1998 vs Hartford 7-2 win
The Worcester IceCats scored three first period goals and never looked back in a 7-2 thrashing of the Hartford Wolf Pack. Jason Zent began the onslaught at 4:57 of the first period on a goal assisted by Mike Prokopec and Derek Diener. At 9:27 Rory Fitzpatrick made it 2-0 with help from Stephane Roy. Zent would score again at 17:22, this time assisted by Prokopec and Fitzpatrick. In the second period Robert Petrovicky made it 4-0 at 6:34, with Bob Lachance and Prokopec getting points. Mike Martin stopped the bleeding for Hartford at 10:53. In the third period Prokopec would score for his fourth point of the game at 4:41, with Petrovicky grabbing an assist. Shayne Toporowski made it 6-1 at 10:06 with Lachance and Nick Naumenko helping. Marc Savard had the Wolf Packs second goal at 12:05, but Roy would get that one back at 14:30, with Lachance and Naumenko helping again. Brent Johnson had 39 saves for the win. [210Sports note: The game was delayed about 15 minutes in the second period when Wolf Pack forward Pierre Sevigny collapsed on the bench after a shift. The IceCats team doctors and both trainers tended to Sevigny, who was then taken by ambulance to UMass. He was released the next day after being diagnosed with a concussion.]
1999 vs Springfield 2-1 win
The Worcester IceCats didn’t generate much offense in a Sunday afternoon contest against the Falcons, but they didn’t need much in their 2-1 win over Springfield. After a scoreless first period Brad Tiley gave the Falcons the lead 1-0 at 3:56 of the middle period. Kevin Sawyer for the ‘Cats back to even at 14:13 with a power play goal assisted by Bryce Salvador and Matt Smith. Jamie Thompson then followed with the unassisted game winner at 15:59 of the third period. Rich Parent made 28 saves for the win.
2001 vs St. John’s 3-1 win
The Worcester IceCats got goals from three different players in a 3-1 win over the Maple Leafs. Marty Reasoner opened the scoring with a goal at 4:29 of the first period assisted by Tyler Rennette and Ed Campbell. Nathan Dempsey tied it for St John’s at 13:08 of the middle period, but Jame Pollock got the ‘Cats the lead back just 22 seconds with Andrei Troschinsky and Darren Rumble providing the assists. Dan Corso got an insurance goal at 1:32 of the third period, assisted by Troschinsky and Eric Boguniecki. Dwayne Roloson made 26 saves in the win.
2003 at Saint John 4-2 loss
(SAINT JOHN) The Worcester IceCats found themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time. Buoyed by a morning coaching change, the Saint John Flames doubled up the IceCats 4-2. Rookies Matt Lombardi and Chuck Kobasew scored two goals each for the Flames (11-19-2-1), while Jason Dawe and Marc Brown replied for the IceCats (17-14-6-1). Worcester goalie Curtis Sanford, making his ninth straight start, faced 28 shots. His Saint John counterpart, Dany Sabourin, made 27 stops as the Flames were outshot for the first time in 17 outings.
2007 vs Springfield 5-3 win
The Worcester Sharks overcame two one-goal deficits to defeat the Falcons 5-3. Eric Healey gave Springfield the lead at 18:19 of the first, but an unassisted goal by Aston Rome tied it at 5:22 of the second after he found a loose puck and backhanded it through traffic into the Falcons net. Healey then scored again at 11:33 to make it 2-1 Springfield. Mike Iggulden tied at at 14:39 when the defense became preoccupied with Mathieu Darche and Graham Mink behind the net, and Darche’s pass to a wide open Iggulden in the slot set up the goal. Tom Cavanagh put the WorSharks up 3-2 just 12 seconds into the third period, with Steve Bernier picking up the helper. Patrick Traverse made it a two goal lead on the power play at 14:40 with Riley Armstrong and Scott Ferguson picking up points. Mike Iggulden made it 5-2 at 14:40 with assists going to Armstrong and Darche. Matt Smaby added a goal at 19:02 for the 5-3 final. Thomas Greiss had 21 saves for the win.
