Sharks Special Teams Pluck Falcons 4-1

Published on February 27, 2008 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Worcester Sharks News Release


WORCESTER - Tom Cavanagh led the way with three power play points as the Worcester Sharks special teams units bounced back in a huge way, vaulting the Sharks to a 4-1 home ice victory over the Springfield Falcons on Wednesday night.

Despite surrendering a power play via a hooking call on Brad Staubitz just 22 seconds into the game, it was Worcester that struck first via their sixth shorthanded goal this year. The Sharks penalty kill, which was a perfect eight for eight on the night, generated four shots during the shorthanded stint. Among them was Devin Setoguchi's 40-foot wrister, which knuckled past Falcons netminder Jeff Deslauriers at 1:24 of the first period to give Worcester the early edge. Setoguchi's eighth goal of the year came with assists from Riley Armstrong and Dan Spang.

After being held shotless on their first opportunity of the period, the Sharks power play awoke following a holding call on Springfield forward Tim Sestito. Mike Iggulden slid the puck to JD Forrest, and the defenseman's rocket from just inside the blue line beat Deslauriers, giving Forrest his fourth goal of the year and first point as a Shark. Worcester's first of three power play tallies came just 13 seconds into the man advantage.

Springfield was given a chance to get back in the game early in the second period, while Lukas Kaspar served a minor penalty for boarding. Stephen Werner played the puck from behind the Sharks goal line to Marc Pouliot, whose quick try from between the circles whistled just wide of the goal. Four minutes later, a penalty to Ben Simon produced an eerily similar scoring chance, but Worcester's power play took full advantage. Tom Cavanagh fed Graham Mink from behind the goal line and Mink struck twine from just outside the crease, opening up a 3-0 Sharks lead at 5:17 of the middle frame.

The Falcons finally got on the board at 12:28 thanks to a superb individual effort by Liam Reddox. The redliner circled around the Worcester net before slipping a tight-angle try through Sharks netminder Dimitri Patzold to trim the margin to two goals.

Worcester struck back fast, taking advantage of another Falcons penalty to tally their third power play goal of the night. Textbook puck movement on the man advantage - from Iggulden to Mink to Cavanagh - gave the latter a perfect chance on the doorstep and Cavanagh picked up his third point of the night to push the lead back to three goals at 13:06.

Patzold was rarely tested the rest of the way, as the teams combined for just 12 shots over a scoreless third period. Devan Dubnyk took over goaltending duties for Springfield during the final 20 minutes.

Worcester closes out the month of February with the first game of another 3-in-3, hosting the Manchester Monarchs on Friday, February 29th at the DCU Center. Puck drop is scheduled for 8:05 pm, as the Sharks will host the Special Olympics of Central Massachusetts Opening Ceremonies beginning at 6:30. Sharks players will wear custom-made jerseys to commemorate the festivities, and the jerseys will be auctioned off to benefit the Special Olympics and Sharks Charities. For more information or to purchase tickets, crash the net at sharksahl.com or call the Sharks offices at 508-929-0500.

NOTES: Tonight was just the second time this year the Sharks have scored a power play goal and a shorthanded goal in the same period, the other being 2/16 @ Norfolk... Worcester scored multiple power play goals for the first time since 12/31 @ Manchester and tied a season high of 3 PPG's set 11/9 @ San Antonio... Setoguchi has figured into three of Worcester's six shorthanded goals this year (2 SHG, 1 SHA)... Cavanagh's three points was a season high; he and Setoguchi are now each on 3-game point streaks... Mink scored for the second straight game... The game featured three fights: Staubitz vs Theo Peckham in the 1st period, Ashton Rome vs Rick Berry in the 2nd, and Brennan Evans vs Troy Bodie in the 3rd... Tonight was the 7th time that Evans and Staubitz have received fighting majors in the same game... The final attendance figure was 2,992 ... Patzold had 19 saves on 20 shots over 59:43 for the Sharks; Deslauriers made 18 stops on 22 shots in 39:56 and Dubnyk saved all 5 shots he faced over 20:00 for Springfield ... Power plays: Worcester: 3 for 8, Springfield 0 for 8 ... Niche Hospitality Group Three Stars: Mezcal 3rd Star: Mink (1g, 1a) , Bocado 2nd Star: Forrest (1g, 1a), Block 5 1st Star: Cavanagh (1g, 2a).

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American Hockey League Stories from February 27, 2008


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