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Sharks Continue to Battle for Playoff Spot in East - Worcester Sharks Weekly

March 4, 2015 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Worcester Sharks News Release


Shark Snap Shot: The Worcester Sharks (30-19-4-2, 66pts) chomped two out of a possible six points in three games last week in their 2nd consecutive 3-in-3 weekend. The Sharks extended their point streak to seven games (6-0-1-0) with a 6-3 win over the IceCaps on Friday but fell to the IceCaps on Saturday 2-0 despite firing a season high 50 shots on goal. Worcester closed out the weekend with a 2-0 loss in Manchester on Sunday vs. the Monarchs. Worcester finished the month of February with a 7-2-1-0 record.

Worcester sits in 2nd place in the Atlantic Division with 66 points (30-19-4-2) and 7th overall in the Eastern Conference. The Sharks are 20-7-2-2 in their last 31 games (.709 winning percentage) and continue to climb up the Eastern Conference standings.

Highlights from the week include the first professional hat trick from Evan Trupp on Friday which included a three assist performance by Trevor Parkes. Eriah Hayes, Rylan Schwartz, and John McCarthy also scored last weekend while Aaron Dell continues his strong play between the pipes with 59 saves on 64 shots (.921%) in two games. Worcester fired a season high 50 shots on Saturday - but came up empty on rookie netminder Connor Hellebuyck.

The AHL announced on Jan 30 that the Worcester Sharks are to move to San Jose, CA after the season and join a new Pacific Division for the 2015-16 season. More information can be found by clicking HERE.

TRANSACTIONS: Aaron Dell was signed to his first NHL contract by the San Jose Sharks on Feb 28. Chris Tierney returned from San for the Worcester Sharks game on Mar 1 in Manchester but was recalled right after the game to San Jose. Freddie Hamilton was traded to Colorado for defenseman Karl Stollery on March 2 while Barclay Goodrow and Chris Tierney were both assigned to Worcester and recalled on March 2 in order to be eligible for the AHL playoffs. In addition, Jimmy Bonneau was suspended by the AHL for three games because of his elbowing penalty on Feb 28.

Three Worcester Sharks alumni from the SJ Sharks were traded on the NHL trade deadline on March 2. Tyler Kennedy was traded to the NY Islanders, James Sheppard to the NY Rangers, and Andrew Desjardins to the Chicago Blackhawks.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK:

The Worcester Sharks player of the week nominee is AHL rookie forward Evan Trupp. The 27-year-old from Anchorage, Alaska recorded four points (3-1-4), was +3, and fired 13 shots in three games - which included his first professional hat trick on Feb 27.

JERSEY AUCTION:

The Worcester Sharks have a select few camouflage specialty jerseys involving the annual Heroes Night game to benefit Habitat for Humanity online now! The Sharks won the Heroes Night game on Feb 21 by the score of 4-3 over the Norfolk Admirals in front of 5,286 fans at the DCU Center! The jersey auction runs through Sunday, March 8 at 8pm (EST) with proceeds to benefit Habitat for Humanity! Click HERE to place a BID!

COMING UP:

The Worcester Sharks play three games in three days this weekend!

On Friday, the Sharks host the Hartford Wolf Pack at 7:30pm. Enjoy $2 hot dogs, popcorn, and soda at every Friday night home game! Buy one ticket and get on FREE by clicking HERE. The game will be shown live on Charter TV 193.

On Saturday, the Sharks host the Bridgeport Sound Tigers at 7pm with a Troy Grosenick bobblehead giveaway presented by Midstate Auto Group.

On Sunday, the Sharks close out the 3-in-3 weekend with a 3:05pm faceoff in Providence vs. the Bruins.

Score a Family Fun Pack (4 tickets, 4 hot dogs, and 4 sodas) starting at just $79 by calling 508-929-0500 or visit www.SharksAHL.com.

You can listen to all three games live on WTAG Worcester or watch online for a small fee at www.AHLLive.com.

MILESTONE ALERT:

Head Coach Roy Sommer surpassed Frank Mathers (1256 games coached) for the most games coached in AHL history on March 26, 2014 in the Sharks 5-3 win in Lewiston, ME over the Portland Pirates. Coach Sommer has coached 1323 AHL games - all with the SJ Sharks AHL affiliates. In total, Coach Sommer has been a head coach in 1,659 games in the AHL and ECHL. Roy surpassed John Paddock (589) for the 3rd most wins in AHL history in the Sharks 3-1 win in Providence on Jan 4, 2015. Coach Sommer picked up his 600th career AHL win in a 4-3 victory in Lehigh Valley on Feb 4, 2015 and is now four wins away from tying Frank Mathers (610 wins) for 2nd all-time in AHL history.

