10) and 27 games with the SJ Sharks (2-6-8) this season. - Tenny is currently with the Worcester Sharks.

* Captain Bryan Lerg ranks 1st on the Sharks with 38 points (13-25-38) in 61 games this season for Worcester. Lerg also leads the team with 157 shots on goal.

* Goaltender Troy Grosenick has an 18-10-3 record in Worcester with a 2.63 GAA and a .907 save %. Grosenick made his NHL debut on Nov 16 and set an NHL record for most saves in a shutout by a goaltender making his NHL debut (45) in the SJ Sharks 2-0 win at Carolina. Troy went 1-1-0 in two starts for the SJ Sharks and is currently in Worcester and is and is 11-5-2 in his last 18 starts overall. - Grosenick returned to the net on Feb 21 after missing 11 games due to injury.

* Goaltender Aaron Dell inked his 1st NHL Deal with the SJ Sharks on Feb 28. Dell is 10-5-2 with Worcester this season with a 1.87 GAA and a .931 save %.

* The Worcester Sharks are the least penalized team in the AHL with only 11.02 penalty minutes per game and have allowed the 2nd fewest amount of power play goals against (30).

* PP - the Sharks currently rank 9th in the AHL with a 18.4% conversion rate. - Worcester has scored the 5th most power play goals in the league with 52.

* PK - the Sharks have allowed just 14 power play goals in their last 29 games (100-1114, .87.7%) and rank 7th in the AHL with an 86.0% penalty kill rate.

* Coach Roy Sommer currently ranks 2nd in the AHL with 610 wins in his career (17th season) and 1st in games coached in the AHL with 1331.

Top 3... Last Week!

1. Bryan Lerg scored twice in the Sharks 3-1 win over the IceCaps on March 20!

2. Daniel Ciampini scored his first professional goal and added an assist in the Sharks 6-1 win over the Phantoms on March 21!

3. Aaron Dell made 24 saves in the Sharks 3-1 win over the IceCaps on March 20!

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

Wed. 3/18 L Hershey Bears 3 @ Worcester SHARKS 2

Fri. 3/20 W St. John's IceCaps 1 @ Worcester SHARKS 3

Sat. 3/21 W Lehigh Valley Phantoms 1 @ Worcester SHARKS 6

This Week:

Fri. 3/27 Worcester SHARKS @ Springfield Falcons - 7pm

Sat. 3/28 St. John's IceCaps @ Worcester SHARKS - 7pm

Sun. 3/29 Springfield Falcons @ Worcester SHARKS - 3pm

Rewind the Tape:

3.18.15 - Hershey 3 - Worcester 2 - L - DCU Center - Worcester, MA

The Worcester Sharks (32-23-4-2, 70pts) battled back but fell short 3-2 to the Hershey Bears (38-18-5-2, 83pts) in front of 2,005 fans at the DCU Center on Wednesday evening. Worcester had six power play chances in the game, but they could not capitalize on those opportunities. Sharks' captain Bryan Lerg (2-0-2, +1) had two goals on the night in the Worcester loss. Three Hershey players scored, including Tim Kennedy (1-0-1, E), Cameron Schilling (1-1-2, +1), and Jim O'Brien (1-0-1, +1) as goalie Philipp Grubauer led the way for the Bears, making 44 saves on 46 shots from the Sharks, picking up his 24th win of the season. With the loss, Worcester remains in 9th place in the Eastern Conference standings- three points behind the eighth-place Springfield Falcons with two games in hand and with 15 games left on the season.

3.20.15 - St. John's 1 - Worcester 3 - W - DCU Center - Worcester, MA

The Worcester Sharks (33-23-4-2, 72pts) topped the St. John's IceCaps (29-28-6-2, 66pts) 3-1 in front of 5,291 fans at the DCU Center on Friday night. Worcester's captain Bryan Lerg (2-0-2,+1) led the way for the Sharks with two goals in the first period to lift them over the St. John's IceCaps. JC Lipon (1-0-1, +1) notched a goal for St. John's-their lone goal of the night. Aaron Dell made 24 saves on 25 shots for his 9th win of the season. With the win, The Sharks remain in 9th place in the Eastern Conference, now one point behind the eight-place Springfield Falcons (73 points) with two games in hand.

