December Looks Bright for Worcester - Worcester Sharks Weekly
December 6, 2011 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Worcester Sharks News Release
Shark Snap Shot:
The Worcester Sharks chomped five out of a possible six points in three games last week. Worcester grabbed two come-from-behind victories at home beginning with a 4-3 overtime victory on Friday night vs. the Falcons and a 2-1 victory over the defending Calder Cup Champion Senators on Saturday. The Sharks closed out the 3-in-3 weekend with a 2-1 shootout loss to the Monarchs in Manchester on Sunday. The Worcester Sharks player of the week nominee is forward Ryan Del Monte; as he scored his first two goals of the season, added an assist, fired 10 shots, and was +4, in three games last week. The Sharks have points in three straight games (2-0-0-1) heading into this week's action at St. John's on Friday and Sunday as Worcester continues their season long seven game road trip.
Top 3... Last Week!
#1 Matt Irwin scores his team leading 8th goal of the season at 2:22 of overtime to lift the Sharks to a 4-3 victory over the Falcons on Friday!
#2 Ryan Del Monte scores the game winner with 4:13 left in the third period to propel the Sharks to a 2-1 win over the Senators on Saturday!
#3 Tony Lucia scores his first goal of the season to force overtime and scores in the shootout in a 2-1 shootout loss on Sunday in Manchester!
Last Week: (2-0-0-1) 5pts, 3gp
Fri. 12/2 OTW Springfield Falcons 3 @ Worcester Sharks 4 - OT
Sat. 12/3 W Binghamton Senators 1 @ Worcester SHARKS 2
Sun. 12/4 SOL Worcester SHARKS 1 @ Manchester Monarchs 2 - SO
This week:
Fri. 12/9 Worcester SHARKS @ St. John's Ice Caps - 6pm (est)
Sun 12/11 Worcester SHARKS @ St. John's Ice Caps - 12:30pm (est)
Rewind the Tape:
12.2.11 - Worcester 4 - Springfield 3 - OTW - DCU Center The Sharks battled back from three different one goal deficits and broke a three game skid with a 4-3 overtime victory over the Springfield Falcons at the DCU Center on Friday evening. John McCarthy, Ryan Del Monte, Cam MacIntyre, and Matt Irwin scored for the Sharks and Harri Sateri made 22 saves in the victory. Worcester fired 40 shots and Justin Braun recorded two assists in his first game back to Worcester after being loaned from San Jose.
12.3.11 - Worcester 2 - Binghamton 1 - W - DCU Center Ryan Del Monte scored with 4:13 remaining in the third period and Tyson Sexsmith shut the door the rest of the way with several key saves late as the Sharks held on for a 2-1 victory over the Binghamton Senators at the DCU Center on Saturday evening. Tommy Wingels tied the game in the third period on the power play for Worcester as Tyson Sexsmith picked up his 4th win of the season with 21 saves for the Sharks 2nd straight one goal victory on home ice.
12.4.11 - Worcester 1 - Manchester 2 - SOL - Verizon Wireless Arena Tony Lucia scored in the third period for the Sharks but Worcester's two game win streak came to an end in a 2-1 shootout loss to the Manchester Monarchs at the Verizon Wireless Arena on Sunday afternoon. Tyson Sexsmith was solid in net for Worcester making 28 saves in the loss in a game that featured four fights and 60 penalty minutes.
Sharks in the Atlantic: The Sharks are swimming in 3rd place with 22 points (8-6-3-3) in the Atlantic Division through 20 games, which is 10 points behind the first place St. John's Ice Caps (22gp) and seven points behind the 2nd place Manchester Monarchs (25gp). The Sharks are percentage points ahead of the 4th place Portland Pirates (22 points in 22gp) and three points ahead of the 5th place Providence Bruins (25gp), 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 14 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 1,060GP 486 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: 486-439 -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 332 of the 486 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, 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 (4 call-ups) receive at least one call up this season to San Jose... Currently; Justin Braun, 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 (20gp), while Providence has already played 25 games already this season.
*Breaking down December... the Sharks are 2-0-0-1 (5 points in 3gp) in December with 7GF and 6GA. PP is 2-for-12, opponents PP is 1-for-7. Worcester has six 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 three game point streak (1-2-3).