Forward John McCarthy has 141 points (58-83-141) and is just three points behind Dan DaSilva (144pts) for the franchise lead in points. J-Mac has played 261 games with the Worcester Sharks - 2nd only to Nick Petrecki (277gp).

Few things to know....

* The Worcester Sharks are in 2nd place (30-19-4-2, 66pts) in the Atlantic Division and 7th place overall in the Eastern Conference. - the Worcester Sharks have the 7th best winning percentage in the Eastern Conference.

* The San Jose Sharks currently have 14 players on their roster that have spent time in Worcester (Couture, Pavelski, Wingels, Braun, Stalock, Irwin, Vlasic, Nieto, Mueller, Karlsson, Hertl, Goodrow, Tarasov, Tierney).

* The San Jose Sharks are in 5th place in the Pacific Division and 10th place in the Western Conference with 72 points and a 32-25-8 record.

* Welcome back captain!...John McCarthy was reassigned by the St. Louis Blues to Worcester on Jan 14 in exchange for Adam Burish. J-Mac made his return to the Sharks line up on Jan 16 and added an assist. McCarthy ranks 2nd all-time in games played (261), 2nd in points (141) and 4th in goals (58).

* Rookie Chris Tierney has 24 points (7-17-24) in 27 games in Worcester this season and seven points (2-6-8) in 26 games for the San Jose Sharks. Chris scored his 1st NHL goal vs. Ryan Miller in the Sharks 5-1 win in Vancouver on Feb 5.

* AHL rookie Jeremy Langlois has 26 points (16-10-26) in 42 games. His 16 goals were most among AHL rookies before his injury. - Langlois is currently sidelined with a foot injury and has missed the last 11 games.

* AHL rookie Evan Trupp ranks 13th among AHL rookies with 31 points (13-18-31) in 54 games - Trupp leads all Worcester skaters with 31 points.

* Melker Karlsson has been impressive so far with the San Jose Sharks. Melker has 17 points (10-7-17) in 36 games with San Jose since his recall on Dec 8. He scored his 1st NHL goal on Dec 22 at Anaheim and also had a five game goal scoring streak!

* Daniil Tarasov is 8th on Worcester with 25 points (10-15-25) in 41 games this season. Daniil is currently on recall with the SJ Sharks and made his NHL debut on Feb 5 and recorded an assist on Chris Tierney's first NHL goal. Tarasov has played two games for San Jose this season (0-1-1) and has missed the last three games in Worcester due to an injury.

* Freddie Hamilton was traded to the Colorado Avalanche for Karl Stollery on March 2. Freddie had 30 points (9-21-30) in 52 games for Worcester and played one game for the SJ Sharks this season (0-0-0). Hamilton Finished his career in Worcester with 99 points (44-55-99) in 191 games.

* Matt Taormina is 2nd among Worcester d-men with 26 points (8-18-26) in 55 games. Matt picked up his 100th AHL assist vs. the Monarchs on Dec 26 and was selected to play in the AHL All Star Classic where he collected two assists. Taormina ranks 20th in AHL among defensemen in points.

* Taylor Fedun is 1st among Worcester defensemen in points (28) and 1st on the club with 24 assists in 55 games. - Fedun ranks 17th in the AHL in points among defensemen.

* Micheal Haley is 2nd on the club in goals (15), leads the club in fighting majors (8), and tops in penalty minutes (84). Haley picked up his 1,000th AHL penalty minute on Dec 13 and has also played four games with the San Jose Sharks this season. Haley leads Worcester in power play goals (7) and game winners (4).

* 50/50 - Defenseman Matt Tennyson has played 25 games in Worcester (3-4-7) and 27 games with the SJ Sharks (2-6-8) this season. - Tenny is currently with the Worcester Sharks.

* Captain Bryan Lerg ranks 3rd on the Sharks with 30 points (8-22-30) in 55 games this season for Worcester.

* Goaltender Troy Grosenick has a 16-7-3 record in Worcester with a 2.66 GAA and a .905 save %. Grosenick made his NHL debut on Nov 16 and set an NHL record for most saves in a shutout by a goaltender making his NHL debut (45) in the SJ Sharks 2-0 win at Carolina. Troy went 1-1-0 in two starts for the SJ Sharks and is currently in Worcester and is and is 9-2-2 in his last 13 starts overall. - Grosenick returned to the net on Feb 21 after missing 11 games due to injury.

* Goaltender Aaron Dell inked his 1st NHL Deal with the SJ Sharks on Feb 28. Dell is 8-4-2 with Worcester this season with a 1.91 GAA and a .929 save %.

* The Worcester Sharks are the least penalized team in the AHL with only 10.91 penalty minutes per game and have allowed the 2nd fewest amount of power play goals against (26).

* PP - the Sharks currently rank 12th in the AHL with a 18.4% conversion rate.

