1996 at Springfield 5-0 loss
The Worcester IceCats traveled west down the Mass Pike to take on the Falcons but left their games at home in a 5-0 blowout loss. The ‘Cats only managed 19 shots on goal, and according to the IceCats’ game notes never tested Springfield netminder Manny Legace. Steve Martins had two goals for the Falcons. Marek Malik, Tavis Hansen, and Sami Kapanen were the other goal scorers. Eric Fichaud made 30 saves.
2000 vs Springfield 4-3 win
(TICKER) Derek Bekar scored twice and Sylvain Blouin added a goal and an assist as the Worcester IceCats edged the Springfield Falcons, 4-3. Bekar opened the scoring midway through the first period and added a shorthanded goal 2:43 into the second. Brent Johnson made 27 saves for his 18th victory for the IceCats, who have won eight of their last 10 games. Tavis Hansen and Eric Houde scored early in the third period to cut Springfield’s deficit to one with 14:30 to play. Robert Esche made 27 saves but the Falcons fell to 4-12-3 on the road.
2001 vs Springfield 5-3 loss
The Worcester IceCats allowed three first period goals and never got back on track in a 5-3 loss to the Falcons. Trent Hunter opened the scoring for the Falcons just 56 seconds into the opening period. The ‘Cats managed to tie it at 3:06 on a goal by Darren Clark, assisted by Mark Rycroft. But the Falcons would score two power play goals before the IceCats got another shot on net. The first was by Ryan Lauzon at 7:36 and the second was from Philippe Audet at 12:01. Pascal Rheaume made it 3-2 at 14:35 on the power play with Clark and Mike Peluso assisting. Springfield had the only goal of the middle period, a Wyatt Smith shorthanded marker at 16:06. Darren Rumble got the ‘Cats within one at 13:08 of the third, with Clark earning his third assist of the contest. Jason Lawmaster had the other helper on the goal. Juraj Kolnik added an empty net goal for the Falcons at 19:36 for the 5-3 final. Cody Rudkowsky made 32 saves in the loss.
2002 at Bridgeport 6-5 win
The Worcester IceCats came back from a four goal deficit to upend the Sound Tigers 6-5. Jason Krog had three first period power play goals for Bridgeport (1:57, 12:30, 18:36). Jame Pollock made it 1-1 at 3:03. Head Coach Greg Gilbert lifted Reinhard Divis after the third Krog goal in favor of Cody Rudkowsky, but Divis was back in goal to start the second period. Rudkowsky did not face a shot on goal. In the second period Ben Guite made it 4-1 at 1:40, then got he another goal at 4:00. Christian LaFlamme began the ‘Cats comeback at 11:48, assisted by Andrei Troschinsky. Jeff Panzer wrist shot at 3:23 of the third period made it 5-3, and Matt Walker blasted a 40-foot slap shot 12:08 to make it a one goal game. Justin Papineau then scored after a wild goal mouth scramble at 13:15 to tie it 5-5. Eric Nickulas got the eventual game winner unassisted at 18:26.
2005 at Albany 4-3 OTL
The Worcester IceCats needed two extra-attacker goals to get the game into overtime, but couldn’t get it done in the extra session in a 4-3 overtime loss to the River Rats. Dean McAmmond (3:55) and Ahren Nittel (14:50) scored in the second period to give Albany the two goal lead, which Jon DiSalvatore cut in half with a marker at 15:20. Blake Evans and Aris Brimanis had the assists. It looked like Zach Parise’s goal at 17:18 would put the game away for the River Rats, but DiSalvatore would score his second of the game at 18:53 to make it 3-2. Evans and Konstantin Zakharov assisted on the extra attacker score. With just one second remaining in the game Mike Glumac would score on a rebound of Jay McClement’s shot for another extra attacker goal for Worcester to send the game into overtime. Parise would score at 1:11 to give Albany the win. Curtis Sanford had 33 saves on the night.
