Sharks Close out December with 10 Wins - Worcester Sharks Weekly

January 3, 2012 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Worcester Sharks News Release


Shark Snap Shot:

The Worcester Sharks chomped six out of a possible ten points in five games last week. The Sharks started off the week rolling with three exciting wins; beginning with an overtime win in Portland on Dec 26, a 3-1 home win over the Monarchs on Wednesday, and a thrilling 4-3 victory over the Whale on Friday at the DCU Center. The Sharks ended 2011 with a 4-2 loss in Portland on Saturday and began the New Year with a 4-0 loss in Bridgeport on Monday. The Worcester Sharks player of the week nominee is defenseman Sean Sullivan; as he recorded five points (0-5-5), ten shots, and +2 in five games last week. Worcester finished the month of December with a 10-3-0-1 recording 21 of a possible 28 points.

Top 3... Last Week!

#1 John McCarthy scored in sudden death overtime in 3-2 win at Portland on Dec 26!

#2 Brandon Mashinter recorded the Gordie Howe Hattrick which included the game winning goal in 4-3 win over Whale on Dec 30!

#3 Tommy Wingels became the third Sharks player in franchise history to record ten goals in a month with his team leading 13th goal of the season in 4-2 loss in Portland on Dec 31!

Last Week: (3-2-0-0) 6pts, 5gp

Mon. 12/26 OTW Worcester SHARKS 3 @ Portland Pirates 2

Wed. 12/28 W Manchester Monarchs 1 @ Worcester SHARKS 3

Fri. 12/30 W Connecticut Whale 3 @ Worcester SHARKS 4

Sat. 12/31 L Worcester SHARKS 2 @ Portland Pirates 4

Mon. 1/2 L Worcester SHARKS 0 @ Bridgeport Sound Tigers 4

This week:

Fri. 1/6 Worcester SHARKS @ Springfield Falcons - 7:30pm

Sat. 1/7 Providence Bruins @ Worcester SHARKS - 7pm

Sun. 1/8 Portland Pirates @ Worcester SHARKS - 3pm

Rewind the Tape:

12.26.11 - Worcester 3- Portland 2 - OTW - Cumberland County Civic Center Worcester barreled back from an early 2-0 deficit and John McCarthy provided the heroics with an overtime game winner with 2:04 remaining to give the Sharks a 3-2 come-from-behind victory over the Portland Pirates at Cumberland County Civic Center on Monday night. Tyson Sexsmith was brilliant with 33 saves in goal for Worcester, Mike Moore added three assists, and Jimmy Bonneau scored his first goal as a member of the Worcester Sharks and added his 9th fighting major in the win.

12.28.11 - Worcester 3- Manchester 1 - W - DCU Center Three different goal scorers and 22 saves by Harri Sateri led the Sharks to a 3-1 victory over the Manchester Monarchs at the DCU Center on Wednesday night. Nathan Moon, Matt Pelech, and Curt Gogol scored for the Sharks and Jimmy Bonneau added an assist and his 10th fighting major of the season in the win to snap a five game losing skid against the Monarchs.

12.30.11 - Worcester 4- Connecticut 3 - W - DCU Center Brandon Mashinter scored with 2:56 remaining in the third period for the Sharks 4th and final lead of the game in a thrilling 4-3 victory over the Connecticut Whale in front of 5,091 at the DCU Center on Friday night. Tony Lucia, John McCarthy, and Jack Combs also scored for the Sharks and Harri Sateri made 31 saves for his 7th win of the season as Worcester won their third straight game and improved their record to 10-2-0-1 in the month of December.

12.31.11 - Worcester 2- Portland 4 - L - Cumberland County Civic Center Tommy Wingels scored his team leading 13th goal of the season but the Sharks could not recover from an early 3-0 deficit in a 4-2 loss to the Portland Pirates at Cumberland County Civic Center on New Year's Eve. Jack Combs also scored for the Sharks and Tyson Sexsmith made 21 saves in the loss for Worcester as the Sharks three game win streak came to an end and finished the month of December with a 10-3-0-1 record. The game featured three fights and 72 penalty minutes.