* PK - the Sharks have allowed just 10 power play goals in their last 21 games (74-84, .88.0%) and rank 8th in the AHL with an 85.93% penalty kill rate.

* The Sharks have the 3rd most wins (6) when trailing after 40 minutes of play this season.

* Coach Roy Sommer currently ranks 3rd in the AHL with 606 wins in his career (17th season) and 1st in games coached in the AHL with 1323.

Top 3... Last Week!

1. Evan Trupp scored three goals and added an assist in the Sharks 6-3W over the IceCaps on Feb 27!

2. Trevor Parkes picked up three assists in the Sharks 6-3W vs. the IceCaps on Feb 27!

3. Aaron Dell made 30 saves in the Sharks 2-0L at Manchester on March 1!

Last Week: (1-2-0-0) 2pts, 3gp

Fri. 2/27 W St. John's IceCaps 3 @ Worcester SHARKS 6

Sat. 2/28 L St. John's IceCaps 2 @ Worcester SHARKS 0

Sun. 3/1 L Worcester SHARKS 0 @ Manchester Monarchs 2

This Week:

Fri. 3/6 Hartford Wolf Pack @ Worcester SHARKS - 7:30pm

Sat. 3/7 Bridgeport Sound Tigers @ Worcester SHARKS - 7pm

Sun. 3/8 Worcester SHARKS @ Providence Bruins - 3:05pm

Rewind the Tape:

2.27.15 - St. John's 3 - Worcester 6 - W - DCU Center - Worcester, MA

The Worcester Sharks (30-17-4-2, 66pts) extended their point streak to seven games (6-0-1) with a 6-3 win over the St. John's IceCaps (26-24-3-2, 60pts) in front of 3,203 fans at the DCU Center on Friday night. Evan Trupp (3-1-4, +3) led the way for Worcester, boasting a hat trick as Rylan Schwartz (1-0-1, +1), Eriah Hayes (1-0-1, E), and John McCarthy added goals to boost the Sharks to the 6-3 victory in a physical game against the IceCaps. John Albert (1-1-0, E), Chase Balisy (1-0-1, -2), and Scott Kosmachuk (1-1-1, E) scored for St. John's. Aaron Dell picked up his 8th win, making 29 saves on 32 shots from St. John's. The Sharks have won four straight games and have now won nine of their last ten games on home ice. Worcester's improved their point streak to seven games (6-0-1).

2.28.15 - St. John's 2 - Worcester 0 - L - DCU Center - Worcester, MA

The Worcester Sharks (30-18-4-2, 66pts) were shutout 2-0 by the St. John's IceCaps (27-24-3-2, 62pts) in front of 4,602 fans at the DCU Center on Saturday evening. St. John's rookie goaltender Connor Hellebuyck had an outstanding game, as he picked up his sixth shutout and 25th win of the season, stopping a Sharks' season-high 50 shots on goal. IceCaps' forwards Jason Jaffray (1-1-0, E) and Chase Balisy (1-0-1, E) scored the only goals of the night. Worcester's record falls to 3-2-1-0 against St. John's this season. The Sharks went 7-2-1-0 in the month of February as their four game win streak and seven game point streak came to an end in the loss.

3.1.15 - Manchester 2 - Worcester 0 - L - Verizon Wireless Arena - Manchester, NH

The Worcester Sharks (30-19-4-2, 66pts) were shutout for the second time in less than 24 hours after a 2-0 loss to the host Manchester Monarchs (34-14-5-2, 75pts) in front of 4,896 fans at the Verizon Wireless Arena on Sunday afternoon. Aaron Dell was solid in net for Worcester as he made 30 saves but the Sharks offense came up short for the second straight game as Patrik Bartosak made 29 saves for Manchester. Brian O'Neill and Jordan Weal each had a goal and an assist for the Monarchs as the Sharks were shorthanded a season high seven times in the loss.

Sharks in the Atlantic:

The Worcester Sharks (30-19-4-2, 66pts in 55gp) are in 2ndplace in the Atlantic Division; which is nine points behind the 1st place Monarchs (75pts in 55gp), percentage points ahead of the 3rd place Bruins (66pts in 57gp), two points ahead of the 4th place Pirates (64pts in 56gp), and four points ahead of the 5th place IceCaps (62pts in 59gp) to round out a very choppy Atlantic Division.

Coaching Milestones....

*1257 GAMES.....With the 5-3 win in Lewiston, ME vs. the Pirates on March 26, 2014, head coach Roy Sommer surpassed Frank Mathers (1,256 games) for the most games coached in the AHL.

*1,600 GAMES... With the 3-0 loss vs. the Norfolk Admirals on April 12, 2014, head coach Roy Sommer coached in his 1,600th professional game.

*500 WINS!.... With a 3-2 shootout victory in Hershey on February 11, 2012, head coach Roy Sommer became just the 4th coach in AHL history to reach the 500 win plateau.

