McElhinney Stifles Worcester in Finale of 3 in 3 Road Trip
March 3, 2013 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Worcester Sharks News Release
Springfield, MA- The Worcester Sharks (26-23-1-5, 58pts) were defeated by their Eastern Conference rival the Springfield Falcons (34-19-1-2, 71pts) by a score of 2-0 on Sunday afternoon in front of 3,791 fans at the Mass Mutual Center. The Sharks wrapped up the 3-in-3 road weekend with a 1-2-0-0 record and return home on Saturday, March 9 to host the Providence Bruins on a FINZ Pan-Mass bobblehead night presented by Saint Vincent Hospital.
With today's game in Springfield, Worcester Shark's Head Coach Roy Sommer tied Fred "Bun" Cook for the 2nd most games coached in AHL history with 1171. Only Frank Mathers has more games coached with 1256 games. Sommer currently ranks 4th all time with 535 wins.
Alex Stalock was a late scratch for Worcester as Harri Sateri made his second straight start making 17 saves on 19 shots in the loss. Curtis McElhinney was perfect making 30 saves on 30 shots for Springfield, including 13 in the third period, giving him his AHL leading 8th shutout of the season.
After a back and forth first period with each team getting quality scores chances, Springfield would score a late period goal to take 1-0 lead. Springfield's' Ryan Russell (6th) would put home a lucky bounce off a Jonathan Audy-Marchessault shot that would go over Sateri's right shoulder giving the Falcons a early lead at 16:36. Despite trailing 1-0, Worcester tied Springfield in shots with 7.
With not much action happening in the second period, Springfield would score the only goal of the period to extend their lead to 2-0. Tomas Kubalik (14th) tapped home a rebound past Sateri's left pad, off a Michael Chaput backhand shot at 4:23 of the second period doubling the Falcon's lead. Worcester outshot Springfield 10 to 9 in the period, giving them a 17 to 16 advantage for the game.
As both teams were held scoreless in the third period the game remained 2-0 in favor of Springfield. However, Worcester had the majority of the scoring chances in the final period as they outshot Springfield 13 to 3 in the but, goalie Curtis McElhinney was up to the challenge and kept Worcester off the scoreboard. The game ended with the shots in favor of Worcester 30 to 19.
The Sharks overall record falls to 26-23-1-5 (58pts in 55gp) and 16-13-0-2 (34pts in 31gp) on the road this season.
Notes: FIVE GUYS BURGERS Three Stars: 3rd star: Tomas Kubalik (1-0-1) 2nd star: Ryan Russell (1-0-1, GWG) 1st star: Curtis McElhinney (30 saves on 30 Shots)... Final shots were 30-19 in favor of Worcester... Curtis McElhinney made 30 saves on 30 shots for Springfield...Harri Sateri made 17 saves on 19 shots for Worcester.... Worcester went 0-for-5 on the power play while Springfield went 0-for-3... Bracken Kearns(scr), Mike Brennan (inj), Jimmy Bonneau (scr) and Brodie Reid (inj) did not dress for Worcester....This was the fourth time Worcester has been shutout this season ....The Sharks are now 37-19-3 all-time in 59 meetings vs. Springfield.
Coming up... The Sharks return home on Saturday, March 9 vs. the Providence Bruins with the first 3,000 fans receiving a free FINZ Pan-Mass Challenge bobblehead compliments of Saint Vincent Hospital.
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