1.2.12 - Worcester 0 - Bridgeport 4 - L - Webster Bank Arena Bridgeport netminder Kevin Poulin faced just 21 shots in his first shutout of the season as the Sharks fell 4-0 to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers at Webster Bank Arena on Monday afternoon to ring in 2012. Harri Sateri made 29 saves for Worcester and snapped a personal four game win streak as Worcester fired a season low 21 shots on goal in the loss.

Sharks in the Atlantic: The Sharks are swimming in 3rd place with 38 points (16-10-3-3) in the Atlantic Division through 32 games, which is six points behind the first place Manchester Monarchs (35gp) and five points behind the 2nd place St. John's IceCaps (32gp). The Sharks are one point ahead of the 4th place Portland Pirates (37 points in 33gp) and seven points ahead of the Providence Bruins (31 points in 35gp), to round out a very choppy Atlantic Division.

Coaching Milestones....

400 WINS!....With the 4-1 victory vs. Springfield on November 1, 2009, head coach Roy Sommer became just the 4th coach in AHL history to reach the 400 win plateau.

500 WINS!.... Coach Roy Sommer is just 6 wins away from 500 in his AHL coaching career.

1000 GAMES... With the 3-1 victory at Springfield on January 14, 2011, head coach Roy Sommer became just the 4th coach in AHL history to reach the 1,000 games plateau.

AHL COACHING WINS - ALL-TIME

1. Fred "Bun" Cook 1937-56 19seasons 1,171GP 636 WINS

2. Frank Mathers 1956-85 18seasons 1,256GP 610 WINS

3. John Paddock 1981-2010 16seasons 1,125GP 589 WINS

4. Roy Sommer 1998-current 14seasons 1,072GP 494 WINS

Worcester Sharks Head Coach Roy Sommer, who plays a major role in developing players for the San Jose Sharks, is currently the longest-tenured coach (14th season) in the American Hockey League. His current regular season record is now: 494-443 -49 -46 -40. (W-L-T-OTL-SOL)

In Coach Sommer's first AHL victory.... The Kentucky Thoroughblades defeated the Albany River Rats 6-4 at the Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky on October 17th 1998. Coincidentally, Assistant Coach David Cunniff recorded an assist as a member of the River Rats in the hockey game.

Assistant Coach David Cunniff has joined Coach Sommer in 340 of the 494 victories (68%).

ECHL... Coach Sommer also has 176 wins in the ECHL coaching in five seasons with Roanoke Valley and Richmond.

Shark Bites:

Captains for the 2011-12 season: Mike Moore was named the Sharks 4th captain in team history on Feb 11, 2011 and was named captain again before the start of the 2011-12 season. Alternate captains for this season: veteran forward Ben Guite and forward John McCarthy. Tommy Wingels, Sean Sullivan, Jimmy Bonneau, and Benn Ferriero have also worn the "A" this season.

From east to west..... The Worcester Sharks have had 4 players (6 call-ups) receive at least one call up this season to San Jose... Currently; Benn Ferriero, Andrew Desjardins, Frazer McLaren, Justin Braun, Jamie McGinn, Logan Couture, Jason Demers, Joe Pavelski, Marc-Edourd Vlasic, and Doug Murray are all former Worcester Sharks that are currently playing with the San Jose Sharks.

AWARDS...Tommy Wingels was selected as the Reebok/AHL Player of the Week for the period ending Dec. 18, 2011. In four games last week Wingels recorded four goals, two assists and a plus-6 rating as the Sharks closed out a seven-game road swing having earned 11 of a possible 14 standings points. Wingels recorded 10 points (seven goals, three assists), including four game-winning goals, and a plus-11 rating during the Sharks' seven-game road stretch from Dec. 4-18, helping Worcester to a 5-1-0-1 mark in that time. In recognition of his achievement, Wingels will be presented with an etched crystal award prior to an upcoming Sharks home game.

