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Sharks Continue to Pile up Points Before All-Star Break

February 4, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Worcester Sharks News Release


Shark Snap Shot: The Worcester Sharks (22-18-3-1, 48pts) chomped four out of a possible six points last week (2-1-0-0) to close out a five game home stand at the DCU Center with a 3-2-0-0 record.

With all three games at the DCU Center, Worcester began the week with a tough 6-3 loss to the Binghamton Senators on Wednesday but followed it up with an impressive 5-2 win over the Springfield Falcons on Friday. The Sharks closed out the week on PINK in the RINK with an exciting 3-2 victory over the Providence Bruins in front of 7,966 fans at the DCU Center on Saturday!

Travis Oleksuk scored three goals last week to continue his strong play and Brodie Reid returned from injury and scored three goals and added an assist in two games for the Sharks. Yanni Gourde (1-6-7) rides a four game point streak into next week while Jimmy Bonneau picked up fighting majors in all three games last week for Worcester. Goaltender Troy Grosenick returned from injury and picked up a pair of wins last week and is 4-0-0 in his last five starts as the Sharks closed out the month of January with an 8-5-1-0 record. On the blue line, Sena Acolatse (0-2-2, +5) and Konrad Abeltshauser (1-1-2, +4) had strong showings last week and not to be forgotten was the best individual effort from last week as Dan DaSilva recorded three points (2-1-3), was +4, and fired a season high eight shots in the Sharks 5-2 win over the Falcons on Friday.

The Worcester Sharks player of the week nominee is Brodie Reid. The 24-year-old forward from Delta, BC returned to the lineup on Friday after missing seven games due to injury and recorded four points (3-1-4), fired 7 shots, was +3, and scored the game winner on PINK in the RINK in two games last week. Reid scored his 5th goal of the season on Friday vs. the Falcons and had a monster game vs. the Bruins on Saturday as he scored two third period goals (6th and 7th), added an assist, and was +2 to lead Worcester to a 3-2 win over Providence.

Loaned from the SJ Sharks, forwards John McCarthy and Eriah Hayes will be joining the Worcester Sharks on the road beginning with a pair of games in St. John's NFLD this weekend and then will enjoy a four day AHL All-Star break. Worcester does not return home to the DCU Center until Feb 21 vs. the St. John's IceCaps.

MILESTONE ALERT:

Head Coach Roy Sommer is 20 games away from tying Frank Mathers (1256 games coached) for the most games coached in AHL history. Coach Sommer has coached 1236 AHL games - all with the SJ Sharks AHL affiliates.

Few things to know....

* The Worcester Sharks are currently in 4th place (22-18-3-1, 48pts) in the Atlantic Division and 10th place overall in the Eastern Conference. - the Sharks trail the 8th and final playoff spot by just six points with one game in hand over the Hershey Bears.

* The San Jose Sharks currently have 13 players on their roster that have spent time in Worcester (Couture, Desjardins, Pavelski, Sheppard, Wingels, Braun, Demers, Stalock, Irwin, Vlasic, Nieto, Kearns, and Tennyson).

* The San Jose Sharks are currently in 2nd place in the Pacific Division and 5th place in the Western Conference with 76 points and a 35-16-6 record.

* John McCarthy cleared waivers and was loaned to Worcester on Feb 1 after appearing in 35 games for the SJ Sharks this season (0-1-1). J-Mac scored 20 goals for Worcester during the 2011-12 season.

* Forward Eriah Hayes was loaned back to Worcester on Feb 4 after appearing in his 1st 14 NHL games and scored his 1st NHL goal at Calgary on Jan 30 vs. Karri Ramo.

* Forward Dan DaSilva became just the 2nd player in franchise history to record two hat tricks (Mike Iggulden the other) with his four point performance (3-1-4) on Jan 21 at Portland. With 21pts (10-11-21) in 30 games this season, DaSilva is now 4th all-time in Worcester Sharks history with 127 points (53-74-127) in 208 games.

* Veteran Bracken Kearns is ranked 4th in Worcester with 18 points (5-13-18), tops in power play points (3-7-10), and played in his 500th AHL game on Dec 28 vs. the IceCaps. Kearns was recalled by the SJ Sharks on Dec 28 and scored his 1st NHL goal in a 3-1 win over the Ducks on Dec 29. Bracken currently has three goals and an assist in 19 games with the SJ Sharks this season and is currently on recall.