*600 WINS!....with the 4-3 win at Lehigh Valley on February 4, 2015, head coach Roy Sommer became just the 3rd coach in AHL history to reach the 600 win 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. Roy Sommer 1998-current 17seasons 1,323GP 606WINS

4. John Paddock 1981-2010 16seasons 1,125GP 589 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 (17th season) in the American Hockey League. His current regular season record is now: 606-553-48-60-56. (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 17, 1998.

Shark Bites:

*Captains for the 2014-15 season: Bryan Lerg was named the 7th captain in team history on Nov 14. Micheal Haley and Matt Taormina are the assistant captains this season.

*Breaking down October... The Sharks had a 4-2-1-0 (9pts in7) record in October with 22 GF and 19 GA. PP went 4-29 (13.8%); opponents PP was 2-20 (10.0%), and the Sharks had four fighting majors in October.

*Breaking down November... The Sharks had a 5-6-1-0 (11pts in 12gp) record in November with 30 GF and 36 GA. PP went 7-55 (12.7%); opponent's power play went 6-41 (14.6%), and the Sharks had 11 fighting majors in November.

*Breaking down December... The Sharks had a 4-5-1-1 (10pts in 11gp) record in December with 28 GF and 31 GA. PP went 8-50 (16.0%); opponent's power play went 8-37 (21.6%), and the Sharks had 3 fighting majors in December.

*Breaking down January.... The Sharks had a 10-3-0-1 (21pts in 14gp) record in January with 47 GF and 34 GA. PP was 14-59 (23.7%); opponent's power play was 5-43 (11.6%) and the Sharks had five fighting majors in the month of January.

*Breaking down February....the Sharks had a 7-2-1-0 (15pts in 10gp) record in February with 33 GF and 22GA. PP went 12-46 (26.0%); opponents power play is 5-36 (13.9%) and the Sharks had six fighting majors in the month of February.

*Breaking down March..... the Sharks have a 0-1-0-0 (0pts in 1gp) record in Marchs with 0 GF and 2 GA. PP is 0-5 (0.0%); opponents' power play is 1-7 (14.3%) and the Sharks have zero fighting majors in March.

*Ring in the New Year!... the Sharks are 17-6-1-1 in the calendar year of 2015!

*TRADE.... The San Jose Sharks traded Freddie Hamilton for defenseman Karl Stollery on March 2. Stollery had 14pts (5-9-14) in 46 games this season for Lake Erie along with five games (0-0-0) with the Colorado Avalanche. Stollery is a produce of Merrimack College and is in his 3rd season of professional hockey hailing from Camrose, Alberta.

*Top Rookies!... the Sharks have three rookies that rank in the top 20 in the AHL rookie point scoring race! Trupp 13th with 31pts, Langlois 20th with 26pts, and Carpenter 18th with 27 pts!

*0-for-50.... The Sharks fired a season high 50 shots on rookie Connor Hellebuyck on Feb 28 but lost the game 2-0 to the IceCaps at the DCU Center.

*Random #'s...

* Worcester is 17-8-3-2 when they score a power play goal... 8-1-1-0 when they score at least two power play goals in a game!

* Worcester is 13-5-1-1 on Saturdays and 5-2-1-0 on Sundays!

* Worcester is just 6-8-2-1 on Fridays this season.

* Worcester is 10-3-0-0 at the DCU Center on Saturdays and Sundays!

* Worcester is 4-1-0-0 on the 3rd game of the 3-in-3 game stretches.

* Worcester is 6-0-0-0 vs. the East Division at the DCU Center this season.

*Recent Notables...

* Taylor Doherty picked up his 300th penalty minute (all with Worcester) with his 4th fighting major of season (JC Lipon) on Feb 15 at St. John's.

* Rylan Schwartz dressed in his 100th Worcester Sharks game ion Feb 14 at St. John's.

* Jimmy Bonneau eclipsed 400 penalty minutes with Worcester (403) with a fighting major vs. Andrew O'Brien on Feb 7 in Norfolk.

* Eriah Hayes dressed in his 100th game as a member of the Worcester Sharks on Feb 20.

*Strange But True... the Sharks did not have one game misconduct penalty in their first 52 games... but Jimmy Bonneau received one in games 53 and 54.

*Solid 31... the Sharks are 20-7-2-2 in their last 31 games.... that is a .709 points percentage!

*Road Warriors... the Sharks had a seven game road point streak (5-0-1-1) snapped in a 5-4 loss in Providence on Jan 30.

*Nice trip... the Sharks went 3-1-1-0 on their most recent road trip (Feb 4-15) with the power play clicking at 32.1% (9-28) and penalty kill at 87.5% (14-16).

*BIG crowds Nice Results... the Sharks are 7-0-0-0 this season at the DCU Center with a crowd over 5,000.

