Sharks have a devilish time in Lowell
February 22, 2009 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Worcester Sharks News Release
LOWELL, MA - With 4th place on the line in Lowell, the Sharks fell 4-3 in overtime as rookie Michael Swift scored with just: 22 seconds remaining to give the Devils a 4-3 victory.
Both teams would strike for two even strength goals in the opening period. The Devils scored on the game's first shot when Rod Pelley deflected a puck into the net from on top of the crease after a great feed from Stephen Gionta. The Devils led 1-0 at 2:43 of the first period. After the Devils couldn't strike on consecutive power play chances, the Sharks' Riley Armstrong scored after a faceoff win deep in the Devils zone after a Lowell icing. The goal was Armstrong's 19th of the season assisted by Cavanagh at 7:00. The Sharks would strike again on a delayed penalty call. Tom Cavanagh threw a pass across the ice from the right boards and found a streaking Mike Moore who then went in and scored on a backhanded shot past Jeff Frazee at 10:34 to give the Sharks a 2-1 lead. After the Sharks couldn't score on back-to-back power plays, the Devils would score on a 2on2 rush with Rod Pelley deflecting in a pass from Zharkov at 17:38 to tie the score at 2-2. Shots were 13-10 in favor of Worcester after twenty minutes of play.
The Devils would score on the first shot of the first period as Matt Halischuk scored his 11th at 1:53 of the second period with an assist to Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond to give the Devils a 3-2 lead. Sharks Captain Ryan Vesce would bury a rebound chance on the power play after an initial shot from Matt Fornataro to tie the score at 5:41.
Neither team would score in the third period, as both goaltenders made some key saves down the stretch, non better than Jeff Frazee's stop on Jamie McGinn's breakaway attempt midway through the third period.
Rookie Michael Swift would end the game in overtime at 4:38 after a great pass from Nicolas Bergfors on a delayed penalty call. Bergfors found Swift alone on top of the crease as he tapped it in for his 10th of the season. The win for the Devils in overtime was their first victory in the overtime period (1-1) and the loss for the Sharks was their first in overtime (5-1).
The loss drops Worcester's record to 28-25-1-2 with 59 points, just one point behind the 4th place Lowell Devils.
NOTES: Three Stars: (3) Leblond (0-2-2) (2) Armstrong (1-1-2), (1) Pelley (2-0-2) ... Attendance was announced 1,407... The Sharks lead the season series 4-2-1-0; with the teams meeting three more times ... Thomas Greiss made 34 saves net for Worcester... Jeff Frazee made 28 saves in net for the Devils... The Sharks went 1-5 on the power play while the Devils went 0-5... Jason Demers and Steven Zalewski each missed their first game of the season due to injury.... No Sharks player has played in all 56 games this season... Jamie McGinn's four game goal streak was snapped (6 goals)...Tom Cavanagh had two assists for Worcester..
The Sharks return home for a Wednesday night matchup with the Lowell Devils at 7:05p.m. on "Dollar Dog Night" at the DCU Center.
All games can be heard live on 580 & 94.9 WTAG as well as online through AHL Live by following the link on the Sharks website, www.SharksAHLcom.
Be sure not to miss any of the action of the 2008-09 Worcester Sharks season and buy your tickets today! Purchases can be made by visiting the box office, contacting the Worcester Sharks office at 508.929.0500, or by crashing the net at www.SharksAHL.com.
American Hockey League Stories from February 22, 2009
- P-Bruins Defeat Falcons 5-4 - Providence Bruins
- Talbot's Goal Ends Flames Streak in Overtime - Peoria Rivermen
- Wolf Pack's Late Attack Squashes Monarchs Comeback - Manchester Monarchs
- Devils Sink Sharks In Overtime, 4-3 - Albany Devils
- Griffins Gut Out 5-4 Win Over Rampage - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Sharks have a devilish time in Lowell - Worcester Sharks
- Goal with 5.2 seconds left clinches win for Wolf Pack - Connecticut Whale
- Bulldogs caged by Crunch in 3-1 loss - Hamilton Bulldogs
- Moose drop third straight road game - Manitoba Moose
- Peters Scores Late in Third to Earn Regulation Point for Quad City - Abbotsford Heat
- Strong Third Period Vaults Crunch Past Hamilton - Syracuse Crunch
- Walter tallies twice, including the game-winner in Sound Tigers' win over Portland - Bridgeport Islanders
- Hershey Jr. Bears win 2009 Quebec City International Pee-Wee tourney - Hershey Bears
- Howard Returns to Griffins, Set to Start Today - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Sound Tigers Grab 5-2 Win Over Pirates - Portland Pirates
- Amerks Host Marlies on Red Hot Sunday - Rochester Americans
- Blues Assign Tyson Strachan to Peoria - Peoria Rivermen
- Springfield Falcons Announce First Annual Springfield Fal-Con - Springfield Falcons
- Admirals Beat Moose 2-1 - Milwaukee Admirals
- Schaefer wins 100th in Aeros 3-2 shootout victory over Iowa - Houston Aeros
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