3.21.15 - Lehigh Valley 1 - Worcester 6 - W - DCU Center - Worcester, MA

The Worcester Sharks (34-23-4-2, 74pts) dismantled the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (29-26-6-1, 65pts)6-1 in front of 6,131 fans at the DCU Center on Saturday evening. Six players scored for Worcester in the 6-1 rout of the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Veteran John McCarthy (1-1-2, +2) scored his franchise-leading 61st goal and rookie Daniel Ciampini (1-1-2, +1) notched his first professional goal. Sharks' goaltender Aaron Dell picked up his 10th win of the season, making 28 saves on 29 shots from the Phantoms to remain undefeated in regulation on home ice. Sharks' coach, Roy Sommer, earned his 610th win, which puts him second all-time in the AHL. With the victory, Worcester remains in the 9th spot in the Eastern Conference, one point behind the Springfield Falcons (Sharks have two games in hand).

Sharks in the Atlantic:

The Worcester Sharks (34-23-4-2, 74pts in 63gp) are in 4th place in the Atlantic Division; which is 16 points behind the 1st place Monarchs (90pts in 64gp), five points behind the 2nd place Bruins (79pts in 66gp), two points behind of the 3rd place Pirates (76pts in 64gp), and five points ahead of the 5th place IceCaps (69pts in 67gp) to round out a very choppy Atlantic Division.

Coaching Milestones....

*1257 GAMES.....With the 5-3 win in Lewiston, ME vs. the Pirates on March 26, 2014, head coach Roy Sommer surpassed Frank Mathers (1,256 games) for the most games coached in the AHL.

*1,600 GAMES... With the 3-0 loss vs. the Norfolk Admirals on April 12, 2014, head coach Roy Sommer coached in his 1,600th professional game.

*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.

*600 WINS!....with the 4-3 win at Lehigh Valley on February 4, 2015, head coach Roy Sommer became just the 3rd coach in AHL history to reach the 600 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. Roy Sommer 1998-current 17seasons 1,331GP 610WINS

4. John Paddock 1981-2010 16seasons 1,125GP 589 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 (17th season) in the American Hockey League. His current regular season record is now: 610-557-48-60-56. (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 17, 1998.

Shark Bites:

*Captains for the 2014-15 season: Bryan Lerg was named the 7th captain in team history on Nov 14. Micheal Haley and Matt Taormina are the assistant captains this season.

*Breaking down October... The Sharks had a 4-2-1-0 (9pts in7) record in October with 22 GF and 19 GA. PP went 4-29 (13.8%); opponents PP was 2-20 (10.0%), and the Sharks had four fighting majors in October.

*Breaking down November... The Sharks had a 5-6-1-0 (11pts in 12gp) record in November with 30 GF and 36 GA. PP went 7-55 (12.7%); opponent's power play went 6-41 (14.6%), and the Sharks had 11 fighting majors in November.

*Breaking down December... The Sharks had a 4-5-1-1 (10pts in 11gp) record in December with 28 GF and 31 GA. PP went 8-50 (16.0%); opponent's power play went 8-37 (21.6%), and the Sharks had 3 fighting majors in December.

*Breaking down January.... The Sharks had a 10-3-0-1 (21pts in 14gp) record in January with 47 GF and 34 GA. PP was 14-59 (23.7%); opponent's power play was 5-43 (11.6%) and the Sharks had five fighting majors in the month of January.

*Breaking down February....the Sharks had a 7-2-1-0 (15pts in 10gp) record in February with 33 GF and 22GA. PP went 12-46 (26.0%); opponents power play is 5-36 (13.9%) and the Sharks had six fighting majors in the month of February.

*Breaking down March..... the Sharks have a 4-5-0-0 (8pts in 9gp) record in March with 28 GF and 20 GA. PP is 7-42 (16.7%); opponents' power play is 5-37 (13.5%) and the Sharks have two fighting majors in March.

*POW... The American Hockey League announced that Worcester Sharks left wing Bryan Lerg has been selected as the CCM/AHL Player of the Week for the period ending Mar. 22, 2015. Lerg scored five goals - including two game-winners - in three games last week as the Sharks continued to bid for a berth in the Eastern Conference playoffs. On March 18, Lerg scored twice in the third period of Worcester's 3-2 loss to Hershey, his first two-goal game since Oct. 23, 2012. He repeated the performance on March 20, this time striking twice in the first period to pace the Sharks to a 3-1 win over St. John's. And on March 21, Lerg scored again to help Worcester to a 6-1 victory over Lehigh Valley, his fifth goal in three games after having scored five in his previous 30 contests. After seeing his previous two seasons cut short by injury, Lerg has recorded 13 goals and 25 assists for a team-leading 38 points in 61 games this season for Worcester, which finished the week one point out of eighth place in the Eastern Conference with games in hand on the rest of the field. The Sharks captain and seventh-year pro has totaled 89 goals and 103 assists for 192 points in 341 career AHL games with Worcester, Lake Erie, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Springfield. A native of Livonia, Mich., Lerg was signed as a free agent with San Jose on July 10, 2014. In recognition of his achievement, Lerg will be presented with an etched crystal award prior to an upcoming Sharks home game. Lerg joins Tim Kennedy, Tommy Wingels, and Thomas Greiss as the only four players in the nine year history of the Sharks to be named the AHL Player of the Week.