* 2nd year pro Freddie Hamilton leads the club with 13 goals, 1st with 26 points (13-13-26), and tops with six 1st goals. Hamilton has already matched his point total from last season in just 34 games (76gp, 13-13-26) and has skated in 11 games with the SJ Sharks this season and is still looking for his 1st NHL point.

* Goaltender Troy Grosenick ranks 5th in the AHL with a 2.12 save percentage and sports a nice .920 save percentage and a 10-5-0 record this season.

* Matt Tennyson (5-10-15 in 38gp) leads all Worcester defensemen in pts (15), goals (5), and power play points (3-6-9). - Tennyson is currently on recall with the SJ Sharks.

* Worcester Sharks alumni Matt Nieto (Oct 8 vs. NYR), Matt Pelech (Oct 10 at VAN), Bracken Kearns (Dec 29 vs. ANA), and Eriah Hayes (Jan 30 at CLG) each have scored their first career NHL goals for the SJ Sharks this season.

* Worcester Sharks alumni Alex Stalock is an impressive 7-4-0 with the San Jose Sharks this season with a 1.69 GAA and a .939 save %. Stalock picked up his first NHL shutout with a 24 save performance in 3-0 win at Florida on Jan 16 and followed it up with a 1-0 shutout win a 1-0 win over the Jets on Jan 23 in San Jose. Stalock set the SJ Sharks franchise record for a 178:55 shutout streak this season.

* Current SJ Sharks forward and #WorSharks alum Joe Pavelski was named to the US Olympic men's hockey team and leads the Sharks with 29 goals in 56 games.

* Coach Roy Sommer currently ranks 4th in the AHL with 552 wins in his career (16th season) and 2nd in games coached in the AHL with 1236.

Top 3... Last Week!

1. Dan DaSilva recorded three points (2-1-3) was +4, and fired a season high eight shots in the Sharks 5-2 win vs Springfield on Friday!

2. Brodie Reid scored two third period goals and added an assist in the Sharks 3-2 win over the Bruins on Saturday!

3. Freddie Hamilton scored his team leading 13th goal and added two assists in the Sharks 3-2 win over the Bruins on Saturday!

Last Week: (2-1-0-0) 4pts, 3gp

Wed. 1/29 L Binghamton Senators 6 @ Worcester SHARKS 3

Fri. 1/31 W Springfield Falcons 2 @ Worcester SHARKS 5

Sat. 2/1 W Providence Bruins 2 @ Worcester SHARKS 3

This week:

Sat. 2/8 Worcester SHARKS @ St. John's IceCaps - 6pm

Sun. 2/9 Worcester SHARKS @ St. John's IceCaps - 2:30pm

Rewind the Tape:

1.29.14 - Binghamton 6 - Worcester 3 - L - DCU Center - Worcester, MA

The Worcester Sharks (20-18-3-1, 44pts) fell to the Binghamton Senators (28-13-0-3, 59pts) by the score of 6-3 before 2,533 fans at the DCU Center on Wednesday evening. Travis Oleksuk and Konrad Abeltshauser each scored PPG's for Worcester while Tyler Gron netted his second of the season in the loss. Binghamton's leading scorer Mike Hoffman scored his 19th, 20th, 21st, and 22nd goals and added an assist while Nathan Lawson made 26 saves in net for the Senators.

1.31.14 - Falcons 2 - Worcester 5 - W - DCU Center - Worcester, MA

The Worcester Sharks (21-18-3-1, 46pts) defeated the Springfield Falcons (28-11-1-4, 61pts) 5-2 before 2,685 fans at the DCU Center on Friday evening. Dan DaSilva (2-1-3) and Yanni Gourde (0-3-3) each had three point games as the Sharks extended Springfield's winless streak to the longest of the season with four straight losses. The Sharks' three first period goals by Oleksuk, Reid and DaSilva made for the first time Worcester tallied three goals in the first 20 minutes of action this season and Troy Grosenick made 19 saves in his return between the pipes for Worcester.

