Sharks Close out Weekend with Hard Fought Loss in Springfield
February 16, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Worcester Sharks News Release
Springfield, MA - The Worcester Sharks (23-22-3-1, 50pts) closed out their season high five game road trip with a hard fought 4-1 loss to the Northeast Division leading Springfield Falcons (32-15-1-4, 69pts) in front of 3,406 fans at the Mass Mutual Center on Sunday afternoon. The Sharks return home on Friday and Saturday with a pair of games vs. the St. John's IceCaps at the DCU Center.
Daniil Tarasov scored the only goal for Worcester in a game that featured four fights and 56 penalty minutes as the Sharks closed out the road trip with a 1-4-0-0 record. Michael Chaput recorded three goals for Springfield and Mike McKenna made 29 saves in net as Springfield snapped a three game losing skid.
With both teams heading into the game with a pair of losses on the weekend, it was a heads up feisty opening frame that saw the Falcons score the only goal. Michael Chaput (13th) sent a snap shot through a screen and past Troy Grosenick at 12:31 on the power play to give Springfield a 1-0 advantage. The period saw plenty of hard hits, post whistle scrums, and a heavy weight battle between Jimmy Bonneau (13th FM) and Dalton Prout (1st FM) at 7:51. Springfield outshot Worcester 13-7 with the best Sharks chance came early as Taylor Doherty hit the cross bar five minutes in.
The second period featured three fights and a pair of goals. Michael Chaput (14th) sent a laser past Grosenick after the Sharks turned the puck over behind their own net at 5:47 to put Springfield ahead 2-0. Daniil Tarasov (12th) one timed a beautiful feed from Matt Tennyson past goaltender Mike McKenna at 7:51 to put Worcester on the board. Cody Bass (10th FM) got the better of Sena Acolatse (5th FM) at 3:45 put Acolatse (6th FM) got the TKO in round 2 on Bass (11th FM) at 11:38. Nick Petrecki (3rd FM) dropped the mitts with Dalton Smith (14th FM) at 10:38 as tempers continued to flare. Springfield took a 2-1 advantage into the second period and held a 22-19 shot advantage.
Jonathan Marchessault (14th) scored on a breakaway at 14:13 to put Springfield ahead 3-1 and Michael Chaput (15th) found an empty net with 2:17 remaining for the hat trick as the Falcons picked up their first win of the weekend with a 4-1 win over Worcester.
The Sharks overall record falls to 23-22-3-1, 50pts and 11-13-3-0, 25pts on the road.
Notes: Three Stars: 3rd star: Cody Bass (2 fights) 2nd star: Mike McKenna (29 saves, W) 1st star: Michael Chaput (3-0-3)... Final shots were 33-30 in favor of Springfield...Mike McKenna made 29 saves on 30 shots for Springfield... Troy Grosenick made 29 saves on 32 shots for Worcester.... Worcester went 0-for-2 on the power play while Springfield went 1-for-3... James Livingston (ill), Matt Pelech (inj), John McCarthy (inj), Marek Viedensky (inj), and Adam Comrie did not dress for Worcester... Rylan Schwartz is the only Sharks player to play in all 49 games.... the Sharks scored just one even strength goal in three games this weekend and were outscored 17-2 in the three losses.... Eriah Hayes and Daniil Tarasov each had five shots on goal.... Nick Petrecki was a goal away from a Gordie Howe hat trick.... the Sharks logged over 13 hours on the bus in three games during the weekend.
Coming up... The Sharks return home on Feb 21 and Feb 22 vs. the St. John's IceCaps! The first 500 fans will receive a Joe Pavelski Team USA t-shirt on the 22nd!
• Discuss this story on the American Hockey League message board...
American Hockey League Stories from February 16, 2014
- Weekly: Family Day Game Marks Start of Four-Game Week for Bulldogs - Hamilton Bulldogs
- Phantoms and Pirates Drop the Gloves in Huge Brawl - Adirondack Phantoms
- Luckey 7 for Rockford - Rockford IceHogs
- Hogs Edge Wild 4-2 - Iowa Wild
- RECAP: Pirates Fight Past Phantoms for First Home Win of 2014 - Portland Pirates
- Checkers Complete Comeback in Overtime - Charlotte Checkers
- Bears Score Three in Third to Take 3-1 Win over Penguin - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
- Jones Caps Six-Point Weekend - Manchester Monarchs
- Bears Win Third Period to Take Fifth Straight - Hershey Bears
- P-Bruins Defeat Wolf Pack 3-2 in Shootout - Providence Bruins
- Wolves Claim Another Close One over Milwaukee - Chicago Wolves
- Checkers Beat Heat 5-4 in Overtime - Abbotsford Heat
- Amerks Rally to Beat Stars in Overtime Thriller - Rochester Americans
- Chaput's Hat Trick Fuels Falcons Victory - Springfield Falcons
- Wolf Pack Fall in Shootout - Hartford Wolf Pack
- Sharks Close out Weekend with Hard Fought Loss in Springfield - Worcester Sharks
- Marlies Fall 2-1 against Utica - Toronto Marlies
- Sound Tigers Spread Scoring around in Rout of Albany - Bridgeport Islanders
- Americans Rally to Stun Stars in Overtime 5-4 - Texas Stars
- Devils Weekend Ends With Loss - Albany Devils
- IceCaps Earn Point in Shootout Loss - St. John's IceCaps
- Gameday: Utica at Toronto - Utica Comets
- Gregory Campbell to Appear at Falcons Game - Springfield Falcons
- Iowa Recalls Matson from Orlando - Iowa Wild
- Pirates Meet Phantoms for Sunday Rematch - Portland Pirates
- Barons' Win Streak Ends at Six with 5-4 Shootout Loss to Monsters - Oklahoma City Barons
- Comets win over Rochester - Utica Comets
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.