Tommy Wingels take 2... Tommy Wingels became just the third Worcester Sharks player in franchise history to record 10 goals in a month (joining Mathieu Darche and Graham Mink). Tommy finished the month of December with 10 goals, three assists, and +5 in 14 games. Wingels recorded four game winning goals in the month of December and fired 53 shots on goal.

Breaking down December... the Sharks finished 10-3-0-1 (21 points in 14gp) in December with 46GF and 35GA. PP went 9-for-57, opponents PP is 8-for-46. Worcester had 32 fighting majors in the month.

2011... the Sharks finished the calendar year with a 36-28-11 record. (83 points in 75 games)... the Sharks most successful calendar year was 2010 when the Sharks recorded 100 points (45-25-10) in 80 games.

McCarthy likes December... Worcester Sharks points leader, John McCarthy, had a terrific December. J-Mac recorded 14 points (6-8-14) in 14 games with a +3 rating and 41 shots on goal.

On Conditioning... goaltender Antero Niittymaki finished up his conditioning assignment in Worcester from San Jose with three games in net. The NHL veteran went 1-2-0 with Worcester, with a 3.38GAA and an .878 save % before getting called back up to San Jose on Dec 22.

Worcester/Manchester Rivalry... the Sharks and Monarchs have already slugged it out through seven of 12 games this season. The two teams have combined for 317 penalty minutes in the seven games (147 WOR, 170 MCH) and 14 sets of fighting major penalties. Worcester is 2-3-1-1 vs. Manchester this season.

Killer Start... Jack Combs scored on his first shift as a member of the Worcester Sharks in Albany on Dec 16 and added another goal later in the first period. The native of St. Louis, MS led the ECHL with 37 points (17-20-37) in 23 game with Colorado before he was signed by Worcester on Dec 14. The 23-year-old has points in seven of nine games played for Worcester and is averaging a point per game! (5-4-9) in 9 games!

Road Warriors... the Sharks have taken a point in 13-of-17 road games this season (8-4-3-2) and finished with a 5-1-0-1 record on their season long seven game road trip. (12/4-12/18/11)

Streakers!.... Worcester has a fighting major in 18 straight games (39 FM)

3rd period success!... the Sharks are outscoring their opponents 35-21 in the third period this season (+14).... But getting outscored 26-35in the second period (-9).

Leaders among us... Curt Gogol is 1st among AHL rookies with 86 penalty minutes and 1st with 10 fighting majors...Tyson Sexsmith is 2nd in the AHL with a 1.98GAA and 4th with a .927 save % ... Sean Sullivan is 14th in the AHL d-men scoring race with 18 points (3-15-18) and Matt Irwin is 15th with 17 points (7-10-17), 3rd in among AHL d-men with seven goals, 1st in power play goals with six, and 2nd in shots with 97.

OT Penalty Shot... On November 16, Springfield goaltender Manny Legace faced Worcester forward Mike Connolly on a penalty shot 52 seconds into overtime and saved both the attempt and the game, as just over a minute later the Falcons won, 3-2, on a goal by Alexandre Giroux. Since the 1992-93 season, there have been 27 penalty shots taken in overtime of an AHL game (including four in the playoffs); goalies have stopped 25 of them.

Penalty Shots take 2.... Sean Sullivan scored a rare penalty shot shorthanded goal by a defenseman vs. Mike McKenna in the 2nd period in a 5-2W at Binghamton on Dec 17. Worcester is now 3-for-7 in franchise history on penalty shots.

PP Specialist...Matt Irwin's six power-play goals have put him in good position to set some team records, but he is not there yet. The record for most power-play goals in a season by a Sharks defenseman is nine, done by Garrett Stafford in 2006-07. The career record is 16, done by Derek Joslin. Irwin had six last year, so has 12 for his career.

Tallest Shark.... Worcester Sharks rookie defenseman Taylor Doherty is the tallest player in team history standing at 6'7" 230lbs. Taylor has a +9 rating for the best mark on the club.

Score first... the Sharks have scored FIRST 15 times in 32 games last season (11-1-2-1); Curt Gogol 2,Benn Ferriero 4, Nathan Moon 2, Mike Moore 1, Tommy Wingels 1, John McCarthy 2, Matt Irwin 1, Sena Acolatse 1, and Tony Lucia 1.