2.1.14 - Providence 2 - Worcester 3 - W - DCU Center - Worcester, MA

The Worcester Sharks (22-18-3-1, 48pts) defeated the Providence Bruins (23-18-1-5, 52pts) for the first time this season with a final score of 3-2 as Brodie Reid scored two third period goals before 7,966 fans during the 3rd annual PINK in the RINK Night to benefit the Cup Crusaders. Brodie Reid (2-1-3) scored consecutive third period goals while Freddie Hamilton (1-2-3) tallied a point off each goal tonight, scoring the first and assisting both of Reid's. Troy Grosenick was outstanding in net making 32 saves and earning his tenth win of the season.

Sharks in the Atlantic:

The Sharks (22-18-3-1, 48pts in 44gp) are currently in 4th place in the Atlantic Division; which is 19 points behind the 1st place Monarchs (67pts in 50gp), 7 points behind the 2nd place IceCaps (55pts in 45gp), 4 points behind the 3rd place Bruins (52pts in 47gp), and seven points ahead of the 5th place Pirates (41pts in 44gp) to round out a very choppy Atlantic Division.

Coaching Milestones....

*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.

*1200 GAMES... With the 5-1 loss in Lewiston, ME vs. the Pirates on November 8, 2013, head coach Roy Sommer became just the 2nd coach in AHL history to reach the 1,200 games plateau.

*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.

*400 WINS.... With a 4-3 victory over the Portland Pirates on Jan 12, 2014, associate coach David Cunniff picked up his 400th win an assistant/associate coach with the SJ Sharks top AHL affiliates.

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 16seasons 1,236GP 562 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 (16th season) in the American Hockey League. His current regular season record is now: 562-518-48-55-53. (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, Associate Coach David Cunniff recorded an assist as a member of the River Rats in the hockey game.

*Associate Coach David Cunniff has joined Coach Sommer in 403 of the 560 victories (72%).

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

Shark Bites:

*Captains for the 2013-14 season: Rob Davison was named the Sharks 6th captain in team history on October 12, 2013. Alternate captains for this season: Bracken Kearns and Jimmy Bonneau. - Brodie Reid, Marek Viedensky, Freddie Hamilton, Sena Acolatse, Dan DaSilva, and Taylor Doherty have also worn the A this season.

*From east to west..... The Worcester Sharks have already had seven players (15 call-ups) receive at least one call up to the San Jose Sharks already this season. (Pelech, McCarthy, Kearns, Hamilton, Nieto, Hayes, and Tennyson)

*Breaking down October... The Sharks had a 2-3-0-0 (4pts in 5gp) record in October with 12 GF and 14 GA. PP was 5-27 (18.5%); opponents PP was 2-for-22 (9.0%), and the Sharks had 10 fighting majors in October.

*Breaking down November... The Sharks had a 6-5-1-0 (13pts in 12gp) record in November with 26 GF and 35 GA. PP went 7-for-51 (13.7%); opponents PP went 11-for-60 (18.3%), and the Sharks had 18 fighting majors in November.

*Breaking down December... The Sharks had a 5-5-1-1 (12pts in 12gp) record in December with 29 GF and 33 GA. PP went 6-for-54 (11.1%); opponents PP went 8-for-48 (16.7%), and the Sharks had 10 fighting majors in December.

*Breaking down January.... The Sharks finished with a 8-5-1-0 (17pts in 14gp) record in January with 41 GF and 38 GA. PP went 14-50 (28.0%); opponents PP went 12-53 (22.6%) and the Sharks had eight fighting majors in January.

*Breaking down February.... The Sharks are 1-0-0-0 (2pts in 1gp) record in February with 3 GF and 2 GA. PP is 1-3 (33.3%); opponents PP is 1-5 (20.0%) and the sharks have one fighting major in February.

*Improving!.... Several players have already matched or surpassed their point totals from last year for the Worcester Sharks!

* Freddie Hamilton (13-13-26pts in 34gp) has already matched his 13-13-36pts in 76gp last year!

* Travis Oleksuk (9-7-16pts in 42gp) has already surpassed his 3-10-13pts in 60gp last year!

* Yanni Gourde (3-14-17pts in 12gp) has already surpassed his 8-6-14pts in 54gp last year!

* Sena Acolatse (4-10-14pts in 33gp) has already surpassed his 4-7-11pts in 50gp last year!

* Jimmy Bonneau (2-2-4pts in 28gp) has already surpassed his 1-1-2pts in 26gp last year!

