1955 vs New Haven, 5-3 loss
Worcester’s Butch Songin scored midway through the 3rd period tied the game at 3-3. Late goals by Claude Boileau and Kenny Blondin clinched the victory for New Haven.
1995 vs Cape Breton 8-5 win
The IceCats got five goals from John Carter, still a Worcester city pro hockey single game record, to upend the Cape Breton Oilers 8-5. Down 2-0 Jarrett Deuling got the IceCats on the board with a goal assisted by Blair Atcheynum and Denis Chalifoux at 4:35 of the second period. The Oilers would score again before Carter scored the first time with an unassisted goal at 8:16. Cape Breton would make it 4-2, but the next six goals would belong to the IceCats. Cal McGowan would begin the comeback at 13:59 of the second stanza with assist going to Ross Wilson and Mark Ouimet. Carter would have his second of the game at 17:10 to tie it, with Roy Mitchell and Martin Mercier getting the assists. Chalifoux, from Shaun Kane and Atcheynum at 5:43 of the third, would give Worcester it’s first lead of the game. Carter then tallied the next three for the IceCats, with his hat trick goal coming at 5:51 unassisted. Carter notched his fourth of the contest at 9:59 from Ouimet and Terry Virtue, and his fifth came at 14:01, assisted by Jason Widmer and Dave Baseggio. The Oilers would add a late goal for the 8-5 Worcester win. Les Kuntar started the game for the IceCats but left in the second period due to injury. Wayne Cowley got the win in relief.
1997 at Saint John 4-3 win
(Saint John) The Worcester IceCats shared the offensive wealth last night and were a whole lot richer for their efforts. Four different players scored goals as the IceCats skated to a 4-3 victory over the Saint John Flames. Down one early, the IceCats roared back and led after a period by a 3-2 margin on goals from Alex Vasilevskii, Chris Kenady, and Terry Virtue. Daniel Guerard have the ‘Cats their eventual winner when he scored at 6:29 of the second period. Jamie McLennan finished the night with 30 saves. [210Sports note: Rob Pearson was given a match penalty for a high hit on Chris O’Sullivan. He was subsequently suspended three games.]
2002 at Portland 3-0 loss
The Worcester IceCats fired 35 shots on Pirates goaltender Sebastien Charpentier and he stopped them all in a 3-0 loss to Portland. Colin Forbes (13:14, 1st), Graham Mink (:19, 2nd), and Peter Ferraro (9:56pp, 2nd) had the Portland goals. Reinhard Divis was in goal for the ‘Cats.
2003 at Saint John 5-3 win
(SAINT JOHN) If Curtis Sanford were a Red Sox pitcher, he’d be much more accustomed to starting than relieving. However, the Worcester IceCats goalie came out of the bullpen last night to lead his team to victory. Entering the game midway through the second period, Sanford stopped all 15 shots he faced as the IceCats rallied for a 5-3 win over the Saint John Flames on a snowy night in southern New Brunswick. After the Flames took a 3-2 lead, Sanford, who had started the last nine games, came on in relief of a shaky Phil Osaer. His best stop came in the final minute when he stymied Ryan Christie’s backhand bid from in tight. Terry Virtue, Mike Van Ryn, Justin Papineau, Jeff Panzer and John Pohl scored the goals for the IceCats (18-14-6-1), who beat the Flames for the first time in three meetings this season. Micki DuPont scored twice while Shawn Mather added the other goal for Saint John (11-20-2-1), which was outshot 34-31. The IceCats, who were 3 for 6 with the man advantage, jumped out to an early 2-0 advantage on goals by Virtue and Van Ryn. The latter marker was a rare unassisted power-play score after an errant up-the-middle clearing attempt by DuPont. But the ‘Cats quickly frittered the lead away, and then fell behind, thanks to some shoddy goaltending by Osaer. After Mather scored from close range to make it a 2-1 game in the first period, DuPont scored a pair from long range, one from just inside the blueline, the other from just outside, in the middle frame to chase Osaer from the Worcester net. The paid attendance was 3,343, but there were fewer than 800 people in Harbour Station because of a blizzard that ravaged the city throughout the day.
