1996 at Cape Breton 5-1 loss
The Worcester IceCats allowed the first five goals of the game, and that was pretty much the story in a 5-1 loss to the Oilers. Cape Breton got a first period goal by George Breen (7:30) and second period scores by Ralph Intranuovo (3:39) and Blake Knox (10:32) to lead 3-0 after two periods. Rem Murray made it 4-0 at 4:38 of the third, and Greg De Vries made it 5-0 at 6:24. The ‘Cats avoided the shutout on a Derek Armstrong goal at 16:55, assisted by Jarrett Deuling and Jamie Rivers. Mike Buzak had 23 saves in the loss.
2001 at Portland 4-2 win
(TICKER) Mike Peluso had a goal and two assists as the Worcester IceCats defeated the Portland Pirates, 4-2. Peluso opened the scoring 3:53 into the contest and assisted on tallies by Peter Smrek and Justin Papineau. Matt Walker also scored as Worcester won its third straight. Dwayne Roloson stopped 28 shots to pick up the win and improve his league-best record to 19-6-2. Matt Herr and Jeff Nelson tallied for Portland, which lost its fourth straight. Corey Hirsch turned aside 31 shots and suffered the loss to fall to 11-7-1.
2003 AHL All-star game: Canada 10, PlanetUSA 7 (Cumberland County Civic Center, Portland, ME)
Justin Papineau had a goal, was (-1), and had seven shots for Canada. Sergei Varlamov had an assist, was (-2), and had a shot on goal for PlanetUSA. PlanetUSA had 17 skaters to Canada’s 20.
2007 at Albany 4-3 win
The Worcester Sharks found themselves down three goals just over 24 minutes into their Saturday night contest in Albany but came roaring back to score the next four to win 4-3 over the River Rats. Albany’s goals were by Dan DaSilva (10:40, 1st), Matt Murley (13:04, 1st), and Dave Gove (4:19, 2nd). Mike Iggulden got Worcester on the board at 6:29 after taking a behind the net feed from Mathieu Darche. Graham Mink had the secondary assist. Josh Prudden made it 3-2 at 15:52 with a shorthanded goal off a two on one break with Lukas Kaspar. Garrett Stafford’s blocked shot in the WorSharks end also earned him an assist on the play. Mink tied it 3-3 at 18:58 when his attempted centering feed hit an Albany defender and went in, with Iggulden and Darche assisting. Patrick Traverse got the game winner at 11:00 of the third when he took a feed from Brennan Evans and blasted a 45-foot slap shot past River Rats netminder Justin Peters. Thomas Greiss made 38 saves in the win. [210Sports note: In a scoring oddity, Mathieu Darche received an assist on the tying goal but not a “plus” as he had left the ice before the goal was scored.]
2008 at Providence 6-3 loss
(WORSHARKS) Despite owning leads on three occasions, the Worcester Sharks fell victim of a furious Providence comeback, falling to the Bruins, 6-3, on Sunday at the Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence, RI. The Sharks held the 2-1 lead after two periods, but the Bruins scored four goals on their first four shots in the third period to down the Sharks. Wacey Rabbit finished with a hat trick, with all coming in the third period. For the third consecutive day, the Sharks picked up the first goal of the game, this time taking a 1-0 lead at 8:03 of the first period. Using his speed on a breakout up ice, T.J. Fox created a two-on-one with Josh Prudden. Fox made a flip pass from the right faceoff circle to Prudden, who took a wrist shot in stride and beat Providence goaltender Jordan Sigalet to the top left corner of the net for his fourth goal of the season. Patrick Traverse picked up the other assist on the play. Just as Lukas Kaspar’s minor penalty for interference expired, Providence tied the score at one. Nate Thompson put a shot on goal from the left faceoff circle. Worcester goaltender Taylor Dakers made the initial save, but the rebound bounced right to Jeff Hoggan, who found the open net at 11:16. Sean Curry also assisted on the goal. The Sharks answered back at 14:26 when Prudden picked up his fifth of the season and second in the period. Brad Staubitz had a strong fore check down low and passed to Derek Joslin just inside the blue line. Joslin put a wrist shot towards the net. Prudden was camped in front of Sigalet and his redirection trickled past the goal line to give the Sharks their second lead of the period, 2-1. After one, Providence held the 10-8 shot advantage. In the second, neither team was able to find the back of the net, but the Bruins controlled the majority of the period with many glittering opportunities, including two in four seconds. At 6:52 of the second period, defenseman Jonathan Sigalet put a hard slap shot towards the net, but it hit the crossbar and went high into the protective netting. Off the ensuing draw, Pascal Pelletier was sprung all alone on Dakers, but Dakers came out strong to cut off the angle and make the crucial stop. The Bruins had 11 second period shots to the Sharks’ seven, and led 21-15 after two. Providence tied the score for the second time at 5:13 of the second