2007 vs Binghamton 2-1 win
(WORSHARKS) The Sharks won their fifth straight home game at the DCU Center on Friday night by a score of 2-1. Sharks defensemen Patrick Traverse and Scott Ferguson provided all the offense for Team Teal in the first period to up their record to 22-16-1-6. Dimitri Patzold won his fourth consecutive win of the season with 28 saves.
2008 at Springfield 5-4 win SO
(WORSHARKS) In a game that had a little bit of everything, the Worcester Sharks defeated the Springfield Falcons, 4-3, in a shootout, on Saturday evening, in front of 6,504 at the Mass Mutual in Springfield, MA. For the second time in five days, the Sharks erased a two-goal deficit and scored an extra attacker goal to tie the score with less than one minute remaining in the third period. In the shootout, the fifth Sharks shooter, Graham Mink, won it after neither team scored. The teams combined for 66 penalty minutes, as Worcester tied its season high with 40, while the Falcons had 26. Sharks netminder Thomas Greiss improves to 4-1 in shootouts, stopping 21 of 23 shots in the shootout this season, including 5 for 5 tonight. Springfield took the 1-0 lead at 7:09 of the first period on its first power play of the game. Brennan Evans picked up an instigating minor after a fight with Troy Bodie, giving the Falcons the man advantage. After a shot from the point, the rebound bounced directly to Stephen Werner to the left of the crease. He stuffed the puck into the net before Greiss could recover for his second goal of the season. Viacheslav Trukhno and Danny Syvret picked up the assists on the play. The Sharks answered 40 seconds later as Devin Setoguchi tallied his second goal of the season. He carried the puck up ice and took a slap shot that beat Springfield goaltender Jeff Deslauriers five-hole. Tomas Plihal and Derek Joslin picked up the assists on the play. After a wild first period that included two goals within 40 seconds and 44 combined penalty minutes, shots were 8-7 in favor of Springfield. The Falcons controlled the beginning of the second period, and finally capitalized at 13:16 on the power play to make it 2-1. Syvret faked a shot from the left face-off circle, opting for a pass to Rob Schremp to the far side. Schremp easily tapped the puck into the empty net for his 11th of the season. Ryan O’Mara picked up the other helper on the play. Less than 30 seconds later at 13:44, the Falcons made it a two goal advantage. Jonas Almtorp made a pass from the left face-off circle to a wide open Tim Sestito right outside the crease. Greiss got back, but Sestino roofed the puck over his left shoulder. After Mink was called for interference, the Sharks picked up an opportune time for their third shorthanded tally of the season at 15:11. Setoguchi carried the puck up ice and put a backhand shot on goal. Deslauriers made the save, but it bounced to Lukas Kaspar, who took a high shot to cut the lead to 3-2. Patrick Traverse single-handedly tied the score at three with his sixth goal of the season, and second in as many nights at 6:53 of the third period. He carried the puck up ice from the Sharks’ defensive zone around three Falcons. Right outside the crease, he backhanded a shot that found the top right corner of the goal to complete the highlight-reel sequence. The Falcons thought they took the lead for good at 18:46 of the third period. After Josh Prudden took a holding the stick penalty, Allan Rourke took a shot from the left point. Werner was staked in front of Greiss and tipped the rising puck over Greiss’ left shoulder for the 4-3 lead. Marc Pouliot tallied the other assist on the goal. The Sharks followed by pulling Greiss and coming up with their second extra-attacker goal of the season, both in the last five days against the Falcons. Marc-Edouard Vlasic took a shot from the right point. It went wide, but bounced hard off the boards right to Tom Cavanagh, who fired the puck into the empty net before Deslauriers could recover. Tom Walsh also picked up an assist on the play. For Vlasic, it was his second helper of the game, and second AHL helper. After a scoreless overtime period, the game went to a shootout. After Nine straight misses, the game was in Mink’s hands. He skated up ice and beat Deslauriers to the right side of the net for the thrilling victory.