2008 vs Manchester 5-3 loss
(WORSHARKS) Despite a career-high three points from Nate Raduns, the Worcester Sharks were unable to stop the Manchester Monarchs’ high-powered and balanced attack, falling 5-3 on Friday evening at the DCU Center. The Monarchs scored three goals within 62 seconds in the first period and wouldn’t look back. In total, five different Monarchs lit the lamp. Manchester goaltender Erik Ersberg finished with 23 saves while Worcester’s Thomas Greiss had 19. Riley Armstrong saw action after missing the previous six games with an injury. He made his presence felt at 8:51 of the first period when he tallied his seventh goal of the season. Coming from behind the net, he took a shot to the left of Ersberg. It hit the skate of the Monarchs’ John Zeiler in front of the net and deflected past Ersberg to the far right post. Manchester answered back less than six minutes later. Right after its power play expired, Patrik Hersley took a shot from the point. Greiss made the save, but the rebound kicked right to Trevor Lewis who picked the left corner of the goal at 14:48 of the first period. David Meckler was also credited with an assist on the play. The Monarchs made it two goals in the span of 15 seconds when Kevin Westgarth made a pass across the crease to Lauri Tukonen. Greiss couldn’t get from his left to his right in time and Tukonen found the empty net. Manchester continued the onslaught with their third goal in 62 seconds at 15:50 of the first. Greiss came out of his crease to the left side of the goal to clear the puck. He tried clearing it around the boards, but Teddy Purcell picked it off, and found Matt Moulson in front of the net. Moulson buried it before Greiss could recover, giving Manchester a 3-1 lead. Heading into the game, the Sharks had tallied one shorthanded goal this season, scored by Thomas Plihal against Wilkes-Barre Scranton on Dec. 14. With Tom Cavanagh in the penalty box for tripping, Worcester found an opportune time to pick up its second. This time, Plihal sprung Raduns on a rush up the ice on the right boards. Raduns took a shot from inside the right faceoff circle and beat Ersberg under his right arm to cut the lead to 3-2. Armstrong received a crosschecking penalty as time expired in the second period. It would come back to haunt the Sharks as Manchester capitalized 40 seconds into the third period. Brian Boyle took a shot to Greiss’ right from between the blue line and the faceoff circle. It hit the inside of the post and went in for the 4-2 lead. The Sharks answered right back 46 seconds later with a goal of their own. Raduns picked up his second goal of the game when he flipped the puck to the right side of the goal off a rebound. Derek Joslin and Devon Setoguchi were credited with assists on the play. Manchester made the score 5-3 at 3:06 of the third period when the Sharks turned the puck over behind their own goal. Craig Valette took a pass and beat Greiss low to his left.
