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Sharks Thankful That November Is Over - Worcester Sharks Weekly

November 28, 2011 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Worcester Sharks News Release


Shark Snap Shot:

The Worcester Sharks chomped one out of a possible six points in three games last week. Worcester dropped a 2-1 decision in a fight filled game in Manchester on Wednesday, battled back for a point in a 4-3 overtime loss in Portland on Friday, and fell 3-1 to the Pirates at the DCU Center on Saturday. The Worcester Sharks player of the week nominee is forward Tommy Wingels; as he scored two goals and fired 12 shots in three games last week. The Sharks are winless in their last three games (0-2-1-0) heading into this week's action vs. Springfield on Friday and vs. Binghamton on Saturday (both games at DCU Center)

Top 3... Last Week!

#1 Tommy Wingels was a force scoring the Sharks only goal and firing five shots in 2-1 loss at Manchester on Wednesday!

#2 Benn Ferriero scores a goal and adds an assist in 4-3 overtime loss in Portland on Friday!

#3 Curt Gogol scores his 3rd goal of the season to begin the 3rd period comeback in Portland on Friday!

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

Wed. 11/23 L Worcester SHARKS 1 @ Manchester Monarchs 2

Fri. 11/25 OTL Worcester SHARKS 3 @ Portland Pirates 4

Sat. 11/26 L Portland Pirates 3 @ Worcester SHARKS 1

This week:

Fri. 12/2 Springfield Falcons @ Worcester Sharks - 7:30pm

Sat. 12/3 Binghamton Senators @ Worcester SHARKS - 7:00pm

Rewind the Tape:

11.23.11 - Worcester 1 - Manchester 2 - L - Verizon Wireless Arena

Tommy Wingels tied the game in the third period for the Sharks but Manchester captain Marc-Andre Cliché scored a late power play goal to lift the Monarchs to a 2-1 victory over the Sharks at the Verizon Wireless Arena on Wednesday evening. Tyson Sexsmith was solid in net for Worcester making 23 saves in the loss in a game that featured three fights and 62 penalty minutes.

11.25.11 - Worcester 3 - Portland 4 - OTL - Cumberland County Civic Center The Sharks scored twice in the third period to force overtime but allowed a power play goal in the extra session as Worcester fell 4-3 to the Pirates at the Cumberland County Civic Center on Friday evening. Curt Gogol, Tommy Wingels, and Benn Ferriero scored for Worcester as the Sharks fired 47 shots on goal in the loss.

11.26.11 - Worcester 1 - Portland 3 - L - DCU Center

Nathan Moon scored the only Sharks goal as Worcester fell 3-1 to the Pirates at the DCU Center on Saturday evening to end the month of November 2-6-3-0. Tyson Sexmith made 28 saves in the loss for Worcester as the Sharks dropped both games in the home-and-home series with Portland.

Sharks in the Atlantic: The Sharks are swimming in 5th place with 17 points (6-6-3-2) in the Atlantic Division through 17 games, which is 11 points behind the first place St. John's Ice Caps (20gp), eight points behind the 2nd place Manchester Monarchs (22gp), five points behind the 3rd place Portland Pirates (19gp), and one point behind the 4th place Providence Bruins (23gp), to round out a very choppy Atlantic Division.

Coaching Milestones....

400 WINS!....With the 4-1 victory vs. Springfield on November 1, 2009, head coach Roy Sommer became just the 4th coach in AHL history to reach the 400 win plateau.

500 WINS!.... Coach Roy Sommer is just 16 wins away from 500 in his AHL coaching career.

1000 GAMES... With the 3-1 victory at Springfield on January 14, 2011, head coach Roy Sommer became just the 4th coach in AHL history to reach the 1,000 games 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. John Paddock 1981-2010 16seasons 1,125GP 589 WINS

4. Roy Sommer 1998-current 14seasons 1,057GP 484 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 (14th season) in the American Hockey League. His current regular season record is now: 484-439 -49 -46 -39. (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 17th 1998. Coincidentally, Assistant Coach David Cunniff recorded an assist as a member of the River Rats in the hockey game.

Assistant Coach David Cunniff has joined Coach Sommer in 330 of the 484 victories (68%).

Shark Bites:

Captains for the 2011-12 season: Mike Moore was named the Sharks 4th captain in team history on Feb 11, 2011 and was named captain again before the start of the 2011-12 season. Alternate captains for this season: veteran forward Ben Guite and forward John McCarthy. Tommy Wingels, Sean Sullivan, Jimmy Bonneau, and Benn Ferriero have also worn the "A" in the absence of an injured Ben Guite and Mike Moore.