*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.
*Behind? ... 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!
*Headed to Newfoundland... the Sharks travel to St. John's, Newfoundland for the first time since Nov 15-16 in 2002.
*Leaders among us... Mike Connolly ranks 14th in the AHL among rookies with 15 points (5-10-15)... Curt Gogol is 3rd among AHL rookies with 52 penalty minutes and Nathan Moon in 5th with 45... Tyson Sexsmith is 3rd in the AHL with a 1.80GAA and 4th in save percentage at .931%...Matt Irwin is 4th in the AHL defensemen scoring race with 16 points (7-9-16), leads the AHL d-men with seven goals, 1st in power play goals with six, and 1st in shots with 76.
*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.
*Scoring D... 12 of the Sharks 51 team goals have been scored by defensemen this season, accounting for 24% of the Sharks offense. (Irwin 7, 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.
*D on top... defenseman Matt Irwin leads the Sharks with 16 points through 20 games. The 2nd year pro is the only defenseman to lead his team in scoring in the AHL.
*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 21 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... Worcester has allowed the first goal in six straight games (2-2-1-1).
*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. Guite has missed the last 12 games with a foot injury.
*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 2-6-2-2 in the division this season.
*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.
*These Sharks have teeth!.... Worcester is 3rd in the AHL in penalty minutes averaging 20.80 penalty minutes per game and are 3rd with 29 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 nine 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 2-1-0-1 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 52 penalty minutes and four 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 four fighting majors in 11 games this season for the Sharks. Jimmy has 74 fighting majors in 206 AHL games along with 585 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 29 fighting majors this season good for 3rd in the AHL... 12 different players dropped the mitts this season for the Sharks this season: (Jimmy Bonneau 4, Curt Gogol 4, Nick Petrecki 1, Cam MacIntyre 4, Nathan Moon 3, Brandon Mashinter 2, Mike Moore 2, Frazer McLaren 2, Sena Acolatse 3, Taylor Doherty 1, Matt Pelech 2, and Tommy Wingels 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: 8-6-3-3, 22 points - 3rd in Atlantic
Win percentage: .550% - 15th in AHL
Home Record: 6-5-0-1
Away Record: 2-1-3-2
Attendance: 45,404 through 12 games at DCU Center 3,784average) - 25th in AHL
Goals Scored: 51, 2.55 goals per game, 25th in AHL
Goals Allowed: 51, 2.55 goals against per game, 4th in AHL
Shots per game: 35.25 - 2nd in AHL
Shots allowed per game: 27.75 - 6th in AHL
Score 1st: 6-1-2-1 when scoring first (.750%)
1 goal games: 4-3-3-3 in one goal games
PP: 16.5%, 20th in AHL (16-97)
PK: 83.5%, 10th in AHL (15-91)
SHG - 2 shorthanded goals scored
SHGA - 2 shorthanded goals allowed
PIMS - 20.80 penalty minutes per game, 3rd in AHL
Fighting Majors: 29 - 3rd 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 - 3 (Braun, Ferriero, and McLaren)
NHL debuts - 0 Worcester players made their NHL debuts this season
Call-ups to San Jose - 4 different call-ups to San Jose this season
Coming and goings from the Shark Tank:
ADD - Justin Braun loaned from San Jose to Worcester on Nov 30
DELETE - Justin Braun recalled from Worcester to San Jose on Dec 5
Top Worcester Sharks:
o Goals Irwin (7)
o Game Winners Matt Irwin (3)
o Assists Connolly (10)
o Points Irwin (7-9-16)
o Power play Points Irwin (6-4-10)
o Shots Irwin (76 shots)
o PIM Gogol (52)
o Fighting Pen. Bonneau and Gogol (4)
o Plus/Minus Reid (+7)
o Wins Sateri and Sexsmith (4)
o G.A.A. Sexsmith (1.80)
o Save % Sexsmith (.931)
o Shutouts N/A
Sharks in the Pacific:
The San Jose Sharks are 14-8-1 with 29 points through 23 games and currently in 4th place in the Pacific Division; which is two points behind Dallas (26gp) and Phoenix (26gp) and one point behind the 3rd place Kings (26gp). Former Worcester Sharks playing for San Jose: Joe Pavelski (11-9-20), Logan Couture (10-9-19), Marc-Edouard Vlasic (2-10-12), Torrey Mitchell (2-3-5), Douglas Murray (0-3-3), Andrew Desjardins (2-3-5), Jamie McGinn (4-2-6), Jason Demers (1-4-5), Justin Braun (0-1-1), and Frazer McLaren (0-0-0). Thomas Greiss is 4-4-0 with a 2.37GAA and .918 save %.
