Wolf Pack drop heart-breaker in OT
April 20, 2009 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Connecticut Whale News Release
Worcester, MA, April 20, 2009: Ryan Vesce's goal at 1:07 of the second overtime gave the Worcester Sharks a 3-2 victory over the Hartford Wolf Pack Monday night at the DCU Center, in Game Three of the teams' Atlantic Division Semifinal series. The Wolf Pack still lead the series, 2-1.
On the winning play, Patrick Traverse fired the puck toward the front of the net from the right-wing boards. It hit Wolf Pack defenseman Bobby Sanguinetti and deflected into the slot to Vesce, who snapped a shot past Wolf Pack goaltender Matt Zaba.
The winner was Vesce's second goal of the game. Corey Potter had a goal and an assist for the Wolf Pack, and Riley Armstrong had two assists for Worcester. Zaba made 42 saves, and Thomas Greiss stopped 34 shots in the Shark net.
For the third straight game in the series, the Wolf Pack scored the first goal of the game. Potter connected from the left point on a power play at 14:16, one-timing a pass from Patrick Rissmiller past Greiss.
Worcester tied it with 1:18 left in the period, on rebound goal by Tom Cavanagh. Zaba stopped Derek Joslin's shot from the top of the circles, but Cavanagh poked the puck out of the air and into the net.
The two teams then traded goals in a span of 1:24 early in the second period.
Dale Weise gave the Wolf Pack a 2-1 advantage at 5:01 with his first pro playoff goal. Brodie Dupont rushed the puck down the left-wing side and found Weise all alone in front of the goal. Weise ripped a forehand shot under the crossbar behind Greiss.
Worcester responded with strong forechecking on the next shift, however, and after the Wolf Pack missed on two opportunities to get the puck out of their zone, Vesce deflected Mike Moore's shot past Zaba to tie the game at two. It was the first point of the series for Vesce, who was the Sharks' leading scorer in the regular season with 71 points.
The third period was scoreless, with the Wolf Pack outshooting the Sharks for the first time in nine periods in the series, 11-8. The Pack also enjoyed an 11-10 shots advantage in the first overtime.
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