1995 at Springfield 8-6 loss
The Worcester IceCats scored five second period goals but that wasn’t enough in a wild 8-6 loss to the Falcons. Iain Fraser opened the scoring for Springfield at 1:22 of the first, but at 3:15 Kevin Sawyer would tie it for the ‘Cats, with Derek Armstrong getting the lone assist. Scott Daniels gave the Falcons the lead back at 9:30. At 4:03 of the middle period Ian Laperriere tied it again on the power play, with Jamie Rivers assisting. For a third time Springfield took the lead when Andre Faust connected at 6:29. Craig Darby made it 3-3 with a goal assisted by David Roberts at 9:48. Jeff Finley then put the Falcons up again at 11:23. With Lindsay Vallis in the penalty box the IceCats would grab the lead with two unassisted shorthanded goals, with Armstrong scoring at 14:01 and Terry Virtue lighting the lamp at 14:47. It was Springfield’s turn to tie the game, and they did it on a Daniels second of the game at 15:20 on the power play. Roberts made it a five-goal frame for the ‘Cats at 16:16, with Patrice Tardif and Laperriere getting the helpers. But that was the last goal for Worcester as the Falcons scored three in the third by Ravil Gusmanov (9:17), Mike Harding (9:53), and Daniels for the hat trick (19:13, empty net) for the 8-6 final. Mike Buzak made 20 saves.
2001 vs Hartford 4-2 loss
(HARTFORD) It took the Wolf Pack about 10 minutes to erase some rust, then they survived a late scare for a 4-2 victory over the IceCats Saturday night.The ‘Cats goals came in the final five minutes, when the IceCats got goals from West Haven native Eric Boguniecki and Marc Brown 61 seconds apart. Boguniecki’s power-play goal and Brown’s deflection got the IceCats (5-5-1-1) to 3-2 with 3:43 left, but Brad Mehalko iced the victory when his centering pass deflected off the stick of IceCats defenseman Dale Clarke and between the legs of Reinhard Divis (19 saves) with 1:25 to go. The Wolf Pack (5-4-1) took a 1-0 lead at 12:23 as Mikael Samuelsson scored on a 5-on-3 power play to complete a three-way play with Jason Dawe and Michal Grosek, moved from wing to center after leading scorer Jeff Toms was recalled by the Rangers Thursday. Peter Skudra (26 saves) kept the Wolf Pack ahead with eight seconds left in the first period when he slid across to rob a wide-open Dan Tkaczuk. Lundmark made it 2-0 at 3:06 of the second when he took a pass from Brad Smyth, broke in 2-on-1 with Mehalko and put a shot from the top of the right circle through Divis’ pads. Smyth got the winner at 10:32 of the third, putting a 15-foot shot from the slot off Divis and into the net off assists from Mehalko and Matt Kinch. Smyth also assisted on Mehalko’s goal.
2002 vs St. John’s 6-4 win
(ICECATS) The Worcester IceCats polished off a three-in-three set at Worcester’s Centrum Centre with a 6-4 win over the St. John’s Maple Leafs Sunday night. Blake Evans led the way for Worcester with two goals. A quiet offensive first period saw Sergei Varlamov score a deflected 85-footer. Just after crossing the center line, Varlamov let the puck fly towards Leafs goaltender Mikael Telleqvist. The puck nicked a St. John’s defender and ended up in the back of the net. Evans notched his third of the season just 1:31 into the second period. The goalmouth scramble that led to the 2-0 lead saw rookie John Pohl wrist a short-side shot in Telleqvist’s direction. Evans got a piece and it snuck into the St. John’s net. Pohl, who added an assist on Worcester’s second goal, is leading the club with 14 points on six goals and eight assists: (6/8/14). He has accrued at least one point in eight of his nine professional games. St. John’s did make an offensive mark in the second period, scoring on the power play. But following Evans’ second of the game to open the third period, Worcester responded with three straight man advantage goals of their own. With a five-on-three power play, Justin Papineau bagged his sixth at 4:42. Thirty-eight seconds later Greg Davis scored his second of the season. Davis then set the table for Steve Bancroft’s second in as many nights at 6:41, giving the ‘Cats a 6-1 lead. In all Worcester went 3-for-6 on the power play, thanks in large part to a five-minute high sticking call against Jay Harrison and the two-minute offensive eruption in the third. St. John’s would step on the gas in the late going, putting three third period goals in the IceCats net. Scott Stirling, making his American Hockey League (AHL) debut, persevered and earned Worcester’s fifth win with 21 saves. Including Wednesday’s win over Springfield, Worcester completed a four-games-in-five-nights clip with three wins and a one-goal loss. After starting the season with three straight losses, Worcester has rebounded to a respectable 5-4-1.