*What a crowd (s)!.... the Sharks welcomed 9,055 fans at the newly renovated DCU Center on Jan 25th in a 3-2 loss to the Bruins. - it was the 3rd largest crowd in franchise history! In addition, another 5,091 fans came the very next day to cheer the Sharks to a 4-3 shootout victory over the Monarchs. 14,146 fans enjoyed the two Sharks games on Jan 25 and 26!

*What a crowd Take 2... the Sharks welcomed 7,966 fans at the DCU for the 3rd annual PINK in the RINK game vs the Bruins on Feb 1!

*New Faces.... the Sharks signed Yanni Gourde (PTO) and Tyler Gron (AHL/ECHL) to contracts on Jan 6....

break down on the two below:

*Yanni Gourde returns for his second tour of duty with the Worcester Sharks as the 22-year-old from St. Narcisse, QC ranked 7th in the ECHL in scoring with 34 points (15-19-34) and was 2nd in the ECHL with 112 shots on goal in 30 games as of Jan 6. The second year pro played 54 games with the Worcester Sharks last year and recorded 14 points (8-6-14) in 54 games. Yanni has been on FIRE with the Sharks this season with 17 points (3-14-17) in 12 games. - Yanni had 14pts in 54 games all of last year for Worcester!

*Tyler Gron, 24, was second in the ECHL with 17 goals, led the SF Bulls with 29 points (17-12-29) in 31 games, and was recently named the ECHL Runner-Up Player of the Month for December. Last season Gron produced 32 points (21-11-32) in 34 games with the Idaho Steelheads (ECHL) and 35 points (21-14-35) in 31 games for the Bloomington Blaze (CHL). The Spruce Grove, Alberta native played three games with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers after completing four seasons at Northern Michigan University in 2012. Gron became the 14th Sharks player to score in his debut on Jan 10 and has three points (2-1-3) in 12 games for Worcester.

*New Faces Take 2.... Forward Scott Fleming was signed to a PTO on Jan 28 from the Fort Wayne Komets of the ECHL. Fleming played four years at Dartmouth and then took two seasons off before returning to pro hockey this season with the Komets. The 26-year-old native from Plainfield, ON had 34pts (11-23-34) in 39 games with Fort Wayne and made his AHL debut with Worcester on Jan 29 vs. the Senators. Fleming wears # 24 for the Sharks.

*Power Surge... Worcester has a power play goal in 12 of their last 14 games (15-for-53, 28.3%).

*Nice Sharks.... Worcester was whistled for just 17 penalty minutes (6 minors, 1 major) during a three game stretch (Jan 24-26).

*3-in-3 Sweep... the Sharks swept a 3-in-3 weekend on Jan 10-12 (3-1W vs HFD, 5-1W vs. NOR, 4-3W vs. POR) - it was the first six point weekend since April 11-13 of 2010!

*Shutout Streak.... The Sharks went a franchise record of 163:12 without scoring a goal but broke the streak in the 2nd period on Dec 27- and then the Sharks scored three goals in a 3:16 spell late in the second period vs. the St. John's IceCaps.

*Solved the Bruins....Worcester started the season 0-5-0-1 vs. the Bruins this season and were outscored 9-26 in the process before the Sharks took game 7 on Feb 1 by the score of 3-2. The two teams meet five more times this season.

*Sharks like the IceCaps.... Worcester is 4-0-1-0 vs. the IceCaps this season and have outscored them 15-9 in the process. The two teams play five more times this season including a pair of games in St. John's this weekend!

*3 is the magic number.... The Sharks are 19-4-0-1 when they score at least three goals in a hockey game....BUT.... the Sharks are 3-16-2-1 when they allow three or more goals in a hockey game.

*Sharks win close games... Worcester is 12-6-3-1 in 1-goal games this season.

*More Goals Late.... the Sharks have scored 25 goals in the 1st, 37 in the 2nd, and 43 goals in the 3rd period this season... the Sharks have allowed 32 goals in the 1st, 40 in the 2nd, and 48 goals in the 3rd.

*Wow... despite scoring just 42 goals in 22 games (1.91 goals per game) on the road this season, the Sharks are somehow 10-9-3-0 away from the DCU Center this season.

*Battling Back... four of the 22 wins for the Sharks this season have occurred when the team was trailing after 40 minutes of play.

*Barely outshot... Worcester has only been outshot ten times this season... the fewest in the AHL this season.

