Today in Worcester hockey history: October 29

1994 at Hershey 5-5 tie
(HERSHEY) The Worcester IceCats continue to rack up the franchise firsts as they tied the Hershey Bears, 5-5, in overtime last night to extend their unbeaten streak to three games. The tie was Worcester’s first point on the road. It was achieved with the help of the team’s first shorthanded goal and first hat trick, both by Martin Mercier. The hat trick was Mercier’s first in six years, or since he played junior hockey. Mercier’s three goals give him five in six games. He’s the IceCats top goal scorer. David Haas had Worcester’s other two goals, the second coming with 4:13 left in regulation to tie it at 5-5. The tie, coupled with Springfield’s loss, moved the IceCats’ into a fifth-place tie in the AHL Northern Division with Springfield. The IceCats had three power play goals to go along with Mercier’s shorthanded score. Hershey outshot Worcester, 34-32, but the IceCats controlled play in overtime. The best chance in OT was by Haas, but Bears goalie Scott LaGrand made the save. Though Worcester took a 4-3 lead into the third period, Hershey stormed back on goals by Vaclav Prospal and Mitch Lamoureux to go up, 5-4. Lamoureux’ goal was his second of the night. Haas scored the tying goal on the power play at 15:47 after LaGrand mishandled the puck behind his own net. Ross Wilson scooped up the loose puck and centered it to Haas. He beat LeGrand as he scrambled back to the crease. The Bears broke out to a 1-0 lead early in the first period, defenseman Milos Holan scoring from the point at 4:58. But the IceCats bounced back quickly to tie it, Mercier getting the goal less than five minutes later. With the Bears on the power play, Holan lost the puck to Mercier at the Worcester blue line. Mercier gained control and had a clear breakaway from the red line in. He skated into the slot and deked LaGrand – the ex-BC standout – and slipped the puck between LaGrand’s pads. The tie didn’t last too long. The Bears’ Paul Jerrard notched his sixth goal of the season – third in two games vs. Worcester – at 13:22 to make it 2-1. The score stayed that way into the second period before Mercier connected again to tie it at 2-2. This was a power play goal at 2:06. IceCats’ captain Jim Nesich made the play work when he fed a perfect pass into the slot. Cruising towards the net, Mercier one-timed to the top corner past LaGrand. Once again the Bears worked themselves back into the lead with veteran Lamoureux, among the AHL’s active points leaders, picking up the goal at 10:27. Worcester responded with a pair of goals within 1:04 to take the lead. The first came at 14:39 and marked Haas’ first goal as an IceCat. The Bears turned the puck over in their own end with Wilson taking control along the left-wing boards. The pass went to Haas charging into the slot. He beat LaGrand to tie the game at 3-3. At 15:43, Worcester finally went ahead with Mercier scoring his third goal, this one also on the power play. IceCats’ defenseman Shaun Kane took the initial shot. It bounced off a Hershey defenseman back to David Baseggio. His shot from the point was deflected by Mercier and Worcester had a 4-3 lead. The IceCats took advantage with a power play goal, and wound up taking advantage on the power play almost all night.

1997 vs Portland 6-2 win
The IceCats got a hat trick from Chris Kenady and two goals from Stephane Roy in their 6-2 win over the Pirates. Jan Benda opened the scoring for Portland 20 seconds into the contest, but Kenady’s first of the game at 2:12 got Worcester to even. Jason Zent and Jamal Mayers had the assists on the goal. Roy’s first of the game gave the IceCats the lead at 6:42, with Bryce Salvador and Shayne Toporowski getting the helpers. Rory Fitzpatrick, with an assist to Robert Petrovicky, gave Worcester a two-goal lead with a power play tally at 7:49. Brad Church cut into the IceCats lead with a power play goal for Portland at 12:00. Kenady got his second of the game just nine seconds into middle period, with Zent and Michal Handzus getting the assists. Roy’s second of the game came while shorthanded at 16:06, with Mayers picking up an assist. Kenady completed the hat trick with a power play goal at 13:33 of the third, with Zent and Ricard Persson getting the helpers. Brent Johnson had 25 saves for the win.

1999 vs Quebec 3-1 loss
(TICKER) Pierre Sevigny and Oleg Petrov each had a goal and an assist as the Quebec Citadelles topped the Worcester IceCats, 3-1. Sevigny scored a power-play goal with 6:54 left in the second period to give Quebec a 2-0 lead. Petrov completed the scoring 4:02 into the final period as Quebec won for the sixth time in seven games. Dan Murphy stopped 32 shots for the Citadelles. Lubos Bartecko tallied Worcester’s only score with 4:49 left in the second period. Cody Rudkowsky made 15 saves for the IceCats, who have dropped five of their last six games.