From east to west..... The Worcester Sharks have had 3 players (3 call-ups) receive at least one call up this season to San Jose... Currently; Andrew Desjardins, Frazer McLaren, Justin Braun, Jamie McGinn, Logan Couture, Jason Demers, Joe Pavelski, Marc-Edourd Vlasic, and Doug Murray are all former Worcester Sharks that are currently playing with the San Jose Sharks.

Games?... The Sharks have played the fewest amount of games in the AHL (17gp), while Providence has already played 23 games already this season.

November to forget... The Worcester Sharks finished the month of November 2-6-3-0 (22GF, 32GA) and a 2-5-0-0 record at the DCU Center. The Sharks power play went 6-for-54 (11.1%) and opponents went 11-for-57 (19.3%) on the power play in the month of November.

Leaders among us... Mike Connolly ranks 9th in the AHL among rookies with 15 points (5-10-15)... Curt Gogol leads all AHL rookies with 52 penalty minutes and Nathan Moon in 4th with 40... Tyson Sexsmith is 3rd in the AHL with a 1.98GAA... Matt Irwin and Sean Sullivan rank 2nd among AHL defensemen with two game winning goals each... Matt Irwin is 4th in the AHL defensemen scoring race with 14 points (6-8-14), leads the AHL d-men with six goals, and is 1st in power play goals with six.

OT Penalty Shot... On November 16, Springfield goaltender Manny Legace faced Worcester forward Mike Connolly on a penalty shot 52 seconds into overtime and saved both the attempt and the game, as just over a minute later the Falcons won, 3-2, on a goal by Alexandre Giroux. Since the 1992-93 season, there have been 27 penalty shots taken in overtime of an AHL game (including four in the playoffs); goalies have stopped 25 of them.

Scoring D... 11 of the Sharks 44 team goals have been scored by defensemen this season, accounting for 25% of the Sharks offense. (Irwin 6, Sullivan 2, Moore 1, Acolatse 2)

PP Specialist...Matt Irwin's six power-play goals have put him in good position to set some team records, but he is not there yet. The record for most power-play goals in a season by a Sharks defenseman is nine, done by Garrett Stafford in 2006-07. The career record is 16, done by Derek Joslin. Irwin had six last year, so has 12 for his career.

Mash the Shooter... Brandon Mashinter fired a season high nine shots on goal in Manchester on Nov 18. Mash is 2nd on the team with 43 shots through 14 games. (3.07 shots per game)

Tallest Shark.... Worcester Sharks rookie defenseman Taylor Doherty is the tallest player in team history standing at 6'7" 230lbs... Doherty got in his first professional fight on Wednesday in Manchester vs. Jordan Nolan.

Score first... the Sharks have scored FIRST 10 times in 17 games last season (6-1-2-1); Curt Gogol 2,Benn Ferriero 2, Nathan Moon 1, Mike Moore 1, Tommy Wingels 1, John McCarthy 1, Matt Irwin 1, Sena Acolatse 1

First Pro Goals this season... Curt Gogol (Oct 9 @ PRO vs. Khudobin), James Livingston (Oct15 vs. ALB vs. Frazee), Mike Connolly (Oct15 vs. ALB vs. Frazee), Nathan Moon (Oct 21 @ PRO vs. Khudobin), Sena Acolatse (Nov 1 vs. STJ vs. Pasquale), and Brodie Reid (Nov 5 vs. STJ vs. Pasquale)

100 AHL goals.... Veteran Ben Guite scored his first goal as a member of the Worcester Sharks in a 6-1 win over the Devils on October 15. The goal turned out to be his 100th AHL goal in his career. Ben also has 19 NHL goals in 175 career NHL games. Guite has missed the last nine games with a foot injury.

Great first impression... Curt Gogol became just the 5th Sharks player to score in his professional debut joining Joe Pavelski, Nate Raduns, Tony Lucia, and Cam MacIntyre. (Thanks Bill Ballou, Worcester TG)

Sharks in the Atlantic... the Sharks had a 29-20-4-7 record against Atlantic Division prey last season and are 2-6-2-1 in the division this season.

Good when leading... the Sharks are 4-1-1-1 when leading after the 1st period of play and 4-0-0-1 when leading after the 2nd period of play this season.

