McCarthy's Late Tally Not Enough to Propel Worcester in Shootout

March 9, 2013 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Worcester Sharks News Release


Worcester, MA - The Worcester Sharks (26-23-1-6, 59pts) fell to the Atlantic Division leading Providence Bruins (35-18-0-5, 73pts) in a 4-3 shootout loss on Saturday evening in front of 7,804 fans at the DCU Center. The Sharks continue their four game home stand with a 3pm start on Sunday vs. the Portland Pirates.

Harri Sateri was superb with 39 saves on 42 shots, but his counterpart, Niklas Svedberg made 45 saves on 48 shots including 16 saves on 17 shots in the third period. Worcester's Captain John McCarthy scored with just one minute left in the third period to tie the game and force overtime but Worcester was unable to find one more tally in the overtime period. Even strength goals by Sebastian Stalberg and Freddie Hamilton filled out the Worcester scoring.

With both goalies playing stellar in the opening frame, the teams were only able to light the goal lamp once as they combined for 28 shots but just one goal. Worcester would get the lone goal at 7:40 of the first period as Sebastian Stalberg (9th) would put home a rebound past netminder Niklas Svedberg, off a low wrist from Denny Urban. After Svedberg threw his stick, James Livingston was rewarded a penalty shot, but was denied high glove-side by Svedberg at 13:33. Harri Sateri looked very sharp in the first period as he made 13 saves on 13 shots including a unbelievable split save on Jamie Tardif to keep Providence off the board. At the end of one period Worcester led on the scoreboard and in shots with a 15 to 13 advantage.

In the middle frame, Providence would start the scoring early as they would strike less than a minute into the second period on a power play. Craig Cunningham (19th) would be on the receiving end of a nice pass from Torey Krug as he tapped one past Sateri at 0:21. Cunningham (20th) would strike on the power play again as he put back the rebound from a Chris Bourque shot in the slot to give Providence a brief 2-1 lead at 11:39. Less than a minute and a half later, Freddie Hamilton (8th) jumped out of the penalty box and received a pass from Travis Oleksuk that sprung him on a breakaway where he would make a unbelievable deke move and roof a backhand past Svedberg to tie the game at 2. Providence looked to be on the verge of taking a 3-2 lead in closing seconds of the period but Adam Comrie blocked a shot that was bound for the empty net to keep the game tied at 2. Providence out shot Worcester 15 to 11 in the period as they gained a 28 to 26 advantage in shots.

After consecutive back and forth periods of play, Worcester seemed to have a majority of the opportunities to break the tie in the third period but Niklas Svedberg remained up to the task. Providence would take the lead late in third period as Christian Hanson (9th) took a cross ice pass from Matt Bartkowski and blasted a slap shot past Sateri making it 3-2 Providence at 16:36 of the third. With relentless pressure for the remainder of the period, Worcester's captain John McCarthy (9th) buried a loose puck among a huge pile of players to tie game at 3-3 at 19:00 with the extra attacker. As the game headed to overtime Worcester outshot Providence 17 to 11 in the third and 43 to 39 in regulation.

During the overtime period Worcester again had the majority of the scoring chances as they outshot Providence 5 to 3 in the extra time but weren't able to find the back of the net. Both goalies each had a spectacular save in the overtime period to keep the game tied at 3. At the end of the overtime period Worcester held a 48-43 advantage in shots.

In the shootout, goals by Craig Cunningham and Trent Whitfield led Providence to the shootout win as Denny Urban was the only Worcester skater to score in the shootout. Both Travis Oleksuk and Freddie Hamilton rang the post in the shootout but were unsuccessful.

The Sharks overall record falls to 26-23-1-6 (59pts in 56gp) and 10-10-1-4 (25pts in 25gp) on home ice this season.



American Hockey League Stories from March 9, 2013


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