Worcester Sharks Enter Holiday Break in 3rd Place

Published on December 20, 2010 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Worcester Sharks News Release


Shark Snap Shot:

The Sharks chomped one point in a tough 3-in-3 road weekend in the Atlantic Division last week that began in a rough and tumble affair at Connecticut on Friday night in a 3-2 overtime loss. After a tough go in Bridgeport on Saturday (7-2 loss) the Sharks almost came back against the first place Monarchs in a 2-1 loss in Manchester on Sunday. It was a feisty weekend for the Sharks (9 fights in 3 games) as Worcester lost their leading scorer Jonathan Cheechoo after a hit from behind on Friday at the Whale. The Sharks head into the holiday break with 36 points, just six points behind the first place Monarchs with two games in hand.

Top 3!

#1 Alex Stalock makes 34 saves and denies Corey Elkins on a penalty shot in a 2-1 loss in Manchester on Sunday!

#2 Brandon Mashinter had a two goal effort in the 3-2 overtime loss in Connecticut on Friday!

#3 Worcester recorded nine fighting major penalties this weekend in three games as the Sharks stood up for one another during the tough stretch.

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

Fri. 12/17 OTL Worcester SHARKS 2 @ Connecticut Whale 3 - Overtime

Sat. 12/18 L Worcester SHARKS 2 @ Bridgeport Sound Tigers 7

Sun. 12/19 L Worcester SHARKS 1 @ Manchester Monarchs 2

This week:

Sun. 12/26 Portland Pirates @ Worcester SHARKS - 6:30pm

Rewind the Tape:

12.17.10 - Worcester 2 - Connecticut 3 - OTL - XL Center

Brandon Mashinter scored twice and dropped the gloves for Worcester but Whale forward Chad Kolarik scored with 30 seconds remaining in the overtime period to defeat the Sharks, 3-2, Friday night at the XL Center in Hartford, CT. Alex Stalock was sharp in net making 23 saves as the two teams combined for 66 penalty minutes which included four separate fights.

12.18.10 - Worcester 2 - Bridgeport 7 - L - Arena at Harbor Yard

David Marshall became the 9th Sharks player to score in his first game and also added a fight but Bridgeport forward Michael Haley scored two goals to lead the Sound Tigers to a 7-2 victory over the Sharks on Saturday night at the Arena in Harbor Yard in Bridgeport, CT. T.J. Trevelyan tied the score early in the middle frame for the Sharks but Bridgeport scored the final five goals in a game that saw three separate bouts.

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

T.J. Trevelyan scored late in the third period but it wasn't enough as the Sharks fell 2-1 in Manchester on Sunday afternoon at the Verizon Wireless arena. Alex Stalock made 34 saves and stopped Corey Elkins on a penalty shot in the third period but the Sharks dropped their third straight game (0-2-1-0) and their 4th straight to the Manchester Monarchs in a physical contest.

Sharks in the Atlantic: The Sharks are swimming in 3rd place with 36 points (15-10-2-4) in the Atlantic Division through 31 games, which is 6 points behind the first place Manchester Monarchs (33gp) and one point behind the 2nd place Portland Pirates (30gp). The 4th place Whale have 34 points followed by Bridgeport (33 points) and Springfield (30 points). The Providence Bruins round out a very choppy Atlantic Division in 7th place with 29 points through 29 games.

400 WINS and chasing 1000 games....

*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.

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 13th season 991GP 457 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 (13th season) in the American Hockey League. His current regular season record is now: 457-412-59-63.

*Coach Sommer will coach his 1,000th AHL game on January 11, 2011 when the Sharks host the Albany Devils.

*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 303 of the 457 victories (66%).

Shark Bites:

*Captains for the 2010-11 season: Captain Jay Leach (1st year), Assistant Captains on the road: Jonathan Cheechoo (1st year) and Nick Petrecki (1st year). Assistant Captains at home: Andrew Desjardins (1st year) and Sean Sullivan (1st year)... Dan DaSilva has also worn the assistant captain "A".

*From east to west..... The Sharks had 12 players that saw action in both the AHL and NHL last season (McLaren, Zalewski, Vesce, Joslin, McGinn, Couture, Callahan, Ferriero, Mitchell, Demers, McCarthy, and Helminen). The Worcester Sharks have had 5 CALL-UPS this season to San Jose... Currently; Benn Ferriero, Logan Couture, Jason Demers, Derek Joslin, John McCarthy, Jamie McGinn, Joe Pavelski, Devin Setoguchi, Marc-Edourd Vlasic, and Doug Murray are all former Worcester Sharks that are currently playing with the San Jose Sharks.

