1955 Exhibition vs United States All-Stars 4-1 loss
US Amateur Team’s first game preparing for World Championships in Germany held on Feb 25-March 5. Team USA would finish 4th in the event. Had they beaten Sweden in their final game instead of tying 1-1 they would have won the bronze medal.
1997 vs Baltimore 3-2 loss
(BALTIMORE) The Bandits ended their six-game winless streak in dramatic fashion last night, when Andy Silverman scored with 16.3 seconds left in regulation to defeat the Worcester IceCats, 3-2, before a near-capacity Centrum crowd of 11,591. Silverman pushed the puck past IceCats goalie Travis Scott, after teammate Mike Leclerc circled the net and then poked it to Silverman. Other Baltimore scorers were Bobby Wren and Mike Leclerc. The score was tied at 1 after the first period in which both teams put forth a brisk effort. Worcester took the lead at 12:56 on Konstantin Shafranov’s 11th goal of the season, following a drive by Daniel Guerard. Guerard’s try from the slot was kicked away by Baltimore goalie Tom Askey, but the rebound caught a skate and bounced over to Shafranov, who was parked on the right side. Shafranov one-timed it into the wide-open half of the night before Askey could slide over. Bobby Wren replied for the Bandits at 17:18 with his seventh goal, after a carom off the back boards from Jamie Spencer’s shot ended up on his stick. Wren managed to stuff the puck inside the right post, although it seemed that IceCats goalie Travis Scott had it sealed off. A tripping penalty to Worcester’s Chris Kenady just 13 seconds into the second period put the Bandits on their first power play, and Mike Leclerc cashed it in with his 15th of the season at 1:29, to give Baltimore a 2-1 lead. Leclerc was sent into the clear by Craig Reichert’s lead pass. Scott stopped him from 15 feet out, but Leclerc picked up the rebound and rammed it in. But Guerard replied for the IceCats at 10:43, picking up a rebound just outside the crease after Askey had stopped Bob Lachance. A moment of indecision by Askey led to a delay of game minor at 12: 00, but effective work by Bandit penalty killers put Worcester on the defensive. Forechecking forward David Sacco walked in on a shorthanded breakaway, with Worcester’s Jamie Rivers on his heels. Rivers was able to disrupt Sacco so that he never got off a shot, but Rivers wound up taking a hooking call. Baltimore got a second man-down breakaway on Scott less than four minutes later, when Eric Manlow swiped the puck near center ice from Terry Virtue of the Cats. Manlow tried to get Scott to commit, but Scott stayed with him long enough to knock the puck off his stick.
1998 vs Fredericton 4-2 win
Twice the Worcester IceCats came back from one goal deficits in a 4-2 victory over the Fredericton Canadiens in a Sunday afternoon contest at Worcester’s Centrum Centre. Miloslav Guren opened the scoring with a first period goal at 10:36. Ricard Persson tied it for the ‘Cats with a power play goal at 12:09. Jamal Mayers and Rory Fitzpatrick had the assists. At 19:52 David Ling scored to give the Canadiens a 2-1 lead after twenty minutes. Michal Handzus would tie the game again for the IceCats at 11:40 of the middle period, with Chris Kenady and Lubos Bartecko getting the helpers. At 16:05 Worcester took the lead on a Fitzpatrick power play goal, assisted by Bob Lachance and Terry Hollinger. In the third period Kenady made it 4-2 with a goal at 7:18, with Jason Zent and Robert Petrovicky earning points. Jose Theodore made 45 saves in the loss for the Canadiens, while Frederic Cassivi made 17 in the win.
2002 at Providence 3-2 loss
The Worcester IceCats played well enough to win, but as often happens in Providence things don’t always work out in a 3-2 ‘Cats loss. Aniket Dhadphale opened the scoring for the ‘Baby-Bs at 2:58 of the first period on a shot that hit Cody Rudkowsky’s glove and kept going to the back of the net. Justin Papineau tied it at 12:20 off a nice pass from Eric Boguniecki behind the P-Bruins net. Ivan Huml made it 2-1 Providence at 2:51 of the second. Boguniecki tied it again at 8:57, chipping the rebound of Matt Walker’s shot just under the crossbar. Carl Corazzini got the eventual game winner at 15:45 on the power play on a shot that Rudkowsky should have had. Reinhard Divis played the third period in goal for the IceCats.