period. The Bruins’ Chris Collins made a heavy hit between the benches, causing a turnover. The play sprung Alexandre Imbeault on a rush down the right wing. Imbeault made a feed to Rabbit cross ice, who subsequently found the left side of the net to make it 2-2. The Sharks quickly took the lead 43 seconds later at 5:56 on one of the strangest goals ever seen. As the Bruins attempted to clear the puck, it squirted in front of the net and deflected off the skate of Riley Armstong and behind Sigalet. There was question as whether or not the puck fully crossed the goal line, but referee Brian Pochmara decisively called it a goal, despite being camped at the blue line 45 feet away and the goal light never going on. At 7:04, Providence captain Nate Thompson took a holding penalty and got an additional two for unsportsmanlike conduct. The Sharks had some glittering opportunities on the double minor, but couldn’t find the back of the net. Imbeault, serving the penalty since Thompson got an additional ten minute misconduct, skated out of the box, creating an odd-man rush. He held the puck and shot it himself, picking the top right corner of the net to tie the score at three at 11:14. Only 41 seconds later, Providence took its first lead of the game. Off a draw, Sean Curry made a backhand pass from the left faceoff circle to Matt Hendricks right in front of Dakers. Hendricks found the back of the net for the 4-3 advantage. The Bruins poured it on, scoring their fourth goal of the period on their fourth shot at 15:23. Jeff Hoggan made a pass from the right boards to Rabbit to Dakers’ left. Rabbit easily put it in for his second of the period, giving Providence a 5-3 lead. Rabbit also added an empty net goal at 19:38 for the 6-3 final.
2010 at Springfield 8-4 win
(WORSHARKS) Dennis McCauley doubled his season goal total with his first professional hat trick as the Sharks won a wild affair against the Springfield Falcons 8-4 at the Mass Mutual Center on Wednesday night. Danny Groulx extended his point streak to seven games with two goals and two assists, Benn Ferriero had a goal and two assists and Kevin Henderson and Steven Zalewski each had two assists in the Sharks 30th victory of the season. Both teams got off to a sloppy start in the opening period with several whistles for icing and off-sides. At 2:33, Frazer McLaren and Kip Brennan threw down for the third time this season as the two tangled at center ice and each received major penalties for fighting. After the Sharks came up empty on two power play chances, Dennis McCauley (4th), stationed in front of the Springfield net, deflected a Louis Liotti shot from the point past J.P. Levasseur at 16:18. Just 31 second later on a delayed penalty call, Nick Petrecki’s (2nd) tough angle shot from in tight down the left side found the back of the net to give Worcester a 2-0 lead. Worcester outshot the Falcons 16-8 after twenty minutes of play. A wild second period that featured seven goals and 56 penalty minutes began with a brawl at 3:21 with Frazer McLaren and Kip Brennan dropping the mitts for a second time in a lengthy battle deep in the Falcons zone. After the dust settled, the Sharks were awarded a 5-on-3 power play and Benn Ferriero (14th) scored from the left slot to give the Sharks a 3-0 lead. At 8:38, the Sharks struck again on a 5-on-3 power play as Danny Groulx’s (6th) one timer shot found the twine from 35 feet to give Worcester a 4-0 advantage. The Falcons came storming back with consecutive goals by Jason Pitton (1st) at 14:50 and Liam Reddox (12th) at 16:34 to cut the Sharks lead to 4-2. T.J. Trevelyan (9th) scored glove side from on top of the crease after a nice feed by Cory Quirk from behind the net at 18:17 to give the Sharks a 5-2 advantage. But the Falcons scored two power play goals (Chad Wiseman 14th, and Chris Minard 11th) in the final 67 seconds to close the score to 5-4 Sharks after forty minutes of play. The Falcons scored four goals on eight shots past Alex Stalock in the middle frame as the Sharks led the Falcons in shots 29-16 after two periods. The Sharks put the game away in the third period with three unanswered goals, including two more by Dennis McCauley for the Sharks first hat trick of the season. Danny Groulx (7th) scored his second power play goal of the game at 6:00 with a screen in front provided by Steven Zalewski to give Worcester a 6-4 lead. Dennis McCauley (5th) scored his 2nd of the game with a wrist shot from 45 feet on the rush down the right side to put the Sharks up by three goals. McCauley (6th) capped his evening on a 3-on-2 rush down the left side. Dennis fired the puck towards the net from the left wing and the puck hit a Falcons defenseman and past Levasseur at 16:34 for his first professional hat trick. The Sharks record improves to 30-14-2-2 and they now sit in 2nd place in the Atlantic Division with 64 points. Worcester now has a seven game point streak (6-0-1-0).
