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Sharks Occupy 8th Spot in East with 18 to Go - Worcester Sharks Weekly

March 10, 2015 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Worcester Sharks News Release


Shark Snap Shot:

The Worcester Sharks (31-21-4-2, 66pts) chomped two out of a possible six points in three games last week in their 3rd consecutive 3-in-3 weekend. The Sharks exploded for a season high five second period goals in a 5-2 win over the Wolf Pack on Friday but dropped a 4-3 decision vs. the Sound Tigers on Saturday. Worcester closed out the weekend with a 3-2 loss in Providence on Sunday - despite firing a season high 54 shots on goal.

Worcester sits in 4th place in the Atlantic Division with 68 points (31-21-4-2) and 8th overall in the Eastern Conference. The Sharks are 21-9-2-2 in their last 34 games and are just percentage points ahead of the 9th place Hartford Wolf Pack for the final playoff spot in the East. Click HERE for the AHL Primer courtesy of www.theahl.com.

Highlights from the week include the Sharks scoring a season high five goals in the second period on Friday vs. Hartford; which included the fastest two goals in Sharks history - as Daniil Tarasov and Micheal Haley scored just six seconds apart in the 5-2 win over Hartford. Worcester scored three power play goals on Saturday - but lost 4-3 to the Sound Tigers and the Sharks set a season high with 54 shots on Sunday in Providence. Micheal Haley scored three goals last weekend and leads the club with 18 goals this season. Willie Coetzee rides a three game point streak (1-4-5) while Chris Crane and Derek DeBlois each scored their first AHL goals last weekend. Daniil Tarasov added two points (1-1-2) in his return from injury in three games last week while Travis Oleksuk racked up three points (1-2-3) in the three games.

The AHL announced on Jan 30 that the Worcester Sharks are to move to San Jose, CA after the season and join a new Pacific Division for the 2015-16 season. More information can be found by clicking HERE.

TRANSACTIONS:

Taylor Fedun was recalled by the San Jose Sharks after he scored his 5th goal of the season vs. Hartford on March 6. ECHL rookie of the month for February - Derek DeBlois (South Carolina Stingrays) was signed to a PTO by Worcester on March 4. The Worcester Sharks traded for forward Vincent Arenseau on March 9 from the Manchester Monarchs for future considerations.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK:

The Worcester Sharks player of the week nominee is forward Willie Coetzee. The 24-year-old from Johannesburg, South Africa recorded five points (1-4-5), was +1, and fired 11 shots in three games to lead the way offensively for Worcester.

COMING UP:

The Worcester Sharks play just two games this week - both on the road!

On Wednesday, the Sharks travel to Bridgeport for the first time this season for a 7pm battle with the Sound Tigers.

On Friday, the Sharks head to Albany to face the Devils at 7pm.

You can listen to both games live on WTAG Worcester or watch online for a small fee at www.AHLLive.com.

BIG PROMOTION ALERT!

New England Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler will appear and sign autographs presented by ScrubaDub when the Sharks host the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Saturday, March 21 at 7pm at the DCU Center in Worcester. Malcolm Butler is a member of the 2015 Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots and is best known for his interception with 20 seconds left in Super Bowl XLIX which virtually assured the Patriots 28-24 win over the Seattle Seahawks. Butler will sign autographs from 5pm-7pm and will drop the ceremonial first puck before the Sharks game.

MILESTONE ALERT:

Head Coach Roy Sommer surpassed Frank Mathers (1256 games coached) for the most games coached in AHL history on March 26, 2014 in the Sharks 5-3 win in Lewiston, ME over the Portland Pirates. Coach Sommer has coached 1326 AHL games - all with the SJ Sharks AHL affiliates. In total, Coach Sommer has been a head coach in 1,662 games in the AHL and ECHL. Roy surpassed John Paddock (589) for the 3rd most wins in AHL history in the Sharks 3-1 win in Providence on Jan 4, 2015. Coach Sommer picked up his 600th career AHL win in a 4-3 victory in Lehigh Valley on Feb 4, 2015 and is now three wins away from tying Frank Mathers (610 wins) for 2nd all-time in AHL history.

Forward John McCarthy has 142 points (58-84-142) and is just two points behind Dan DaSilva (144pts) for the franchise lead in points. J-Mac has played 264 games with the Worcester Sharks - 2nd only to Nick Petrecki (277gp).

Few things to know....

* The Worcester Sharks are in 4th place (31-21-4-2, 68pts) in the Atlantic Division and 8th place overall in the Eastern Conference. - the Worcester Sharks have the 7th best winning percentage in the Eastern Conference.

* The San Jose Sharks currently have 14 players on their roster that have spent time in Worcester (Couture, Pavelski, Wingels, Braun, Stalock, Irwin, Vlasic, Nieto, Mueller, Karlsson, Hertl, Goodrow, Tarasov, Tierney).