5 National Champions... The Sharks have five players that have won the NCAA Division 1 Championship.... Mike Connolly was co-captain for Minnesota-Duluth in 2011, John McCarthy was co-captain for Boston University in 2009... Benn Ferriero and Nick Petrecki with Boston College in 2008... and Ben Guite with Maine in 1999.

These Sharks have teeth!.... Worcester is 2nd in the AHL in penalty minutes averaging 21.53 penalty minutes per game and are 4th with 23 fighting major penalties.

2 Men Down.... John McCarthy became just the 2nd Worcester Sharks player to score a shorthanded goal while the Sharks were two men down. JMac scored at 8:32 of the first period in a 3-2 win over Bridgeport on Nov 11. Steve Zalewski had the other 3-on-5 score in Houston on 11/22/08.

200/300... Worcester Sharks captain Mike Moore became just the 2nd player in Sharks history to hit 200 games and 300 penalty minutes this season joining Riley Armstrong. #8 has played in 203 games for Worcester accumulating 302 penalty minutes... Moore has missed the last six games due to injury.

Sherriff McLaren... Sharks tough guy Frazer McLaren was called up to San Jose on November 26 after a conditioning assignment in Worcester. #10 ranks 2nd all-time in Worcester Sharks history with 435 penalty minutes (42 FM) in 178 games. Brad Staubitz holds the top stop with 462 pims in 162 games.

Thanks Ballou... the Worcester Sharks are 4-6-1-0 when they fire 47 or more shots on goal during a game.

Massachusetts!... the Sharks have four players born from Massachusetts (John McCarthy - Andover, Benn Ferriero - Essex, Sean Sullivan - Braintree, and Brian O'Hanley - Quincy) In addition, assistant coach David Cunniff hails from South Boston.

Hockey East Alumni!... the Worcester Sharks have eight players currently from Hockey East Schools (Irwin - UMass-Amherst, Ferriero - BC, McCarthy - BU, Sullivan - BU, Reid - NU, O'Hanley - BC, Guite - UMaine, Petrecki - BC)

Young Guns... the Sharks have dressed 12 rookies already this season. (Curt Gogol, Nathan Moon, Brodie Reid, James Livingston, Mike Connolly, Taylor Doherty, Tyson Sexsmith, Harri Sateri, Sena Acolatse, Tony Lucia, Marek Viedensky, Brian O'Hanley)

Duel scoring threat... the Sharks are one of nine AHL teams that have two players averaging over a point per game... rookie Mike Connolly has 15 points (5-10-15) in 15 games while Benn Ferriero has 12 (6-6-12) points in 11 games for the Sharks.

Super Sunday... the Sharks went 14-4-0-2 on Sunday afternoon games in 2010-11 and are 2-1-0-0 on Sundays this season.

I'll take a draft... Nine Worcester Sharks players were drafted by the San Jose Sharks. (Braun, Doherty, Lucia, McCarthy, O'Hanley, Petrecki, Sateri, Sexsmith, and Viedensky,)

NHL Experience.... The Sharks have six players with NHL experience totaling 311 games led by veteran Ben Guite with 175... breakdown of the rest... John McCarthy 41, Mike Moore 6, Benn Ferriero 63, Matt Pelech 5, Brandon Mashinter 13, and Tommy Wingels 8.

Like Father, Like Son... Rookie Curt Gogol leads the Sharks with 52 penalty minutes and four fighting majors through 15 games... his father Brent racked up 892 penalty minutes in 157 professional games in the IHL, CHL, EHL, and the AHL including 380 pims in 1978-79 in 57 games with the Flint Generals.

Major Bonneau... Worcester Sharks tough guy Jimmy Bonneau has racked up two fighting majors in eight games this season for the Sharks. Jimmy has 72 fighting majors in 203 AHL games along with 569 penalty minutes.

