Pack Close Preseason with Loss
September 27, 2009 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Connecticut Whale News Release
Simsbury, CT, September 27, 2009 - Defenseman Michael Wilson had two goals and an assist, Brandon Mashinter scored a pair of goals, Dwight Helminen had a goal and two assists, and Ryan Vesce had four assists, as the Worcester Sharks handed the Hartford Wolf Pack a 10-2 defeat Sunday at the the International Skating Center of Connecticut, in the Wolf Pack's final 2009 AHL preseason contest.
Dan DaSilva and T.J. Trevelyan added a goal and an assist each for the Sharks, who were 4/4 on the power play. Wolf Pack goals were scored by Tomas Zaborsky, Justin Soryal and Dale Weise. Andres Ambuhl had two assists for Hartford.
The Wolf Pack finished the preseason 2-2-0 in four games.
The Sharks stormed the Pack in the first period, scoring five times against Hartford starter Matt Zaba and building a 5-1 lead.
The onslaught started 1:13 into the game, when Will Colbert beat Zaba from the right-wing side of the crease, after breaking two-on-one with Vesce, who was +5 in the game. Logan Couture made it a 2-0 lead on a power play at 10:07, before ex-Wolf Pack Helminen forced Soryal into a turnover and fed Mashinter at the left-wing side of the goal mouth at 13:23, to up the advantage to 3-0.
Tomas Zaborsky got the Wolf Pack on the scoreboard on a power play at 16:57, taking a pass from Ambuhl and snapping a shot past the glove of Shark goaltender Ryan Nie. Worcester answered just 41 seconds later, though, as Wilson's slapshot snuck just under the crossbar behind Zaba at 17:38.
The Sharks widened it to a 5-1 margin at 19:33 on a power-play tip-in, as Helminen deflected in a shot from the left point by Nick Petrecki.
It took Worcester only 1:10 of the second period to make it 6-1, as Trevelyan greeted relief goaltender Chad Johnson with a jam-in from the right-wing side of the crease.
Soryal got that back for the Wolf pack at 17:29, walking around a Shark defender just inside the blue line and beating Nie with a deke. The Sharks again got a goal in the final minute of the period, though, as DaSilva scored at 19:03 on a breakaway opportunity.
Worcester started fast again in the third period, as Mashinter netted his second of the game at 1:32. Trevelyan set Mashinter up with a cross-slot pass from right to left. Wilson's second of the contest made it 9-2 at 7:53, and the Sharks hit double-digits on a goal by Tom Morrow at 12:02.
The Wolf Pack power play clicked for a second time in five chances at 13:46 for the final margin, with Weise deflecting in a shot by Dave Urquhart.
Worcester outshot the Pack 40-33 in the game, and Nie made 30 saves to get the win. Zaba took the loss for Hartford with five goals-against on 13 shots, and Johnson allowed five on 27 shots.
The Wolf Pack's 2009-10 regular-season home schedule kicks off Saturday, October 10 at the XL Center against the Springfield Falcons (7:00). Once again this season, tickets to the home opener are only $10 each.
American Hockey League Stories from September 27, 2009
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- Monarchs Honor Notre Dame High School In Berlin - Manchester Monarchs
- Judges give the Sharks a perfect 10 - Worcester Sharks
- Crunch Down Rochester - Syracuse Crunch
- San Antonio Slips By Texas 4-3 - Texas Stars
- Admirals Erase Two-Goal Deficit But Fall in OT - Norfolk Admirals
- Pirates Prevail In Berlin - Portland Pirates
- Montreal Assigns Sergei Kostitsyn To Hamilton - Hamilton Bulldogs
- Rivermen Trim Roster - Peoria Rivermen
- Rampage Defeat Stars 4-3 In Final Preseason Game - San Antonio Rampage
- Pack Close Preseason with Loss - Connecticut Whale
- Admirals Release Seven - Milwaukee Admirals
- Bulldogs Win Gardiner Cup With 3-1 Victory - Hamilton Bulldogs
- Falcons Conclude Training Camp, Release 2 Players - Springfield Falcons
- Wolf Pack Announce Roster Cuts - Connecticut Whale
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