* The San Jose Sharks are in 5th place in the Pacific Division and 10th place in the Western Conference with 74 points and a 33-26-8 record.

* Welcome back captain!...John McCarthy was reassigned by the St. Louis Blues to Worcester on Jan 14 in exchange for Adam Burish. J-Mac made his return to the Sharks line up on Jan 16 and added an assist. McCarthy ranks 2nd all-time in games played (264), 2nd in points (142) and 4th in goals (58).

* Rookie Chris Tierney has 24 points (7-17-24) in 27 games in Worcester this season and nine points (2-7-9) in 28games for the San Jose Sharks. Chris scored his 1st NHL goal vs. Ryan Miller in the Sharks 5-1 win in Vancouver on Feb 5.

* AHL rookie Jeremy Langlois has 26 points (16-10-26) in 42 games. His 16 goals were most among AHL rookies before his injury. - Langlois is currently sidelined with a foot injury and has missed the last 14 games.

* AHL rookie Evan Trupp ranks 14th among AHL rookies with 32 points (13-19-32) in 57 games - Trupp leads all Worcester skaters with 32 points.

* Melker Karlsson has been impressive so far with the San Jose Sharks. Melker has 18 points (11-7-18) in 38 games with San Jose since his recall on Dec 8. He scored his 1st NHL goal on Dec 22 at Anaheim and also had a five game goal scoring streak!

* Daniil Tarasov is 5th on Worcester with 27 points (11-16-27) in 44 games this season. Daniil made his NHL debut on Feb 5 and recorded an assist on Chris Tierney's first NHL goal. Tarasov has played two games for San Jose this season (0-1-1) and is currently with the Worcester Sharks.

* Freddie Hamilton was traded to the Colorado Avalanche for Karl Stollery on March 2. Freddie had 30 points (9-21-30) in 52 games for Worcester and played one game for the SJ Sharks this season (0-0-0). Hamilton Finished his career in Worcester with 99 points (44-55-99) in 191 games.

* Matt Taormina is 2nd among Worcester d-men with 27 points (8-19-27) in 58 games. Matt picked up his 100th AHL assist vs. the Monarchs on Dec 26 and was selected to play in the AHL All Star Classic where he collected two assists. Taormina ranks 19th in AHL among defensemen in points.

* Taylor Fedun is 1st among Worcester defensemen in points (29) and 1st on the club with 24 assists in 56 games. - Fedun ranks 15th in the AHL in points among defensemen.

* Micheal Haley is 1st on the club in goals (18), leads the club in fighting majors (8), and tops in penalty minutes (92). Haley picked up his 1,000th AHL penalty minute on Dec 13 and has also played four games with the San Jose Sharks this season. Haley leads Worcester in power play goals (8) and game winners (4).

* 50/50 - Defenseman Matt Tennyson has played 27 games in Worcester (35-8) and 27 games with the SJ Sharks (2-6-8) this season. - Tenny is currently with the Worcester Sharks.

* Captain Bryan Lerg ranks 2nd on the Sharks with 32 points (8-24-32) in 57 games this season for Worcester. - Lerg missed his 1st game of the season due to injury on March 8.

* Goaltender Troy Grosenick has a 17-8-3 record in Worcester with a 2.69 GAA and a .905 save %. Grosenick made his NHL debut on Nov 16 and set an NHL record for most saves in a shutout by a goaltender making his NHL debut (45) in the SJ Sharks 2-0 win at Carolina. Troy went 1-1-0 in two starts for the SJ Sharks and is currently in Worcester and is and is 10-3-2 in his last 15 starts overall. - Grosenick returned to the net on Feb 21 after missing 11 games due to injury.

* Goaltender Aaron Dell inked his 1st NHL Deal with the SJ Sharks on Feb 28. Dell is 8-5-2 with Worcester this season with a 1.98 GAA and a .927 save %.

* The Worcester Sharks are the least penalized team in the AHL with only 11.24 penalty minutes per game and have allowed the 3rd fewest amount of power play goals against (28)

* PP - the Sharks currently rank 7th in the AHL with a 19.1% conversion rate. - Worcester has scored the 2nd most power play goals in the league with 50.

* PK - the Sharks have allowed just 12 power play goals in their last 24 games (84-96, .87.5%) and rank 8t9h in the AHL with an 85.7% penalty kill rate.

* The Sharks have the 3rd most wins (6) when trailing after 40 minutes of play this season.

* Coach Roy Sommer currently ranks 3rd in the AHL with 607 wins in his career (17th season) and 1st in games coached in the AHL with 1326.

Top 3... Last Week!