2003 vs Lowell 3-2 loss
(ICECATS) Despite a late comeback attempt, the Worcester IceCats fell 3-2 to the Lowell Lock Monsters Saturday night at Worcester’s Centrum Centre. Worcester’s Marc Brown opened the scoring, tucking home his 10th goal of the season with 1:15 left in the first period. From there, Lowell rattled off three consecutive goals by Kaspars Astashenko, Jaroslav Svaboda, and Ryan Bayda to take a 3-1 lead. The ‘Cats made a late comeback attempt, but it wasn’t enough. Greg Davis broke a personal 10-game point drought by scoring on a long shot from the blue line to cut Lowell’s lead to 3-2. Blake Evans earned an assist on the goal. Phil Osaer suffered the loss for Worcester, but held his club in the game with several impressive saves. He made 20 saves, with his best coming in the second period on a Brett Lysak breakaway. Patrick DesRochers made 22 saves for Lowell.
2004 vs Albany 2-1 win OT
(ICECATS) Blake Evans scored with just under 14 seconds remaining in overtime to lift the Worcester IceCats to a 2-1 victory over the Albany River Rats last night before 7,116 fans at Worcester’s Centrum Centre. It was Worcester?s third overtime win of the season. Albany jumped in front at 9:43 of the first period as former IceCat Craig Darby converted a nice pass by Steve Kariya for his team-leading 15th goal of the campaign. The IceCats quickly answered as Scott Pellerin netted a power play goal at 14:46. For Pellerin, it was his fifth of the season and third against his former team in just two meetings. The game remained deadlocked at 1-1 through regulation and most of overtime. With 20 seconds to go in overtime, however, the IceCats won an offensive zone faceoff and quickly fed the puck to Pellerin in the left wing corner. The Worcester veteran then slid a low pass through the crease to Evans, who scored into a virtually empty net. Both goaltenders turned in strong performances, making remarkable stops at key times. Albany’s Scott Clemmensen finished with 27 saves, while Worcester’s Curtis Sanford turned aside 23 shots.
2008 vs Portland 4-3 SOL
(WORSHARKS) Despite two third-period goals by All-Star Mike Iggulden and two more in the shootout, the Worcester Sharks couldn’t get stay off the plank, falling to the Portland Pirates, 4-3, on Friday evening at the DCU Center in Worcester. The Sharks started strong with a goal 54 seconds into the game, but the Pirated reeled off three straight before Iggulden’s heroic effort that fell just short. Portland’s Geoff Platt kept the sudden death shootout alive with a shot that roofed overtop Worcester goaltender Taylor Dakers. After a Graham Mink miss, Bobby Ryan followed with a shot that beat Dakers five-hole, giving the Pirates the victory. It wouldn’t take long for the Sharks to light the lamp as Lukas Kaspar picked up his 12th goal of the season, and third in as many games, 54 seconds into the first period. He took a beautiful homerun pass from Dan Spang between the red line and the attacking blue line. He skated in all alone on Pirates goaltender Mike McKenna. Kaspar moved the puck from his backhand to forehand, back to his backhand before he flipped it past the Pirates netminder for the early 1-0 advantage. Riley Armstrong picked up the other assist on the play. Portland answered back 1:53 later at 2:47 on its first shot of the game. Eric Weinrich threw the puck toward the net from the right wing side just inside the blue line. Simon Ferguson was there to redirect the shot, which beat Dakers to the right post. Andrew Ebbett recorded the other assist. The Pirates made it 2-1 at 4:19. Off a rebound, Stephen Dixon found himself at the left wing side just in front of the crease. Dixon crossed the crease while holding the puck on his backhand. He eventually made a backhand flip into the center of the open net with Dakers down and out of the play. Tyler Bouck and Andy Schneider were credited with assists. After three goals were scored the first 4:19, it took 23:37 for another team to light the lamp. At 7:56 of the second period, Portland added insurance, upping its lead to 3-1. Ryan and Platt found themselves on a two-on-one. Ryan made the pass from the left wing to Platt on the right wing who subsequently beat