*8 Goal Explosion!... the Worcester Sharks scored eight goals vs. the Portland Pirates on Dec 6 - setting a franchise record for most goals scored at the DCU Center! - heading into that game (18th game), the Sharks had not scored more than three goals in a game!

*Monster Night.... The line of Freddie Hamilton (2-1-3), Matt Nieto (2-3-5), and Daniil Tarasov (1-2-3) combined for 11 points, 18 shots, and a combined +12 in the Sharks 8-2 win over the Pirates on Dec 6.

*Monster Night Take 2....The line of Travis Oleksuk (1-2-3), Dan DaSilva (3-1-4), and Yanni Gourde (0-4-4) combined for 11 points, 13 shots, and a combined +11 in the Sharks 6-3 win at Portland on Jan 21

*Allowing 8... the Sharks allowed eight goals in a 8-2 loss in Providence on Jan 5 - tying a franchise record for most goals allowed in a game.

*Multi-Point Game....Tough Guy Jimmy Bonneau had two assists in the Sharks 8-2 win over the Portland Pirates on Dec 6... his 1st multi point game as a member of the Sharks in game #88.

*Welcome Back... Dan DaSilva returned to the Worcester Sharks on Nov 20 after leading the ECHL with 26 points (7-19-26) in just 14 games for the Ontario Reign and was recently named the ECHL Player of the Week for Nov 11-17. DaSilva currently ranks 4th all-time in Worcester Sharks history with 127 points (53-77-127) in 208 games for Team Teal and is the franchise leader in playoff points with 18 (5-13-18) in 23 Calder Cup playoff games. A member of the original Crazed Rats Line with John McCarthy and Andrew Desjardins; DaSilva had his best professional season with the Sharks in 2010-11 as he set career highs in points (53), goals (21), assists (32), and was +23 as the Sharks won the regular season Atlantic Division title with a 49-25-0-6 record. DaSilva was signed to a standard player AHL contract on Dec 12 for the rest of the season.

*Shooting %... the Sharks as a team have a 7.3% shooting percentage which is 30th in the AHL.

*Strange but true... the Sharks have more fighting majors (27) than goals (25) in the first period this season... the 25 goals scored are the fewest in the AHL.

*3 in the 1st....it took 43 games but the Sharks finally scored three goals in the 1st period in their 5-2 win over the Falcons on Jan 31.

*Thanks Ballou... despite being 7-1 in the shootout this season, the Sharks are just 28W-44L overall (38.9%)

*Shootout Success... the Sharks are 7-1 in the shootout this season with a 41% scoring percentage (5th) and a 79.5% saves percentage (4th). Dan DaSilva is 4-for-6 in the shootout with two game winners while Yanni Gourde is 2-for-2 this season!

*Home shutout... the 27 save shutout by Troy Grosenick on Nov 2 vs. the St. John's IceCaps at the DCU Center was the 1st shutout on home ice for the Sharks in almost a year. Alex Stalock had the last shutout on Nov 4, 2012 vs. the Manchester Monarchs in a 1-0SOW. Coincidentally, Stalock also made 27 saves in the victory.

*Score first... the Sharks have scored FIRST 20 times in 44 games this season (15-3-1-1) - Freddie Hamilton 6, Daniil Tarasov 2, Rylan Schwartz 1, Brodie Reid 1, Bracken Kearns 1, Eriah Hayes 1, Dan DaSilva 3, Lane Scheidl 2, Jimmy Bonneau 1, and Travis Oleksuk 1.

*Just like in college.... Sharks rookie forward Eriah Hayes led the NCAA last season with 186 shots on goal with Minnesota State - Mankato... Hayes is 3rd on the Worcester Sharks with 81 shots on goal through 29 games this season. Hayes also has a goal and 16 shots in 14 games for the SJ Sharks this season.

*Streakers... Yanni Gourde (1-6-7) has a four game point streak.... Brodie Reid (3-1-4) and Lane Scheidl (0-2-2) each have a two game point streak.... Troy Grosenick has won four straight games..... Jimmy Bonneau has a fighting major in three straight games.

*Pro Debuts: Konrad Abeltshauser (Oct 12 at SPR) and Troy Grosenick (Oct 20 vs. WBS).