1. Micheal Haley scored twice in the Sharks 5-2 win over the Wolf Pack on March 6!

2. Willie Coetzee picked up a goal and an assist in the Sharks 4-3 loss to the Sound Tigers on March 7!

3. Taylor Fedun scored a power play goal in the Sharks 5-2win vs. Hartford on March 6!

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

Fri. 3/6 W Hartford Wolf Pack 2 @ Worcester SHARKS 5

Sat. 3/7 L Bridgeport Sound Tigers 4 @ Worcester SHARKS 3

Sun. 3/8 L Worcester SHARKS 2 @ Providence Bruins 3

This Week:

Wed. 3/11 Worcester SHARKS @ Bridgeport Sound Tigers - 7pm

Fri. 3/13 Worcester SHARKS @ Albany Devils - 7pm

Rewind the Tape:

3.6.15 - Hartford 2 - Worcester 5 - W - DCU Center - Worcester, MA

The Worcester Sharks (31-19-4-2, 68pts) scored five goals in the second period to top the Hartford Wolf Pack (30-19-5-3, 68pts) 5-2 in front of 2,692 fans on Friday night at the DCU Center. Forward Micheal Haley (2-0-2, +2) led the way for Worcester, scoring two goals in an explosive second period, along with three additional goals scored by Gus Young (1-0-1, -1), Taylor Fedun (1-0-1, -1), and Daniil Tarasov (1-0-1, E). The Wolf Pack had two goals in the first period by Oscar Lindberg (1-0-1,-1) and Marek Nehring (1-0-1, -1).The Sharks set a franchise-record in the second period for fastest two goals scored (6 seconds apart). Troy Grosenick picked up his 17th win, making 33 saves on 35 shots from Hartford. After losing 17 of their last 21 against Hartford, the Sharks beat the Wolf Pack for the first time since January 10th of last season.

3.7.15 - Bridgeport 4 - Worcester 3 - L - DCU Center - Worcester, MA

The Worcester Sharks (31-20-4-2, 68pts) were defeated 4-3 by the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (22-29-6-1, 51 pts) in what ended up being a tight one on Troy Grosenick bobblehead night in front of 4,428 fans on Saturday evening at the DCU Center. Four players scored for Bridgeport in the 4-3 victory including Harry Zolniercyzk (1-1-2, +2), Carson McMillan (1-0-1, +1), Dustin Jeffrey (1-1-2, +2), and Sebastian Collberg (1-1-2, +2). Three power play goals were scored for Worcester by Micheal Haley (1-0-1, -1), Chris Crane (1-0-1, E), and Willie Coetzee (1-1-2, -1) in the loss. Worcester goalie Troy Grosenick made 21 saves on 25 shots, while Bridgeport's netminder Kevin Poulin stopped 39 on 42 shots from the Sharks for his 15th win of the season. The Sound Tigers snapped a 10-game losing streak with the victory.

3.8.15 - Providence 3 - Worcester 2 - L - Dunkin Donuts Center - Providence, RI

The Worcester Sharks (31-21-4-2, 68pts) fired a season high 54 shots but dropped a 3-2 decision to the host Providence Bruins (32-20-7-1, 72pts) in front of 9,426 fans at the Dunkin Donuts Center on Sunday afternoon. Jeremy Smith made 52 saves for the Bruins as Providence won their 5th straight game. Travis Oleksuk and Derek DeBlois scored for Worcester as Aaron Dell made 22 saves in net for the loss. Colin Stuart scored twice for Providence and Justin Florek scored just 15 seconds into the game for the Bruins as the Sharks lost for the 4th time in their last five games.

Sharks in the Atlantic:

The Worcester Sharks (31-21-4-2, 68pts in 58gp) are in 4th place in the Atlantic Division; which is 11 points behind the 1st place Monarchs (79pts in 58gp), four points behind the 2nd place Bruins (72pts in 60gp), two points behind of the 3rd place Pirates (70pts in 59gp), and four points ahead of the 5th place IceCaps (64pts in 61gp) to round out a very choppy Atlantic Division.

Coaching Milestones....

*1257 GAMES.....With the 5-3 win in Lewiston, ME vs. the Pirates on March 26, 2014, head coach Roy Sommer surpassed Frank Mathers (1,256 games) for the most games coached in the AHL.

*1,600 GAMES... With the 3-0 loss vs. the Norfolk Admirals on April 12, 2014, head coach Roy Sommer coached in his 1,600th professional game.

*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.

*600 WINS!....with the 4-3 win at Lehigh Valley on February 4, 2015, head coach Roy Sommer became just the 3rd coach in AHL history to reach the 600 win plateau.

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. Roy Sommer 1998-current 17seasons 1,325GP 607WINS

4. John Paddock 1981-2010 16seasons 1,125GP 589 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 (17th season) in the American Hockey League. His current regular season record is now: 607-555-48-60-56. (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 17, 1998.