Dakers with a low shot for his team-leading 23rd goal of the season. Iggulden single-handedly got Worcester back into the game with his 16th goal at 4:22 of the third period. Portland’s Adrian Veideman attempted to clear the puck out of his defensive zone, but Iggulden was there to break up the pass. He skated from the left wing to his right and took a shot inside the right faceoff circle. After McKenna made the save, Iggulden picked up the rebound and skated behind the net and stuffed the puck into the left post before McKenna could recover to cut the Pirates’ lead to 3-2. Worcester had a golden opportunity on a power play with less than ten minutes remaining in the third period. At 13:41, McKenna made a tremendous save off an Iggulden wrist shot to keep the score tied at three. Off the ensuing draw, the Sharks peppered him with shots, but couldn’t beat him until Iggulden had a rebound shot that he beat to the left post to tie the score at three at 13:51. The Sharks had another awesome opportunity toward the end of regulation as Brendan Segal and Brett Festerling were in the penalty box with minor penalties, leaving Worcester with 1:07 of a two-man advantage. The Sharks put a flurry of shots on goal, but could not pick up the game-winner, sending the game into overtime. After a scoreless overtime period, the game went to a shootout. Iggulden continued his magic, beating McKenna five-hole for the 1-0 shootout advantage. Platt answered right back with a beautiful move holding the puck until Dakers was down and finding the right side of the net for a 1-1 shootout tie. Four more shooters went by for both teams with neither team lighting the lamp. Iggulden continued his heroic effort by beating McKenna for the shootout lead. McKenna came out to try and knock the puck away, but Iggulden made a move by him and knocked it into the empty net. Platt needed his second shootout goal to keep the Pirates alive. He went to his bag of tricks with a nifty move as he skated in towards the left wing, moved the puck from his forehand to backhand, and beat Dakers top shelf. After Mink missed his second attempt, Ryan scored the game-winner to give the Pirates the thrilling victory.
2009 at Hershey 3-2 SOL
(WORSHARKS) Some teams are good. Other teams are very good. The Hershey Bears are as good as they get. Even when you think you have them beat, they find a way to win. The Sharks fell victim to the best team in the AHL, dropping a heartbreaking 3-2 shootout decision on Sunday night at the Giant Center. The Bears lead the AHL with 62 points, two more than the Manitoba Moose. With 48 points, the Sharks jump into sole possession of second place in the Atlantic Division. Worcester failed to stand in the way of Alexandre Giroux’s run at AHL history. The Hershey center tied Brett Hull’s 14-game goal-scoring streak on Saturday and broke the league record at 13:33 of the third period. The crucial goal capped off a Bears third period onslaught which erased a 2-0 deficit to make it 2-2 heading into the extra session, the Sharks’ third overtime game in as many nights. Kyle Wilson was the first and only goal scorer in the shootout. It was Ryan Vesce who stole the show early, dishing two assists to extend his point streak to 11 games. It hasn’t been a cheap 11 games either – almost half the games (five) have been multi-point efforts. The Sharks captain set up two first period power play goals within 44 seconds of the first period. Jamie McGinn scored the first, a 5-on-3 tally at the 9:14 mark while Zalewski made it 2-0 at 9:58. It was Zalewski’s first goal since Dec. 13 at Lowell. Thomas Greiss was strong in net, stopping the first 18 shots through the first two periods. The league’s top offense beat him for the first time at 3:48 of the third period when Sami Lepisto netted his fourth of the season, a power play goal to make it 2-1. Minor penalties were aplenty as Worcester was 2-for-5 on the power play and Hershey was 2-for-7. The Bears outshot the Sharks, 42-24, snapping Worcester’s 16-game streak of outshooting its opponent. One bit of bad news came on the injury front where a rehabbing Torrey Mitchell appeared to injure his leg midway through the first period. He did not return.