2003 vs Portland 6-3 win
(ICECATS) The Worcester IceCats exploded for five goals in the second period en route to a 6-3 win over the Portland Pirates last night at Worcester’s Centrum Centre. Marc Brown championed the scoring with two goals. After a scoreless first period, Brown bagged his third of the season just 1:26 into the second. Sergei Varlamov and Ernie Hartlieb added to the lead before the Pirates Colin Forbes put one by Curtis Sanford. The second period onslaught continued, though, with Jeff Panzer’s fourth of the season and Steve McLaren’s first in an IceCats uniform. Standing at the top of the Pirates crease, McLaren redirected a point shot and ended a 105 game drought in a ‘Cats uniform. Brown gave the IceCats a 6-1 lead in the third. Panzer and Mike Glumac each registered their second assists of the game on the goal. Portland snuck a pair of late goals by Sanford, who finished with 23 saves in his first outing of the season. The IceCats, meanwhile, upped their record to 3-4-1. Defenseman Bryce Salvador, with the ‘Cats on a conditioning loan from St. Louis, had an assist and was +2 in his homecoming. Salvador honed his craft in Worcester for three seasons before becoming a regular with the Blues during the 2000-2001 season.

2004 vs Providence 5-2 win
(ICECATS) IceCats rookie D.J. King scored his first professional goal in the third period to lead Worcester to a 5-2 win over the Providence Bruins Friday night at Worcester’s Centrum Centre. King’s tally at the 14:31 mark of the third period broke a 2-2 deadlock. Providence opened up a 2-0 lead on fortunate first-period goals from Jay Henderson and Andy Hilbert. Henderson’s goal went off a Worcester skate, while Hilbert’s caromed off the end-glass and hit Worcester goalie Curtis Sanford in the back before going into the net. Alexei Shkotov put the ‘Cats on the map, scoring just 1:10 into the second period. The rookie banged home a one-timer from the top of the crease to notch his second goal of the season. Peter Sejna tied the game at 2:52 of the third, finally scoring after being denied on two earlier chances by Bruin netminder Hannu Toivonen. Jeff Hoggan scored into the empty net to make it 4-2, and Mike Glumac followed up with another empty-netter. Glumac and Sejna each had a goal and an assist, while Hoggan extended his goal-streak to three games. The IceCats went 0-for-5 on the power play, while holding Providence to one goal (Hilbert) on four chances. The B’s entered the game with the AHL’s top power play, while Worcester ranked fifth. Curtis Sanford improved to 4-1, making 25 saves for the ‘Cats. Toivenen made 28 saves for Providence.

2010 vs Rochester 4-3 loss
(WORSHARKS) Three unanswered third period goals in 5:41 by Rochester completed a sudden comeback as the Sharks fell 4-3 at the DCU Center in Worcester on Friday night. Jonathan Cheechoo (3rd), Nick Petrecki (1st) and Matt Irwin (1st ) scored for the Sharks and Alex Stalock made 22 saves in his 7th straight start for Worcester. For the 6th time in seven games, the Sharks fell behind 1-0 to open up the game. Americans forward Chris Taylor (1st) scored on a feed from Michael Repik to complete a two-on-one rush at 16:33 of the first period. The Sharks mounted pressure at the end of the period but couldn’t break through and trailed 1-0 after the first. Shots in the period were tied at 11-11. The second period saw the Sharks battle back to tie the score at 1-1 in a period that featured three fights. Jonathan Cheechoo (3rd) put home his own rebound at the edge of the crease past Tyler Plante at 4:42 on the power play. The physical play picked up in the early stages of the second period as Sharks tough guy Garet Hunt fought Eric Selleck off a face-off, defenseman Sean Sullivan dropped the gloves with Chris Clackson and Worcester captain Jay Leach mixed it up with Ryan Del Monte. The period ended with the score tied at 1-1 and shots in the period at 11-5 in favor of the Sharks. The Sharks struck twice in the first 2:10 of the third period to give Worcester the lead at 3-1. Matt Irwin scored his first professional goal at :18 seconds roofing a rebound past Plante to give the Sharks their first lead. Nick Petrecki followed with his 1st of the season at 2:10 as he fired the puck from 60 feet and bounced its way into the net. The lead was short lived as Rochester started their comeback with Evgeny Dadonov (4th) and Chris Taylor (2nd) scoring just over two minutes apart to stun Worcester and tie the game at 3-3. With Worcester trying to turn the momentum in their favor, Americans forward Michael Repik (3rd) scored at 11:08 of the period on a rebound from the right circle past Stalock to complete the sudden turnaround and give Rochester the 4-3 lead. Worcester’s last minute comeback bid fell short as Rochester took home the win 4-3. The Sharks record falls to 2-3-1-1 (6 pts).