Shark Bites:

*Captains for the 2014-15 season: Bryan Lerg was named the 7th captain in team history on Nov 14. Micheal Haley and Matt Taormina are the assistant captains this season.

*Breaking down October... The Sharks had a 4-2-1-0 (9pts in7) record in October with 22 GF and 19 GA. PP went 4-29 (13.8%); opponents PP was 2-20 (10.0%), and the Sharks had four fighting majors in October.

*Breaking down November... The Sharks had a 5-6-1-0 (11pts in 12gp) record in November with 30 GF and 36 GA. PP went 7-55 (12.7%); opponent's power play went 6-41 (14.6%), and the Sharks had 11 fighting majors in November.

*Breaking down December... The Sharks had a 4-5-1-1 (10pts in 11gp) record in December with 28 GF and 31 GA. PP went 8-50 (16.0%); opponent's power play went 8-37 (21.6%), and the Sharks had 3 fighting majors in December.

*Breaking down January.... The Sharks had a 10-3-0-1 (21pts in 14gp) record in January with 47 GF and 34 GA. PP was 14-59 (23.7%); opponent's power play was 5-43 (11.6%) and the Sharks had five fighting majors in the month of January.

*Breaking down February....the Sharks had a 7-2-1-0 (15pts in 10gp) record in February with 33 GF and 22GA. PP went 12-46 (26.0%); opponents power play is 5-36 (13.9%) and the Sharks had six fighting majors in the month of February.

*Breaking down March..... the Sharks have a 1-3-0-0 (2pts in 4gp) record in March with 10 GF and 11GA. PP is 5-22 (22.7%); opponents' power play is 3-19 (15.8%) and the Sharks have two fighting majors in March.

*Ring in the New Year!... the Sharks are 18-8-1-1 in the calendar year of 2015!

*TRADE.... The San Jose Sharks traded Freddie Hamilton for defenseman Karl Stollery on March 2. Stollery had 14pts (5-9-14) in 46 games this season for Lake Erie along with five games (0-0-0) with the Colorado Avalanche. Stollery is a product of Merrimack College and is in his 3rd season of professional hockey hailing from Camrose, Alberta.

*TRADE X2... the Worcester Sharks acquired forward Vincent Arseneau on March 9 from the Manchester Monarchs for future considerations. Arseneau, 22, has posted 14 points (9-5-14) and 132 penalty minutes in 37 games with the Ontario Reign and the Indy Fuel of the ECHL this season. Vincent played 24 games with Lake Erie (AHL) in 2012-14 and posted one assist along with 95 penalty minutes. He also skated in 47 games with Denver (CHL) in 2013-14 and posted 37 points (24-13-37) and 120 penalty minutes in 47 games. The 6-foot-2, 200lb left winger from Iles-de-la-Madeleine, PQ played with Acadie-Bathurst and Shawingan in the QMJHL.

*Top Rookies!... the Sharks have two rookies that rank in the top 20 in the AHL rookie point scoring race! Trupp 14th with 32pts and Carpenter 19th with 27 pts!

*0-for-50.... The Sharks fired a season high 50 shots on rookie Connor Hellebuyck on Feb 28 but lost the game 2-0 to the IceCaps at the DCU Center.

*2-for-54.... The Sharks fired a season high 54 shots on Jeremy Smith on March 8 but lost the game 3-2 to the Bruins at the Dunkin Donuts Center.

*Random #'s...

* Worcester is 18-9-3-2 when they score a power play goal... 8-2-1-0 when they score at least two power play goals in a game!

* Worcester is 13-6-1-1 on Saturdays and 5-3-1-0 on Sundays!

* Worcester is just 7-8-2-1 on Fridays this season.

* Worcester is 10-4-0-0 at the DCU Center on Saturdays and Sundays!

* Worcester is 4-2-0-0 on the 3rd game of the 3-in-3 game stretches.

* Worcester is 6-0-0-0 vs. the East Division at the DCU Center this season.

* Worcester went 4-0-0-0 in games that were televised on Charter TV 193.

* Worcester is 0-2-0-0 when they fire 50+ shots on goal.

* Worcester is the only team in the AHL that has eight players with at least 100+ shots on goal!

*Recent Notables...

* Taylor Doherty picked up his 300th penalty minute (all with Worcester) with his 4th fighting major of season (JC Lipon) on Feb 15 at St. John's.

* Rylan Schwartz dressed in his 100th Worcester Sharks game ion Feb 14 at St. John's.

* Jimmy Bonneau eclipsed 400 penalty minutes with Worcester (403) with a fighting major vs. Andrew O'Brien on Feb 7 in Norfolk.

* Eriah Hayes dressed in his 100th game as a member of the Worcester Sharks on Feb 20.