First Pro Goals this season... Curt Gogol (Oct 9 @ PRO vs. Khudobin), James Livingston (Oct15 vs. ALB vs. Frazee), Mike Connolly (Oct15 vs. ALB vs. Frazee), Nathan Moon (Oct 21 @ PRO vs. Khudobin), Sena Acolatse (Nov 1 vs. STJ vs. Pasquale), Brodie Reid (Nov 5 vs. STJ vs. Pasquale), and Marek Viedenski (Dec 11 at STJ vs. empty net)

100 AHL goals.... Veteran Ben Guite scored his first goal as a member of the Worcester Sharks in a 6-1 win over the Devils on October 15. The goal turned out to be his 100th AHL goal in his career. Ben also has 19 NHL goals in 175 career NHL games.

Great first impression... Curt Gogol became just the 5th Sharks player to score in his professional debut joining Joe Pavelski, Nate Raduns, Tony Lucia, and Cam MacIntyre. (Thanks Bill Ballou, Worcester TG)

Sharks in the Atlantic... the Sharks had a 29-20-4-7 record against Atlantic Division prey last season and are 6-8-2-2 in the division this season.

Good when leading... the Sharks are 8-1-1-1 when leading after the 1st period of play and 8-0-0-1 when leading after the 2nd period of play this season.

5 National Champions... The Sharks have five players that have won the NCAA Division 1 Championship.... Mike Connolly was co-captain for Minnesota-Duluth in 2011, John McCarthy was co-captain for Boston University in 2009... Benn Ferriero and Nick Petrecki with Boston College in 2008... and Ben Guite with Maine in 1999.

These Sharks have teeth!.... Worcester is 3rd in the AHL in penalty minutes averaging 20.72 penalty minutes per game and are 1st with 56 fighting major penalties. Manchester is 2nd with 42 fighting majors

2 Men Down.... John McCarthy became just the 2nd Worcester Sharks player to score a shorthanded goal while the Sharks were two men down. "JMac" scored at 8:32 of the first period in a 3-2 win over Bridgeport on Nov 11. Steve Zalewski had the other 3-on-5 score in Houston on 11/22/08.

200/300... Worcester Sharks captain Mike Moore became just the 2nd player in Sharks history to hit 200 games and 300 penalty minutes this season joining Riley Armstrong. #8 has played in 212 games for Worcester accumulating 308 penalty minutes.

Sherriff McLaren... Sharks tough guy Frazer McLaren was called up to San Jose on November 26 after a conditioning assignment in Worcester. #10 ranks 2nd all-time in Worcester Sharks history with 435 penalty minutes (42 FM) in 178 games. Brad Staubitz holds the top stop with 462 pims in 162 games.

Thanks Ballou... the Worcester Sharks are 4-6-1-0 when they fire 47 or more shots on goal during a game.

Massachusetts!... the Sharks have four players born from Massachusetts (John McCarthy - Andover, Benn Ferriero - Essex, Sean Sullivan - Braintree, and Brian O'Hanley - Quincy) In addition, assistant coach David Cunniff hails from South Boston.

Hockey East Alumni!... the Worcester Sharks have eight players currently from Hockey East Schools (Irwin - UMass-Amherst, Ferriero - BC, McCarthy - BU, Sullivan - BU, Reid - NU, O'Hanley - BC, Guite - UMaine, Petrecki - BC)

Young Guns... the Sharks have dressed 13 rookies already this season. (Curt Gogol, Nathan Moon, Brodie Reid, James Livingston, Mike Connolly, Taylor Doherty, Tyson Sexsmith, Harri Sateri, Sena Acolatse, Tony Lucia, Marek Viedensky, Brian O'Hanley, and Jack Combs)

Super Sunday... the Sharks went 14-4-0-2 on Sunday afternoon games in 2010-11 and are 3-2-0-1 on Sundays this season.