2009 vs Hershey 7-2 loss
(WORSHARKS) The goals came early and often as Hershey, the AHL’s top team, came into Worcester and topped the Sharks, 7-2 on Sunday at the DCU Center. The Bears improve to an AHL-high 53 points behind a 26-9-0-1 record while Worcester falls to 19-17-0-1 (39 points). The Sharks tied the score at one late in the first period, but Hershey owned the second, scoring four goals on its way to the win. It didn’t take long for the league’s top offense to make its presence felt as Alexandre Giroux netted his 20th goal of the season at 15 seconds of the first period. His wrist shot from the right wing circle beat Sharks goaltender Taylor Dakers low on the glove side. Former Worcester captain Graham Mink and Bryan Helmer were credited with the assists on the play. Worcester scored only 25 seconds into its first power play to tie the score at one at the 18:01 mark. Lukas Kaspar carried the puck from the right wing boards towards center ice before releasing a shot in between the faceoff circles. The shot beat Hershey goalie Simeon Varlamov low for his eighth goal of the season and was assisted by Steven Zalewski and Patrick Traverse. The Bears converted on a man advantage of their own to take a 2-1 lead at 4:25 of the second period. Chris Bourque made a crisp pass from high on the left wing side to Keith Aucoin at the right side of the crease, who finished the tip-in. Aucion’s 13th goal of the season was also assisted by Giroux. A three-on-one equaled a Hershey goal and a 3-1 score at the 7:50 mark. After gaining the blue line, Giroux passed across to Aucoin on the left wing side, who gave it right back to Giroux, who finished for his 21st of the season and second of the game. Ryan Vesce’s 12th goal of the season cut Hershey’s lead to one at 11:16 of the second. Kaspar made the pretty pass from the left wing boards out in front to Vesce, who beat Varlamov low. Brendan Buckley picked up the other assist. Hershey retook the two-goal advantage at 15:09 when Steve Pinizzotto netted his fourth of the season. Oskar Osala was in the left wing circle and passed across to Pinizzotto in the right wing circle, who finished for the 4-2 lead. Things went from bad to worse when the Bears’ Giroux picked up a hat trick at 19:50 of the second. He was sprung on a shorthanded rush and passed in front, but the puck deflected off the Sharks’ Traverse and crossed the goal line for the 5-2 score heading into the second intermission. The Bears scored their second power play goal at 3:28 of the third to take the 6-2 lead. It was once again Giroux, who picked up his fourth of the game, easily tipping in a Mink cross. Aucoin added Hershey’s seventh goal at 17:12 as he picked off an errant pass and skated in, beating Dakers five-hole for the team’s second shorthanded goal of the game.
2014 at Hartford 3-2 win
(WORSHARKS) The Worcester Sharks (14-14-2-1, 31pts) earned a 3-2 victory over the Hartford Wolf Pack (11-17-0-5, 27pts) in front of 4,712 fans at the XL Center in Hartford, CT on Saturday evening. Dan DaSilva and Sebastian Stalberg scored 1st period power play goals for Worcester while Harri Sateri was brilliant in net as he made 30 saves in his 8th victory of the season. Curt Gogol scored the game winning goal midway through the middle frame as Worcester snapped an eight game losing skid at the XL Center with the victory. For just the 12th time this season, the Sharks grabbed a 1-0 lead after Dan DaSilva (3rd) sent a one timer blast from on top of the left circle past netminder Jason Missiaen on the power play at 2:44. Adam Comrie sent Jesper Fast hard into the boards midway through the first period and the Wolf Pack were not happy as Michael Haley took two consecutive penalties to put the Sharks on the power play. Sebastian Stalberg (1st) deflected home a Matt Tennyson point shot at 17:19 to put Worcester ahead 2-0 with another power play marker. But Hartford would strike at 19:44 after a miscue in the Sharks zone led to a Ryan Bourque (5th) shorthanded goal past Harri Sateri from in tight to end the period with a 2-1 Sharks advantage. Harri Sateri made several great stops and made 15 first period saves while Jason Missiaen made nine saves for Hartford. Another feisty period saw the Sharks outshot the Wolf Pack 16-6 and with Worcester scoring the only goal. Curt Gogol (3rd) pounced on a twirling puck in the left circle and fired the puck top shelf at 10:31 to give Worcester a 3-1 lead. Nick Petrecki (1st FM) fought Bretton Stamler (1st FM) at 5:37 after Stamler was whistled for kneeing Dan DaSilva at center ice. Worcester led 3-1 after 40 minutes and held a 27-22 shot advantage. NHL veteran Darrol Powe (4th) scored early in the third period at 2:15 to cut the Sharks lead to 3-2. Harri Sateri made some huge saves the rest of the way as the Sharks held on for the 3-2 win at Hartford to snap a three game skid. The Sharks overall record improves to 14-14-2-1, 31pts and 8-7-2-0, 18pts on the road this season.