* Chris Crane scored his 1st AHL goal on March 7 vs. Bridgeport.

* Derek DeBlois scored his 1st AHL goal on March 8 at Providence.

*Strange But True... the Sharks did not have one game misconduct penalty in their first 52 games... but Jimmy Bonneau received one in games 53 and 54.

*Solid 34... the Sharks are 21-9-2-2 in their last 34 games.... that is a .676 points percentage!

*Road Warriors... the Sharks had a seven game road point streak (5-0-1-1) snapped in a 5-4 loss in Providence on Jan 30.

*Nice trip... the Sharks went 3-1-1-0 on their most recent road trip (Feb 4-15) with the power play clicking at 32.1% (9-28) and penalty kill at 87.5% (14-16).

*BIG crowds Nice Results... the Sharks are 7-0-0-0 this season at the DCU Center with a crowd over 5,000.

*PK pretty good... the Sharks rank 9th in the AHL with a 85.7% kill rate on the penalty kill...Worcester has allowed just 11 power play goals against (11-84) in their last 24 games (87.0%). The Sharks have allowed just 28 power play goals against this season - 3rd fewest in the AHL.

*1800 (thanks Ballou) Riley Brace's goal at 15:14 in the first period at Providence on Jan 4 was the 1800th goal scored in the history of the Worcester Sharks.

*2014...the Sharks finished with a 36-34-7 record in the calendar year of 2014.

*1st half of the season... Worcester finished the first half of the season with a 19-14-3-2 record through 38 games... the Sharks also had 19 wins after 38 games last season.

*2nd half of the season... Worcester is 12-7-1-0 so far in the 2nd half of their AHL regular season schedule.

*Perfect Home stand... the Sharks went 5-0-0-0 on their most recent home stand from Jan 9-17 and outscored their opponents 21-11. It was the best home stand in Sharks history. Worcester is now 17-8-2-1 at the DCU Center this season!

*Home cooking...the Sharks have won 10 of their last 13 games at the DCU Center.

*8 in a Row... The Sharks won a franchise best eight straight games (Jan 4-Jan 21).

*Points in 9 straight.... Worcester had points in nine straight games (8-0-0-1) from Jan 3-Jan 21.

*That's a first... the Sharks allowed their first ever penalty shot score on home ice as Sean Collins scored at 8:08 of the 2nd period in the Falcons 1-0 win at the DCU Center on Nov 15.

*That's a first X2 (thanks Ballou)....the 1-0 loss on Nov 15 to the Falcons was the first time in Worcester hockey history that a 1-0 game was decided on a penalty shot... it was only the third 1-0 loss in Worcester Sharks history.

*That's a first X3... the overtime penalty shot score by Bryan Lerg at 6:14 vs. Jeremy Smith in the Sharks 4-3OTW vs. Providence on Jan 10 was the first time the Sharks had ever scored a penalty shot goal in overtime.

*Strange but true... the Sharks had only lost two games in their first 641 games by a 1-0 score but lost twice by a 1-0 score in during a four game stretch... 1-0L vs. SPR Nov 15, 1-0L at HER Nov 22.

*Even Stranger... forward Jimmy Bonneau was the emergency backup goaltender in the Sharks 3-2 win in Portland on Jan 21. Troy Grosenick fell ill before the game and JP Anderson made 16 saves in the win.

*1-0 scores.... Four of 12 games were decided by 1-0 scores (Nov 15-Dec 14...Sharks had a 2-2-0-0 record in those games).... Worcester had only had five games in their first 641 games decided by 1-0 scores before this stretch.

*0 PP's -the Worcester Sharks did not receive one power play in a 6-3W over St. John's on Feb 27 - Garrett Rank was the referee.

*Stanley Cup Champion (CHI 2010) Adam Burish was loaned to Worcester on Nov 24. Burish played in 20 games for the SJ Sharks this season and posted three points (1-2-3) and 33 penalty minutes. Burish had seven points (4-3-7) in 18 games for Worcester before he was reassigned to the Chicago Wolves in exchange for John McCarthy on Jan 14.

*Shots on goal... Worcester has outshot their opponents in 37 of the first 58 games this season and rank 1st in the AHL with 33.66 shots per game.... Bryan Lerg leads the club with 140 shots on net - Worcester has eight players with over 100 shots this season - the only ream in the AHL that has eight skaters with 100+ shots!

*Shots on goal Take 2... Worcester had a season high 23 shots on goal in the first period in Providence on March 8. The Sharks fired a season high 54 shots on Jeremy Smith that game but lost 3-2.

*Lead after 20 and 40... the Sharks are 13-0-1-1 when leading after the first period of play and 20-0-1-1 when leading after 40 minutes. - the Sharks are the only team in the AHL that does not have a regulation loss when leading 20 minutes of play this season.