*PK pretty good... the Sharks rank 8th in the AHL with a 85.9% kill rate on the penalty kill...Worcester has allowed just nine power play goals against (9-72) in their last 21 games (87.5%). The Sharks have allowed just 26 power play goals against this season - 2nd fewest in the AHL.

*1800 (thanks Ballou) Riley Brace's goal at 15:14 in the first period at Providence on Jan 4 was the 1800th goal scored in the history of the Worcester Sharks.

*2014...the Sharks finished with a 36-34-7 record in the calendar year of 2014.

*1st half of the season... Worcester finished the first half of the season with a 19-14-3-2 record through 38 games... the Sharks also had 19 wins after 38 games last season.

*2nd half of the season... Worcester is 11-5-1-0 so far in the 2nd half of their AHL regular season schedule.

*Perfect Home stand... the Sharks went 5-0-0-0 on their most recent home stand from Jan 9-17 and outscored their opponents 21-11. It was the best home stand in Sharks history. Worcester is now 17-8-2-1 at the DCU Center this season!

*Home cooking...the Sharks have won nine of their last 11 games at the DCU Center.

*8 in a Row... The Sharks won a franchise best eight straight games (Jan 4-Jan 21).

*Points in 9 straight.... Worcester had points in nine straight games (8-0-0-1) from Jan 3-Jan 21.

*That's a first... the Sharks allowed their first ever penalty shot score on home ice as Sean Collins scored at 8:08 of the 2nd period in the Falcons 1-0 win at the DCU Center on Nov 15.

*That's a first X2 (thanks Ballou)....the 1-0 loss on Nov 15 to the Falcons was the first time in Worcester hockey history that a 1-0 game was decided on a penalty shot... it was only the third 1-0 loss in Worcester Sharks history.

*That's a first X3... the overtime penalty shot score by Bryan Lerg at 6:14 vs. Jeremy Smith in the Sharks 4-3OTW vs. Providence on Jan 10 was the first time the Sharks had ever scored a penalty shot goal in overtime.

*Strange but true... the Sharks had only lost two games in their first 641 games by a 1-0 score but lost twice by a 1-0 score in during a four game stretch... 1-0L vs. SPR Nov 15, 1-0L at HER Nov 22.

*Even Stranger... forward Jimmy Bonneau was the emergency backup goaltender in the Sharks 3-2 win in Portland on Jan 21. Troy Grosenick fell ill before the game and JP Anderson made 16 saves in the win.

*1-0 scores.... Four of 12 games were decided by 1-0 scores (Nov 15-Dec 14...Sharks had a 2-2-0-0 record in those games).... Worcester had only had five games in their first 641 games decided by 1-0 scores before this stretch.

0 PP's -the Worcester Sharks did not receive one power play in a 6-3W over St. John's on Feb 27 - Garrett Rank was the referee.

*Stanley Cup Champion (CHI 2010) Adam Burish was loaned to Worcester on Nov 24. Burish played in 20 games for the SJ Sharks this season and posted three points (1-2-3) and 33 penalty minutes. Burish had seven points (4-3-7) in 18 games for Worcester before he was reassigned to the Chicago Wolves in exchange for John McCarthy on Jan 14.

*Shots on goal... Worcester has outshot their opponents in 34 of the first 55 games this season and rank 1st in the AHL with 33.05 shots per game.... Bryan Lerg leads the club with 133 shots on net - Worcester has eight players with over 100 shots this season - the only ream in the AHL that has eight skaters with 100+ shots!

*Lead after 20 and 40... the Sharks are 13-0-1-1 when leading after the first period of play and 20-0-1-1 when leading after 40 minutes. - the Sharks are the only team in the AHL that does not have a regulation loss when leading 20 minutes of play this season.

*Trailing after 40 minutes... the Sharks are 6-17-1-1 when trailing after 40 minutes... the 6 wins are 3rd in the AHL.... 4 of the wins have come on home ice... best in the AHL.

*Sharp Shooter... Micheal Haley has an 18.8% shooting percentage.... Haley has scored 15 goals on 80 shots this season.

*NHL Deal... Goaltender Aaron Dell (Univ. North Dakota) has an 8-4-2 record with a 1.91 GAA and a .929 save % with Worcester in his two recalls this season from Allen (ECHL). Dell is now 7-2-1 and 20 goals allowed in his last 10 starts for Worcester and signed his 1st NHL contract with the SJ Sharks on Feb 28.

*OT magic... defenseman Dylan Demelo has scored five goals this season... two of them in sudden death overtime! - Demelo has received two NHL recalls this season but has yet to make his NHL debut..

*3rd period goals... Worcester has outscored their opponents 55-42 (+13) in the third period this season...the best goal differential period of the season for the Sharks (-9 in 1st and +13 in 2nd).