I'll take a draft... Nine Worcester Sharks players were drafted by the San Jose Sharks. (Braun, Doherty, Lucia, McCarthy, O'Hanley, Petrecki, Sateri, Sexsmith, and Viedensky,)

NHL Experience.... The Sharks have five players with NHL experience totaling 248 games led by veteran Ben Guite with 175... breakdown of the rest... John McCarthy 41, Mike Moore 6, Matt Pelech 5, Brandon Mashinter 13, and Tommy Wingels 8.

Gordie Howe Hattrick.... Worcester Sharks winger Brandon Mashinter recorded a Gordie Howe Hattrick in the Sharks 4-3W vs. the Whale at the DCU Center on Dec 30th. Mash recorded an assist on Tony Lucia's goal at 5:20 of first period, fighting major vs. Jared Nightingale at 19:54 of the second period, and the game winning goal at 17:04 of the third period. It was the first time a Sharks player had recorded a Gordie Howe Hattrick since Mash did it vs. Lowell on Nov 11, 2009.

Like Father, Like Son... Rookie Curt Gogol leads the Sharks with 86 penalty minutes and 10 fighting majors through 27 games... his father Brent racked up 892 penalty minutes in 157 professional games in the IHL, CHL, EHL, and the AHL including 380 pims in 1978-79 in 57 games with the Flint Generals.

Major Bonneau... Worcester Sharks tough guy Jimmy Bonneau has racked up 11 fighting majors in 23 games this season for the Sharks. Jimmy has 81 fighting majors in 218 AHL games along with 630 penalty minutes.

Acolatse can throw... Worcester Sharks rookie defenseman Sena Acolatse has been quite impressive in his first five professional hockey fights this season. The 5-11, 205 pounder and native of Hayward, CA native has fought Richard Clune, Brett Hextall, Dane Byers, Stephane Veilleux, and Andre Deveaux so far this season. Sena led the Prince George Cougars in WHL with 15 fighting majors in 66 games last year, and also added 15 goals.

Five for fighting...The Sharks have 56 fighting majors this season good for 1st in the AHL... 15 different players dropped the mitts this season for the Sharks this season: (Jimmy Bonneau 11, Curt Gogol 10, Nick Petrecki 1, Cam MacIntyre 4, Nathan Moon 6, Brandon Mashinter 4, Mike Moore 2, Frazer McLaren 2, Sena Acolatse 5, Taylor Doherty 1, Matt Pelech 5, Tommy Wingels 2, Ryan Del Monte 1, James Livingston 1, John McCarthy 1)... The Sharks had 81 fighting majors last season, 73 fighting majors in 2009-10, 78 fighting majors in 2008-09, 68 fighting majors in 2007-08 and 54 in 2006-07.

Season by the numbers...

Record: 16-10-3-3, 38 points - 3rd in Atlantic

Win percentage: .594% - 12th in AHL

Home Record: 8-6-0-1

Away Record: 8-4-3-2

Attendance: 57,342 through 15 games at DCU Center 3,823 average) - 24th in AHL

Goals Scored: 88, 2.75 goals per game, 21st in AHL

Goals Allowed: 84, 2.63 goals against per game, 8th in AHL

Shots per game: 34.44 - 2nd in AHL

Shots allowed per game: 28.19 - 5th in AHL

Score 1st: 11-1-2-1 when scoring first (.833%)

1 goal games: 8-3-3-3 in one goal games

PP: 15.6%, 23rd in AHL (23-147)

PK: 82.8%, 12th in AHL (23-134)

SHG - 4 shorthanded goals scored

SHGA - 4 shorthanded goals allowed

PIMS - 20.72 penalty minutes per game, 3rd in AHL

Fighting Majors: 56 - 1st in AHL

OT Games - 9 - (3-3 record in OT)

SO Games - 3 - (0-3 record in SO)

Roster Players - the Sharks have used 29 players this season

Goalies - the Sharks have used 3 goaltenders this season

Players receiving call-ups to San Jose - 5 (Braun, Ferriero, McLaren, Irwin, Niittymaki)

NHL debuts - 0 Worcester players made their NHL debuts this season

Call-ups to San Jose - 6 different call-ups to San Jose this season

Coming and goings from the Shark Tank:

No Transactions this past week.