*Trailing after 40 minutes... the Sharks are 6-19-1-1 when trailing after 40 minutes... the 6 wins are 3rd in the AHL.... 4 of the wins have come on home ice... best in the AHL.

*Sharp Shooter... Micheal Haley has an 20.2% shooting percentage.... Haley has scored 18 goals on 89 shots this season.

*NHL Deal... Goaltender Aaron Dell (Univ. North Dakota) has an 8-5-2 record with a 1.98 GAA and a .927save % with Worcester in his two recalls this season from Allen (ECHL). Dell is now 7-2-1 and 20 goals allowed in his last 10 starts for Worcester and signed his 1st NHL contract with the SJ Sharks on Feb 28.

*OT magic... defenseman Dylan Demelo has scored five goals this season... two of them in sudden death overtime! - Demelo has received two NHL recalls this season but has yet to make his NHL debut..

*2nd period goals... Worcester has outscored their opponents 55-38 (+17) in the second period this season...the best goal differential period of the season for the Sharks (-13 in 1st and +14 in 3rd). - the Sharks scored a season high five goals in the second period vs. Hartford on March 6.

*House of Horrors... with the 5-3 loss in Hartford on Dec 12...the Sharks have lost 10 of their last 11 games at the XL Center...In all, the Wolf Pack have won 17 of the last 22 games vs. the Sharks.

*We like St. John's...the Sharks are 10-3-2-0 all-time at the Mile One Centre in St. John's NFLD.

*Monarchs had the Sharks #.... Manchester was 19-1-3 against the Sharks since Jan 1, 2013.....until Worcester won three straight over the Monarchs in a span of just six days (Jan 13-18). - Worcester has won four straight of their last six games vs. the Monarchs!

*Manchester D....the Monarchs held the Sharks to season low 15 shots on goal on Dec 13 in a 2-1 win over the Sharks. Worcester had just one shot on goal in the third period and the Sharks went 0-9 on the power play. Manchester held Worcester to 17 shots on Feb 22 - but the Sharks won 3-0l

*Feasting on the Bruins... the Sharks are 7-2-0-0 vs. the Bruins this season and have outscored Providence 31-22 in the process! Worcester is 5-3-1 in their last nine games at the Dunkin Donuts Center and goaltender Malcolm Subban is 0-6-0 in his last six starts against Worcester... The Sharks and the Bruins battle three more times this season.

*Quick Strikes (thanks Ballou)... Garrett Stafford and Tomas Plihal scored 12 seconds apart in the second period on Feb 2, 2007 against Bridgeport at the DCU Center... it was the franchise record until Daniil Tarasov (16:47) and Micheal Haley (16:53) scored within six seconds in the second period on March 6, 2015 vs. Hartford. It was only the 5th time in nine seasons the Sharks have scored goals less than 20 seconds apart.

*Fast start... Evan Trupp scored just 22 seconds into the first period on Dec 6 in St. John's and Bryan Lerg scored 15 seconds in vs. Manchester on Dec 26. Graham Mink holds the record for fastest goal just 11 seconds into the game on March 7, 2008.

*Good Boys... the Worcester Sharks are the least penalized team in the AHL averaging 11.24 minutes per game....the Sharks have been shorthanded just 196 times this season (3.38 per game) which is the least times shorthanded in the AHL. - the Sharks have had 66 more power plays than their opponents this season.

*PPGA... the Sharks have allowed the 3rd fewest power play goals against (28) in the first 58 games this season.

*PP goals... Worcester has scored the second post power play goals in the AHL this season (50) - trailing only the Sound Tigers (53).

*Pro Debuts: Gus Young (Yale) made his professional debut in the Sharks 4-1 win over the Portland Pirates on Oct 26.

*Close Games... 33 of the first 58 Sharks games have been decided by a single goal...Worcester is 15-12-4-2 in games decided by one goal this season.

*Score first... the Sharks have scored FIRST 28 times in 58 games this season (20-4-2-2) - Ryan Carpenter 1, Petter Emanuelsson 2, Taylor Doherty (1), Konrad Abeltshauser (1), Daniil Tarasov (4), Melker Karlsson (1), Evan Trupp (2), Freddie Hamilton (1), Micheal Haley (1), Matt Taormina (2), Bryan Lerg (2), Riley Brace (1), Willie Coetzee (1), Gus Young (2), Jeremy Langlois (1), John McCarthy (3), Rylan Schwartz (1), and Dylan Demelo (1).

*Big 2nd period... the Sharks scored five goals on 22 shots in the second period in the 5-2 win over Hartford on March 6...it was just the 7th time all season a team had scored at least five goals in a period in the AHL this season. - the 22 shots in the second period were the most in a 2nd period all season in the AHL.