2011 vs Connecticut 3-2 SOL
(WORSHARKS) Cam MacIntyre and Matt Irwin scored third period goals for Worcester but the Sharks fell in the shootout, 3-2, to the visiting Connecticut Whale at a wintery DCU Center on Saturday night. Mike Connolly extended his point streak to five games with as assist (5-5-10) and Tyson Sexsmith made27 saves for Worcester as the Sharks extended their point streak to six games with the shootout loss (4-0-0-2). Tyson Sexsmith made some big saves in the opening frame including two point plank stops on Sean Avery of the Whale to keep the first period scoreless. Connecticut outshot Worcester 9-4 through 20 minutes. Neither team would score in the 2nd period as well with Sean Sullivan having the best chance for Worcester midway through the frame with a one timer shot from 45 feet on the power play that was stopped by the glove hand of Chad Johnson. Tyson Sexsmith made 13 more saves in the middle period as the Whale held a 22-10 edge through 40 minutes. Both teams would score twice in the third period and take a lead in a wide open closing frame. Andreas Thuresson (3rd) gave the Whale a 1-0 lead after his quick snap shot from the left slot in the Sharks zone zipped past Sexsmith at 5:01. Cam MacIntyre (1st) slammed home a loose rebound on top of the crease to tie the score 1-1, assisted by Tommy Wingels and Brandon Mashinter at 12:40. Worcester went ahead 2-1 with a power play goal by Matt Irwin (3rd) from the left circle as Ben Guite set up a terrific screen on the power play at 14:21. The Whale tied the score with a power play of their own just 60 seconds later as Andre Deveaux (4th) slammed in a loose puck after getting tangled with Tyson Sexsmith. The Sharks outshot the Whale 18-6 in the third period as the two teams headed to OT. Worcester would not convert on a power play chance in the five minute overtime period and fired the only two shots in the extra frame as the two teams headed to the shootout. Sean Avery scored the game winner in the 6th round of the shootout after both teams scored twice in the first five shooters. Ben Guite and Brendan Bell scored for Worcester while Mats Zuccarello and Andreas Thuresson struck for the Whale. The Sharks record falls to 4-0-0-2 with 10 points and to 2-0-0-1 at the DCU Center.

2014 vs Portland 4-3 loss
(WORSHARKS) The Worcester Sharks (4-2-1-0, 9pts) fell to 2-2-1-0 on their season long six game home stand following a 4-3 loss to the visiting Portland Pirates (3-5-0-0, 6pts) in front 1,592 fans at the DCU Center on Wednesday evening. Matt Tennyson, Michael Haley, and Eriah Hayes scored for Worcester while Troy Grosenick made 21 saves in net in the loss. The Pirates scored two shorthanded goals (Martinook and Shinnimin) and also received tallies from Tobias Rieder and Lucas Lessio while Louis Domingue made 31 saves in net for the win. After newcomer Tyler Shattock (1st FM) fought Darian Dziurzynski (1st FM) at 3:29, the two teams combined for five first period goals with the Pirates taking a 3-2 advantage into the first intermission. Tobias Rieder (3rd) scored past Troy Grosenick right after a Pirates power play expired as Portland took a 1-0 lead at 5:52. Jordan Martinook (1st) scored shorthanded at 15:47 after Grosenick made the initial stop on a 2-on-1 rush. Worcester tied the game with two quick goals in 16 seconds soon after. Matt Tennyson (1st) let one fly on the power play at 16:37 and Micheal Haley (4th) tied the score after he finished off a Ryan Carpenter wrap-around attempt past goaltender Louis Domingue at 16:53. Lucas Lessio (3rd) put Portland back ahead at 18:29 after he one timed a pass from behind the net to end the scoring in the opening frame. Shots were 14-11 Portland after 20 minutes. Worcester outshot Portland 14-6 in the second period but it was the Pirates to score the only goal. With Mark Louis in the box for a four minute high sticking penalty at 12:27, Brendan Shinnimin (2nd) sent a hard low shot past the blocker of Grosenick at 15:15 to put the Pirates ahead 4-2. Worcester trailed 4-2 after 40 minutes despite outshooting Portland 25-20. The Sharks had three power plays in the third period but came up empty but would cut the Pirates lead to a single score at 17:25. Eriah Hayes (1st) was camped out in front of the Pirates net and deflected a Freddie Hamilton shot into the net as the Sharks trailed 4-3. Troy Grosenick was pulled for the extra attacker late, but Louis Domingue shut the door and held on for the first Pirates road victory of the season. The Sharks overall record falls to 4-2-1-0, 9pts and 2-2-1-0, 5pts at the DCU Center.