2013 vs Manchester 3-1 loss
(WORSHARKS) The Worcester Sharks (19-16-1-3, 42pts) fell to the division rival Manchester Monarchs (18-17-2-2, 40pts) 3-1 on Friday evening in front of 3,437 fans at the DCU Center. Jon Matsumoto (10th) scored for the Sharks just 1:30 into the game, but Linden Vey (9th), Jordan Weal (4th), and Tyler Toffoli (19th) responded with three unanswered goals for Manchester to secure a 3-1 victory. Martin Jones was outstanding in net for the Monarchs, stopping 28 of the 29 shots that he faced in the game. Harri Sateri took the loss in net for Worcester, stopping 17 of Manchester’s 20 shots. Worcester’s Jimmy Bonneau (5th FM) and Manchester’s Andy Andreoff (6th FM) dropped the gloves at the opening draw, with Bonneau scoring the win in the bout. Andreoff received a three game suspension from the AHL after the two teams last met for a hit on Worcester’s Curt Gogol. The Sharks fed off of that momentum. Just a minute and a half later, Daniil Tarasov found Jon Matsumoto (10th) in the neutral zone, who went in on a breakaway and beat Manchester’s Martin Jones, giving Worcester a 1-0 lead. At 9:02 of the first period, Bonneau (6th FM) dropped the gloves again for his second fight of the game, this time with Justin Johnson (2nd FM), but not many punched connected.
After even play for a good part of the second period, the Monarchs were able to even the score at 7:33. Linden Vey (9th) curled out of the corner and threw a wrist shot on net that beat Harri Sateri short side, evening the game 1-1. Sharks forward Yanni Gourde had a number of quality chances in the second period, but couldn’t bury one past Martin Jones. The Sharks outshot the Monarchs 12-7 in the period. The Monarchs took the lead at 7:27 of the third on a greasy goal, when Jordan Weal (4th) stuffed a rebound under the pads of Worcester goaltender Harri Sateri in heavy traffic, giving Manchester a 2-1 lead. The Monarchs added an insurance goal with 1:12 left in regulation, when Eastern Conference All-Star Tyler Toffoli (19th) received a nice feed all alone in the slot and made no mistake about it, burying it past Harri Sateri to make it 3-1. The Sharks pulled Sateri late, but they were unable to cut into the deficit. The Sharks overall record falls to 19-16-1-3 (42pts in 39gp) and 8-7-1-2 (19pts in 18gp) at home this season.
2014 at Norfolk 1-0 OTL
(WORSHARKS) The Worcester Sharks (18-15-3-1, 40pts) extended their point streak to five games (4-0-1-0) after a 1-0 overtime loss to the Norfolk Admirals (21-13-1-5, 48pts) in front of a sellout crowd of 8,701 fans at the Norfolk Scope on Saturday evening. Defenseman Jesse Blacker scored the only goal on the power play in overtime for the Admirals while Harri Sateri was super in goal making 26 saves in the loss for Worcester. Rylan Schwartz scored past netminder John Gibson after the horn sounded to end the third period – but it was one second too late as Gibson held on for a 20 save shutout over the Sharks. Neither team found the back of the net in a first period that was free flowing with few whistles and no penalties. Harri Sateri and John Gibson each made seven saves as the two teams headed into the intermission in a scoreless tie. Norfolk outshot Worcester 8-6 in the second period but neither team would light the lamp in the middle frame. The Sharks did kill off a 5-on-3 power play late in the period as the penalty kill were able to hold the Admirals at bay. Norfolk held a 15-13 shot advantage through 40 minutes of play. In the third period, Worcester was unable to covert on two power play chances and Rylan Schwartz scored after the horn sounded on a breakaway past netminder John Gibson – but it was a second too late as we headed to overtime tied at 0-0. With Konrad Abeltshauser in the box for tripping, defenseman Jesse Blacker (6th) fired home a loose rebound after Harri Sateri made a series of nice saves for the game winner at 2:21 to send the sellout crowd into a frenzy at the Norfolk Scope Arena. The Sharks overall record falls to 18-15-3-1, 40pts and 9-8-3-0, 21pts on the road this season.