2009 vs Lowell 3-2 win
(WORSHARKS) Behind goals from three different skaters and a second-straight strong performance from goaltender Thomas Griess, the Worcester Sharks topped the Lowell Devils, 3-2, in front of 5,082 fans at the DCU Center on Saturday evening. Lukas Kaspar, Claude Lemieux, and Riley Armstrong all scored within the game’s first 28:46 while Greiss with 18 saves, including a number of dazzling stops in the third period to preserve the win. The Sharks improve to 19-16-0-1 on the season, jumping past Hartford and into third place in the Atlantic Division standings with 39 points. Worcester trails second-place Portland by only two points and first-place Providence by five. Lowell took the lead at 4:15 of the first period when Jon DiSalvatore netted his 10th goal of the season. He received a pass right outside the crease and held the puck until he saw an opening over Greiss’ right shoulder, picking the top left corner of the net for the 1-0 advantage. Tyler Eckford and Mark Fraser were credited with the assists on the play. Tempers nearly boiled over at 6:55 when Lowell’s Matthew Corrente dropped his gloves in hopes of fighting Mike Moore. Brett Westgarth jumped right in and was assessed a double-minor for roughing while Corrente and Mark Fraser each received roughing minors. The Sharks used the roughing penalties as a spark by taking the next 11 shots on goal. The added pressure equaled a goal and a 1-1 score at the 19:12 mark. Westgarth’s shot ricocheted off the backboards right to Kaspar by the side of the crease. He easily tapped the puck into the open net with Lowell goalie Jeff Frazee down and out of the play. Kaspar’s seventh goal of the season was also assisted by Ryan Vesce. Lemieux converted on a partial breakaway for his third goal of the season and a 2-1 Worcester lead at 4:59 of the second period. Lemieux took the loose puck at center ice and skated down the right wing side. He released a shot inside the right wing circle that trickled past Frazee five-hole. The Sharks added insurance at 8:46 when Armstrong netted his 14th goal of the year, and fourth in the last two games. His low snapshot from the top of the right faceoff circle went through traffic before lighting the lamp to make it 3-1. Michael Wilson and Jamie McGinn picked up the assists on the play. Lowell cut the score to 3-2 with a power play goal at the 19:57 mark of the second. DiSalvatore found Nicklas Bergfors in front, who easily tapped the puck into the open net. Michael Swift was credited with the additional assist. The Devils put the pressure on in the third, but Greiss shut the door for the 3-2 victory.
2010 vs Bridgeport 4-3 win
(WORSHARKS) The Worcester Sharks secured their sixth straight win, their 22nd of the season, during the team’s fourth matchup against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on Sunday afternoon at the DCU Center. Worcester’s T.J. Trevelyan began a two-game point streak with his goal and two assists, while Couture’s first period assist lengthened his point streak to nine games. Worcester’s Benn Ferriero chipped in the Sharks’ first goal on a power play right in front of the net past Rick DiPietro at 10:37 in the first period. The Sharks have scored the first goal in the past six games. Cory Quirk netted his second goal of the season less than a minute later at 11:34, assisted by T.J. Trevelyan and Derek Joslin, putting the score at 2-0 at the end of the first. After a fight on the opening faceoff at the start of the second period between Worcester’s Dan DaSilva and Bridgeport’s Sixsmith, the Sound Tigers shortened the gap at 16:46 when Michael Haley scored his second goal of the season past Stalock. The Sharks quickly retaliated less than a minute later at 17:36 when Dwight Helminen tapped in Trevelyan’s deflected shot off of Dipietro’s pads, closing the period at 3-1. T.J. Trevelyan wrapped the puck around the post and past Dipietro for his sixth goal of the season at just 1:19 into the third period, assisted by Quirk and Helminen. Shortly after, Bridgeport’s Greg Mauldin struck back on a power play goal at 5:40, his 12th of the season. At 9:23, the Sound Tigers struck again when Robin Figren knocked in his first goal of the season, condensing the gap even more to 4-3. Alex Stalock made several big saves late for the Sharks to secure the victory for Worcester. With the win, the Sharks move to 22-12-0-2 (46 points) on the season.