*Big third period... Freddie Hamilton (3-0-3), Daniil Tarasov (0-3-3), and Evan Trupp (1-2-3) all recorded three points in the third period in the Sharks 4-1 win over the Pirates on Oct 26.

*Big third period X2... the four goals scored by the Sharks in the third period in 4-1 win vs. Portland on Oct 26 was just the 4th time this season a team had scored four goals in a period this season in the AHL.

*Big third period X3... Jeremy Langlois scored three goals in a spell of 11:04 of the third period to lead Worcester to a 3-2 win in Portland on Jan 21. Evan Trupp had an assist on all three goals.

*Thanks Ballou... despite going 10-2 in the shootout last season, the Sharks are just 32W-47L overall (40.5%)....Worcester is 1-2 in the shootout this season.

*AHL First... Matt Taormina became the first player to score a 3-on-3 OT goal under the new overtime format in the AHL in the Sharks 3-2 overtime win in Binghamton on Oct 11. The goal came at 6:34 assisted by Evan Trupp and Taylor Fedun.

*Deja-Vu (almost).... Dylan Demelo scored at 6:33 of overtime on Oct 18.... Exactly one week after defenseman Matt Taormina scored at 6:34 of overtime on Oct 11.

*4 National Champions... The Sharks have four players that won the NCAA Division 1 Championship.... Gus Young was captain with Yale University in 2013....Travis Oleksuk with University Minnesota Duluth in 2011...Bryan Lerg with Michigan State in 2007.... and John McCarthy with BU in 2009.

*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.

*Swedish Elite League Championship.... both Melker Karlsson and Petter Emanuelsson won back-to-back championships with Skelleftea AIK in the SWEHL in 2013 and 2014.

*Young Guns... the Sharks have dressed 14 AHL rookies already this season. (Ryan Carpenter, Jeremy Langlois, Evan Trupp, JP Anderson, Gus Young, Chris Tierney, Aaron Dell, Nick Jones, Andrew Blazek, Greger Hanson, Barclay Goodrow, Mirco Mueller, Kyle Bigos, Derek DeBlois)

*Tallest Shark.... Worcester Sharks rookie defenseman Taylor Doherty is the tallest player in team history standing at 6'8" 235lbs.... Doherty has seven goals, 30 assists, and 325 penalty minutes in 217 games with the Worcester Sharks. Taylor scored in his 200th game with Worcester on Jan 18 at Manchester.

*First Pro Goals this season... Ryan Carpenter scored his 1st pro goal (Andrew Hammond) in 3-2OTW at Binghamton on Oct 11...Chris Tierney scored his 1st (Malcolm Subban) in 4-2W vs. Providence on Nov 8...Gus Young his 1st goal (Scott Wedgewood) in 2-1OTW at Albany on Jan 24.

*Sharks in the Atlantic... went 21-22-1-2 vs. the Atlantic in 2013-14 and are 17-12-2-1 in divisional play this season.

*Massachusetts!... the Sharks have two players that hail from Massachusetts this season (Gus Young - Dedham and John McCarthy - Andover)

*I'll take a draft... eight Worcester Sharks players were drafted by the San Jose Sharks. (Abeltshauser, Doherty, Crane, Demelo, Tierney, McCarthy, Mueller, Hertl)

*First Rounders... the Sharks had a pair of first rounders in the lineup on Jan 23-24...Mirco Mueller (18th in 2013) and Tomas Hertl (17th in 2012).

*NHL Experience.... The Sharks have eight players on their roster with NHL experience... Matt Taormina 56, Matt Tennyson 31, Karl Stollery 7, Eriah Hayes 19, Taylor Fedun 4, Micheal Haley 56, Chris Tierney 28, John McCarthy 87, and Troy Grosenick 2)

*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. Freddie Hamilton scored the first home hat trick in 206 games with three goals in a 5:12 span in the third period in a 4-1 win over the Pirates on Oct 26, 2014. It was the first home hat trick since P.J. Fenton had one on Feb. 28, 2009 in the Sharks' 7-3 victory over Springfield. In all, Worcester players have recorded hat tricks only 12 times in the franchise's 686 games. The Sharks are 12-0-0-0 in those games and 1-15-3 in the 19 games in which the opposition has had a hat trick.

*Hat Tricks... the Sharks have three hat tricks this season (Hamilton Oct 26 vs. POR, Langlois Jan 21 at POR, and Trupp Feb 27 vs. STJ).

* Brothers... Rylan Schwartz is the younger brother of Jayden Schwartz, who currently plays for the St. Louis Blues.

*Major Bonneau... Worcester Sharks tough guy Jimmy Bonneau has racked up 56 fighting majors in 151games 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 128 fighting majors in 346AHL games along with 989 penalty minutes.