2009 AHL All-Star game: PlanetUSA 14, Canada 11 (DCU Center, Worcester, MA)
(THE AHL) Philadelphia Phantoms forward Jared Ross set AHL All-Star Game records with six assists and seven points and the PlanetUSA AHL All-Stars scored a record nine times in the third period to rally for a 14-11 win over the Canadian AHL All-Stars at the 2009 AHL All-Star Game tonight in Worcester. The game was witnessed by a capacity crowd of 7,245 fans at the DCU Center as well as national television audiences in Canada on TSN and in the United States on a series of regional networks. The game was also shown on the internet at AHL Live and heard on Sirius XM Radio and XM Canada. Ross, who was selected to participate in the 2008 AHL All-Star Classic but missed the event following an appendectomy, was named the Charter Communications Most Valuable Player for the game. He combined with linemates Ryan Potulny of the Springfield Falcons (two goals, four assists) and Jeff Taffe of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (three goals, two assists) to lead PlanetUSA to the highest offensive output in event history. With his father, Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman Ray Bourque, in attendance, Chris Bourque of the Hershey Bears snapped an 11-11 tie with 4:54 remaining in regulation to send PlanetUSA to the victory. Martins Karsums of the Providence Bruins chipped in with five points (2g, 3a), Michael Ryan of the Albany River Rats also scored twice and had an assist and Artem Anisimov of the Hartford Wolf Pack recorded a goal and two assists. Corey Locke of the Houston Aeros set an AHL All-Star Game record with four goals and Teddy Purcell of the Manchester Monarchs, last year’s All-Star Game MVP, picked up five assists. Both players now have eight career All-Star points, tied for the league record. [210Sports note: Derek Joslin was on the “Canadian AHL All-Stars”, and did not make the score sheet. Ryan Vesce represented the “PlanetUSA AHL All-Stars”, and had a goal and an assist. WorHockey alumni Rory Fitzpatrick (captain, P-USA), Bryan Helmer (captain, CAN), and Mike Iggulden (CAN) also participated. The “PlanetUSA AHL All-Stars” were coached by former IceCats Head Coach Don Granato]
2013 vs Providence 4-3 SOL
(WORSHARKS) The Worcester Sharks (20-17-1-4, 45pts) fell to the Providence Bruins (22-16-0-3, 47pts) 4-3 in a shootout on Saturday evening in front of a sellout crowd of 8,198 fans at the DCU Center. Craig Cunningham scored the game-winner for the Bruins in the shootout to lift Providence to a 4-3 win. Bracken Kearns (10th), Mike Banwell (1st), and Brodie Reid (10th) scored the goals in regulation for the Sharks to force overtime, erasing a three goal deficit. Banwell’s tally was his first goal as a professional. Reid’s goal came with just 6:05 remaining in regulation to tie the game and notch a point for the Sharks. Providence got goals from Craig Cunningham (8th), Jamie Tardif (20th), and Justin Florek (4th) in regulation, all three of those goals coming in the first ten minutes of the first period. Alex Stalock was solid in net for the Sharks, turning aside 34 out of the 37 shots that he faced. The Bruins converted on their first power play try, cashing in on a 2-on-1 just 18 seconds into their man advantage, when Ryan Spooner made a good feed to Craig Cunningham (8th), who buried the puck past Alex Stalock, giving Providence a 1-0 lead at 5:38. Just over two minutes later, the Bruins extended their lead. After a rebound off the pads of Stalock, Jamie Tardif (20th) emerged out of the scrum and deposited the rebound to the back of the net, making it 2-0 at 7:51. Providence kept the pressure on offensively, taking a 3-0 lead less than halfway through the first period, when Justin Florek (4th) tipped a shot from the point off the stick of defenseman Torey Krug. Worcester cut into their deficit late in the period, when Bracken Kearns (10th) batted the puck out of the air on the doorstep to get the Sharks on the board, making it 3-1 at 14:51. After killing off the Bruins power play to start the second period, the Sharks inched closer to tying the game. Just 1:43 into the period, Mike Banwell (1st) scored his first professional goal on a wrist shot from the point after a quick exchange with Matt Tennyson, cutting the deficit