2012 at St. John’s 3-2 loss
(WORSHARKS) Mike Connolly and Jack Combs scored 2nd period goals for the Sharks but Worcester dropped a close 3-2 decision to the St. John’s IceCaps at the Mile One Centre on Friday night. The two teams will battle again Saturday night at 6pm (EST) at the Mile One Centre. Harri Sateri was sharp in goal for the Sharks making 28 saves and Jack Combs extended his point streak to five games (2-5-7) with his 8th goal of the season in the loss. It was the first time in six games that the home team won in the season series between the Sharks and the IceCaps. Harri Sateri was superb in the first ten minutes of the first period keeping the Sharks in the game early with several great stops. IceCaps defenseman Arturs Kulda (4th) sent a blast from the right point through traffic and past Sateri at 17:44 to give St. John’s a 1-0 advantage for the only score in the opening frame. Marek Viedensky had the best chance for Worcester on a shorthanded rush that was stopped by Edward Pasquale. Worcester trailed 1-0 after 20 minutes of play. In the second period, Mike Connolly (9th) tied the score for the Sharks with a quick snap shot from the left slot at 3:50 after a great steal by Tim Kennedy from behind the IceCaps net. St. John’s grabbed a 3-1 lead after Paul Postma (8th) scored on a power play blast from 45 feet at 5:25 followed by a rebound score by Kevin Clark (8th) at 15:35. The Sharks scored a bizarre goal with 69 seconds left in the period as Jack Combs (8th) extended his point streak to five games with a wide open net strike with Pasquale out of his cage. The IceCaps were arguing for a penalty against James Livingston after Livingston took down John Albert with a solid check deep in the St. John’s zone which set up Combs to cut the IceCaps lead to 3-2. Shots were 25-18 in favor of St. John’s after 40 minutes of play. Neither team would score in the third period as the Sharks outshot the IceCaps 8-6 in the final frame. The Sharks would throw a late charge on Edward Pasquale but couldn’t find the equalizer in the 3-2 loss. Worcester’s record falls to to 20-14-4-5 (49pts in 43gp) and 9-6-4-3 on the road.
2018 vs Brampton 5-2 win
(RAILERS) The Worcester Railers HC (19-19-4-2, 44pts) moved back to .500 after an exciting 5-2 win over the visiting Brampton Beast (17-20-5-3, 42pts) in front of 4,987 fans at the DCU Center on Saturday evening. Nick Saracino scored twice, Jeff Kubiak recorded a Gordie Howe hat trick, TJ Syner recorded three assists, and Eamon McAdam made 23 saves in net as the Railers extended their point streak to a season high five straight games (4-0-1). Tommy Kelley and Matty Gaudreau also scored for the Railers in a feisty affair that saw three fights in the second period and a lot of crushing checks. Brampton struck first as Stefan Fournier (10th) broke down the leftwing side and shuffled the puck past Eamon McAdam with a strong move through the top of the slot at 5:05 of the first period. The Railers would tie the score at 9:22 as Nick Saracino (5th) fired home a loose puck on the power play assisted by Barry Almeida and Brock Beukeboom. Natick, MA native Tommy Kelley (2nd) would score his first goal as a Railer as he dug the puck out of the corner and ripped a shot just inside the crossbar and past goaltender Andrew D’Agostini at 15:30 to give the Railers a 2-1 advantage. Worcester led 2-1 after 20 minutes and had an 8-7 lead in shots. A wild second period saw three fights and three goals in a wildly entertaining second period of play. Matty Gaudreau (9th) scored from behind the goal line at 2:03 to give the Railers a 3-1 lead early in the second period. Nick Saracino (6th) struck again with an awesome shot in stride from the left side after a terrific pass by Barry Almeida at 5:49 as the Railers led 4-1. Then the fireworks erupted as Yanick Turcotte (16th FM) dropped the mitts and the helmet vs. Stefan Fournier at 11:53. Connor Doherty (2nd FM) threw a thunderous check and then had to fight Vincent Dunn at 15:29. Brandon MacLean (11th) got the Beast back within two goals after he slid a backhander on the rush past McAdam at 17:32. Jeff Kubiak (2nd FM) and Mike Folkes threw knuckles at 19:08 to end a feisty middle frame. Eamon McAdam made several great saves in the period as Worcester took a 4-2 lead into the second intermission. Jeff Kubiak (7th) scored the only goal in the third period to complete the Gordie Howe hattrick at 13:27 as he grabbed a loose puck and fired through a screen to give Worcester a 5-2 lead. Eamon McAdam made eight more saves in the third period for his 11th win of the season as the Railers improved back to .500.