*Five for fighting... The Sharks have 31 fighting majors through 58 games this season (Bonneau 7, Haley 8, Shattock 2, Doherty 5, Young 2, Abeltshauser 1, Goodrow 1, Fedun 1, Oleksuk 2, Schwartz 1, Crane 1....The Sharks had 70 fighting majors in 2013-14, 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.

Season by the numbers...

Record: 31-21-4-2, 68 points -4th in Atlantic

Win percentage: .586% - 7th in East

Home Record: 18-9-2-1

Away Record: 13-12-2-1

Attendance: 108,341 through 30 games this season - 3,611 average

Goals Scored: 170, 2.93 goals per game, 8th in AHL

Goals Allowed: 153, 2.64 goals against per game, 11th in AHL

Team Shooting percentage: 8.7% - 22nd in AHL

Team Save %: .907% - 17th in AHL

Shots per game: 33.66 - 1st in AHL

Shots allowed per game: 28.00 - 5th in AHL

Score 1st: 20-4-2-2 when scoring first (.786%)

1 goal games: 16-12-4-2 in one goal games

PP: 19.1%, 7th in AHL (50-262)

PK: 85.7%, 9th in AHL (28-196)

SHG - 1 shorthanded goals scored

SHGA - 6 shorthanded goals allowed

PIMS - 11.24 penalty minutes per game, 30th in AHL

Fighting Majors: 31 - 26th

OT Games - 11 - (4-4 record in OT)

SO Games - 3 - (1-2 record in SO)

Roster Players - the Sharks used 43 players this season

Goalies - the Sharks used 3 goaltenders this season

Players receiving call-ups to San Jose - 15

NHL debuts - 3 Worcester Sharks alumni making their NHL debuts this season (Troy Grosenick, Melker Karlsson and Daniil Tarasov)

Call-ups to San Jose - 24 different call-ups to San Jose this season

TRANSACTIONS:

Date

Player

Team

Transaction

03/09/2015

Taylor Fedun (D)

Worcester

ADD Returned on loan from San Jose (NHL)

03/09/2015

Vincent Arseneau (LW)

Worcester

ADD Traded from Manchester (AHL)

03/08/2015

Taylor Fedun (D)

Worcester

DEL Recalled from loan by San Jose (NHL)

03/07/2015

Taylor Fedun (D)

Worcester

ADD Returned on loan from San Jose (NHL)

03/06/2015

Taylor Fedun (D)

Worcester

DEL Recalled from loan by San Jose (NHL)

03/04/2015

Derek DeBlois (RW)

Worcester

ADD Signed to PTO

Top Worcester Sharks:

o Goals Haley (18)

o Game Winners Haley (4)

o Assists Fedun and Lerg (24)

o Points Trupp and Lerg (32)

o Power play Points Taormina (4-12-16)

o Shots Lerg (140)

o PIM Haley (92)

o Fighting Pen. Haley (8)

o Plus/Minus Coetzee (+9)

o Wins Grosenick (17)

o G.A.A. Dell (1.98)

o Save % Dell (.927)

o Shutouts Dell (3)

Sharks in the NHL:

The San Jose Sharks currently have 14 players on their roster that have spent time in Worcester (Couture, Pavelski, Wingels, Braun, Stalock, Irwin, Vlasic, Nieto, Mueller, Karlsson, Hertl, Goodrow, Tarasov, Tierney).

The San Jose Sharks are in 5th place in the Pacific Division and 10th place in the Western Conference with 74 points and a 33-26-8 record.

Upcoming San Jose Sharks schedule: (all times are Eastern)

MON Mar 9 V. Pittsburgh 10pm (2-1SOW)

THU Mar 12 V. Nashville 10:30pm

SAT Mar 14 V. Chicago 4pm

Coming Up for the Worcester Sharks:

The Worcester Sharks play just two games this week - both on the road!

On Wednesday, the Sharks travel to Bridgeport for the first time this season for a 7pm battle with the Sound Tigers.

On Friday, the Sharks head to Albany to face the Devils at 7pm.

You can listen to both games live on WTAG Worcester or watch online for a small fee at www.AHLLive.com.

BIG PROMOTION ALERT!

New England Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler will appear and sign autographs presented by ScrubaDub when the Sharks host the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Saturday, March 21 at 7pm at the DCU Center in Worcester. Malcolm Butler is a member of the 2015 Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots and is best known for his interception with 20 seconds left in Super Bowl XLIX which virtually assured the Patriots 28-24 win over the Seattle Seahawks. Butler will sign autographs from 5pm-7pm and will drop the ceremonial first puck before the Sharks game.

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.

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 the Worcester Sharks Office at 508.929.0500 or by crash 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!

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American Hockey League Stories from March 10, 2015


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