Sharks Fall Short in Hartford Despite Late 3rd Period Rally

Published on November 2, 2014 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Worcester Sharks News Release


Hartford, Conn.- The Worcester Sharks (5-3-1-0, 11pts) dropped a contest to the Hartford Wolf Pack (6-2-1-0, 13pts) 4-3 in front of 2,443 fans at the XL Center Sunday afternoon. The Sharks return home for a midweek tilt Wednesday, November 5th, when they take on the Lehigh Valley Phantoms for the first time at 7:00 p.m.

The Hartford Wolf Pack executed three goals on seven shots in the first period to take control early. Chris Bourque (3rd), J.T. Miler (3rd) and Danny Kristo (3rd) accounted for the early tallies that put the Sharks in a tough spot. The Wolf Pack extended their lead with another insurance goal in the third period by Jesper Fast (1st) before Ryan Carpenter (2nd) broke past the Hartford goal line to put Worcester on the board at 11:52. Freddie Hamilton (5th) and Tyler Kennedy (2nd) narrowed the gap for Worcester, each with a marker as the clock wound down, but the Sharks ultimately came up short falling 4-3. Worcester's rookie goaltender, J.P. Anderson started in his first AHL game for the Sharks, making 14 saves in the loss. Hartford net minder, Cedrick Desjardins allowed three goals on 39 shots in his first game with the Wolf Pack.

The Wolf Pack lit the lamp three times in the opening frame, taking a comfortable 3-0 lead over the Sharks after 20 minutes of play. Chris Bourque (3rd) initiated the scoring on Hartford's first power play with a wrister to the top right of the net at 8:46. Anderson's right pad save on Ryan Bourque redirected the loose puck right in front of his unmarked older brother who buried it away. Just a few minutes later, at 11:24, Mat Bodie found J.T, Miller (3rd) open at the back door to deliver the puck behind Anderson and bring the Sharks deficit to two. Hartford sealed the period with an extra tally at 14:05 after Danny Kristo (3rd) scoped out an opening between Anderson and the near pipe from Anderson's glove-side circle. Despite a 3-0 lead on the scoreboard, Worcester held the edge in shots outshooting Hartford 12-7.

The second period ended scoreless on each end, allowing the Wolf Pack to carry their opening lead into the final 20 minutes of the game. Though without a marker on the board, the period was packed with peppered shots, hard hits and a bout. About midway through at 9:23, Micheal Haley (3rd FM) dropped the gloves with Nick Tarnasky (2nd FM) of the Wolf Pack. Worcester kept the shots flowing, putting up another 13 on Desjardins, but couldn't break past him even on a 5-on-3 advantage. Anderson came up big on all seven of Hartford's tries to prevent the Wolf Pack from furthering their lead.

The Sharks scored three goals in 6:54 in a last ditch rallying effort, but came up short as the third period ended with a 4-3 score. The Wolf Pack widened the scoring gap first just 29 seconds in when Mat Bodie sent a pass from along the boards of the Wolf Pack offensive zone up top to Jesper Fast (1st) who sent a drive in net from the left circle. The Sharks then scored three unanswered goals, first by Ryan Carpenter at 11:52, then Freddie Hamilton (5th) at 16:47, followed by Tyler Kennedy (2nd) at 18:48. The clock expired just when the Sharks picked up momentum outshooting the Wolf Pack 14-4 in the final period.

The Sharks overall record drops to 5-3-1-0, 11pts, and 2-1-0-0, 4pts on the road.

Notes: Three Stars: 3rd star: Chris Bourque (1-0-1) 2nd star: J.T. Miller (1-1-2) 1st star: Cedrick Desjardins (36 Saves, Win) Final shots were 39-18 in favor of Worcester... Cedrick Desjardins made 36 saves on 39 shots for Hartford.... J.P. Anderson made 14 saves on 18 shots for Worcester.... Worcester went 1-for-7 on the power play while Hartford went 1-for-5... Jimmy Bonneau, Petter Emanuelsson(inj), Travis Oleksuk (inj), Gus Young, and Chris Crane did not dress for Worcester... J.P. Anderson made his first start in the AHL for Worcester...Freddie Hamilton extended his point streak to five games while Daniil Tarasov extended his to four games... Dylan Demelo added two assists... Tyler Shattock picked up his 2nd fighting major in three games with a third period tussle vs. Steve Spinell...Tyler Kennedy finished with a goal, assist, and fired a season high eight shots on goal... Worcester has lost nine of their last ten games in Hartford.

Coming up...

The Sharks return home for a midweek match Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Worcester then takes on local rival the Providence Bruins Saturday, November 8th at the DCU Center at 7:00 p.m. where Boston Bruins' Daniel Paille will appear to sign autographs from 6:00-8:00 p.m presented by Bay State Savings Bank.

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American Hockey League Stories from November 2, 2014


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