2022 at Adirondack 4-2 Win
(RAILERS) The Worcester Railers HC (4-0-0-0, 8pts) took down the Adirondack Thunder (0-3-0-0, 0pts) on Saturday night by the final score of 4-2 in front of a crowd of 5,168 at Cool Insuring Arena. The Railers are still in Glens Falls, NY at Cool Insuring Arena on Sunday, October 30th to take on the Adirondack Thunder at 3 p.m. For the third game this season, the Worcester Railers jumped out to a multi-goal lead to open the first period. Ryan MacKinnon (1-0-1) ripped one top shelf while Collin Adams (1-0-1) beat Thunder goaltender Isaac Poulter far side past his blocker to make it 2-0 Railers. Adirondack tied the game midway through the period after scoring two goals 13 seconds apart from Patrick Grasso (1-0-1) and Jarrod Gourley (1-1-2). Worcester then came back with two unanswered goals in the second period from Blade Jenkins (1-0-1) and Brent Beaudoin (1-0-1) to make it a 4-2 game. Neither team would score in the third period as the game would come to an end at 4-2. Ryan MacKinnon (1st) scored his first goal for the Railers since February 28th, 2020, when he rifled a shot top shelf past Adirondack goaltender Isaac Poulter 4:37 into the game. This was the third game this season that the Railers scored the game’s first goal within the first five minutes of the opening period. Worcester followed up just 40 seconds later with Collin Adam’s (2nd) second of the season. Adams received a feed in the high slot and sent a laser past the blocker of Poulter to open the Worcester lead to 2-0. Adirondack struck back quickly midway through the period, starting with Patrick Grasso (1st) who turned on a shot in the slot to beat Railers goaltender Henrik Tikkanen and make it 2-1 Railers. Just 23 seconds later, Jarrod Gourley (1st) found the puck along the far dot in the Worcester zone and sent it ice-level past Tikkanen to tie the game 2-2 heading into the second. Worcester was outshot 12-6 in the first period. Blade Jenkins (3rd) in the second period kicked off scoring thanks to a perfect tape-to-tape feed backdoor from Bobby Butler who was trailing down the right-wing side. Jenkins now has six points in four games played for the Railers. Brent Beaudoin (4th) would follow it up with his fourth goal in as many games with a nice follow-up effort from Nolan Vesey who grabbed a loose rebound in front and found Beaudoin who elevated it past the down-and-out Poulter. Beaudoin now leads the team in goals scored with four. The second period would end with the shots in favor of Adirondack 14-8 for the period, and 26-14 for the game. It was a better period for the Railers as it pertains to shot taking, but neither team found the back of the net once in the third as the game ended at 4-2. Worcester opened the season at 4-0-0-0, the first time the team has hit that mark in franchise history. Worcester was outshot again in the third 12-10, and 38-24 for the game. Notes: Three Stars: 3rd Star: Jarrod Gourley (1-1-2, +2, 3 shots), 2nd Star: Ryan MacKinnon (1-0-1, 2 shots), 1st Star: Henrik Tikkanen (36 saves, 2 GA, .947 SV%)… Final shots were 38-24 in favor of Adirondack… Isaac Poulter made 20 saves on 24 shots for the Thunder… Henrik Tikkanen (2-0-0) made 36 saves on 38 shots for Worcester, while Ken Appleby served as the backup… Worcester went 0-for-2 on the power play while Adirondack went 0-for-1… Blake Christensen (DNP), Myles McGurty (DNP), Conor Breen (IR), Jack Quinlivan (IR), and Zack Bross (IR) did not play for Worcester… Nolan Vesey led the Railers in shots with 4… The Railers are now 32-16-2-0 all-time vs. the Thunder and 17-8-1-0 at Cool Insuring Arena against Adirondack.

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