*Home openers... the Sharks are 2-1-1-1 in five home openers at the DCU Center, including a 4-3 overtime loss to the Bruins on Saturday. Worcester was the last team in the AHL to host their home opener, and October 23rd was the Sharks latest home opener on record. The Sharks lost in a shootout 5-4 to Portland in 2006, defeated Portland 3-2 in 2007, defeated the Bruins in overtime 3-2 in 2008, and lost to Lowell 7-5 in 2009.

*Score first... the Sharks have scored FIRST 13 times in 31 games this season (11-1-0-1) after scoring first in 42-of-80 games last season (34-6-0-2).... Benn Ferriero (3) Jonathan Cheechoo (2), Kevin Henderson (2), T.J. Trevelyan (1), Sean Sullivan (1), Dan DaSilva (2), Andrew Desjardins (1), and Matt Irwin (1) have the others... Worcester has the 3rd best point's percentage in the AHL when scoring the first goal of the game. (.885%)

*Slim Margins... 16 of the Sharks 31 games have been decided by one goal this season... Worcester is 8-2-2-4 in those 16 games.

*Don't allow 4... The Sharks are 14-3-1-2 when they allow three goals or less in a game...BUT... Worcester is 1-7-1-2 when they allow four goals or more.

*Quarter Mark... the Sharks finished the 1st quarter of the AHL season with a 10-6-1-3 record good for 24 points through 20 games. It was the best first quarter by the Worcester Sharks in five seasons.

*Braun in NHL... Justin Braun made his NHL debut in Vancouver on Nov 26... Justin played 16:56 in the loss to the Canucks... Braun recorded two assists in his 2nd NHL game in a 4-3W in Edmonton on Nov 24 and was the #3 star with a +2 rating in 22:48 of action.... He had ten points (3-7-10) in 17 games with Worcester at the time of his recall on Nov 23. Braun has played in 13 games with San Jose (1-8-9) and is averaging 17:14 of ice time.

*Sullivan Scores... Sharks defenseman Sean Sullivan already has 9 goals (2 GWG) this season from the Sharks blue line, good for 1st in the AHL. The 26-year-old from Boston, MA had 12 goals and 49 points in San Antonio last season.

*Give me Moore... #8 has played 156 games in a Worcester Sharks jersey (11th all-time) and has compiled 43 points (10-33-43) and 232 penalty minutes. His +29 is 4th best in Sharks history. He recorded his first professional two goal game on November 14 vs. Norfolk and was the #1 star. Moore scored his first NHL goal in his 2nd NHL game in a 4-3OTL in Colorado on November 17th. Mike scored at 9:14 of the 2nd period on a slap shot assisted by Dany Heatley on Peter Budaj to give the Sharks a 3-1 lead.

*Who's your BF ... Sharks 2nd year forward Benn Ferriero started his sophomore campaign on FIRE with NINE goals through 10 games to lead the Worcester Sharks offensively. Benn has played 13 games with the San Jose Sharks and has three goals, three assists and +7. Ferriero is currently on recall with San Jose.

*Sheriff back in town... Frazer McLaren returned to Worcester on Nov 20 after beginning the season with the San Jose Sharks. Frazer has played in 133 games in a Worcester Sharks sweater accumulating 24 points (11-13-24) and 346 penalty minutes. McLaren ranks 3rd all time in penalty minutes by a Worcester Sharks player (Brennan Evans 381, and Brad Staubitz 462). The Sherriff has not dressed in the last 14 games due to a lower body injury.

*More Muscle... the Sharks signed 6'4" forward Erick Lizon to a PTO on December 16th. The 25-year-old native of Kitchener, Ontario began the season with Bakersfield in the ECHL accumulating 117 penalty minutes, nine fighting majors, and four points, in 23 games for the Condors. Lizon has one fightustin Johnson) in three games for Worcester.

*Fresh Face... David Marshall made his debut for the Sharks on December 18th in Bridgeport and scored a goal and recorded a fight. Marshall was signed to a PTO from the Wheeling Nailers in the ECHL where he had 11 points (7-4-11) in 16 games. David has also played 9 games with the Rochester Americans this season and recorded two goals. The 5-11 185lbs winger from Buffalo, MN played four seasons at Quinnipiac and has also previously skated in 24 games with the Lake Erie Monsters.