*Ring in the New Year!... the Sharks are 21-10-1-1 in the calendar year of 2015!

*NEW PLAYER... The Sharks signed forward Daniel Ciampini to an AHL contract for the remainder of the 2014-15 season on Mar 18. Ciampini, 24, led Union College in goals (26), while ranking 2nd in the nation in that category and tied Union College's single-season record points record (26-24-50) this season. In addition, he led the Dutchmen in shots (126), plus/minus (+21), power play goals (9), and game winning goals (5) in his 39 games as a senior. The Concord, Ontario native finished his career at Union College with 118pts in 131 games and was a member of the 2014 National Championship Team. The 5-11, 185lb forward made his professional debut with the Worcester Sharks on March 18 and has two points (1-1-2) in three games with Worcester.

*TRADE.... The San Jose Sharks traded Freddie Hamilton for defenseman Karl Stollery on March 2. Stollery had 14pts (5-9-14) in 46 games this season for Lake Erie along with five games (0-0-0) with the Colorado Avalanche. Stollery is a product of Merrimack College and is in his 3rd season of professional hockey hailing from Camrose, Alberta. Stollery has three points (1-2-3) in eight games for Worcester.

*TRADE X2... the Worcester Sharks acquired forward Vincent Arseneau on March 9 from the Manchester Monarchs for future considerations. Arseneau, 22, has posted 14 points (9-5-14) and 132 penalty minutes in 37 games with the Ontario Reign and the Indy Fuel of the ECHL this season. Vincent played 24 games with Lake Erie (AHL) in 2012-14 and posted one assist along with 95 penalty minutes. He also skated in 47 games with Denver (CHL) in 2013-14 and posted 37 points (24-13-37) and 120 penalty minutes in 47 games. The 6-foot-2, 200lb left winger from Iles-de-la-Madeleine, PQ played with Acadie-Bathurst and Shawingan in the QMJHL and made his Sharks debut on March 11. Arseneau was loaned to Allen (ECHL) on March 23 after appearing in two scoreless games for Worcester.

*Top Rookies!... the Sharks have two rookies that rank in the top 20 in the AHL rookie point scoring race! Trupp 13th with 34pts and Carpenter 19th with 31pts!

*Superstitious... after a 3-2 loss in Albany on Friday, March 13 the Sharks well to 1-7-0-0 all-time on Friday the 13th games.

*0-for-50.... The Sharks fired a season high 50 shots on rookie Connor Hellebuyck on Feb 28 but lost the game 2-0 to the IceCaps at the DCU Center.

*2-for-54.... The Sharks fired a season high 54 shots on Jeremy Smith on March 8 but lost the game 3-2 to the Bruins at the Dunkin Donuts Center.

*Random #'s...

* Worcester is 19-9-3-2 when they score a power play goal... 9-2-1-0 when they score at least two power play goals in a game!

* Worcester is 14-6-1-1 on Saturdays and 5-3-1-0 on Sundays!

* Worcester is just 8-9-2-1 on Fridays this season.

* Worcester is 11-4-0-0 at the DCU Center on Saturdays and Sundays!

* Worcester is 4-2-0-0 on the 3rd game of the 3-in-3 game stretches.

* Worcester is 7-1-0-0 vs. the East Division at the DCU Center this season.

* Worcester went 4-0-0-0 in games that were televised on Charter TV 193.

* Worcester is 0-2-0-0 when they fire 50+ shots on goal.

* Worcester is the only team in the AHL that has 11 players with at least 100+ shots on goal!

*Recent Notables...

* Taylor Doherty picked up his 300th penalty minute (all with Worcester) with his 4th fighting major of season (JC Lipon) on Feb 15 at St. John's.

* Rylan Schwartz dressed in his 100th Worcester Sharks game ion Feb 14 at St. John's.