2015 at Providence 3-1 win
(WORSHARKS) The Worcester Sharks (14-14-3-2, 33pts) continued their strong play against their rival Providence Bruins (17-14-3-1, 38pts) with a 3-1 road victory in front of 7,675 fans at the Dunkin Donuts Center on Sunday afternoon. The Sharks broke out to a 3-0 lead as Riley Brace, Jeremy Langlois, and Chris Tierney scored for the Sharks while Troy Grosenick made 34 saves for his 10th win of the season. Worcester now has points in five of their last six games (2-1-1-2) and improved to 5-0-0-0 vs. the Bruins this season. Riley Brace (1st) gave Worcester a 1-0 lead at 15:14 of the first period after Matt Taormina’s point shot hit Brace in front of the Bruins crease and the puck landed right on the stick of Riley who then fired it past Malcolm Subban. Troy Grosenick stopped all 11 shots he saw as Worcester took a 1-0 advantage into the first period intermission. Worcester picked up a pair of goals in the second period on 18 shots to take a 3-0 lead. Jeremy Langlois (9th) got behind defenseman Zach Trotman and sped in on Malcolm Subban and stuffed home a shot from in tight at 14:25 to give the Sharks a 2-0 lead. After Grosenick made a nice save on a Bruins 3-on-2, Chris Tierney (3rd) jammed home a puck from on top of the crease at 16:55 to give Worcester the three goal edge. Troy Grosenick had 18 saves through two periods of play. Providence put the charge on in the third period and broke through just 69 seconds into the period. Justin Florek (6th) scored on a nice individual effort as he came around from behind the net and sent a shot just inside the crossbar from the right circle to cut the Sharks lead to 3-1. Providence outshot Worcester 16-7 in the third period but Troy Grosenick stood tall the rest of the way as the Sharks took home a 3-1 win. The Sharks overall record improves to 14-14-3-2, 33pts, and 6-8-1-1, 14pts on the road this season.
2019 at South Carolina 4-1 loss
(RAILERS) The Worcester Railers HC (13-15-3-2, 31pts) rang in the New Year with a 4-1 loss to the host South Carolina Stingrays (19-13-1-0, 39pts) in front of 4,058 fans at the North Charleston Coliseum on Friday evening. Mike Cornell scored the first goal of the calendar year 2019 for the Railers while Mitch Gillam made 27 saves in net for Worcester as the Railers outshot South Carolina 50-31. Gordon Defeil made 49 saves in net for the Stingrays while Grant Besse and Andrew Cherniwchan each had a goal and an assist to lead South Carolina offensively in the home win. Grant Besse (13th) scored on a quick back door bang-bang play at 8:08 of the first period to give South Carolina a 1-0 lead. Mitch Gillam made several nice stops in the opening frame and made 10 total saves while Gordon Defiel made 12 first period saves for the Stingrays through 20 minutes of play. Mike Cornell (3rd) got Worcester on the board at 8:51 of the second period after Worcester’s 5-on-3 power play came to an end and Tyler Barnes from behind the net found Cornell alone at the left circle for the quick strike by the Railers’ captain. South Carolina couldn’t capitalize on a 5-on-3 of their own but did strike again with just 90 seconds left in the period as Andrew Cherniwchan (16th) chipped a quick shot from on top of the crease just inside the crossbar to give South Carolina a 2-1 lead. Shots were 30-23 through 40 minutes of play in favor of Worcester but the Railers trailed 2-1. Former Railer Vinny Muto (2nd) scored an insurance goal after a snap shot from 35 feet broke through Gillam at 16:50 to give South Carolina a 3-1 lead. Worcester outshot South Carolina 20-3 in the third period but couldn’t score and Kevin McKernan (5th) added an empty netter at 17:54 to give the Stingrays a 4-1 home win.