2004 vs Houston 4-3 win
(ICECATS) The Worcester IceCats earned their fifth-straight win Wednesday night, preserving a one-goal lead to defeat the Houston Aeros 4-3. The IceCats led 4-0 after the first period, but allowed three unanswered goals to Houston in the second. Dennis Wideman, Erkki Rajamaki and Mike Glumac made it 3-0 ‘Cats, while Peter Sejna’s goal to make it 4-0 Worcester at 13:21 proved to be the game-winner. Rajamaki’s goal was his first as a North American pro, while Brendan Brooks extended a personal point-streak to three games with an assist on the marker. Houston gave the ‘Cats a fit in the second, scoring three times while out shooting them 13-4. Stephane Veillieux capitalized on a scrambled Worcester line change, scoring shorthanded to put the Aeros on the scoreboard. Christoph Brandner’s power play goal at 12:59 brought his club within two. Then, Kirby Law made it a one-goal game exactly three minutes later. The ‘Cats chased Houston starting goalie Mike Smith, after he allowed the game’s first three goals on six shots. Josh Harding finished the contest with 16 saves, but gave up Sejna’s game-winner and took the loss. Worcester’s Jason Bacashihua, in his first start since opening night in Manchester, secured his first victory of the season with a 25-save performance.
2007 vs Philadelphia 3-0 loss
(WORSHARKS) The Worcester Sharks were unable to find their rhythm again on Saturday night and were held scoreless for the first time this year, dropping a 3-0 decision to the AHL’s top team, the Philadelphia Phantoms. Philadelphia came out firing and took a 1-0 lead just over a minute into the game. Pete Zingoni one-timed a centering feed from rookie Steve Downie that beat rookie goaltender Taylor Dakers to the back post, deflected off the upright and into the net. Zingoni struck again at the midpoint of the first period, this time while Nate Raduns was in the Worcester penalty box. From the low slot, Zingoni attacked Dakers and beat the Worcester goaltender to his glove side, tallying his sixth goal of the season and doubling the Phantoms advantage. The teams traded even-strength chances over much of the period before a minor penalty against Josh Prudden gave Philadelphia’s top-ranked power play its next chance. Dakers made four saves on the penalty kill while holding the Phantoms scoreless. Philadelphia would strike again before the end of the period, however. Dakers pushed aside a breakaway try by Downie but the rookie tracked down the puck and fed teammate Stefan Ruzicka, who cut around Dakers and finished top shelf to expand the Phantoms lead to 3-0. Tom Cavanagh had the best chance of the final stanza, but his short-range rebound try was poked just wide by Scott Munroe, who replaced Philadelphia starting netminder Brian Boucher early in the second period. The pair combined for 32 saves in the shutout.
2012 vs St. John’s 3-2 OTL
(WORSHARKS) Taylor Doherty and Travis Oleksuk scored their first professional for the Worcester Sharks (3-4-1-1) as the Sharks dropped a 3-2 overtime heartbreaker with 12 seconds remaining to the St. John’s IceCaps (5-5-0-0) on Saturday evening in front of 2,790 fans at the DCU Center. Harri Sateri was sharp in goal for Worcester making 29 saves in goal in the loss. Taylor Doherty was the first star of the game, picking up his first career AHL goal, along with an assist. Travis Oleksuk also notched his first career AHL goal in the loss for the Sharks as the IceCaps improved to 5-0-0-0 at the DCU Center. The IceCaps got on the board first at 9:10 of the first period when Maxime Macenauer (3rd) tapped the puck into a wide open net after the puck bounced right to him on a shot that went wide off the boards, giving St. John’s a 1-0 lead. The Sharks were 0-3 in the first on the power play and St. Johns outshot Worcester 7-4 in the period. Sharks fans were treated to two first career professional goals in the second period. The Sharks tied the game up 1-1 at 5:14 of the second period when Taylor Doherty (1st) wristed his first career AHL goal past Mark Dekanich from the top of the right circle. James Sheppard and Sebastian Stalberg picked up assists on the Sharks first goal. Worcester then took the lead when Travis Oleksuk (1st) buried his first career AHL goal as well with a nice rush down the right wing side with James Livingston and Doherty picking up the helpers, giving the Sharks a 2-1 lead. The IceCaps tied the game 2-2 with just six seconds left in the second period when John Albert (3rd) popped one past Sateri with heavy traffic in front of the net. The two teams skated to a stalemate in the third period, with Freddie Hamilton hitting the post with five minutes remaining for Worcester. The Sharks had a Yanni Gourde goal called back late in the third period because the whistle was blown before the puck crossed the goal line. The IceCaps scored with just 12 seconds left in overtime when Paul Postma wristed one over Sateri’s right shoulder to give St. John’s a 3-2 win. The Sharks overall record falls to 3-4-1-1 (8pts in 9gp) and 2-1-1-0 (5pts in 4gp) at the DCU Center this season.