2023 vs South Carolina 3-2 loss
(RAILERS) The Railers suffered a disheartening 3-2 loss to the South Carolina Stingrays Friday night at the DCU Center. The defeat snapped Worcester’s three-game winning streak and continued its frustrations playing South Carolina. The Stingrays, who are here again Saturday night and Sunday afternoon, are 5-1-1 versus the Railers all time including 4-1-0 in five games here. The victory snapped South Carolina’s four-game losing streak. The unfortunate lasting memory of the game was Jonny Evans’ goal for the Stingrays with something like 2-tenths of a second to go in the second period. It gave the visitors a 3-1 lead and was just the insurance they needed. The play was a strange one in that the Railers had an odd-man rush in the closing seconds with a chance to make it 2-2. The puck made its way out of the Stingrays zone and towards Evans, who worked his way down the ice alone. With the clock ticking rapidly, Evans approached Henrik Tikkanen down the left side. He made a move to intercept the Stingrays forward, then retreated towards the net. Evans flipped it home — clearly before the green light went on — but so late that the red light did not have a chance. “Yes,” Tikkanen answered when asked if he thought about challenging Evans on the play, “but then I saw that the puck was slowing down and I didn’t know that he had that much time, and he was able to put it around me.” Did Tikkanen think things would have turned out differently had he tried to smother the play right away? “It’s tough to say,” he answered. “He might have scored if I’d gone out there but there’s no way to know.” That goal hurt, but did not cost Worcester the game. Tikkanen played well, making 33 saves. So did South Carolina’s Clay Stevenson, who had 24 saves and stopped a lot of great Railers chances including four clean breakaways, two by Bobby Butler. This was “one of those” nights for Butler. He made good plays on both breakaways. Stevenson stopped one in the first period with a late skate save at the left post, then got a glove on Butler’s hard wrist shot in the second. Then late in the third period Butler was given an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and 10-minute misconduct for disputing a decision by referee Nolan Bloyer. At 13:36, with the score 3-1, Newkirk got into a tussle with Carter Turnbull to the left of the Stingrays net. Newkirk tends to be a little combative and this was nothing new, nor was there any harm done. As Newkirk headed back up ice, South Carolina’s Anthony Del Gaizo nailed him with a hard right hand to the left ear. Bloyer gave the Stingray a double minor for roughing. Butler, speaking for his team and coaching staff, thought the sanction was not enough. He wound up losing the debate and getting his own jail sentence. Rather than having a man advantage for four minutes, the Railers had one for two and lost Butler for the game’s key closing minutes. “That should have been five minutes,” coach Jordan Smotherman said. “That was very Todd Bertuzzi-esque. A guy takes his gloves off and throws a bare-knuckle punch at somebody who’s not looking. I think Bobby was right with his argument. That’s not the right call. “I don’t think it’s the right call to give (Butler) a 2 and a 10. That’s the referee’s discretion in that situation, and I don’t think that either of the right calls were made.” Newkirk got a bit of revenge with a comeback goal at 15:45 but South Carolina protected its lead very well, a lead that was a sniffle away from not being not quite big enough. Collin Adam’s goal early in the second period gave Worcester a 1-0 lead but South Carolina scored the next three. Evans’ goal was preceded by goals from Kevin O’Neil and Turnbull, Turnbull’s at 18:47. MAKING TRACKS – Late in the second period fans were warned to stop throwing things on the ice — pieces of candy, it was suggested — or the Railers would be penalized and the offenders ejected. Ejections, yes, but what if the miscreants were Stingrays fans? … Ryan MacKinnon’s appearance in Reading last weekend was a strictly on a cameo basis, which is too bad for the Railers. Worcester is 9-0-0 when he plays. MacKinnon did tie a city pro record in that game by wearing Number 44, his fourth different one as a Railer. Derek Joslin had four different numbers for the Sharks, Brent Johnson four numbers as an IceCat. … Yes, Evans’ goal was a record for latest ever scored in a period at the DCU Center.
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