Week ahead:
Tue., Dec 6 at 10:30pm vs. Minnesota
Thu., Dec 8 at 10:30pm vs. Dallas
Sat., Dec 10 at 8:00pm at St. Louis
Sun., Dec 11 at 9:00pm at Chicago
Sharks in the ECHL:
The Stockton Thunder are 10-7-1-2 in 20 games this season with 23 points which is 3 points behind the first place Las Vegas Wranglers (21gp) in the Pacific Division. Worcester Sharks training camp invite, Gabriel Levesque, is 2nd on the Thunder with 12 points (5-7-12) in 11 games and Ian O'Connor with nine points (4-5-9) through 16 games to lead the way offensively for the Thunder. Thomas Heemskerk is 6-3-0 with a 2.98GAA and a .900save %.
Week Ahead:
Wed., Dec 7 at 12:05am at Las Vegas
Fri., Dec 9 at 10:00pm at Bakersfield
Sat., Dec 10 at 10:20pm vs. Bakersfield
Sun., Dec 11 at 7:00pm vs. Bakersfield
Coming Up:
Worcester's season long seven game road trip continues with two games this weekend!
On Friday, the Sharks battle the first place Ice Caps in St. John's at 6pm (est).
On Sunday, the Sharks have a rematch vs. the Ice Caps in St. John's at 12:30pm (est).
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!
American Hockey League Stories from December 6, 2011
- Aeros Fly by Rampage, 6-1 - San Antonio Rampage
- Aeros Grab First with 6-1 Victory - Houston Aeros
- Phantoms Shutout for First Time Despite 34 Shots - Adirondack Phantoms
- Bulldogs Shutout Phantoms in Overtime Victory - Hamilton Bulldogs
- Crunch Comeback Comes up Short - Syracuse Crunch
- AHL Weekly - AHL
- Stars Return Home to Host Division Leaders - Texas Stars
- Aeros Add Forward McKenzie, Goaltender Nolan - Houston Aeros
- Crunch Ink John Kurtz to AHL Deal, Ducks Assign Deslauriers - Syracuse Crunch
- Panthers Send Jacob Markstrom to Rampage - San Antonio Rampage
- Coyotes Assign Patrick O'sullivan to Portland - Portland Pirates
- Griffins Take Three-Game Winning Streak on the Road - Grand Rapids Griffins
- December Looks Bright for Worcester - Worcester Sharks Weekly - Worcester Sharks
- Heat Assign Dowling to Grizzlies - Abbotsford Heat
- Marlies Travel to Steel City to Take on Bulldogs on Friday Night - Toronto Marlies
- Jets Reassign Festerling to IceCaps - St. John's IceCaps
- Lightning Recall Defenseman Evan Oberg from Admirals - Norfolk Admirals
- Anaheim Ducks Recall Nick Bonino - Syracuse Crunch
- Wolves Recall Friesen and Testwuide from Missouri - Chicago Wolves
- Winnipeg Jets Jets Claim Maxwell off Waivers; Assign to St. John's IceCaps - St. John's IceCaps
- Friday Is First Whale Trading Card Giveaway Night - Connecticut Whale
- Webster Bank Announces Sponsorship of Connecticut Whale Telecasts - Connecticut Whale
- Sabres Recall Defenseman Joe Finley from Rochester - Rochester Americans
- Hurricanes Recall Goaltender Mike Murphy - Charlotte Checkers
- Outdoor Game One Month Away - Adirondack Phantoms
- Phantoms Weekly - Adirondack Phantoms
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