2015 at Manchester 4-3 win
(WORSHARKS) The Worcester Sharks (20-14-3-2, 45pts) picked up their season high 7th straight win after a 4-3 victory over the Manchester Monarchs (26-10-3-2, 57pts) in front of 3,987 fans at the Verizon Wireless Arena on Sunday afternoon to conclude a 3-in-3 weekend. Chris Tierney scored twice while Matt Taormina and Taylor Doherty also found the back of the net for Worcester as JP Anderson made 29 saves in net for the victory. Willie Coetzee added two assists as the Sharks tied a franchise record with their 7th win in a row tying the mark from March 16-31 in 2007. Worcester charged out to a 2-0 first period lead with a pair of power play goals. Matt Taormina (5th) fired a wrister from the center point with traffic in front and the shot beat netminder Patrik Bartosak at 5:57. The Sharks grabbed a 2-0 advantage as Chris Tierney (6th) sent a backhander from on top of the crease into the net after a great feed from behind the cage by Daniil Tarasov. JP Anderson made 11 first period saves as the Sharks took a 2-0 lead into the first intermission. Playing in his 200th professional game, defenseman Taylor Doherty (2nd) gave Worcester a 3-0 lead with a blast from the right point at 1:15 of the second period. Goaltender Patrik Bartosak made several big saves while the Sharks were on a power play which led to a shorthanded tally by Andrew Crescenzi (2nd) at 11:27 after a nice rush down the right side and cut on top of the Worcester crease. Chris Tierney (7th) scored his second of the game with a wicked shot from 40 feet on a rush that went off the cross bar and into the net at 15:18. Ryan Horvat (1st) scored his first professional goal at 18:30 after he was alone in front of the net after a pass from behind the goal line. Worcester led 4-2 after 40 minutes as Manchester held a slight lead in shots 21-20. Manchester got within a single score as Kenton Miller (1st) jammed home a loose puck after the net came off behind JP Anderson. After a long review the referees determined a good goal at 5:48 of the third period. The Sharks held off Manchester the rest of the way as JP Anderson made six saves in the final frame as Worcester won their third straight over Manchester. The Sharks overall record improves to 20-14-3-2, 45pts, and 7-8-1-1, 16pts on the road this season.
2019 vs Newfoundland 3-2 OT win
(RAILERS) The Worcester Railers HC (17-16-3-2, 39pts) won their season high fourth straight game with a come from behind 3-2 overtime victory over the visiting first place Newfoundland Growlers (26-11-2-0, 54pts) in front of 3,135 fans at the DCU Center on Friday evening. Ryan Hitchcock, Ryan MacKinnon, and Matt Schmalz scored for Worcester while Mitch Gillam made 31 saves in net for the Railers for his 11th win of the season. Barry Almeida added two assists as Worcester improved to 3-0-0-0 on their four game homestand. Former Railer Eamon McAdam made 17 saves in net for Newfoundland in the loss as the Railers tied the score late in the third period before winning the game in overtime. Ryan Hitchcock (2nd) gave the Railers a 1-0 lead at 17:46 after he raced to the top of the crease and Tyler Barnes zipped the puck in front from the right corner that Hitchcock jammed through Eamon McAdam. Newfoundland tied the score just 19 seconds later after the Growlers won the puck behind the Railers net and Marcus Power (15th) was found alone in front of the Railers net at flipped a backhander past the glove of Mitch Gillam. Shots were 11-5 in favor of the Growlers through 20 minutes of play. Neither team scored in the second period as shots were 7-7 in the middle frame as the two clubs headed into the second intermission tied 1-1 through 40 minutes of play. The Growlers grabbed their first lead of the game after Mitch Gillam was bowled over and Griffen Molino (3rd) scored on a penalty shot at 14:05 of the third period with a nice move. With the extra attacker on the ice, Ryan MacKinnon (3rd) sent the tying goal into the net with a rebound strike at 19:22 to force overtime. In overtime, Mitch Gillam made two great saves before sending a long pass ahead that sent Matt Schmalz (8th) into the offensive zone and Schmalz crashed the net for the overtime game winner at 3:54 to give the Railers a 3-2 overtime victory.