2014 at Providence 3-0 loss
(WORSHARKS) The Worcester Sharks (13-14-2-1, 29pts) began the 2014 calendar year with a 3-0 loss to the host Providence Bruins (18-10-1-5, 42pts) in front of 8,996 fans at the Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence, RI on Friday evening. Nick Johnson and Alex Khokhlachev each had a goal and an assist while Malcolm Subban made 25 saves for his 1st professional shutout for the Bruins. Sharks netminder Troy Grosenick made 27 saves in the loss for Worcester as the Sharks were shutout for the 3rd time in their last seven games overall. A quick moving first period saw the Bruins with the only score at 16:42 off the stick of Nick Johnson (12th). After the Bruins only power play expired, the Sharks were unable to clear the puck and defenseman David Warsofsky sent a perfect pass to Johnson who fired a wicked shot from 45 feet in the center slot past the glove of netminder Troy Grosenick. Matt Pelech (5th FM) and Bobby Robins (14th FM) exchanged blows in a long fight as the Sharks trailed 1-0 after 20 minutes with the Bruins holding a 14-10 shot advantage. The Bruins grabbed a 3-0 lead in the second period as rookie Alex Khokhlachev (7th) slammed home a centering pass from the right corner at 1:11 and Justin Florek (9th) one-timed a nice pass from the right circle at 13:12 to put the Sharks down by three scores through 40 minutes. Providence held a 24-17 shot advantage after two periods. Neither team found the back of the net in the third period as Riley Brace had the best chance for Worcester as he was denied by Subban on a point blank chance midway through the third period as the Sharks fell 3-0. The Sharks overall record falls to 13-14-2-1, 29pts and 7-7-2-0, 16pts on the road this season.
2015 at Springfield 4-3 SOL
(WORSHARKS) The Worcester Sharks (13-14-3-2, 31pts) coughed up a two goal third period lead and eventually lost in the shootout by a 4-3 score to the Springfield Falcons (23-10-2-0, 48pts) in front of 3,592 fans at the Mass Mutual Center on Saturday evening. Worcester charged out to a 3-1 lead through two periods after goals by Bryan Lerg, Chris Tierney, and Evan Trupp before the Falcons scored twice in the third to force overtime. JP Anderson made 40 saves in net but the Sharks lost for the first time this season (8-0-0-1) when leading after 40 minutes of play. Marco Dano, Jaime Sifers, and TJ Tynan scored for Springfield while Kirby Rychel scored the only goal in the shootout for the Springfield victory. It was a goaltenders duel for a good part of the first period as JP Anderson and Oscar Dansk each made some nice saves to keep the game scoreless in the first 18 minutes. But it was a miscue by rookie goalie Oscar Dansk behind his own net that led to Ryan Carpenter finding a wide open Bryan Lerg (4th) in the crease for an easy score with 99 seconds remaining in the period for the only score through 20 minutes. Springfield outshot Worcester 13-10 in the first period. The Sharks would build on their lead with a power play strike at 3:39 as rookie Chris Tierney (2nd) fired a wicked shot from 12 feet away off the iron and into the net past the Falcons netminder. Springfield would get back within a goal after JP Anderson made a terrific initial save but Marco Dano (7th) banged home a loose rebound from the crease at 8:35. Worcester would score their second power play goal of the period after a centering pass from Evan Trupp (8th) deflected off a Falcons defender and into the net at 12:53. JP Anderson made 11 more saves in the second period as Worcester took a 3-1 advantage into the second intermission. Springfield outshot Worcester 14-4 in the third period and tied the score at 3-3. Jaime Sifers (2nd) sent a one timer past JP Anderson from the right circle after a great cross ice pass by TJ Tynan at 3:17. With Oscar Dansk off for the extra attacker TJ Tynan (4th) scored with 1:29 remaining in the third period to force overtime. Worcester was outshot 4-0 in overtime as neither team could find the back of the net. Kirby Rychel scored the only shootout goal as Bryan Lerg, Daniil Tarasov, and Chris Tierney were all stopped for Worcester as the Falcons pulled out the 4-3 home victory. The Sharks overall record falls to 13-14-3-2, 31pts, and 5-8-1-1, 12pts on the road this season.
2018 vs Reading 2-1 OTL
(RAILERS) The Worcester Railers HC (12-13-3-2, 29pts) kicked off 2018 with a 2-1 overtime loss to the visiting Reading Royals (17-14-2-0, 36pts) in front of 2,204 fans at the DCU Center on Wednesday evening. Woody Hudson scored his 11th goal of the season in the final minute with the extra attacker to force overtime for Worcester, but Matt Willows ended the game on a 3-on-1 rush at 2:40 of the overtime session to give Reading a 2-1 win. Eamon McAdam made 26 saves in net for Worcester as the Railers dressed five rookie defensemen and dropped their 4th straight game (0-3-1-0). Just 16 total shots were taken in a scoreless first period with each team going 0-for-1 on the power play. Eamon McAdam made six saves for the Railers while John Muse made 10 saves for the Royals. Reading would strike first with a shorthanded goal at 7:21 as Matias de Haas (1st) broke down the left-wing side and was able to pick up his own rebound and fired the puck off the post and in to give the Royals a 1-0 lead. Shots in the second period were 17-8 Royals in the second period as Worcester headed into the second intermission down 1-0. Shots were 11-3 in the third period and Worcester was finally able to get on the board in the final minute with the extra attacker on the ice as Woody Hudson (11th) fired from the left lot through a screen assisted by Kellen Jones at 19:08. Shots were 29-25 Worcester through 60 minutes. Ashton Rome almost scored in overtime, but after John Muse made the save, Matt Willows skated down on a 3-on-1 and buried a shot off both post and past McAdam at 2:40 for the Royals overtime game winner.