* Jimmy Bonneau eclipsed 400 penalty minutes with Worcester (403) with a fighting major vs. Andrew O'Brien on Feb 7 in Norfolk.

* Eriah Hayes dressed in his 100th game as a member of the Worcester Sharks on Feb 20.

* Chris Crane scored his 1st AHL goal on March 7 vs. Bridgeport.

* Derek DeBlois scored his 1st AHL goal on March 8 at Providence.

* John McCarthy set the Worcester Sharks franchise record for most career points (145) on March 11 at Bridgeport surpassing Dan DaSilva (144).

* John McCarthy set the Worcester Sharks franchise record for most career goals (61) on March 21 vs. Lehigh Valley surpassing Dan DaSilva (60).

*Strange But True... the Sharks did not have one game misconduct penalty in their first 52 games... but Jimmy Bonneau received one in games 53 and 54.

*Solid 39... the Sharks are 24-11-2-2 in their last 39 games.... that is a .666 points percentage!

*Road Warriors... the Sharks had a seven game road point streak (5-0-1-1) snapped in a 5-4 loss in Providence on Jan 30.

*Nice trip... the Sharks went 3-1-1-0 on one of their most recent road trips (Feb 4-15) with the power play clicking at 32.1% (9-28) and penalty kill at 87.5% (14-16).

*BIG crowds Nice Results... the Sharks are 9-0-0-0 this season at the DCU Center with a crowd over 5,000.

*Scoring at DCU...the Sharks have scored an 113 goals on home ice this season (2nd in AHL) averaging 3.42 goals (1st in AHL) per game at the DCU Center this season! Worcester has scored five goals five times and six goals four times on home ice this season!

*PK pretty good... the Sharks rank 7th in the AHL with a 86.0% kill rate on the penalty kill...Worcester has allowed just 13 power play goals against (13-102) in their last 29 games (87.3%). The Sharks have allowed just 30 power play goals against this season - 2nd fewest in the AHL.

*1800 (thanks Ballou) Riley Brace's goal at 15:14 in the first period at Providence on Jan 4 was the 1800th goal scored in the history of the Worcester Sharks.

*2014...the Sharks finished with a 36-34-7 record in the calendar year of 2014.

*1st half of the season... Worcester finished the first half of the season with a 19-14-3-2 record through 38 games... the Sharks also had 19 wins after 38 games last season.

*2nd half of the season... Worcester is 15-9-1-0 so far in the 2nd half of their AHL regular season schedule.

*Perfect Home stand... the Sharks went 5-0-0-0 on their most recent home stand from Jan 9-17 and outscored their opponents 21-11. It was the best home stand in Sharks history. Worcester is now 20-10-2-1 at the DCU Center this season!

*Home cooking...the Sharks have won 12 of their last 16 games at the DCU Center.

*8 in a Row... The Sharks won a franchise best eight straight games (Jan 4-Jan 21).

*Points in 9 straight.... Worcester had points in nine straight games (8-0-0-1) from Jan 3-Jan 21.

*That's a first... the Sharks allowed their first ever penalty shot score on home ice as Sean Collins scored at 8:08 of the 2nd period in the Falcons 1-0 win at the DCU Center on Nov 15.

*That's a first X2 (thanks Ballou)....the 1-0 loss on Nov 15 to the Falcons was the first time in Worcester hockey history that a 1-0 game was decided on a penalty shot... it was only the third 1-0 loss in Worcester Sharks history.

*That's a first X3... the overtime penalty shot score by Bryan Lerg at 6:14 vs. Jeremy Smith in the Sharks 4-3OTW vs. Providence on Jan 10 was the first time the Sharks had ever scored a penalty shot goal in overtime.

*Strange but true... the Sharks had only lost two games in their first 641 games by a 1-0 score but lost twice by a 1-0 score in during a four game stretch... 1-0L vs. SPR Nov 15, 1-0L at HER Nov 22.

*Even Stranger... forward Jimmy Bonneau was the emergency backup goaltender in the Sharks 3-2 win in Portland on Jan 21. Troy Grosenick fell ill before the game and JP Anderson made 16 saves in the win.

*1-0 scores.... Four of 12 games were decided by 1-0 scores (Nov 15-Dec 14...Sharks had a 2-2-0-0 record in those games).... Worcester had only had five games in their first 641 games decided by 1-0 scores before this stretch.

