Sharks Explode for Five Goals vs. McKenna and League Leading
January 31, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Worcester Sharks News Release
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. The Sharks complete their five game home stand Saturday evening vs. the Providence Bruins at 7:00 p.m. in the Sharks' annual PINK in the RINK Night to benefit the Cup Crusaders presented by Pepsi.
Dan DaSilva (2-1-3) and Yanni Gourde (0-3-3) each had three point games in the 5-2 victory over the Falcons 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 the Sharks.
The Sharks tripled both the shooting and the scoring of the Falcons during the first period with shots 18-6 and a score of 3-1 on the scoreboard. Worcester opened the scoring quickly, just 1:15 into the tilt. Yanni Gourde sent a puck from the lower right corner of the boards out to an open Travis Oleksuk (8th) who then ripped it past the league's leading goaltender, Mike McKenna. Brodie Reid (5th) was the next Shark to score at 9:57 when he cleaned up a rebound off of McKenna's right pad after he saved an initial shot from Freddie Hamilton. The Falcons answered back after a turnover resulted in a counter attack down the ice at 14:20. Grosenick made the first save on a shot from Michael Chaput at the left side, but the puck bounced out to Sean Collins (8th) on the right who lifted it over Grosenick as he was still down on the ice. With just over a minute left in the period at 18:42, the Sharks regained their two-goal lead when Dan DaSilva (9th) stuffed another rebounded puck off McKenna's right pad into the goal. The period served as a milestone for the Sharks, who haven't scored three goals in the first period all season before tonight and for Nick Petrecki who recorded his 500th penalty minute off an interference call.
The Sharks kept their offensive presence strong during the second 20 minutes of play adding two more goals off of 20 shots, while the Falcons only posted eight shots that resulted in one goal. Springfield scored their lone goal of the period first at 7:56 when Alex Aleardi wrapped around the left side of the net and dished the puck to Lukas Sedlak (7th) who one-timed it into the Sharks' net from the slot. Then at 15:48, Worcester tallied its fourth goal of the night off of a 2-on-1 between DaSilva and Oleksuk (9th), who completed the play after burying DaSilva's rebounded shot into the net. The Sharks took a three goal lead and their biggest lead of the night at 18:46 when DaSilva picked up a pass from Gourde and rifled it through the Springfield defense and McKenna from the center of the blue line.
A scoreless final period of action gave the Sharks a 5-2 victory over Springfield. Shots dropped in the third for Worcester with Springfield holding the 7-2 advantage while a lot of the 20 minutes was played out in the neutral zone. Grosenick remained solid, making seven saves while McKenna made two.
The Sharks' overall record improves to 21-18-3-1, 46pts and 11-9-0-1, 23pts at home.
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