2020 at Reading 5-2 Win
(RAILERS) The Worcester Railers HC (12-19-2-0, 26pts) headed back to Worcester with an impressive 5-2 win over the Reading Royals(28-12-4-0, 40pts) in front of 4,120 fans at Santander Arena on Saturday evening. The Railers close out the three in three weekend at the DCU Center on Sunday vs. the Jacksonville Icemen at 3pm. Nic Pierog (3-0-3) recorded the third Railers hat trick of the season while Mike Cornell (1-2-3), and Kyle Thomas (0-2-2) all recorded multi-point performances. Shane Walsh scored the other Railers goal while Justin Murray recorded his team leading fourth fighting major. Evan Buitenhuis made 19 saves in net for his eighth win of the season. Matt Srome (2nd) and Steven Swavley (5th) each scored goals for the Royals while Kirill Ustimenko made 24 saves in the loss. Former Railer Frank DiChiara recorded a game high 17 penalty minutes. After a huge hit from Jack Stander in center ice the Railers went to work in the offensive zone and it would be Nic Pierog (11th) tipping a shot past Kirill Ustimenko off a point shot from Mike Cornell to give the Railers a 1-0 lead at 7:20 of the first period. On the power-play with just 2:25 left in the frame once again Nic Pierog (12th) redirected a point shot this time from Barry Almeida to increase the Worcester lead to 2-0. Worcester outshot Reading 12-3 through the first 20 minutes of play and led 2-0. The Railers charged down the ice on a three on one rush and Jack Stander found Mike Cornell (1st) trailing in the high slot who painted the top right corner to make it a 3-0 lead at 6:29 of the second period. On the power-play Ryan Strome (2nd) finished off a pretty passing play at 11:09 decreasing their deficit to 3-1. Steven Swavley (5th) made it a one goal game as he fired one past the shoulder of Evan Buitenhuis with 5:08 to play in the frame and that’s when things got interesting. After matching roughing minors Justin Murray (4thFM) and Trevor Gooch (2ndFM) dropped the gloves and Murray laid the hammer down on Gooch as the two were both assessed five-minute fighting majors. With under three minutes to go in the stanza Frank Dichiara (1stfM) and Connor Doherty got into an altercation in which DiChiara received two minutes for instigating, five minutes for fighting, and a ten-minute game misconduct – aggressor. Doherty received just two minutes for roughing. The Railers held a 3-2 lead after 40 minutes of play. Shane Walsh (10th) gave Worcester a 4-2 lead after slamming home a rebound off an initial shot from Ben Thomson at 12:53. Nic Pierog (13th) tacked on the empty net tally with just 44 seconds to cap off the hat trick and the Railers 5-2 win. Notes: Three Stars: 3rd star: Matt Gaudreau (0-2-2) 2nd star: Mike Cornell (1-2-3) 1st star: Nic Pierog (3-0-3) …. final shots were 29-21 in favor of Worcester…Kirill Ustimenko (11-4-4) made 24 saves on 28 shots Reading… Evan Buitenhuis (8-10-1) made 19 saves on 21 shots for Worcester while Ian Milosz served as the backup…. Worcester went 1-for-2 on the power play while Reading went 1-for-4…. Yanick Turcotte (susp), Kyle McKenzie (inj,), Jordan Samuels-Thomas (inj), JD Dudek (IR), Tanner Pond (IR), and Bo Brauer did not dress for Worcester…. David Quenneville, Linus Soderstrom, and Jakub Skarek are all currently on recall with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers…. Connor Doherty is the only Railers player to play in the first 33 games this season….. Nic Pierog (3-0-3) recorded his tenth goal against Reading in 14 career games and his third multi-goal game of this season…. Mike Cornell (1-2-3) extended his point streak to two games with a career high three points…. Ben Thomson extended his point streak to two games and recorded a game high seven shots…. Shane Walsh has (9-5-14) in his last 12 games with a goal tonight…. Alec Marsh recorded his first ECHL point with an assist…. Jack Stander recorded an assist and was plus three…. the Railers are now 8-9-1 under Coach Cunniff…. Eric Cairns, Director of Player Development for the New York Islanders, joined Coach Cunniff behind the bench…. Worcester is now 14-9-1-0 vs. the Royals all time and 6-7-0-0 at the Santander Arena.
-30-
210Sports 