*0 PP's -the Worcester Sharks did not receive one power play in a 6-3W over St. John's on Feb 27 - Garrett Rank was the referee.

*Stanley Cup Champion (CHI 2010) Adam Burish was loaned to Worcester on Nov 24. Burish played in 20 games for the SJ Sharks this season and posted three points (1-2-3) and 33 penalty minutes. Burish had seven points (4-3-7) in 18 games for Worcester before he was reassigned to the Chicago Wolves in exchange for John McCarthy on Jan 14.

*Shots on goal... Worcester has outshot their opponents in 40 of the first 63 games this season and rank 1st in the AHL with 33.44 shots per game.... Bryan Lerg leads the club with 157 shots on net - Worcester has 11 players with over 100 shots this season - the only ream in the AHL that has 11 skaters with 100+ shots!

*Shots on goal Take 2... Worcester had a season high 23 shots on goal in the first period in Providence on March 8. The Sharks fired a season high 54 shots on Jeremy Smith that game but lost 3-2.

*Lead after 20 and 40... the Sharks are 15-0-1-1 when leading after the first period of play and 24-0-1-1 when leading after 40 minutes. - the Sharks are the only team in the AHL that does not have a regulation loss when leading 20 minutes of play this season.

*Trailing after 40 minutes... the Sharks are 6-20-1-1 when trailing after 40 minutes. 4 of the wins have come on home ice... best in the AHL.

*Sharp Shooter... Micheal Haley has a 17.5% shooting percentage.... Haley has scored 18 goals on 103 shots this season.

*NHL Deal... Goaltender Aaron Dell (Univ. North Dakota) has a 10-5-2 record with a 1.87 GAA and a .931 save % with Worcester in his two recalls this season from Allen (ECHL). Dell is now 9-2-1 with 22 goals allowed in his last 12 starts for Worcester and signed his 1st NHL contract with the SJ Sharks on Feb 28.

*OT magic... defenseman Dylan Demelo has scored five goals this season... two of them in sudden death overtime! - Demelo has received two NHL recalls this season but has yet to make his NHL debut..

*2nd period goals... Worcester has outscored their opponents 61-39 (+22) in the second period this season...the best goal differential period of the season for the Sharks (-11 in 1st and +14 in 3rd). - the Sharks scored a season high five goals in the second period vs. Hartford on March 6.

*AHL Best in 2nd.... The Sharks have allowed the least amount of goals in the second period this season (39) - Hershey is 2nd best with 44 goals allowed.

*1st period Drought... the Sharks had not scored a first period goal in eight straight games before Byran Lerg scored at 2:10 of the first period last night vs. St. John's. The scoreless drought ended at 173:28.

*AHL Best by Period (goal differentials)...

* 1st Period Grand Rapids +22

* 2nd Period Worcester +22

* 3rd Period Manchester +25

*Four score and... (thanks Ballou)....Bryan Lerg scored Worcester's last two goals on March 18 and first two on March 20. He is only the second Shark to score that many goals in a row. Daniil Tarasov went one better, scoring five straight in three games from Oct. 20-26, 2013. Lerg, Tarasov, Bracken Kearns and T.J. Trevelyan are the only Sharks to have multi-goal performances in consecutive games.

*Team Record... al 18 skaters finished with a +1 rating or better in the Sharks 6-1 win over Lehigh Valley on March 21.

*House of Horrors... with the 5-3 loss in Hartford on Dec 12...the Sharks have lost 10 of their last 11 games at the XL Center...In all, the Wolf Pack have won 17 of the last 22 games vs. the Sharks.

*We like St. John's...the Sharks are 10-3-2-0 all-time at the Mile One Centre in St. John's NFLD.

*Monarchs had the Sharks #.... Manchester was 19-1-3 against the Sharks since Jan 1, 2013.....until Worcester won three straight over the Monarchs in a span of just six days (Jan 13-18). - Worcester has won four straight of their last six games vs. the Monarchs!

*Manchester D....the Monarchs held the Sharks to season low 15 shots on goal on Dec 13 in a 2-1 win over the Sharks. Worcester had just one shot on goal in the third period and the Sharks went 0-9 on the power play. Manchester held Worcester to 17 shots on Feb 22 - but the Sharks won 3-0l

*Feasting on the Bruins... the Sharks are 7-2-0-0 vs. the Bruins this season and have outscored Providence 31-22 in the process! Worcester is 5-3-1 in their last nine games at the Dunkin Donuts Center and goaltender Malcolm Subban is 0-6-0 in his last six starts against Worcester... The Sharks and the Bruins battle three more times this season.

