Vesce celebrates sweet 16 on the road
February 9, 2009 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Worcester Sharks News Release
Rewind the Tape:
2.4.09 - Worcester 5 - Portland 3 - Cumberland County Civic Center
The Sharks trailed 3-0 after twenty minutes of play but struck back for five straight goals to defeat the Pirates in Portland. Five different goal scorers for Worcester (Traverse, Desjardins, Vesce, McGinn, and Kaspar) and two assists by Brad Staubitz spelled doom for the Pirates. Thomas Greiss made 19 saves in net for the victory and Ryan Vesce paved the way with three points (1-2-3). The Sharks outshot the Pirates 38-22 in the battle for the Unum Cup.
2.6.09 - Worcester 2 - Manchester 3 - Verizon Wireless Arena
The Monarchs broke out to a 2-0 lead after twenty minutes and extended the lead to 3-0 5:16 into the third period after a goal by Teddy Purcell. The Sharks would score two goals late in the third as Frazer McLaren scored his 2nd of the season at 16:20 and Jamie McGinn followed up with his 14th with the extra attacker. It was too little to late for the Sharks as Jonathan Bernier closed the door the rest of the way for the Monarchs. The Sharks went scoreless on the power play for the 5th straight game and Thomas Greiss got the loss in net making 28 saves.
2.8.09 - Worcester 2 - Providence 3 - Dunkin Donuts Center
Jamie McGinn scored twice on the power play to give the Sharks a 2-1 lead early in the third period but the Bruins came back with two power play goals of their own. Sharks killer Mikko Lehtonen scored twice, the 2nd at 18:24 of the third period on a disputed goal to give the Bruins the victory. The Bruins outshot Worcester 34-28 and Ryan Vesce extended his franchise record point streak to 16 games with a 3rd period assist on McGinn's 2nd goal.
Sharks in the Atlantic...
The Sharks (27-22-0-2) swim in 4th place in the Atlantic Division with 56 points, five points behind the first place Providence Bruins. Worcester stands one point behind the Hartford Wolf Pack for 2nd place and are tied with Portland with 56 points. The Lowell Devils trail the Sharks by four points for the 4th and final playoff spot in a very choppy Atlantic Division.
Shark Bites:
*The Sharks finished January with a 9-3-0-1 record with 19 points in 13 games including 6-1-0-0 at home but are just 1-3-0-0 in February.
*After not scoring a power play in five straight games (0-19), the Sharks scored two power play goals in a seven minute span against Providence on Sunday.
*After scoring the first goal in six straight games (4-1-0-1), the Sharks have allowed the first goal in four straight games (1-3-0-0).
*Sharks Captain Ryan Vesce is currently 5th in the AHL in points with 53 (16-37-43) and tops in overtime goals (4) and game winning goals (7). He is currently riding a franchise-high 16 game point streak (8-17-25) and has 41 points (15-26-41) in his last 31gp.
*Lukas Kaspar continues to shine offensively, as he has 19 points in his last 19 games (7-12-19).
*The Sharks have 58 fighting major penalties this season through 51 games. 16 different players have dropped the gloves already this season (Frazer McLaren (15), Brett Westgarth (11), Mike Moore (8), Brad Staubitz (8), Jason Demers (2), Andrew Desjardins (2), Jamie McGinn (2), James McEwan (2), Tom Cavanagh, Dan DaSilva, Kyle McLaren, Brendan Buckley, TJ Fox, Cory Larose, Matt Jones and Riley Armstrong.
*The Sharks have scored the 4th most shorthanded goals in the AHL with nine, but have allowed the 2nd most against with 10.
*Patrick Traverse is 10th in the AHL defenseman scoring race with 27 points (6-21-27).
*Worcester leads the AHL with shots per game (36.02) and first in shots against per game (26.00)
*Riley Armstrong leads the Sharks with 145 shots on goal.
*Frazer McLaren is 3rd among AHL rookies with 15 fighting major penalties and 5th in pims (113).
*Steven Zalewski ranks 2nd among AHL rookies with 137 shots on goal and 14th in rookie scoring with 30 points (11-19-30).
*Jamie McGinn has been on fire with a three game goal scoring streak (4 goals) and 10 points in his last 11 games (8-2-10).