2020 at Adirondack 5-0 Loss
(RAILERS) The Worcester Railers HC (15-22-2-0, 32pts) were shutout for the fifth time this season in a 5-0 loss to the host Adirondack Thunder (15-18-5-5,40pts) in front of 4,433 fans at the Cool Insuring Arena on Saturday evening. The Railers pre-All-Star break road trip continues with a 4pm start in Reading, PA vs. the Royals on Sunday. Evan Buitenhuis made 46 saves on 51 shots but the Railers offense fell quiet on the road. Matt Salhany (2-1-3) and John Edwardh (1-3-4) led the way offensively for the Thunder while former Railer Eamon McAdam made 25 saves in net for his first shutout of the season. Yanick Turcotte picked up 17 penalty minutes in the contest and now has 141 penalty minutes to lead the ECHL. Adirondack came out buzzing in the opening 20 minutes to grab a 2-0 lead outshooting Worcester 24-10. Matt Salhany (11th) ripped a shot from the right circle top shelf past the glove of Evan Buitenhuis at 1:49 to give the Thunder a 1-0 edge. Boxford, MA native Ara Nazarian (7th) put the Railers down by two after a goal mouth scramble and a loose puck that was swatted in by Nazarian at the side of the net at 11:55. Evan Buitenhuis made 22 first period saves to keep the Railers within a goal headed into the first intermission. Mike Szmatula (16th) gave the Thunder a 3-0 lead just 73 seconds into the second period as the Railers continues to play on their heels. Matt Salhany (12th) grabbed his 2ndgoal of the night after a rush into the Railers zone had a bouncing puck sent towards the Worcester crease where Salhany then ripped it top shelf from in tight to give Adirondack a 4-0 lead at 15:39. Eamon McAdam was perfect through 40 minutes as he had 19 saves while Buitenhuis had 39 stops. John Edwardh (12th) put Adirondack up 5-0 at 8:38 of the third period scoring again on the rush. Yanick Turcotte (3rdFM) dropped Alexandre Carrier (4thFM) in a one-sided fight at 14:46 after Charlie Curti grabbed Turcotte from the Thunder bench. Neither team would find the back of the net the rest of the way as the Thunder picked up their 6rh win on home ice this season. Notes: Three Stars: 3rd star: John Edwardh (1-3-4, +4) 2nd star: Eamon McAdam (25 saves, Win) 1st star: Matt Salhany (2-1-3, +4) …. final shots were 51-25 in favor of Adirondack…Eamon McAdam (9-13-1-2) made 25 saves on 25 shots Adirondack… Evan Buitenhuis (9-13-1) made 46 saves on 51 shots for Worcester while Ian Milosz served as the backup…. Worcester went 0-for-1 on the power play while Adirondack went 0-for-1…. Cody Payne, Ross Olsson, Ivan Chukarov (INJ), JD Dudek (IR), and Tanner Pond (IR) did not dress for Worcester….Jordan Samuels-Thomas returned to the lineup after missing the last seven games due to injury…Kyle McKenzie returned after missing the last 10 games due to injury…Bo Brauer skated on the blue line for Worcester and fired four shots….before the game, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers recalled Ryan MacKinnon joining Mike Cornell, David Quenneville, Linus Soderstrom, and Jakub Skarek with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers….Ben Thomson led all Worcester skaters with five shots….the 24 shots allowed in the first period were a franchise high…Yanick Turcotte picked 17 penalty minutes and now leads the ECHL with 141 penalty minutes this season….Worcester now has 19 fighting majors this season…. the Railers are now 11-12-1-0 under coach Cunniff….Worcester is now 7-11-2-0 on the road this season….The Railers are now 20-11-2-0 all-time vs. the Thunder and 12-6-1-0 at the Cool Insuring Arena.
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