to 3-2. Worcester goaltender Alex Stalock turned aside all 11 Providence shots that he faced in the second period. The Sharks outshot the Bruins 17-11 in the period. Following a back and forth first half of the third period, the Sharks were able to grab the equalizer with 6:05 remaining in regulation. Brodie Reid (10th) buried a pass from Jon Matsumoto past Niklas Svedberg from the top of the crease to tie the game 3-3, erasing a three goal deficit. Despite being outshot 11-7 in the period and having to kill off a late penalty, the Sharks were able to hang on to force overtime. Less than two minutes into overtime, Ryan Spooner found himself on a breakaway, but Alex Stalock stood tall and denied him to save the game for the Sharks. Niklas Svedberg turned aside all four Worcester shots in the overtime period, forcing a shootout. The Bruins clinched a 4-3 shootout victory, as Ryan Spooner, Maxime Sauve, and Craig Cunningham scored for Providence in the shootout and only Daniil Tarasov and Denny Urban were able to score in the shootout for Worcester. The Sharks overall record falls to 20-17-1-4 (45pts in 42gp) and 8-8-1-3 (20pts in 20gp) at home this season.
2014 vs Manchester 4-3 win SO
(WORSHARKS) The Worcester Sharks (20-17-3-1, 44pts) defeated the Manchester Monarchs (28-12-2-5, 63pts) in the shootout by the score of 4-3 in front of 5,091 fans at the DCU Center on Sunday afternoon. Jimmy Bonneau, Matt Tennyson, and Yanni Gourde scored within a 6:57 span in the second period to charge Worcester out to a 3-0 advantage before the Monarchs rattled off three straight of their own to force overtime. Yanni Gourde and Dan DaSilva scored in the shootout while Harri Sateri stopped 4-of-5 shooters to secure the 4-3 victory. The first period of play ended scoreless with neither the Sharks nor the Monarchs finding the back of the net despite fast-paced play and some great offensive efforts by both teams. Shots for the period were 9-8 in favor of Worcester. Both Sateri and Niederberger remained solid between the pipes, not letting their opponent be the first up on the scoreboard. The second period of play resulted in five goals and a score of 3-2 in favor of the Sharks. Worcester opened the scoring for the game at 7:32 when Marek Viedensky wrapped around the net with the puck and took a close shot that caused a rebound in front of Jimmy Bonneau (2nd) who delivered the puck by the glove-side of Niederberger. The Sharks furthered their lead at 12:26 when Matt Tennyson (5th) rifled a shot from the right point that entered the Monarchs’ goal and made the score 2-0. About two minutes later, at 14:29, Yanni Gourde (3rd) tallied a power play goal when DaSilva found him open with cross pass in front of the Manchester net. The Sharks’ 3-0 lead was soon snapped at 15:24 by a Manchester goal from Jordan Weal (10th). With the man advantage, Weal redirected a pass from Linden Vey by the pads of Sateri and made the game 3-1. The Monarchs then decreased the goal deficit to one at 18:22 when Colin Miller (3rd) scored off a slap shot from the right point. Shots remained close in the second with the Sharks taking 10 and the Monarchs taking 11. The third period served to be the equalizer as the Monarchs tied the game at 3-3 and forced overtime action. The goal came at 8:54 when A.J. Gale (7th) scored off a shot from the point as Sateri was screened by the Monarch offense in front of the net. With 2.1 seconds remaining, Travis Oleksuk took an open wrister from the left side of the ice in a final attempt to win in regulation, but the shot was gloved down by Niederberger and the game was forced into overtime. Shots were 12-8 in favor of Manchester. The Sharks controlled the majority of the five minute overtime, outshooting the Monarchs 4-0 and putting on heavy offensive pressure. Niederberger and the Monarchs’ defense remained solid however and did not let the Sharks end the game, which was later decided in a shootout. During the shootout, the Sharks were able to convert twice, while Manchester only slid one by Sateri. Both DaSilva and Gourde found Niederberger’s open five-hole and sealed the victory for the Sharks. Zach O’Brien had the lone Manchester goal during the shootout. The Sharks’ overall record improves to 20-17-3-1, 44pts and 10-8-0-1, 21pts at home.