*Sharks in the Atlantic... the Sharks have an 11-5-2-3 record against Atlantic Division prey this season.

*Good when leading... the Sharks have a 9-1-0-1 when leading after the 1st period of play and a 13-0-0-1 when leading after the 2nd period of play this season.

*Outshot but not outscored.... Worcester is 8-2-0-2 when they get outshot during a game.

*Reunion of sorts...Jonathan Cheechoo returns to the Sharks organization in Worcester and will once again play for head coach Roy Sommer.... Coach Sommer coached Cheechoo in Kentucky and Cleveland in the AHL before his NHL days. Before this season, Cheechoo had 56-63-119pts in 137 games under Coach Sommer. "Cheech" ranks 1st in Worcester with 31 points (11-20-31) in 29 games this season and ranks 10th in the AHL points scoring race. #14 has not dressed in the last two games due to injury.

*Familiar Faces...19 players return to the 2010-11 roster from the regular season Atlantic Division championship team including four 20 goal scorers (DaSilva, Mashinter, Trevelyan, and Zalewski) and team MVP Alex Stalock.

*56... The Sharks allowed a franchise record 56 shots on goal in Norfolk on Saturday, October 16th in a 7-2 loss to the Admirals... the previous high for most shots allowed in a game was on April 6, 2007 when the Sharks allowed 52 shots in a 4-1 win over the Wolf Pack at the DCU Center.

*47... Carter Hutton made 47 saves in his Sharks debut on Saturday, October 16th in Norfolk.

*Nice Start... Carter Hutton made his first start of the season on Sunday, October 31st in Providence and made 37 saves to pick up the victory in a 6-1 win over the Bruins.

*Sweet 16...The Worcester Sharks are the 16th professional team that Sharks captain has suited up for in this, his 10th professional season (Mississippi - ECHL, Springfield - AHL, Augusta - ECHL, Long Beach - ECHL, Providence - AHL, Trenton - ECHL, Bridgeport - AHL, Boston - NHL, Norfolk - AHL, Tampa Bay - NHL, Portland - AHL, Lowell - AHL, New Jersey - NHL, Montreal - NHL, San Jose - NHL, and Worcester - AHL)

*Young Guns... the Sharks have dressed 13 rookies, including three from UMASS-Amherst (Braun, Irwin, and Marcou) and two from UMASS-Lowell (Hutton and Schaus).

*Vets... Three veterans will provide leadership for the Sharks squad this season, which include: former Maurice Richard winner Jonathan Cheechoo, former Boston Bruins defenseman Jay Leach, and the leading goal scorer for the Sharks from last season, T.J. Trevelyan.

*Super Sunday... the Sharks are 7-2-0-0 on Sunday afternoon games this season... including a 5-1-0-0 record at the DCU Center.

*Home/Away goals... the Sharks have scored 40 goals at home (14 games) and allowed 40 at the DCU Center.... while scoring 47 goals (17 games) on the road and allowing 54 goals on the road.

*Good Starts... Worcester has outscored their opponents 30-23 in the first period, 28-27 in the 2nd period, but outscored 26-38 in the third period.

*I'll take a draft....EIGHT Worcester Sharks players were drafted by the San Jose Sharks. (Braun, Cheechoo, Lucia, McLaren, Petrecki, Stalock, Wingels, and Zalewski)

*You always remember your first pro..... Justin Braun (UMASS-Amherst) scored his first professional goal vs. Providence on October 23... Matt Irwin (UMASS-Amherst) scored his first professional goal vs. Rochester October 29... Joe Loprieno scored his first professional goal vs. Charlotte on November 27... Cam MacIntyre scored his first professional in his first professional game vs. Portland on December 5... Nick Schaus scored his first professional goal, the game winner vs. Portland on December 5.

*Firsts last Week... David Marshall scored his first goal and picked up a fighting major in his first game with Worcester on Saturday... Erick Lizon picked up his first fighting major in the AHL in his third game in the AHL in Manchester on Sunday.

*Streakers... Jonathan Cheechoo has a three game point streak (2-3-5)... T.J. Trevelyan has a two game point streak (2-0-2)... James Marcou has a two game point streak (0-2-2)... the Sharks have lost three straight games (0-2-1-0).

