Sharks brawl past Falcons in Worcester

February 28, 2009 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Worcester Sharks News Release


Worcester, MA - Two brawls, a hat trick by P.J. Fenton, and seven total goals by the Sharks, ignited Worcester to a 7-3 victory over Springfield on Saturday night at the DCU Center on "Faith Night."

The rough stuff began early in the first period at 3:57 as Brad Staubitz would drop the gloves with Springfield's Guillaume Lefebvre immediately off the puck drop. Each player would connect in a rapid fire exchange of punches but it would be the mighty left fist of Staubitz that would drop Lefebvre down at center ice.

The Sharks would take a 1-0 lead on a dish by T.J. Fox from behind the Falcon net that set up P.J Fenton's first goal of the night at 6:18. The early lead would be short-lived as the Falcons would score an equalizer 27 seconds later on a goal from Charles Linglet to tie the game 1-1.

Fox would regain the advantage for Worcester when he beat Falcon goaltender Dany Sabourin with a short-handed goal at 11:15.

Moments later, multiple skaters from each squad would exchange jabs in a brawl deep in the Falcon zone that started when the Falcons net minder Dany Sabourin went after Brendan Buckley on top of the crease. Brad Staubitz would receive 37 minutes of penalties in the scrum after he clocked Tim Sestito to the ice after the initial fight. Sharks net minder Thomas Greiss skated to his blue line after Dany Sabourin invited him to join in the fray. The sum of the penalties left Worcester shorthanded, but the penalty killing unit held fast for a full five minutes.

With fourteen seconds left in the period, Worcester goaltender Thomas Greiss would make a terrific pad save sliding left to right to keep the score 2-1 at the end of twenty minutes. The Sharks outshot Springfield 18-9.

Worcester would cash in on a 5on4 power play chance when Lukas Kaspar drove home his 14th goal of the season at 3:37 and brought the Shark lead to 3-1 early into the second period.

Things got heated again at 6:21 of the 2nd period with multiple fights scattered behind the Worcester net. Frazer McLaren and Brett Westgarth would exchange blows with Lefebvre and Geoff Paukovich following a Greiss cover. 52 minutes of penalties resulted after the scrum.

Again, the resulting penalties put Worcester on the penalty kill, but Ryan Vesce would score his 20th goal of the season on a shorthanded blast that found the top corner of the net at 8:14. Springfield defensemen Tim Sestito would find the back of the net at 13:06 to bring the Falcons within two at the end of the second frame.

Midway through the third period Fenton would score his 2nd of the game when he caught Sabourin out of position after a rebound deflected off the right post at 10:38. The Sharks would add two more when Matt Fornataro would clean up a loose puck at 17:36 and Fenton would pick up his third goal of the night to give the Sharks a 7-2 lead. Paukovich would score for the Falcons at 18:54 but it would be too little too late as the Sharks would defeat Springfield 7-3.

The win brings Worcester's record to 30-26-1-2 with 63 points through 59 games.



American Hockey League Stories from February 28, 2009


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