*House of Horrors... with the 5-3 loss in Hartford on Dec 12...the Sharks have lost 10 of their last 11 games at the XL Center...In all, the Wolf Pack have won 17 of the last 21 games vs. the Sharks.

*We like St. John's...the Sharks are 10-3-2-0 all-time at the Mile One Centre in St. John's NFLD.

*Monarchs had the Sharks #.... Manchester was 19-1-3 against the Sharks since Jan 1, 2013.....until Worcester won three straight over the Monarchs in a span of just six days (Jan 13-18). - Worcester has won four straight of their last five games vs. the Monarchs!

*Manchester D....the Monarchs held the Sharks to season low 15 shots on goal on Dec 13 in a 2-1 win over the Sharks. Worcester had just one shot on goal in the third period and the Sharks went 0-9 on the power play. Manchester held Worcester to 17 shots on Feb 22 - but the Sharks won 3-0l

*Feasting on the Bruins... the Sharks are 7-1-0-0 vs. the Bruins this season and have outscored Providence 29-19 in the process! Worcester is 5-2-1 in their last eight games at the Dunkin Donuts Center and goaltender Malcolm Subban is 0-6-0 in his last six starts against Worcester... The Sharks and the Bruins battle four more times this season.

*Quick Strikes (thanks Ballou)... On Oct 29 vs the Pirates, the first-period goals by Matt Tennyson and Micheal Haley, one at 16:37 and the next at 16:53, were four seconds shy of the team record. Garrett Stafford and Tomas Plihal scored 12 seconds apart in the second period on Feb 2, 2007 against Bridgeport at the DCU Center. It was only the fourth time in nine seasons the Sharks have scored goals less than 20 seconds apart.

*Fast start... Evan Trupp scored just 22 seconds into the first period on Dec 6 in St. John's and Bryan Lerg scored 15 seconds in vs. Manchester on Dec 26. Graham Mink holds the record for fastest goal just 11 seconds into the game on March 7, 2008.

*Good Boys... the Worcester Sharks are the least penalized team in the AHL averaging 10.91 minutes per game....the Sharks have been shorthanded just 184 times this season (3.35 per game) which is the least times shorthanded in the AHL. - the Sharks have had 61 more power plays than their opponents this season.

*PPGA... the Sharks have allowed the 2nd fewest power play goals against (26) in the first 56 games this season.

*Pro Debuts: Gus Young (Yale) made his professional debut in the Sharks 4-1 win over the Portland Pirates on Oct 26.

*Close Games... 31 of the first 55 Sharks games have been decided by a single goal...Worcester is 15-10-4-2 in games decided by one goal this season.

*Score first... the Sharks have scored FIRST 28 times in 55 games this season (20-4-2-2) - Ryan Carpenter 1, Petter Emanuelsson 2, Taylor Doherty (1), Konrad Abeltshauser (1), Daniil Tarasov (4), Melker Karlsson (1), Evan Trupp (2), Freddie Hamilton (1), Micheal Haley (1), Matt Taormina (2), Bryan Lerg (2), Riley Brace (1), Willie Coetzee (1), Gus Young (2), Jeremy Langlois (1), John McCarthy (3), Rylan Schwartz (1), and Dylan Demelo (1).

*Big third period... Freddie Hamilton (3-0-3), Daniil Tarasov (0-3-3), and Evan Trupp (1-2-3) all recorded three points in the third period in the Sharks 4-1 win over the Pirates on Oct 26.

*Big third period X2... the four goals scored by the Sharks in the third period in 4-1 win vs. Portland on Oct 26 was just the 4th time this season a team has scored four goals in a period this season in the AHL. *Big third period X3... Jeremy Langlois scored three goals in a spell of 11:04 of the third period to lead Worcester to a 3-2 win in Portland on Jan 21. Evan Trupp had an assist on all three goals.

*Thanks Ballou... despite going 10-2 in the shootout last season, the Sharks are just 32W-47L overall (40.5%)....Worcester is 1-2 in the shootout this season.

*AHL First... Matt Taormina became the first player to score a 3-on-3 OT goal under the new overtime format in the AHL in the Sharks 3-2 overtime win in Binghamton on Oct 11. The goal came at 6:34 assisted by Evan Trupp and Taylor Fedun.

*Deja-Vu (almost).... Dylan Demelo scored at 6:33 of overtime on Oct 18.... Exactly one week after defenseman Matt Taormina scored at 6:34 of overtime on Oct 11.

*4 National Champions... The Sharks have four players that won the NCAA Division 1 Championship.... Gus Young was captain with Yale University in 2013....Travis Oleksuk with University Minnesota Duluth in 2011...Bryan Lerg with Michigan State in 2007.... and John McCarthy with BU in 2009. *Memorial Cup... rookie defenseman Konrad Abeltshauser won the Memorial Cup in 2013 with the Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL) and was named to the 2013 Memorial Cup All-Star Team.