*Stole it from Bill Ballou... The Sharks are 8-1-0-0 when there two referees calling penalties... Worcester did not have a single power play in their 4-3W over Springfield on Nov 21 - it marked the first time in 337 regular season games the Sharks did not have a power play chance.

*Stole it from Bill Ballou 2.... The Sharks outscored their opponents 17-8 in special teams in the first 13 games; BUT have been outscored 19-10 in the last 18 games. The Sharks power play is just 4-for-37 in their last eight games.

*Score in Game #1... David Marshall became the 9th Sharks player to score in his Sharks debut on December 18 at Bridgeport. (Cheechoo, Darche, Spang, Pavelski, Raduns, Larose, Lucia, MacIntyre)

*Crazed Rat grabs 30... with his game winning goal on Nov 21st vs. the Falcons, Andrew Desjardins became the 9th player in franchise history to score 30 goals.

*Plus Players... Andrew Desjardins ranks 2nd in franchise history with a +42 rating right behind line mate and fellow Crazed Rat Dan DaSilva who is +43.

*Massachusetts... The Sharks have THREE players born and raised in Massachusetts (Sean Sullivan - Boston, Corey Quirk - Brockton, and Benn Ferriero - Essex) In all, the Sharks have 13 American born players and 11 Canadians.

*Breaking down the scoring... The Sharks have scored 87 goals this season... 25 on the power play, 57 even strength goals, 2 shorthanded tallies, 2 shootout goals, and an empty net goal.

*Goals for Petrecki... 2nd year defenseman Nick Petrecki has 6 points (3-3-5) and 71 penalty minutes in 31 games for the Sharks this season....His two game winners rank 2nd in the AHL among defensemen.... Nick has seven fighting majors to lead the Sharks....The 21-year-old from Schenectady, NY had 14 points last season (2-12-14) with the Sharks.

*Loprieno the forward... D-Man Joe Loprieno has played forward in five games for the Sharks this season and scored his first pro goal in the first period vs. Charlotte on Nov 27.

*Feeling Special... Worcester ranks 20th in the AHL on the PK at 81.2% (22-for-117) and 11th in the AHL on the power play with an 18.0% conversion rating (25-for-139)... The Sharks have scored three power play goals in three games this season.

*16-0... Worcester outshot the Sound Tigers 16-0 in the 2nd period on December 12 at the DCU Center... it was the first time all season an AHL team did not fire a shot in a period.

*46 shots fired... The Sharks fired a season high 46 shots in Manchester on December 10th.... But lost 4-1 as Martin Jones made 45 saves.

*Henderson surpasses... Sharks 2nd year forward Kevin Henderson has 4 goals and 6 assists this season and is +6 through 30 games this season. The 24-year-old from Toronto, ONT had 15 points (2-13-15) in 64 games last season.

*Good Sharks!... The Sharks rank 24th in the AHL with just 16.35 penalty minutes per game.

*Bad Sharks!... The Sharks and Whale combined for 138 penalty minutes (WOR 47, CT 91) on December 4 at CT, with 124 penalty minutes in the 2nd period alone (10 majors,7 minors, 2 misconducts, and 4 game misconducts).

*Follow the AHL leaders.... Alex Stalock ranks 1st with 670 saves and 2nd in minutes played with 1495... Sean Sullivan is 1st among AHL defensemen with 9 goals.... Nick Petrecki is tied for 2nd among d-men with 2 game winning goals... Jonathan Cheechoo ranks 10th in the AHL with 31 points (11-20-31)... James Marcou ranks 3rd in the AHL among rookies with 11 power play points (4-7-11).

*Stalock the stopper... Alex Stalock grabbed his 50th professional win vs. Portland on December 5....He has allowed just 43 goals in his last 19 games (2.26 goals against per game) after allowing 25 goals in his first 7 games.... Alex ranks 2nd in the AHL with 1495 minutes played and 1st in saves with 670. Stalock is a perfect 4-for-4 stopping penalty shots, including two this season (the Bruins Roussel on Oct 23 and the Monarchs Elkins on Dec 19)

*Mr. Dependable.... Andrew Desjardins has dressed in 185 straight games for Worcester breaking the record held by Derek Joslin (114 games).... Desjardins has the 2nd longest streak in the AHL (Nick Dodge in Charlotte).

