Sharks Get Close But No Cigar
December 26, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Worcester Sharks News Release
Worcester, MA. - The Worcester Sharks (11-13-3-1, 26pts) fell short in an entertaining 5-4 shootout loss to the red hot Manchester Monarchs (21-6-1-1, 44pts) in front of 3,346 fans at the DCU Center on Friday afternoon.
Worcester led 1-0, trailed 2-1 and 3-2, and led 4-3 before Brian O'Neill tied the score with 39 seconds left in the third period for Manchester to force overtime. Jeremy Langlois (2-1-3) and Bryan Lerg (1-1-2) led the way offensively for Worcester while Adam Burish put the Sharks ahead 4-3 at 8:16 of the third period. Brian O'Neill (1-1-2), Colin Miller (1-1-2), and Nick Shore (1-1-2) all had big games for Manchester as JF Berube picked up his AHL leading 16th win with 32 saves in net.
A wild first period saw three goals in the opening 92 seconds and a goaltender change as Manchester went ahead 2-1. Bryan Lerg (3rd) scored just 15 seconds in after a great check by Jeremy Langlois on the fore-check and Lerg stationed in front and deflected a Nick Jones shot past JF Berube. It was the fastest goal to start a game in Sharks history as Worcester had an early 1-0 lead. Nick Shore (16th) tied the score just 35 seconds later with a shot from the right corner that deflected off Troy Grosenick and into the net. Manchester went ahead at 1:32 as Colin Miller (7th) sent a blast from 50 feet past Grosenick. JP Anderson replaced Grosenick in net after Troy allowed two goals on three shots. Worcester tied the score at 11:08 with a beautiful deflection by Jeremy Langlois (6th) on a Taylor Fedun shot from the point on the power play. Worcester held a 9-8 shot advantage through 20 minutes.
Troy Grosenick returned to the net in the second period for Worcester as the Sharks outshot the Monarchs 13-6 in the middle frame. Nick Ebert (2nd) scored the only goal of the period on a 3-on-2 rush with a quick snap shot from 40 feet that beat Grosenick through the pads at 7:34. JF Berube made several nice saves as Worcester trailed 3-2 after 40 minutes.
Worcester would grab a 4-3 advantage as Jeremy Langlois (7th) scored his 2nd of the contest at 4:53 and Adam Burish (3rd) put the Sharks ahead at 8:16 with a quick shot from the left circle. With JF Berube on the bench for an extra attacker, Brian O'Neill (10th) fired home the equalizer from 25 feet with a wicked shot from between the circles to force overtime.
The Sharks outshot Manchester 7-1 in a scoreless seven minute overtime frame which included a Worcester power play. Konrad Abeltshauser had the best chance for the Sharks but Berube made a superb glove save.
Brian O'Neill and Nick Shore scored in the shootout for Manchester while Bryan Lerg scored for Worcester as Manchester won their 4th straight game with a 5-4 victory over the Sharks.
The Sharks overall record drops to 11-13-3-1, 26pts, and 7-5-2-1, 17pts at the DCU Center this season.
Notes: Three Stars: 3rd star: Bryan Lerg (1-1-2, Shootout goal) 2nd star: Brian O'Neill (1-1-2, Shootout goal) 1st star: Jeremy Langlois (2-1-3)... Final shots were 36-21 in favor of Worcester... JF Berube made 32 saves on 36 shots for Manchester and improved to 8-1-2 all-time vs. Worcester....Troy Grosenick made 10 saves on 14 shots in 48:25 in the shootout loss and JP Anderson made six saves on six shots for Worcester in 18:28... .... Worcester went 1-for-5 on the power play while Manchester went 0-for-4... Petter Emanuelsson (inj), Taylor Doherty (inj), and Eriah Hayes (inj) did not dress for Worcester.... before the game Micheal Haley was recalled by the SJ Sharks joining Matt Tennyson, Chris Tierney, and Melker Karlsson .... forward Willie Coetzee made his Sharks debut and wore #26....Manchester is now 18-1-3 vs. Worcester in the last 22 meetings and 5-0-0-0 vs. Worcester this season... it was the 100th overtime game this season in the AHL and just the 26th game that was decided in the shootout. Greger Hanson extended his point streak to three games with an assist (0-3-3)...Bryan Lerg has four points in his last two games (2-2-4)...Sharks equipment manager Chris Davidson-Adams recorded his 1,000th game behind the bench.
Coming up....
The Sharks head to Syracuse for a 7pm Saturday start vs. the Crunch.
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.
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