*3-for-3!...veteran defenseman Rob Davison became the second player (Jonathan Cheechoo is the other) to play for the SJ Sharks AHL affiliate in three different cities after his game for Worcester on Oct 12 at Springfield. Davison played 72 games for the Kentucky Thoroughblades in 2000-01 and 112 games for the Cleveland Barons in 2001-03! Davison has played 712 games in his professional career.

*3 National Champions... The Sharks have three players that have won the NCAA Division 1 Championship.... Travis Oleksuk with University Minnesota Duluth in 2011... John McCarthy was co-captain for Boston University in 2009... and Nick Petrecki with Boston College in 2008. *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.

*Young Guns... the Sharks have dressed nine rookies already this season. (Troy Grosenick, Konrad Abeltshauser, Eriah Hayes, Rylan Schwartz, Riley Brace, Dylan Demelo, Tyler Gron, Lane Scheidl, and Scott Fleming)

*Tallest Shark.... Worcester Sharks rookie defenseman Taylor Doherty is the tallest player in team history standing at 6'7" 235lbs.... Doherty scored his first professional goal in game #70 and added an assist in the Sharks 3-2OTL to the IceCaps on Nov 3, 2012. Doherty has four goals in 146 games with the Worcester Sharks.... Doherty is 2nd on Worcester with 85 penalty minutes and 3rd with five fighting majors.... Doherty scored his 1st professional game winning goal in the 4-3W vs. Portland on Jan 10 and received his 1st NHL recall on Jan 21 and did not dress in two games for the SJ Sharks before getting assigned back to Worcester on Jan 26.

*Four straight seasons with 20?.... Forward Bracken Kearns scored his 21 goals last season and hit the 20 goal plateau for the third straight season having scored 20 and 22 goals the previous two seasons with San Antonio.... Bracken has five goals and 13 assists in 27 games this season. Kearns played in his 500th AHL game in the Sharks 5-2 win vs. St. John's on Dec 27 and then scored his 1st NHL goal in the SJ Sharks 3-1 win vs. Anaheim Ducks on Dec 29. - Kearns has three goals in the NHL this season in 19 games.

*First Pro Goals this season... Konrad Abeltshauser scored his 1st pro goal (JF Berube) in 2-1SOW at Manchester on Dec 8....Dylan Demelo scored his 1st (Malcolm Subban) in 8-2L at Providence on Jan 5.

*Sharks in the Atlantic... Worcester went 19-14-3-4 in the Atlantic Division in 2012-13 and is 13-12-1-1 vs. the Atlantic this season.

*Massachusetts!... the Sharks have one player that hails from Massachusetts that suited up for the team this season (John McCarthy - Andover) In addition, associate coach David Cunniff hails from South Boston.

*Hockey East Alumni!... the Worcester Sharks had four players from Hockey East Schools; (McCarthy - BU, Reid - NU, Petrecki - BC, Stalberg - Vermont)

*I'll take a draft... Ten Worcester Sharks players were drafted by the San Jose Sharks. (Abeltshauser, Davison, Hamilton, Doherty, McCarthy, Nieto, Petrecki, Sateri, Viedensky, and Crane)

*NHL Experience.... The Sharks have eight players on their roster with NHL experience led by Rob Davison with 219.... Breaking down the rest....John McCarthy 82, Matt Pelech 13, Bracken Kearns 23, Matt Tennyson 4, Freddie Hamilton 11, Matt Nieto 44, Nick Petrecki 1, Eriah Hayes 15.

*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. No Worcester player has recorded a hat trick on home ice in more than three years, or since P.J. Fenton had one on Feb. 28, 2009 in the Sharks' 7-3 victory over Springfield. The home-ice drought has lasted for 186 games. In all, Worcester players have recorded hat tricks only nine times in the franchise's 560 games. The Sharks are 9-0 in those games and 1-13-3 in the 17 games in which the opposition has had a hat trick.

* Brothers... Sebastian Stalberg is the younger brother of Viktor Stalberg, who currently plays with the Nashville Predators.... Freddie Hamilton is the older brother of Dougie Hamilton, who currently plays with the Boston Bruins.... Rylan Schwartz is the younger brother of Jayden Schwartz, who currently plays for the St. Louis Blues.