2020 at Reading 4-1 Win
The Worcester Railers HC (11-19-2-0, 24pts) began the new calendar year with an impressive 4-1 win over the Reading Royals (28-11-4-0, 40pts) in front of 2,290 fans at Santander Arena on Friday evening. The Railers and the Royals will meet on Saturday in Reading at 7pm. Ben Thomson (1-1-2) scored just 32 seconds into his first ECHL shift while Ivan Chukarov (1-0-1) scored his first goal of the season and Ryan MacKinnon (1-1-2) scored a short-handed five on three goal. Evan Buitenhuis made 30 saves in net for his seventh win of the season. Trevor Gooch (5th) scored the lone goal for Reading while Felix Sandstrom made 15 saves in net. It took just 32 seconds for Ben Thomson (1st) to find the back of the net in his first ECHL shift when he tracked a puck nicely and slammed it past Felix Sandstrom to give Worcester a 1-0 lead. After a feed from the right circle from Yanick Turcotte, Ivan Chukarov (1st) drove the puck home from the top of the left circle with a hard wrist shot over the blocker of Sandstrom at 3:12 to increase the Railers lead to 2-0. Evan Buitenhuis stopped all seven shots he faced while Worcester led 2-0 through 20 minutes of play and outshot Reading 9-7. The second frame saw no scoring as Evan Buitenhuis made six saves and Felix Sandstrom made five saves. Each team had one power-play but could not convert as Worcester had a 2-0 lead through 40 minutes of play. Yanick Turcotte received five minutes for charging and a ten-minute misconduct at 4:23 of the third period and then Dante Salituro went to the box for high sticking at 5:32 giving the Royals a five on three power-play. Despite being down two men, it was the Railers who would answer when Nic Pierog flipped a puck to Ryan MacKinnon (2nd) who raced in and fired one bar down over the glove of Sandstrom increasing the Railers lead to 3-0. Reading finally broke through when Trevor Gooch (5th) was able to sneak home a rebound at 10:56. Drew Callin (6th) tacked on the insurance goal with an empty net tally at 19:46 to hand Worcester a 4-1 win. Notes: Three Stars: 3rd star: Trevor Gooch (1-0-1) 2nd star: Ryan MacKinnon (1-1-2) 1st star: Evan Buitenhuis (30 saves, Win) …. final shots were 31-19 in favor of Reading…Felix Sandstrom (6-8-0) made 15 saves on 18 shots Reading… Evan Buitenhuis (7-10-1) made 30 saves on 31 shots for Worcester while Ian Milosz served as the backup…. Worcester went 0-for-1 on the power play while Reading went 0-for-4…. Kyle McKenzie (inj,), Jordan Samuels-Thomas (inj), JD Dudek (IR), Tanner Pond (IR), Bo Brauer, and Cody Payne did not dress for Worcester…. David Quenneville, Linus Soderstrom, and Jakub Skarek are all currently on recall with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers…. Yanick Turcotte extended his point streak to three games with an assist and added 15 penalty minutes in which he is now second in the league with 103…. Drew Callin has now scored in three straight games…. Ryan MacKinnon has now scored a five on three power-play and short-handed goal….. 19 shots on net for Worcester was a season low…. Connor Doherty is the only Railers player to play in the first 32 games this season….. Railers now lead the ECHL with eight short-handed goals…. Mike Cornell (0-1-1) played in his first game for Worcester since December 4th and added an assist…. Kyle Thomas played in his first game for Worcester since December 21st…. Jack Stander played in his 100thpro game….the Railers are now 7-10-0-0 under Coach Cunniff…. Eric Cairns, Director of Player Development for the New York Islanders, joined Coach Cunniff behind the bench…. It was just the third loss on home ice for Reading this season in regulation…. Worcester is now 13-9-1-0 vs. the Royals all time and 5-7-0-0 at the Santander Arena.
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