1996 at Hamilton 5-1 win
The Worcester IceCats got two goals from Mike Maneluk and a near perfect effort by netminder Jamie McLennan in a 5-1 victory over the Bulldogs. Daniel Guerard got the ‘Cats on the board at 3:34 of the opening period, with Bob Lachance and Maneluk picking up the assists. Terran Sandwith tied it with unassisted shorthanded goal at 10:26 when McLennan got caught in no-man’s land and couldn’t get to a loose puck, leaving the net wide open for Sandwith. In the second period Jamal Mayers gave the IceCats their lead back with a power play goal at 12:06. Libor Zabransky and Alex Vasilevskii had the assists. Maneluk then grabbed the next two goals of the game, the first at 12:40 assisted by Lachance and then he added a power play goal at 14:24, assisted by Terry Virtue and Lachance. Gary Leeman tacked on Worcester’s fifth goal at 5:33, with Rob Pearson and Nick Naumenko assisting on the power play tally. McLennan made 22 saves in the contest.
1997 vs Hershey 5-4 win
The Worcester IceCats lost several leads in their contest with the Bears but when the final horn sounded they still came out on top 5-4. Justin Hocking started the scoring with a first period goal at 10:17 assisted by Mike Maneluk and Stephane Roy. Hershey would tie it on a power play goal by Christian Matte at 17:08. In the second period the ‘Cats took the lead again on a goal by Mike Prokopec at 11:44, with Maneluk and Ricard Persson getting the helpers. Once again the Bears would tie it on a power play goal, this one by Rob Shearer at 15:42. Tyler Willis gave the IceCats their third lead of the night with a power play goal, assisted by Rory Fitzpatrick and Chris Kenady, at 17:38. Jamal Mayers would make it 4-2 with a goal at 18:24, assisted by Bob Lachance and Ivan Ciernik. Mike McHugh answered that goal 13 seconds later to cut the Worcester lead to one after two periods. Ville Nieminen would tie the game for Hershey at 15:13 of the third, but Terry Virtue would have the game winner at 18:18. Fitzpatrick and Mayers had the helpers on the play. Brent Johnson had 29 saves for the win.
1998 at Hershey 3-1 win
The Worcester IceCats got some great goaltending from Rich Parent as the ‘Cats shut down Hershey in a 3-1 victory at Hersheypark Arena. Tyler Willis beat Bears goalie Marc Denis with a shot from the right circle at 1:42 of the first period to make it 1-0. In the second, Persson ripped a power-play shot from the right point that scooted under Denis to make it 2-0 at 14:09. Mitch Lamoureux, scored Hershey’s lone goal with 27 seconds left in the second to cut the deficit to a goal. Early in the third an Andrei Podkonicky power-play goal that boosted the Worcester lead back to two goals at 2:29. The IceCats went 2-for-6 on the power play. Worcester improved to 3-1-0-0. Parent stopped 21 of 22 shots, but needed to make just one save in the third period. [210Sports note: Scott Roche was called up from Peoria of the ECHL when Brent Johnson was recalled to St. Louis, but didn’t appear on the bench until the start of the second because of travel issues. His luggage got lost en route from St. Louis to Philadelphia and he was stuck at the Philadelphia airport until around 5 p.m. before the luggage was tracked down. Then a ride of more than two hours followed to get to Hershey.]
2003 at Providence 2-2 tie
The Worcester IceCats threw 44 shots on P-Bruins netminder Tim Thomas, but it wasn’t enough for a win as the two teams tied 2-2. Matt Herr scored goals on consecutive first period shifts for Providence, the first coming at 6:07 and the second on the power play at 8:37. Mike Glumac, from Steve Martins and Jame Pollock, got the ‘Cats within one with a power play tally at 16:36. The clubs played a scoreless second period, but with PJ Stock in the penalty box to start the third period Worcester would capitalize with a Jeff Panzer power play goal at 1:48. Marc Brown and Ernie Hartlieb had the assists. That would round out the scoring in the game. Reinhard Divis made 14 saves in earning a point for his team.