*Quick Strikes (thanks Ballou)... Garrett Stafford and Tomas Plihal scored 12 seconds apart in the second period on Feb 2, 2007 against Bridgeport at the DCU Center... it was the franchise record until Daniil Tarasov (16:47) and Micheal Haley (16:53) scored within six seconds in the second period on March 6, 2015 vs. Hartford. It was only the 5th time in nine seasons the Sharks have scored goals less than 20 seconds apart.

*Fast start... Evan Trupp scored just 22 seconds into the first period on Dec 6 in St. John's and Bryan Lerg scored 15 seconds in vs. Manchester on Dec 26. Graham Mink holds the record for fastest goal just 11 seconds into the game on March 7, 2008.

*Good Boys... the Worcester Sharks are the least penalized team in the AHL averaging 11.02 minutes per game....the Sharks have been shorthanded just 214 times this season (3.39 per game) which is the least times shorthanded in the AHL. - the Sharks have had 68 more power plays than their opponents this season.

*PPGA... the Sharks have allowed the 2nd fewest power play goals against (30) in the first 63 games this season.

*PP goals... Worcester has scored the 5th post power play goals in the AHL this season (52).

*Pro Debuts: Gus Young (Yale) made his professional debut in the Sharks 4-1 win over the Portland Pirates on Oct 26.... Daniel Ciampini made his pro debut in 3-2 loss to Hershey on March 18.

*Close Games... 35 of the first 63 Sharks games have been decided by a single goal...Worcester is 15-14-4-2 in games decided by one goal this season.

*Score first... the Sharks have scored FIRST 31 times in 63 games this season (23-4-2-2) - Ryan Carpenter 1, Petter Emanuelsson 2, Taylor Doherty (1), Konrad Abeltshauser (1), Daniil Tarasov (4), Melker Karlsson (1), Evan Trupp (2), Freddie Hamilton (1), Micheal Haley (1), Matt Taormina (2), Bryan Lerg (3), Riley Brace (1), Willie Coetzee (1), Gus Young (2), Jeremy Langlois (1), John McCarthy (3), Rylan Schwartz (1), Dylan Demelo (1), Eriah Hayes (1), Daniel Ciampini (1).

*Big 2nd period... the Sharks scored five goals on 22 shots in the second period in the 5-2 win over Hartford on March 6...it was just the 7th time all season a team had scored at least five goals in a period in the AHL this season. - the 22 shots in the second period were the most in a 2nd period all season in the AHL.

*Big third period... Freddie Hamilton (3-0-3), Daniil Tarasov (0-3-3), and Evan Trupp (1-2-3) all recorded three points in the third period in the Sharks 4-1 win over the Pirates on Oct 26.

*Big third period X2... the four goals scored by the Sharks in the third period in 4-1 win vs. Portland on Oct 26 was just the 4th time this season a team had scored four goals in a period this season in the AHL.

*Big third period X3... Jeremy Langlois scored three goals in a spell of 11:04 of the third period to lead Worcester to a 3-2 win in Portland on Jan 21. Evan Trupp had an assist on all three goals.

*Thanks Ballou... despite going 10-2 in the shootout last season, the Sharks are just 32W-47L overall (40.5%)....Worcester is 1-2 in the shootout this season.

*AHL First... Matt Taormina became the first player to score a 3-on-3 OT goal under the new overtime format in the AHL in the Sharks 3-2 overtime win in Binghamton on Oct 11. The goal came at 6:34 assisted by Evan Trupp and Taylor Fedun.

*Deja-Vu (almost).... Dylan Demelo scored at 6:33 of overtime on Oct 18.... Exactly one week after defenseman Matt Taormina scored at 6:34 of overtime on Oct 11.

*5 National Champions... The Sharks have five players that won the NCAA Division 1 Championship.... Daniel Ciampini with Union College in 2014....Gus Young was captain with Yale University in 2013....Travis Oleksuk with University Minnesota Duluth in 2011...Bryan Lerg with Michigan State in 2007.... and John McCarthy with BU in 2009. *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.

*Swedish Elite League Championship.... both Melker Karlsson and Petter Emanuelsson won back-to-back championships with Skelleftea AIK in the SWEHL in 2013 and 2014.