2015 AHL All-Star game: West 14, East 12 (Utica Memorial Auditorium, Utica, NY)
Matt Taormina had two assists, was (-2), and had a shot on goal for the East.
2018 vs Quad City 5-2 win
(RAILERS) The Worcester Railers HC (16-19-3-2, 37pts) had points from nine different skaters in a 5-2 win over the visiting Quad City Mallards (11-24-3-1, 26pts) in front of 3,079 fans at the DCU Center on Friday evening. Matty Gaudreau scored twice on the power play, Brian Bowen scored in his third straight game, Woody Hudson grabbed his team leading 15th goal and Barry Almeida had three points (1-2-3) while Eamon McAdam made 23 saves in net for his 9th win of the season as the Railers improved to 1-3-0-0 on their eleven game homestand. Worcester scored twice on the power play and Yanick Turcotte picked up his ECHL leading 14th fighting major in an impressive home win at the DCU Center. The Railers would score a power play goal in their 4th straight game as Matty Gaudreau (6th) deflected a Nick Saracino shot past Mallards goaltender Ivan Kulbakov at 16:39 for the only score of the opening period. Worcester outshot Quad City 11-6 through 20 minutes of play and took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission. The Railers would tack on two more in the second period to grab a 3-0 lead. Matty Gaudreau (7th) struck again on the power play with a rush down the left-wing side and slid the puck through the pads of the Quad City netminder at 3:14. Frankie DiChiara stole the puck away from Ivan Kulbakov behind his own net and quickly sent the puck in front to Brian Bowen (3rd) who slammed the puck into the vacated net at 13:17. Eamon McAdam had 20 saves through 40 minutes as the Railers took a three-goal lead into the second intermission. Quad City would find the back of the net at 1:32 of the third period as Triston Grant (4th) fired home a rebound to cut the Railers lead to 4-1. But Barry Almeida (12th) would record his third point of the night with a breakaway tally at 5:36 to put Worcester back up by three goals. Woody Hudson (15th) would send a backhander into the net at 10:35 to give the Railers a 5-1 lead. Keegan Kolesar (6th) ended the scoring at 15:38 as the Railers won on home ice with a 5-2 final score.
2019 vs Adirondack 5-1 win
(RAILERS) The Worcester Railers HC (19-17-3-2, 43pts) scored four first period goals tosweep the home-and-home series over the visiting Adirondack Thunder (22-15-3-2, 49pts) after a 5-1 win in front of 5,101 fans at the DCU Center on Saturday evening. Yanick Turcotte, Woody Hudson, Ryan Hitchcock (2-1-3), and Barry Almeida (1-1-2) all scored for Worcester while Mitch Gillam made 27 saves in net for the Railers in his 12th win of the season. Dylan Willick added two assists and Yanick Turcotte was an assist away from the Gordie Howe hattrick as the Railers improved to 12-7-3-1 on home ice. Ryan Hitchcock was +3 as he also added an assist for a three-point night as nine different players picked up points as the Railers won for the 6th time in their last seven games. The Railers scored four goals in the first nine minutes of the first period to grab a commanding 4-0 advantage. Kevin Hitchcock (4th) scored on the first shot of the game on a breakaway score on goaltender Evan Cormier just 44 seconds into the game before Yanick Turcotte (1st) snapped a quick shot from the right wall from 45 feet at 4:31 to give the Railers a 2-0 edge. Turcotte (6th FM) dropped the mitts on the ensuing faceoff against Alexandre Carrier (3rd FM) in a long fight at center ice as the action continued. Barry Almeida (12th) struck again for Worcester at 5:07 before Woody Hudson (5th) jammed home a center feed by Dylan Willick at 8:54 which would end the net for netminder Evan Cormier. There would be no scoring the rest of the period as Worcester held an 11-8 shot advantage through 20 minutes of play. Adirondack turned the pressure on in the second period and got on the board on the power play as John Edwardh (14th) snapped a quick shot through a screen from the left circle past Mitch Gillam at 8:59 to cut the Railers lead to 4-1. Each team had nine shots in the middle frame as Worcester took a 4-1 lead into the second intermission. Ryan Hitchcock (5th) scored his second of the night to put the game away with a swing-a-rama-shot from behind the goal line at 11:25 of the third period to put Worcester ahead 5-1. Mitch Gillam made 10 more saves to keep the Thunder at bay as the Railers grabbed the impressive 5-1 home win.
