Sharks Attack Pirates in Overtime With 2-1 Victory

Published on April 4, 2008 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Worcester Sharks News Release


WORCESTER - With a slew of young teammates playing their first game on DCU Center ice, Graham Mink and Mike Iggulden treated the newcomers to a thrilling home victory as the Sharks came from behind to knock off the Portland Pirates 3-2 in overtime on Friday night.

Cautious offensive play produced no goals and just ten combined shots over the opening 20 minutes, a stretch which included the Sharks holding Portland's power play without a shot on net while killing off two first period penalties.

Scoring remained elusive until 6:19 into the middle frame. Pirates winger Simon Ferguson closed in on Sharks backstop Thomas Greiss and fired a shot from the right faceoff dot. Greiss got behind the initial shot, but the rebound caromed right to the stick of Michal Birner, who buried his 8th goal of the year into a vacated net to give Portland a 1-0 lead.

Greiss came up big a few moments later to keep Worcester close. A pinpoint feed from blueliner John de Gray gave Portland leading scorer Andrew Ebbett a clean look from just outside the crease, but Greiss denied the point-blank try and quickly smothered the rebound.

Worcester nearly tied the game in the opening seconds of the third period, but a loose puck in the Portland crease was cleared away by the stick of a diving Salcido. The Sharks fired another 6 shots on net in the third period before they finally solved Jean-Sebastien Aubin. Mink cleaned up a blue line drive from Tom Walsh, notching his 23rd goal of the year and tying the game at 1-1 with 5:32 left to play.

That score would hold into overtime, when Iggulden sealed the Worcester victory with a remarkable individual effort, picking up the unassisted game-winner by beating a Pirate defenseman to the outside, fooling Aubin and tucking the puck between the netminder's leg just 1:06 into the extra frame.

The Sharks are on the road tomorrow for a 7:05pm tilt with the Manchester Monarchs, but return home on Sunday to close out the weekend against Springfield at 4:05pm. Sunday is Truck Day, with all types of trucks on display at the DCU Center plaza. The game doubles as Bald Is Beautiful night - sponsored by Jeffrey Robert Salon & Spa - with Riley Armstrong shaving off his hair for Locks of Love. Sunday also means that four tickets and an extra large pizza are just $48 with the Papa Gino's Family Value package. For more information or to purchase tickets, call the Sharks offices at 508-929-0500 or visit sharksahl.com.

NOTES: The Sharks only had one power play opportunity, a new season-low ... Mike Iggulden now has nine points in the season series against the Pirates ... Graham Mink has points in three of the last four games (2g, 3a) ... Worcester dressed nine rookies, including Steven Zalewski and Ty Wishart who made their professional debuts ...The final attendance figure was 3,562 ... Greiss had 24 saves on 25 shots for the Sharks while Aubin made 21 stops on 23 shots for Portland ... Power plays: Worcester: 0 for 1, Portland 0 for 3 ... Niche Hospitality Group Three Stars: Mezcal 3rd Star: Salcido (1a), Bocado 2nd Star: Greiss (24 saves), Block 5 1st Star: Iggulden (GWG in OT)

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



American Hockey League Stories from April 4, 2008


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central