2008 at Albany 5-4 loss
(WORSHARKS) Kyle McLaren suited up in his first AHL game after 719 in the NHL but the Worcester Sharks (0-2-0-0) fell 5-4 to the Albany River Rats (1-1-0-0) in a wildly entertaining game at the Glens Falls Civic Center in New York on Friday night. The game started off with a heavy weight tilt as Frazer McLaren (6-5, 228) and Trevor Gillies (6-3, 215) danced at center ice at 3:00 of the first period in a marathon battle to the delight of the crowd. Sharks rookie P.J. Fenton scored his first professional goal to give the Sharks a 1-0 lead after nice work down low by Patrick Traverse and Dan DaSilva. Fenton centered the puck from behind the net and the puck banked off River Rats goaltender Daniel Manzato. Albany fired right back with two straight goals on the their first two shots of the game by Jacob Petruzalek and Dwight Helminen past Sharks net minder Thomas Greiss. The Sharks would tie things up at 2-2 with Matt Jones firing a rebound just inside the far post to knot the game after twenty minutes. The Sharks outshot Albany 10-5 after twenty minutes. In a high tempo second period, Casey Borer would beat Thomas Greiss to a loose puck in front of the net and shuffle the frozen biscuit around a fallen Greiss and just inside the inside post. The second period would end with fists flying as Jamie McGinn picked up his fighting major penalty after pounding Noah Babin. The Sharks outshot Albany 26-17 after forty minutes but trailed 3-2. The third period was even better than the previous two and was once again started with some fisticuffs as Brett Westgarth and Trevor Gillies met for a twirl at center ice at 8:58. The Sharks would take a 4-3 lead after goals by Matt Kinch and Jamie McGinn through the first 11:12 of the third period. But the Rats would score the next two as Petruzalek would score his second goal of the game on a breakaway and Pat Dwyer would bang home a loose rebound into an empty net to give the Rats a 5-4 lead at 15:19. Worcester would have a late power play and would pull Thomas Greiss but Albany was able to keep the door shut for the one goal victory. NOTES: Worcester went 0 for 9 on the power play and allowed two shorthanded goals while Albany went 0 for 7 on the man advantage. The victory for Albany gave head coach Jeff Daniels his first win behind the bench. P.J. Fenton and Patrick Traverse each recorded multiple point games. Worcester outshot Albany 38-26.
2009 vs Lowell 7-5 loss
(WORSHARKS) The Worcester Sharks couldn’t shut down the Devils at their home opener Saturday night in front of 5,429 fans at the revamped DCU Center. Michael Wilson, Dennis McCauley, TJ Trevelyan, Logan Couture, and Steven Zalewski scored for the Sharks, but it wasn’t enough to take the win. Couture had a big night with a goal and three assists. The first period was full of two things – fights and goals. After a short scramble around the net, Lowell’s Michael Swift tapped one past Tyson Sexsmith at 2:52, putting the Devils up 1-0. Michael Wilson started off the evening for Worcester by scoring his first goal of the season at 10:14, assisted by Logan Couture and Steven Zalewski. Devils’ Matt Taormina took advantage of the power play when he wound up for a hard slap shot that snuck past Sexsmith at 12:42, giving Lowell the lead 2-1. Tempers started to heat up and finally erupted when Worcester’s Dennis McCauley swung at Rob Davison, putting both in the box for fighting at 13:18. Seconds later, Tim Sestito tallied another goal for the Devils with the help of teammates Brad Mills and Patrick Davis. Sharks’ Joe Loprieno didn’t like Mills’ participation in the goal, so he went after him and landed several solid punches. Both received five for fighting at 13:32. With the Devils playing two men down, the Sharks slowed down the pace and made well executed passes in front of the net that landed them a goal. TJ Trevelyan scored his first of the season at 18:31 assisted by Logan Couture and Joe Callahan, putting