*Young Guns... the Sharks have dressed 15 AHL rookies already this season. (Ryan Carpenter, Jeremy Langlois, Evan Trupp, JP Anderson, Gus Young, Chris Tierney, Aaron Dell, Nick Jones, Andrew Blazek, Greger Hanson, Barclay Goodrow, Mirco Mueller, Kyle Bigos, Derek DeBlois, Daniel Ciampini)

*Tallest Shark.... Worcester Sharks rookie defenseman Taylor Doherty is the tallest player in team history standing at 6'8" 235lbs.... Doherty has seven goals, 30 assists, and 329 penalty minutes in 224 games with the Worcester Sharks. Taylor scored in his 200th game with Worcester on Jan 18 at Manchester.

*First Pro Goals this season... Ryan Carpenter scored his 1st pro goal (Andrew Hammond) in 3-2OTW at Binghamton on Oct 11...Chris Tierney scored his 1st (Malcolm Subban) in 4-2W vs. Providence on Nov 8...Gus Young his 1st goal (Scott Wedgewood) in 2-1OTW at Albany on Jan 24.... Daniel Ciampini his first goal (Anthony Stolarz) in 6-1W vs. Lehigh Valley on Mar 21.

*Sharks in the Atlantic... went 21-22-1-2 vs. the Atlantic in 2013-14 and are 18-12-2-1 in divisional play this season.

*Massachusetts!... the Sharks have two players that hail from Massachusetts this season (Gus Young - Dedham and John McCarthy - Andover)

*I'll take a draft... nine Worcester Sharks players were drafted by the San Jose Sharks. (Abeltshauser, Doherty, Crane, Demelo, Tierney, McCarthy, Mueller, Hertl, Ryan)

*First Rounders... the Sharks had a pair of first rounders in the lineup on Jan 23-24...Mirco Mueller (18th in 2013) and Tomas Hertl (17th in 2012).

*NHL Experience.... The Sharks have eight players on their roster with NHL experience... Matt Taormina 56, Matt Tennyson 31, Karl Stollery 7, Eriah Hayes 19, Taylor Fedun 4, Micheal Haley 56, Chris Tierney 34, John McCarthy 87, and Troy Grosenick 2)

*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 belonged to Dan DaSilva, who scored three times in Manchester during a 5-2 Worcester victory in Manchester on Feb. 14, 2010. Freddie Hamilton scored the first home hat trick in 206 games with three goals in a 5:12 span in the third period in a 4-1 win over the Pirates on Oct 26, 2014. It was the first home hat trick since P.J. Fenton had one on Feb. 28, 2009 in the Sharks' 7-3 victory over Springfield. In all, Worcester players have recorded hat tricks only 12 times in the franchise's 671 games. The Sharks are 12-0-0-0 in those games and 1-15-3 in the 19 games in which the opposition has had a hat trick.

*Hat Tricks... the Sharks have three hat tricks this season (Hamilton Oct 26 vs. POR, Langlois Jan 21 at POR, and Trupp Feb 27 vs. STJ).

* Brothers... Rylan Schwartz is the younger brother of Jayden Schwartz, who currently plays for the St. Louis Blues.

*Major Bonneau... Worcester Sharks tough guy Jimmy Bonneau has racked up 56 fighting majors in 152games 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 128 fighting majors in 347AHL games along with 988 penalty minutes.

*Five for fighting... The Sharks have 31 fighting majors through 63 games this season (Bonneau 7, Haley 8, Shattock 2, Doherty 5, Young 2, Abeltshauser 1, Goodrow 1, Fedun 1, Oleksuk 2, Schwartz 1, Crane 1....The Sharks had 70 fighting majors in 2013-14, 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: 34-23-4-2, 74 points -4th in Atlantic Win percentage: .587% - 7th in East Home Record: 20-10-2-1 Away Record: 14-13-2-1 Attendance: 121,768 through 33 games this season - 3,689 average Goals Scored: 188, 2.98 goals per game, 8th in AHL Goals Allowed: 162, 2.57 goals against per game, 10th in AHL Team Shooting percentage: 8.9% - 17th in AHL Team Save %: .909% - 14th in AHL Shots per game: 33.44 - 1st in AHL Shots allowed per game: 27.95 - 5th in AHL Score 1st: 23-4-2-2 when scoring first (.806%) 1 goal games: 16-14-4-2 in one goal games PP: 18.4%, 9th in AHL (52-282) PK: 86.0%, 7th in AHL (30-214) SHG - 1 shorthanded goals scored SHGA - 6 shorthanded goals allowed PIMS - 11.02 penalty minutes per game, 30th in AHL Fighting Majors: 31 - 27th OT Games - 11 - (4-4 record in OT) SO Games - 3 - (1-2 record in SO) Roster Players - the Sharks used 45 players this season Goalies - the Sharks used 3 goaltenders this season Players receiving call-ups to San Jose - 15 NHL debuts - 3 Worcester Sharks alumni making their NHL debuts this season (Troy Grosenick, Melker Karlsson and Daniil Tarasov) Call-ups to San Jose - 26 different call-ups to San Jose this season