*Franchise Player... Sharks defensemen Nick Petrecki is 1st in Sharks history with 266 games played (surpassed Mike Moore on Dec 8 at MCH)... Nick also ranks 2nd in penalty minutes with 500 (Frazer McLaren had 577).... Nick made his NHL debut in San Jose's 3-2SOW over the Anaheim Ducks on 1/29/13 and played 11:58... the 216 games before his first NHL game was the most of any Worcester Sharks graduate to San Jose.

*200/50.... John McCarthy played in his 200th game for the Sharks on Jan 26, 2013... J-Mac scored his 50th goal as a member of the Worcester Sharks joining Riley Armstrong, Mike Iggulden, Graham Mink, and Brandon Mashinter as the only five players to score 50+ goals as a member of the Worcester Sharks... JMac has played 35 games (0-1-1) this season for the SJ Sharks this season and was loaned to Worcester on Feb 1.

*Like Father, Like Son... Rookie Curt Gogol finished 2nd on the Sharks with 139 penalty minutes in just 38 games in 2012-13... 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.... Gogol has 9 fighting majors, 3 goals, and a team high 149 penalty minutes in 40 games this season.

*Piling up the PIMS with Pelech... Forward/Defenseman Matt Pelech played in his 300th AHL game on Oct 20, 2012 vs. the Devils. The 6-foot-4 bruising defenseman turned forward from Toronto, ONT has accumulated 1,045 penalty minutes and 82 fighting majors in 363 AHL games. "Pelly" led the Sharks with 238 penalty minutes last season in 58 games. #23 is only the 2nd player in Worcester Sharks history to hit the 200 pim plateau (Evans 211 in 2007-08). Matt led the Worcester Sharks with 17 fighting majors and had one fighting major (Jared Boll) in two games last year with the SJ Sharks in 2012-13... Pelech has 22 penalty minutes and his 1st NHL goal in six games with San Jose this season.... With his two game suspension this season by the AHL, Pelech has missed 19 games due to suspension in the last 25 months with the Worcester Sharks. Pelech has missed the last 14 games due to a broken hand suffered in a fight with Bobby Robins on Jan 3.

*Major Bonneau... Worcester Sharks tough guy Jimmy Bonneau has racked up 44 fighting majors in 108 games 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 116 fighting majors in 303 AHL games along with 879 penalty minutes.... Jimmy has 11 fighting majors and 77 penalty minutes through 28 games this season.... Bonneau scored his 2nd goal of the season in his 300th AHL game in the Sharks 4-3SOW vs. Manchester on Jan 26.

*Five for fighting... The Sharks have 48 fighting majors through 44 games and rank 11th in the AHL (Kearns 3, Bonneau 11, Davison 3, Gogol 9, Doherty 5, Pelech 5, Tarasov 2, Hayes 1, Demelo 1, Brace 1, Tennyson 1, Viedensky 1, Acolatse 3, and DaSilva 1). The Sharks had 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.

*The East is Tough... the top 10 teams in the AHL in fighting majors all hail from the Eastern Conference. Lake Erie ranks 11th with 48 fights this season.

Season by the numbers... Record: 22-18-3-1, 48 points - 4th in Atlantic Win percentage: .545% - 17th in AHL, 10th in East Home Record: 12-9-0-1 Away Record: 10-9-3-0 Attendance: 85,683 through 22 games this season - 3,895 average - 21st in AHL Goals Scored: 112, 2.55 goals per game, 25th in AHL Goals Allowed: 124, 2.82 goals against per game, 17th in AHL Shots per game: 33.00 - 4th in AHL Shots allowed per game: 27.70 - 3rd in AHL Score 1st: 15-3-1-1 when scoring first (.800%) 1 goal games: 12-6-3-1 in one goal games PP: 17.7%, 14th in AHL (33-186) PK: 81.7%, 16th in AHL (34-186) SHG - 4 shorthanded goals scored SHGA - 7 shorthanded goals allowed PIMS - 19.34 penalty minutes per game, 12th in AHL Fighting Majors: 48 - 11th in AHL OT Games - 11 - (0-3 record in OT) SO Games - 8 - (7-1 record in SO) Roster Players - the Sharks have used 30 players this season Goalies - the Sharks have used 2 goaltenders this season Players receiving call-ups to San Jose - 7 NHL debuts - 2 Worcester Sharks alumni making their NHL debuts this season Call-ups to San Jose - 16 different call-ups to San Jose this season