*Swedish Elite League Championship.... both Melker Karlsson and Petter Emanuelsson won back-to-back championships with Skelleftea AIK in the SWEHL in 2013 and 2014.

*Young Guns... the Sharks have dressed 13 AHL rookies already this season. (Ryan Carpenter, Jeremy Langlois, Evan Trupp, JP Anderson, Gus Young, Chris Tierney, Aaron Dell, Nick Jones, Andrew Blazek, Greger Hanson, Barclay Goodrow, Mirco Mueller, Kyle Bigos)

*Tallest Shark.... Worcester Sharks rookie defenseman Taylor Doherty is the tallest player in team history standing at 6'8" 235lbs.... Doherty has seven goals, 30 assists, and 306 penalty minutes in 215 games with the Worcester Sharks. Taylor scored in his 200th game with Worcester on Jan 18 at Manchester.

*First Pro Goals this season... Ryan Carpenter scored his 1st pro goal (Andrew Hammond) in 3-2OTW at Binghamton on Oct 11...Chris Tierney scored his 1st (Malcolm Subban) in 4-2W vs. Providence on Nov 8...Gus Young his 1st goal (Scott Wedgewood) in 2-1OTW at Albany on Jan 24.

*Sharks in the Atlantic... went 21-22-1-2 vs. the Atlantic in 2013-14 and are 17-11-2-1 in divisional play this season.

*Massachusetts!... the Sharks have two players that hail from Massachusetts this season (Gus Young - Dedham and John McCarthy - Andover)

*I'll take a draft... eight Worcester Sharks players were drafted by the San Jose Sharks. (Abeltshauser, Doherty, Crane, Demelo, Tierney, McCarthy, Mueller, Hertl)

*First Rounders... the Sharks had a pair of first rounders in the lineup on Jan 23-24...Mirco Mueller (18th in 2013) and Tomas Hertl (17th in 2012).

*NHL Experience.... The Sharks have eight players on their roster with NHL experience... Matt Taormina 56, Matt Tennyson 31, Freddie Hamilton 12, Eriah Hayes 19, Taylor Fedun 4, Micheal Haley 56, Chris Tierney 28, John McCarthy 87, and Troy Grosenick 2)

*Keeping your hat on (Thanks Ballou)... Worcester had gone 263 games without one of its players recording a hat trick before Daniil Tarasov scored three goals in Springfield on Oct 26. That was easily the longest active streak in the AHL. The Sharks' last hat trick had belonged to Dan DaSilva, who scored three times in Manchester during a 5-2 Worcester victory in Manchester on Feb. 14, 2010. Freddie Hamilton scored the first home hat trick in 206 games with three goals in a 5:12 span in the third period in a 4-1 win over the Pirates on Oct 26, 2014. It was the first home hat trick since P.J. Fenton had one on Feb. 28, 2009 in the Sharks' 7-3 victory over Springfield. In all, Worcester players have recorded hat tricks only 12 times in the franchise's 683 games. The Sharks are 12-0-0-0 in those games and 1-15-3 in the 19 games in which the opposition has had a hat trick.

*Hat Tricks... the Sharks have three hat tricks this season (Hamilton Oct 26 vs. POR, Langlois Jan 21 at POR, and Trupp Feb 27 vs. STJ).

* Brothers... Rylan Schwartz is the younger brother of Jayden Schwartz, who currently plays for the St. Louis Blues.

*Major Bonneau... Worcester Sharks tough guy Jimmy Bonneau has racked up 56 fighting majors in 151games for the Worcester Sharks. Bonneau has set the Worcester Sharks record for most fighting majors in a season in 2011-12 with 22, surpassing Frazer McLaren (21 in 2008-09). Jimmy has 128 fighting majors in 346AHL games along with 989 penalty minutes.