TRANSACTIONS: Date

Player

Team

Transaction

03/15/2015

Daniil Tarasov (RW)

Worcester

DEL Recalled from loan by San Jose (NHL)

03/14/2015

Daniil Tarasov (RW)

Worcester

ADD Returned on loan from San Jose (NHL)

03/13/2015

Daniil Tarasov (RW)

Worcester

DEL Recalled from loan by San Jose (NHL)

03/09/2015

Taylor Fedun (D)

Worcester

ADD Returned on loan from San Jose (NHL)

03/09/2015

Vincent Arseneau (LW)

Worcester

ADD Traded from Manchester (AHL)

Top Worcester Sharks: o Goals Haley (18) o Game Winners Haley and Lerg (4) o Assists Fedun (26) o Points Lerg (38) o Power play Points Taormina (4-12-16) o Shots Lerg (157) o PIM Haley (94) o Fighting Pen. Haley (8) o Plus/Minus Young (+13) o Wins Grosenick (18) o G.A.A. Dell (1.87) o Save % Dell (.931) o Shutouts Dell (3)

Sharks in the NHL:

The San Jose Sharks are in 5th place in the Pacific Division and 12th place in the Western Conference with 78 points and a 35-30-8 record.

The San Jose Sharks currently have 14 players on their roster that have spent time in Worcester (Couture, Pavelski, Wingels, Braun, Stalock, Irwin, Vlasic, Nieto, Mueller, Karlsson, Hertl, Goodrow, Tarasov, Tierney).

Upcoming San Jose Sharks schedule: (all times are Eastern) MON Mar 23 @ Ottawa 7:30pm (5-2L) THU Mar 26 @ Toronto 7:30pm SAT Mar 28 @ Philadelphia 1pm SUN Mar 29 @ Pittsburgh 7:30pm

Coming Up for the Worcester Sharks:

The Worcester Sharks have a BIG 3-in-3 weekend as the push towards a Calder Cup playoff spot continues!

On Friday, the Sharks head to Springfield to battle the 8th seeded Falcons at 7pm.

On Saturday, the Sharks host the St. John's IceCaps at 7pm on Worcester Hockey Alumni Night. Help us celebrate 20 years of AHL action at the DCU Center with the first 1,000 fans receiving a special 20th anniversary Worcester hockey t-shirt! Mingle with former IceCats and Sharks players in the Bud Light Lounge beginning at 6-6:45pm. There will be a special on-ice ceremony before the game featuring Terry Virtue (the all-time Worcester leader in games played, points, and penalty minutes) and other Worcester hockey alumni players. Saturday night signings will occur during the first and second period intermissions with the alumni players.

On Sunday, the Sharks host the Springfield Falcons at 3pm on FINZ's Birthday! FINZ will be celebrating his birthday with a Star Wars themed party which will include mascots and Star Wars characters! Kids tickets are just $5 with the purchase of an adult ticket presented by Fisher Agencies.

Score a Family Fun Pack (4 tickets, 4 hot dogs, and 4 sodas) starting at just $79 by calling 508-929-0500 or visit www.SharksAHL.com.

You can listen to all three games live on WTAG Worcester or watch online for a small fee at www.AHLLive.com.

Worcester celebrates 20 years of AHL hockey! The 2014-15 season marks the 20th season of AHL action at the DCU Center in the city of Worcester. Over 3.8 million fans have attended either an IceCats (11 seasons) or Sharks (9th season) game in downtown Worcester since 1994.

Bring a group to sing the national anthem, book a fundraising event, host a birthday party, or have a blast in the high fin tunnel.... secure your personalized Sharks experience today!

Contact the Worcester Sharks Office at 508.929.0500 or by crash the net at www.SharksAHL.com.

Socialize with the Worcester Sharks all year long! Join us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/WorcesterSharks, follow us on Twitter @WorcesterSharks, and download the Worcester Sharks App for free on your Droid or iPhone today!

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