Coming and goings from the Shark Tank:

Date

Player

Team

Transaction

02/04/2014

Eriah Hayes (RW)

Worcester

ADD Returned on loan from San Jose (NHL)

02/02/2014

Matt Tennyson (D)

Worcester

DEL Recalled from loan by San Jose (NHL)

02/01/2014

John McCarthy (LW)

Worcester

ADD Returned on loan from San Jose (NHL)

01/28/2014

Scott Fleming (LW)

Worcester

ADD Signed to PTO

01/27/2014

J.P. Anderson (G)

Worcester

ADD Reassigned by San Jose (NHL) from San Francisco (ECHL)

01/27/2014

Kyle Bigos (D)

Worcester

DEL Loaned to Ontario (ECHL)

01/27/2014

Kyle Bigos (D)

Worcester

ADD Recalled from loan to San Francisco (ECHL)

01/27/2014

Riley Brace (LW)

Worcester

DEL Loaned to Ontario (ECHL)

01/27/2014

Riley Brace (LW)

Worcester

ADD Recalled from loan to San Francisco (ECHL)

01/27/2014

Sebastian Stalberg (RW)

Worcester

DEL Reassigned by San Jose (NHL) to Ontario (ECHL)

01/27/2014

Steve Tarasuk (D)

Worcester

DEL Loaned to Ontario (ECHL)

01/27/2014

Steve Tarasuk (D)

Worcester

ADD Recalled from loan to San Francisco (ECHL)

Top Worcester Sharks: o Goals Hamilton (13) o Game Winners Tarasov (3) o Assists Gourde (14) o Points Hamilton (13-13-26) o Power play Points Kearns (3-7-10) and Tarasov (5-5-10) o Shots Livingston (106) o PIM Gogol (149) o Fighting Pen. Bonneau (11) o Plus/Minus Gourde (+6) o Wins Sateri (12) o G.A.A. Grosenick (2.12) - 5th in AHL o Save % Grosenick (.920) o Shutouts Grosenick (1)

Sharks in the NHL:

The San Jose Sharks are currently in 2nd place in the Pacific Division and 5th place in the Western Conference with 76 points and a 34-16-6 record.

Worcester Sharks alumni include: Logan Couture, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Tommy Wingels, Jason Demers, Matt Nieto, Matt Irwin, Andrew Desjardins, Justin Braun, James Sheppard, Alex Stalock, Bracken Kearns, and Matt Tennyson.

Week ahead for the SJ Sharks;

Mon. Feb 3 at 10:30pm (EST) vs. Philadelphia (5-2L)

Wed. Feb 5 at 10:30pm (EST) vs. Dallas

Fri. Feb 7 at 10:30pm (EST) vs. Columbus

Coming Up for the Worcester Sharks:

The Sharks hit the road for five straight games beginning with a pair of games this weekend in St. John's!

* Saturday at 6pm at St. John's

* Sunday at 2:30pm at St. John's

The Sharks do not return home until Jan 21 vs. the St. John's IceCaps!

Score a Family Fun Pack (4 tickets, 4 hotdogs, and 4 sodas) for any Friday, Saturday, or Sunday game starting at just $79!

2013-14 Flex ticket packages are on sale now! Score your 40 or 12 ticket flex package by contacting the Sharks front office at 508-929-0500. You decide how many tickets and how many games YOU want to attend while saving $$$ off box office pricing! It is that EASY!

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 Worcester Sharks account executives Kristyn Galante, Erin Croce, Sean West, Amanda Perkins, Peter Kelly, Andrew Nawn, and Mike Connole today! Jump in today and save up to 40% off box office prices! Some of the exclusive benefits for full season ticket holders will include:

* Guaranteed same seat for all 38 home dates and playoff home games at the DCU Center

* Priority access to purchase tickets to other DCU Center events (subject to availability)

* Seven FREE friends and family vouchers

* Exclusive events with Sharks players

* Merchandise discounts and much, much, more!

Season ticket packages and group tickets for the 2013-14 season are on sale now by contacting the Worcester Sharks Office at 508.929.0500 or by crashing 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!

All games can be heard live on 580AM and 94.9FM WTAG, as well as online through AHL Live, by following the link on the Sharks website at www.SharksAHL.com.



American Hockey League Stories from February 4, 2014


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