*All 31... the Sharks have ten players that have played in every game this season (Sullivan, Marcou, Trevelyan, Mashinter, DaSilva, Desjardins, Zalewski, Petrecki, Leach, and Quirk)... The Sharks have more players that have played every game than any other team in the AHL... Oklahoma City is 2nd with 8.

*Five for fighting...The Sharks have 34 fighting majors this season good for 12th in the AHL... (Garet Hunt 3, Brandon Mashinter 6, Sean Sullivan 2, Jay Leach 3, Nick Petrecki 7, Andrew Desjardins 4, Dan DaSilva 3, Jason Pitton 1, Joe Loprieno 1, Kevin Henderson 2, David Marshall 1, and Erick Lizon). The Sharks had 73 fighting majors last season, 78 fighting majors in 2009-10, 68 fighting majors in 2007-08 and 54 in 2006-07.

Coming and goings from the Shark Tank:

12.16.10 - Erick Lizon signed to a PTO from Bakersfield in the ECHL.

12.18.10 - David Marshall signed to a PTO from Wheeling in the ECHL.

Top Worcester Sharks:

o Goals Cheechoo (11)

o Game Winners Desjardins, Petrecki, Sullivan, and Wingels (2)

o Assists Cheechoo (30)

o Points Cheechoo (11-20-31) - 10th in AHL

o Power play Points Cheechoo (5-8-13)

o Shots Cheechoo (88)

o PIM Petrecki (71)

o Fighting Pen. Petrecki (7)

o Plus/Minus DaSilva (+11)

o Wins Stalock (13) - 2nd in AHL

o G.A.A. Stalock (2.77)

o Save % Stalock (.907)

o Shutouts

Sharks in the Pacific:

The San Jose Sharks are 17-11-4 with 39 points through 32 games and is currently in 2nd place in the Pacific Division trailing the first place Dallas Stars by four points.

Logan Couture (17-7-24) and John McCarthy (2-2-4) have played very well in San Jose to start the season. Logan is 1st on the team lead with 17 goals and 1st in the NHL with 6 game winning goals. Former Worcester Sharks; Joe Pavelski, Devin Setoguchi, and Torrey Mitchell have all scored goals for San Jose. Derek Joslin has returned to the lineup and has four points (1-3-4) in 12 games. Justin Braun has 9 points (1-8-9) in 13 games and Benn Ferriero has six points (3-3-6) in 13 games played and +7.

Week ahead... Tue: Edm @ SJ - Thu: Phx @ SJ

Sharks in the ECHL:

The Stockton Thunder are 12-8-1-3 with 28 points in 24 games good for 2nd place in the Pacific Division in the ECHL, four points behind Las Vegas. Ryan Constant (AHL contact) and Tyson Sexsmith (NHL contract), are all in Stockton to begin the season. Sexsmith is 3-1-1-1 with a 2.93 GAA and a .881 save % and one fighting major.

Coming Up:

The Sharks return home on Sunday, December 26th for a special 6:30pm start vs. the Portland Pirates. The first 2,000 fans will receive a Worcester Sharks Slap Shot movie poster presented by WTAG. Dr. Hook from Slap Shot will be on hand to sign the movie posters!

Its $5 Kids Sundays presented by Papa Gino's! Kids 12-and-under are just $5 with a purchase of an adult gold level ticket! With each complete purchase (along with the purchase of an adult gold level ticket) fans will receive a FREE large cheese pizza coupon to be used at participating Papa Gino's locations. The $5 Kids Sunday ticket offer will only be available at the DCU Center Box Office on the day of the game.

Get your family fun pack (4 tickets, 4 hot dogs, and 4 sodas) for just $69 for all Friday, Saturday, and Sunday games! (must be purchased through the Sharks front office in advance at 508-929-0500)

Marina Riva, Chris Curtis, Jonathan Forsberg, Jason Jones, Kristen Moore, and Matt Renzulli are all selling group ticket specials and exciting holiday ticket offers! Jump in today and save over 30% off box office prices! Some of the exclusive benefits for full season ticket holders will include:

* Guaranteed same seat for all 40 home dates and playoff home games at the DCU Center

* Priority access to purchase tickets to DCU Center events (subject to availability)

* Five FREE friends and family vouchers

* Exclusive events with the Worcester Sharks players

* Merchandise discounts and much, much, more!

Season ticket packages and group tickets for the 2010-11 season are on sale now by 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 .

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American Hockey League Stories from December 20, 2010


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