*Five for fighting... The Sharks have 29 fighting majors through 55 games this season (Bonneau 7, Haley 8, Shattock 2, Doherty 4, Young 2, Abeltshauser 1, Goodrow 1, Fedun 1, Oleksuk 2, Schwartz 1)....The Sharks had 70 fighting majors in 2013-14, 84 fighting majors in 2012-13, 120 fighting majors in 2011-12 (1st in AHL), 81 fighting majors in 2010-11, 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: 30-19-4-2, 66 points -2nd in Atlantic Win percentage: .600% - 7th in East Home Record: 17-8-2-1 Away Record: 13-11-2-1 Attendance: 101,221 through 28 games this season - 3,615 average Goals Scored: 160, 2.91 goals per game, 10th in AHL Goals Allowed: 144, 2.62 goals against per game, 12th in AHL Team Shooting percentage: 8.8% - 21st in AHL Team Save %: .908% - 15th in AHL Shots per game: 33.05 - 1st in AHL Shots allowed per game: 27.98 - 5th in AHL Score 1st: 20-4-2-2 when scoring first (.786%) 1 goal games: 16-10-4-2 in one goal games PP: 18.4%, 12th in AHL (45-245) PK: 85.9%, 8th in AHL (26-184) SHG - 1 shorthanded goals scored SHGA - 6 shorthanded goals allowed PIMS - 10.91 penalty minutes per game, 30th in AHL Fighting Majors: 29 - 26th OT Games - 11 - (4-4 record in OT) SO Games - 3 - (1-2 record in SO) Roster Players - the Sharks used 42 players this season Goalies - the Sharks used 3 goaltenders this season Players receiving call-ups to San Jose - 14 NHL debuts - 3 Worcester Sharks alumni making their NHL debuts this season (Troy Grosenick, Melker Karlsson and Daniil Tarasov) Call-ups to San Jose - 21 different call-ups to San Jose this season

TRANSACTIONS:

Date

Player

Team

Transaction

03/02/2015

Barclay Goodrow (RW)

Worcester

ADD Returned on loan from San Jose (NHL)

03/02/2015

Barclay Goodrow (RW)

Worcester

DEL Recalled from loan by San Jose (NHL)

03/02/2015

Chris Tierney (C)

Worcester

ADD Returned on loan from San Jose (NHL)

03/02/2015

Chris Tierney (C)

Worcester

DEL Recalled from loan by San Jose (NHL)

03/02/2015

Freddie Hamilton (C)

Worcester

DEL Recalled from loan by San Jose (NHL)

03/02/2015

Karl Stollery (D)

Worcester

ADD Loaned from San Jose (NHL)

03/01/2015

Chris Tierney (C)

Worcester

DEL Recalled from loan by San Jose (NHL)

02/28/2015

Aaron Dell (G)

Worcester

DEL Released from SPC

02/28/2015

Aaron Dell (G)

Worcester

ADD Loaned from San Jose (NHL)

02/28/2015

Chris Tierney (C)

Worcester

ADD Returned on loan from San Jose (NHL)

02/25/2015

Daniil Tarasov (RW)

Worcester

ADD Returned on loan from San Jose (NHL)

Top Worcester Sharks: o Goals Langlois (16) o Game Winners Haley (4) o Assists Fedun (24) o Points Trupp (31) o Power play Points Taormina (4-11-15) o Shots Lerg (133) o PIM Haley (84) o Fighting Pen. Haley (8) o Plus/Minus Trupp (+11) o Wins Grosenick (16) o G.A.A. Dell (1.91) o Save % Dell (.929) o Shutouts Dell (3)

Sharks in the NHL:

The San Jose Sharks currently have 14 players on their roster that have spent time in Worcester (Couture, Pavelski, Wingels, Braun, Stalock, Irwin, Vlasic, Nieto, Mueller, Karlsson, Hertl, Goodrow, Tarasov, Tierney).

The San Jose Sharks are in 5th place in the Pacific Division and 10th place in the Western Conference with 72 points and a 32-25-8 record.

Upcoming San Jose Sharks schedule: (all times are Eastern) MON Mar 2 V. Montreal 10pm (4-0W) TUE Mar 3 @ Vancouver 10pm (6-2W) SAT Mar 7 V. Vancouver 10pm

Coming Up for the Worcester Sharks:

On Friday, the Sharks host the Hartford Wolf Pack at 7:30pm. Enjoy $2 hot dogs, popcorn, and soda at every Friday night home game! Buy one ticket and get on FREE by clicking HERE. The game will be shown live on Charter TV 193.

On Saturday, the Sharks host the Bridgeport Sound Tigers at 7pm with a Troy Grosenick bobblehead giveaway presented by Midstate Auto Group.

On Sunday, the Sharks close out the 3-in-3 weekend with a 3:05pm faceoff in Providence vs. the Bruins.

You can listen to all three games live on WTAG Worcester or watch online for a small fee at www.AHLLive.com.

Worcester celebrates 20 years of AHL hockey! The 2014-15 season marks the 20th season of AHL action at the DCU Center in the city of Worcester. Over 3.8 million fans have attended either an IceCats (11 seasons) or Sharks (9th season) game in downtown Worcester since 1994.

Bring a group to sing the national anthem, book a fundraising event, host a birthday party, or have a blast in the high fin tunnel.... secure your personalized Sharks experience today!

Contact the Worcester Sharks Office at 508.929.0500 or by crash the net at www.SharksAHL.com.

Socialize with the Worcester Sharks all year long! Join us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/WorcesterSharks, follow us on Twitter @WorcesterSharks, and download the Worcester Sharks App for free on your Droid or iPhone today!

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American Hockey League Stories from March 4, 2015


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