The Sharks have the 2nd best winning percentage (.750) in the AHL in games that are decided after regulation. Worcester is 4-0 in overtime and 2-2 in the shootout.
Roster Moves:
On Sunday, February 8th, the San Jose Sharks loaned defenseman Derek Joslin to Worcester. Joslin has suited up in 10 games with San Jose recording four penalty minutes.
Top Sharks:
o Goals Armstrong, Larose (17)
o Game Winners Vesce (7)
o Assists Vesce (37)
o Points Vesce (53)
o Power play Points Vesce (2-14-16)
o Shots Armstrong (145)
o PIM F. McLaren (113)
o Fighting Pen. F. McLaren (15)
o Plus/Minus Moore (+12)
o Wins Greiss (17)
o G.A.A. Greiss (2.68)
o Save % Greiss (.897)
o Shutouts Dakers (1)
Coming Up:
The Worcester Sharks continue their seven game road trip with two games this week. The Sharks visit Portland on Friday in a battle for the Unum Cup, then travel to Wilkes-Barre for a Sunday afternoon affair with the Penguins at 5:05p.m.
Be sure not to miss any of the action of the 2008-09 Worcester Sharks season and buy your tickets today! The Sharks are offering a special "Buy One Get One FREE" ticket offer through February 20th! 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.
All games can be heard live on 580AM and 94.9FM WTAG, as well as online through AHL Live, by following the link on the Sharks website at www.sharksahl.com.
• Discuss this story on the American Hockey League message board...
American Hockey League Stories from February 9, 2009
- Wolves Weekly - Chicago Wolves
- Admirals Present "Don't Be Like Mike" Night - Milwaukee Admirals
- River Rats Recall Hughes & Olson From Everblades - Albany River Rats
- Coyotes Recall Tikhonov from San Antonio - San Antonio Rampage
- Coyotes Recall Tikhonov from San Antonio - San Antonio Rampage
- Phantoms Weekly - Adirondack Phantoms
- Senators Surging In Search Of Return To Postseason - AHL
- River Rats Recall Hughes & Olson From Everblades - Albany River Rats
- Flames Wrap up Homestand this Weekend - Abbotsford Heat
- Things to Know for the Week - Portland Pirates
- San Jose Sharks Recall Forward Jamie McGinn and Reassign Defenseman Derek Joslin - Worcester Sharks
- âCanes Reassign Petruzalek And Ryan To Albany - Albany River Rats
- Griffins Look to Right Their Ship Against Admirals - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Devils Perfect in Week's Pair of Games - Albany Devils
- Rivermen Weekly: February 9th - Peoria Rivermen
- B-Sens, Family Enrichment Network Team for 'Spare Change for a Real Change' - Binghamton Senators
- Houston Aeros Weekly: February 9th - Houston Aeros
- Rampage Release Steve Ward - San Antonio Rampage
- Marlies and Purolator Team Up to Shut Out Hunger - Toronto Marlies
- Hamilton Bulldogs Weekly - Hamilton Bulldogs
- Wolves Weekly Notes - Chicago Wolves
- Rampage Weekly Update - San Antonio Rampage
- Hog Talk Returns Tonight At Cousin's Bar And Grill - Rockford IceHogs
- Rockford Set To Wrap Up Season Long Road Swing - Rockford IceHogs
- Moose Top In North After Week 18 - Manitoba Moose
- Montreal Reassigns Wyman To Hamilton; Hamilton Recalls St-Denis - Hamilton Bulldogs
- Goaltender John Curry Named Reebok/AHL Player of the Week - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
- Quick Named NHL's First Star - Manchester Monarchs
- Wolf Pack Weekly - Connecticut Whale
- Penguins' Curry named Reebok/AHL Player of the Week - AHL
- P-Bruins Partner with MetLife Auto & Home, Boys & Girls Clubs - Providence Bruins
- Admirals Release Forward Erik Johnson - Norfolk Admirals
- Oilers Assign Theo Peckham To Falcons - Springfield Falcons
- Wolf Pack Return Goaltender Maxime Daigneault to ECHL Charlotte - Connecticut Whale
- Weekly Sport League and Franchise Report - OSC Original by Dan Krieger
- Monarchs Weekly Report - Manchester Monarchs
- Vesce celebrates sweet 16 on the road - Worcester Sharks
- First Place Bears Host Hamilton This Wednesday - Hershey Bears
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.