2017 vs Reading 4-2 win
(RAILERS) The Worcester Railers HC (4-2-1-0, 9pts) handed the Reading Royals (4-1-0-0, 8pts) their first loss of the season after a 4-2 victory in game two of a five game homestand in front 3,411 fans at the DCU Center on Friday evening. Patrick McNally (1-1-2) continued his torrid scoring touch with a pair of points while Woody Hudson, Frankie DiChiara, and Matty Gaudreau also scored for Worcester. Eamon McAdam made 33 saves in net for his second win of the season in the Railers home ice victory. Woody Hudson (2nd) gave the Railers a 1-0 lead with his second goal in as many games after Yanick Turcotte threw a shoulder in the corner and won the puck in front to Hudson who then buried a quick shot through the pads of goaltender Mark Dekanich at 17:01. Reading would tie the score on the power play with 31 seconds left as Ryan Penny (4th) pin-balled a shot off skates and past Eamon McAdam to tie the score at 1-1. Shots were 15-8 in favor of Reading through 20 minutes. The Railers had a terrific second period as Patrick McNally (5th) fired home a rebound after an initial shot from Matt Lane at 5:08 and Frankie DiChiara (2nd) finished an awesome pass from Jeff Kubiak on an odd man rush at 7:05. Worcester led 3-1 after 40 minutes of play despite Reading leading 20-19 in shots. Matty Gaudreau (1st) scored his first professional goal with a great rush down the left wing side and a quick shot on the rush at 4:08 to give the Railers some insurance. Reading would strike again on the power play at 7:52 at Mark Naclerio (2nd) to cut the lead to 4-2. The Royals would pressure late and Eamon McAdam went for an empty net goal as time expired and just missed as Worcester held on for the 4-2 home victory.
2018 vs Newfoundland 5-2 loss
(RAILERS) The Worcester Railers HC(3-5-0-0, 6pts) dropped their third straight game with a 5-2 loss to the visiting Newfoundland Growlers (7-5-0-0, 14pts) in front of 4,877 fans at the DCU Center on Saturday evening. The Growlers charged out to a 4-0 lead before Ivan Kosorenkov and Tyler Barnes scored in the third period for Worcester but it wasn’t enough as the Railers dropped their second straight game at the DCU Center. Matt Bradley scored twice for Newfoundland and Mario Culina made 33 saves in his first professional start as Newfoundland ended their eight-game road trip 5-3-0-0. Newfoundland charged out to a 2-0 first period lead after a power play goal by Stefan LeBlanc (1st) at 10:29 and an even strength goal by Brady Ferguson (6th) at 14:31. Shots were 10-8 in favor of the Growlers through 20 minutes of play. The Growlers would tack on two more goals in the second period as Giorgio Estephan (8th) struck on the power play with a wicked shot from the right circle at 7:56 and Matt Bradley (3rd) struck at 15:25 to put the Railers down 4-0. Shots were 20-19 in favor of Newfoundland through 40 minutes of play. Worcester would score twice in a 27 second span late in the third period to cut the score to 4-2 as Ivan Kosorenkov (1st) scored his first professional goal at 15:59 and Tyler Barnes (2nd) scored after the first officials video replay at the DCU Center at 16:26. The excitement was short lived as Matt Bradley (4th) potted one into an empty net at 17:29 as the Growlers pulled away for a 5-2 rod victory.
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