Late Goal Sinks Devils, 2-1
January 10, 2009 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Worcester Sharks News Release
WORCESTER - Brett Westgarth's first goal in a Worcester Sharks uniform proved to be a game-winner as the Sharks ended their season-long seven-game home stand with a 2-1 win over Lowell on Saturday evening at the DCU Center.
It marked the fourth-straight win over Lowell after the Devils won the first game on Oct. 11. The Sharks end their franchise long seven game home stand at 5-2-0-0 and now hit the road with a 21-17-0-1 record (43 points).
Midway through the first period, the Sharks had an apparent goal taken away as referee Francois St. Laurent deemed that the whistle had been blown. P.J. Fenton would have gotten credit for the goal as his touch in front appeared to cross the goal line before the whistle had blown, but it was for naught.
Mike Moore laid out Nicklas Bergfors with a clean open-ice hit at 11:21 of the first period. After the hit, both Stephen Gionta and Ryan Murphy looked ready to drop the gloves, but it was Murphy who eventually battled Moore. Along with the fighting majors, Gionta was also assessed an extra minor penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.
The Sharks lit the lamp first behind T.J. Fox's third goal of the season at 2:28 of the second period. Lowell goalie Dave Caruso got a piece of Claude Lemieux's hard slapper, but it deflected over his shoulder, allowing Fox to tip it into the open net. Andrew Desjardins was credited with the other assist on the play.
Lowell quickly tied the score at one when Anssi Salmela netted his sixth goal of the year on a delayed penalty. He was falling down, but was still able to get a low shot off that beat Sharks goalie Thomas Greiss at the 4:37 mark. Bergfors tallied the other assist on the play.
Worcester defenseman Jason Demers saved a goal late in the second period after the Devils sprung a two-on-none. Barry Tallackson made a nice pass across to Alexander Vasyunov who stared at a wide-open net, but his shot was deflected away by Demers, keeping the score at 1-1.
After 33:47 of game action without a goal, Westgarth picked a great time for his first goal of the season. His low shot from the point went through traffic and hit iron before crossing the goal line. Matt Fornataro, who was screening in front, was credited with an assist along with Ryan Vesce.
The Devils pulled Caruso, but could not beat Greiss as the 2-1 score stood.
NOTES: Three Stars: (3) Caruso (34 saves, 2 GA) (2) Greiss (21 saves, 1 GA) (1) Westgarth (GWG) ... Attendance for the contest was 4,539 ... Greiss saved 21 of 22 shots for the Sharks, while Carusso stopped 34 of 36 for Lowell ... Worcester went 0/6 on the power play; Lowell went 0/4 ... Final shots were 36-22 Worcester ... Claude Lemieux recorded an assist for the second straight game. He has already tallied points in consecutive games on three different occasions. Saturday was his 20th game of the season ... Greiss has recorded 57 saves the last two nights while only allowing two goals (97% save pct) ... Ryan Vesce extended his point streak to seven games (4-6-10).
After enjoying a season-high seven-game home stand, the Sharks now look to six straight on the road starting on Wednesday at Philadelphia followed by two over the weekend at Norfolk and a contest next Sunday at Hershey. Worcester returns home on Friday, Jan. 30 to host Springfield.
All games can be heard live on 580 & 94.9 WTAG as well as online through AHL Live by following the link on the Sharks website, www.sharksahl.com.
Be sure not to miss any of the action of the 2008-09 Worcester Sharks season and buy your tickets today! Fans can also purchase tickets to the 2009 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Charter Communications. Purchases can be made by visiting the box office, contacting the Worcester Sharks office at 508.929.0500, or by crashing the net at www.sharksahl.com.
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