the score at 3-2. The second period started off ugly for Worcester – two goals scored in just over a minute. Lowell center Tim Sestito grabbed his second goal of the night at 1:19, and Tyler Eckford tacked on another at 2:36, bringing the score to 5-2 Devils lead. Shortly after the scoring frenzy, Brandon Mashinter riled up with Worcester fans when he ripped off his gloves and grabbed Lowell’s Nathan Perkovich. Perkovich’s long arms kept Mashinter at bay and thus safe from any heavy blows. The two received five for fighting at 4:19. Dennis McCauley came up big for Worcester when he added on another goal with the help of Dean Strong and Michael Wilson, bringing the score to 5-3. Logan Couture kept his hot streak going when he grabbed Nick Petrecki’s rebound and scored at 7:54, putting the tally at 5-4. Tim Sestito grabbed a hat trick when he scored his third goal of the game at 10:51 on the power play. Worcester pulled Tyson Sexsmith from the net with a minute left to play in a final attempt to take the lead. With speed and manpower on the ice, Worcester Shark Steven Zalewski netted the final Sharks’ goal with help from Logan Couture and Brandon Mashinter at 19:05. Coach Sommer added an extra man to the ice again, but it proved to be detrimental. With Sexsmith out of the net, Tim Sestito landed his fourth goal on the night to end the game with a Devils win, 7-5.
2014 at Providence 2-1 win
(WORSHARKS) The Worcester Sharks (2-0-0-0, 4pts) carried an early first period lead throughout the game to defeat the Providence Bruins (1-2-0-0, 2pts) by a 2-1 score in front of 8,311 fans at the Dunkin Donuts Center on Friday evening. Petter Emanuelsson (2-0-2) accounted for both Worcester goals, tallying his first two goals in North America to lead the Sharks to their second win of the season in their second game. The first came at 3:50, with help by James Sheppard (0-1-1) and Rylan Schwartz (0-2-2). Providence responded with a tying goal by Justin Florek (1-0-1) at 9:41, but Emanuelsson returned Worcester’s lead with the game decider at 17:14 before the opening frame closed out. Worcester tender Troy Grosenick was outstanding in net, making 33 crucial saves on 34 of Providence’s shots in the wining effort. Bruins’ netminder Malcolm Subban pushed aside 30 of the Sharks’ 32 shots on goal. Worcester came out buzzing in the first period as the Sharks grabbed a 1-0 lead at 3:50. Petter Emanuelsson (1st) scored his first goal in North America after James Sheppard passed the puck to him from behind the Bruins net. The Bruins tied the score at 9:14 as Justin Florek (1st) finished off a 2-on-1 past Troy Grosenick as the Bruins picked up some momentum. Emanuelsson (2nd) struck again at 17:14 after James Sheppard created a turnover and Rylan Schwartz intercepted a clearing attempt and found Petter again to put Worcester ahead 2-1. Worcester outshot Providence 13-18 through 20 minutes. The middle frame made up for some action on each end, with the Sharks registering nine shots and the Bruins posting 12, but steady goaltending kept the period action-less on the scoreboard. The Sharks were led in shots by Ryan Carpenter and Bryan Lerg, who had two-a-piece, but Subban’s consistency kept the Bruins to a one-goal deficit. Grosenick too kept solid between the pipes, preventing Providence from evening the game after 40 minutes of play. The Bruins’ third period rallying attempt fell short, despite a 6-on-4 man-advantage as the clock wound down in the final two minutes of the tilt. Grosenick was tested late and peppered with shots by the Bruins’ offense, but was able to hold the lead for Worcester by blocking all 14 of Providence’s attempts. Malcolm Subban kept the Sharks off the board as well, pushing away all 10 Worcester chances, and leaving Emanuelsson’s early goals as the only two on the board in the Sharks’ win. The Sharks overall record improves to 2-0-0-0, 4pts and 2-0-0-0, 4pts on the road.
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