Five for fighting...The Sharks have 23 fighting majors this season good for 4th in the AHL... 11 different players dropped the mitts this season for the Sharks this season: (Jimmy Bonneau 2, Curt Gogol 4, Nick Petrecki 1, Cam MacIntyre 4, Nathan Moon 2, Brandon Mashinter 2, Mike Moore 2, Frazer McLaren 2, Sena Acolatse 2, Taylor Doherty 1, and Matt Pelech 1)... The Sharks had 81 fighting majors last season, 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: 6-6-3-2, 17 points - 5th in Atlantic

Win percentage: .500% - 20th in AHL

Home Record: 4-5-0-1

Away Record: 2-1-3-1

Attendance: 37,589 through 10 games at DCU Center 3,759 average) - 24th in AHL

Goals Scored: 44, 2.59 goals per game, 23rd in AHL

Goals Allowed: 45, 2.65 goals against per game, 7th in AHL

Shots per game: 34.76 - 2nd in AHL

Shots allowed per game: 28.12 - 6th in AHL

Score 1st: 6-1-2-1 when scoring first (.750%)

1 goal games: 2-3-3-2 in one goal games

PP: 16.5%, 19th in AHL (14-85)

PK: 83.3%, 6th in AHL (14-84)

SHG - 2 shorthanded goals scored

SHGA - 2 shorthanded goals allowed

PIMS - 21.53 penalty minutes per game, 2nd in AHL

Fighting Majors: 23 - 4th in AHL

OT Games - 6 - (1-3 record in OT)

SO Games - 2 - (0-2 record in SO)

Roster Players - the Sharks have used 27 players this season

Goalies - the Sharks have used 2 goaltenders this season

Players receiving call-ups to San Jose - 3 (Braun, Ferriero, and McLaren)

NHL debuts - 0 Worcester players made their NHL debuts this season

Call-ups to San Jose - 3 different call-ups to San Jose this season

Coming and goings from the Shark Tank:

DELETE - Frazer McLaren recalled from Worcester to San Jose

Top Worcester Sharks:

o Goals Irwin and Ferriero (6)

o Game Winners Matt Irwin and Sean Sullivan (2)

o Assists Connolly (10)

o Points Connolly (5-10-15)

o Power play Points Irwin (6-3-9)

o Shots Irwin (58 shots)

o PIM Gogol (52)

o Fighting Pen. Gogol (4)

o Plus/Minus Reid (+7)

o Wins Sateri and Sexsmith (3)

o G.A.A. Sexsmith (1.98)

o Save % Sexsmith (.925)

o Shutouts N/A

Sharks in the Pacific:

The San Jose Sharks are 13-6-1 with 27 points through 20 games and currently tied for first place in the Pacific Division with Phoenix and Dallas. Former Worcester Sharks playing for San Jose: Joe Pavelski (11-9-20), Logan Couture (7-8-15), Marc-Edouard Vlasic (2-9-11), Torrey Mitchell (2-3-5), Douglas Murray (0-3-3), Andrew Desjardins (2-3-5), Jamie McGinn (2-2-4), Jason Demers (1-2-3), and Justin Braun (0-1-1). Thomas Greiss is 4-3-0 with a 1.99GAA and .929 save %.

Week ahead:

Mon., Nov 28 at 10:30pm at Los Angeles

Thu., Dec 1 at 10:30pm vs. Montreal

Sat., Dec 3 at 10:30pm vs. Florida

Sharks in the ECHL:

The Stockton Thunder are 8-6-1-2 in 17 games this season with 19 points which is 4 points behind the first place Las Vegas Wranglers (19gp) in the Pacific Division. Worcester Sharks training camp invite, Gabriel Levesque, is 2nd on the Thunder with 12 points (5-7-12) in 11 games and Ian O'Connor with five points (3-4-7) through 13games to lead the way offensively for the Thunder. Thomas Heemskerk is 6-2-0 with a 2.85GAA and a .904save %.

Week Ahead:

Wed., Nov 30 at 10:00pm at Ontario

Fri., Dec 2 at 10:30pm vs. Ontario

Sat., Dec 4 at 8:0pm at Ontario

Coming Up:

On Friday, the Sharks host the Springfield Falcons at 7:30pm! Its 2-2-2 Fridays! Hot Dogs, pop corn, and soda are just $2 all game long!

On Saturday, the Sharks host the defending Calder Cup Champions, the Binghamton Senators at 7pm on Lyndon Byers Bobblehead Doll Night! The first 3,000 fans will receive a Lyndon Byers bobblehead (in a SJ Sharks sweater) presented by WAAF! LB will be on hand to sign autographs from 6-7pm!

Score a family fun pack today for only $74! Four tickets, four hot dogs, and four sodas for a portion of the price! Available only through the Sharks front office for every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday games this season!

Get your holiday shopping done early with a Worcester Sharks Holiday T-Shirt Trio! Ticket to three Sharks games and a Sharks t-shirt starting at $39! Purchase two Holiday T-Shirt Trios and receive a FREE $20 gift card from Big Y and be entered to win a Sharks VIP experience for 4!

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