Top Worcester Sharks:

o Goals Wingels (13)

o Game Winners Wingels (4)

o Assists McCarthy and Sullivan (15)

o Points McCarthy (8-15-23)

o Power play Points Irwin (6-5-11)

o Shots Irwin and Wingels (97 shots)

o PIM Gogol (86)

o Fighting Pen. Bonneau (11)

o Plus/Minus Doherty (+9)

o Wins Sexsmith (8)

o G.A.A. Sexsmith (1.98)

o Save % Sexsmith (.927)

o Shutouts N/A

Sharks in the Pacific:

The San Jose Sharks are 20-14-4 with 44 points through 35 games and currently in 2nd place in the Pacific Division, just one point behind the LA Kings (40 gp). Former Worcester Sharks playing for San Jose: Joe Pavelski (15-13-28) Logan Couture (16-12-28), Marc-Edouard Vlasic (2-12-14), Torrey Mitchell (3-4-7), Douglas Murray (0-3-3), Andrew Desjardins (3-4-7), Jamie McGinn (8-5-13), Jason Demers (1-6-7), Justin Braun (1-4-5), and Frazer McLaren (0-0-0). Thomas Greiss is 4-4-0 with a 2.37GAA and .918 save %.

Week ahead:

Wed., Jan 4 at 10:30pm at Anaheim

Thu., Jan 5 at 10:30pm vs. Columbus

Sat., Jan 7 at 10:30pm vs. Washington

Sharks in the ECHL:

The Stockton Thunder are 13-13-1-3 in 30 games this season with 30 points which is 14 points behind the first place Las Vegas Wranglers (33gp) and three points behind the 2nd place Ontario Reign (30gp) in the Pacific Division. Thomas Heemskerk is 8-5-0 with a 3.22 GAA and a .894 save %.

Week Ahead:

Fri., Jan 6 at 10pm at Bakersfield

Sat., Jan 7 at 10pm at Bakersfield

Coming Up:

The Sharks play three games in three days this weekend!

On Friday, January 6, the Sharks head to Springfield to tangle with the Falcons at 7:30pm!

"Check Yourself. Beat Cancer" Night to benefit the 15-40 Connection presented by Columbia Tech

On Saturday, The Worcester Sharks host the Providence Bruins at 7pm!

The Sharks will wear a special 15-40 Connection jersey which will all be auctioned off through raffle, Chinese auction, silent auction, a post-game live auction, and a select few via an online auction; with proceeds to benefit the 15-40 Connection. (The 15-40 Connection is a 501(c)(3), not-for-profit organization) In addition; goaltenders Harri Sateri and Tyson Sexsmith will use specially designed 15-40 goalie sticks during the game which will also be auctioned off to benefit the 15-40 Connection.

Before the Worcester Sharks host the Providence Bruins at 7pm, the Shrewsbury high school varsity hockey team will battle Algonquin high school at 4pm in the 3rd annual High School Hockey Showdown. Doors at the DCU Center will open at 3:30pm with one ticket good for both games!

Enjoy the high energy cover band Probable Cause from 5:30 to 6:30pm in the Charter Zone before the Sharks game!

$5 Kids Sundays presented by Southwick's Zoo

On Sunday, the Sharks close out the weekend with a 3pm start at the DCU Center vs. the Portland Pirates! With every Sunday home game this season, Kid's tickets are just $5 presented by Southwick's Zoo. Receive a free child's admission to Southwick's Zoo with the purchase of a full priced adult and kid's ticket!

Score a family fun pack today for only $74! Four tickets, four hot dogs, and four sodas for a portion of the price! Available only through the Sharks front office for every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday games this season!

Enjoy a Worcester sharks Experience Pack! The Sharks are offering groups to partake in a Sharks hockey experience with many interactive activities; including friends and family skates on the DCU Center ice before or after a game, the high FIN tunnel (high-fiving players as they take the ice), singing the National Anthem, intermission performances, and more.



American Hockey League Stories from January 3, 2012


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