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2020 vs Adirondack 6-0 Loss
(RAILERS) The Worcester Railers HC (17-25-2-0, 36pts) closed out the three in three weekend suffering a 6-0 loss to the Adirondack Thunder (18-18-5-5, 46pts)in front of 4,005 fans at the DCU Center on Sunday afternoon.The Railers host the Reading Royals for a pair of games next weekend at the DCU Center starting Friday January 31 at 7:05pm. Nikita Popugaev (2-0-2) and Matt Salhany (2-0-2) each scored a pair of goals for Adirondack while James Henry (0-3-3) and Mike Szmatula (0-3-3) all recorded three assists. Sean Romeo registered a 21 save shutout in his Adirondack Thunder debut as the Railers were shutout for the sixth time this season. The first period did not go the Railers way as John Edwardh (13th) was able to capitalize after a feed from the corner and in the high slot Edwardh gave the Thunder a 1-0 lead just 88 seconds into the game. At 12:45 of the frame Casey Pierro-Zabotel (20th) collected his team leading score zipping one by Ian Milosz from the right circle. Adirondack took a 2-0 lead into the locker room through 20 minutes of play and outshot Worcester 17-9. Adirondack opened the game up in the second with four goals as it was Nikita Popugaev (7th) at 2:55 and then Matt Salhany (15th) on the power-play to hand Adirondack a 4-0 advantage. Evan Buitenhuis came in relief for Ian Milosz after the fourth goal and Matt Salhany (16th) notched his second score of the afternoon firing one over the glove of Buitenhuis to increase the lead to 5-0. After review it was determined that Nikita Popugaev (8th) increase the Thunder to 6-0 at 17:40. Adirondack led 6-0 through 40 minutes of play holding the advantage in shots 32-16. Neither team would score in the third period as shots were even at five apiece as the Railers suffered a 6-0 loss to Adirondack. Notes: Three Stars: 3rd star: Sean Romeo (21 saves, Win) 2nd star: James Henry (0-3-3) 1st star: Matt Salhany (2-0-2) …. final shots were 37-27 in favor of Adirondack….Sean Romeo (7-2-0) made 21 saves on 21 shots for Adirondack…. Ian Milosz (3-4-0) made 19 saves on 23 shots for Worcester while Evan Buitenhuis made 12 saves on 14 shots in relief…. Worcester went 0-for-1 on the power play while Adirondack went 1-for-4…. Dante Salituro, Jordan Samuels-Thomas (INJ), JD Dudek (IR), Kyle Thomas (INJ), Yanick Turcotte (INJ) and Tanner Pond (IR) did not dress for Worcester…. Mike Cornell, David Quenneville, Linus Soderstrom, and Jakub Skarek are all with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers…. Worcester was outscored on the weekend 15-3…. The Railers are 8-14-2-0 on home ice this season…. Aranud Durandeau, Justin Murray, and Nic Pierog led all Worcester skaters with three shots a piece….the Railers are now 13-15-1-0 under GM/coach Cunniff…. The Railers are now 20-12-2-0 all-time vs. the Thunder and 8-6-1-0 at the DCU Center….
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