Today in Worcester hockey history: February 12

1955 at Clinton 14-2 loss
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1995 vs Providence 1-0 loss
The Worcester IceCats did everything they needed to do to beat the powerhouse Baby-Bs except score in a 1-0 loss to Providence. Future IceCats forward Fred Knipscheer had the only goal of the game for Providence at 12:53 of the third period when the puck somehow ended up on his stick after a cross ice pass deflected off of several players. Scott Bailey had 33 saves for Providence. Wayne Cowley was in net for the ‘Cats.

1997 vs Saint John 4-4 tie
The Worcester IceCats were down 3-0 after one period and looked down and out, but slowly got themselves back into the game and then got two third period goals from Terry Virtue to earn a point in a 4-4 tie. The Flames for opening period goals from Burke Murphy (10:59), Ladislav Kohn (15:30), and Jesper Mattsson (16:15) to lead 3-0 after twenty. The ‘Cats comeback started with a Bob Lachance strike at 6:32 of the second on a partial breakaway, assisted by Jamal Mayers and Kevin Hilton. Konstantin Shafranov made it 3-2 with a power play goal at 13:17, assisted by Marquis Mathieu and Radim Bicanek, but Keith McCambridge would get the Flames their two goal lead back at 17:07. Virtue got the IceCats within one at 4:31 of the third, assisted by Chad Dameworth and Lachance, and tied it at 11:21 with Lachance and Mathieu helping. Mike Buzak made 25 saves for the win, but left the game briefly after the third Flames goal due to an equipment issue. Jamie McLennan entered the game and didn’t make a save, but did throw a huge body check on Paxton Schulte that sent the winger back to the Saint John bench hunched over.

2000 vs Providence 5-2 win
(TICKER) Ladislav Nagy recorded a hat trick and Cody Rudkowsky stopped 35 shots as the Worcester IceCats defeated the Providence Bruins, 5-2. Nagy scored back-to-back goals in the second and third periods to give Worcester a 3-1 lead. He added an empty-netter with 10 seconds remaining for the IceCats, who have won the last three meetings with Providence. Rudkowsky, who made 16 saves in the first period, evened his record at 4-4-4 for Worcester. Jay Henderson and Peter Ferraro tallied for the Bruins, who are 1-18-3 when trailing after two periods. Kay Whitmore surrendered four goals on 29 shots and was charged with his ninth loss.

2003 vs Hartford 4-3 loss
The Worcester IceCats had a lead with under five minutes remaining in regulation but two quick strikes by the Wolf Pack handed the IceCats a 4-3 loss. Roman Lyashenko had the only goal in the opening 20 minutes to give Hartford a 1-0 lead at 7:52. The ‘Cats would tie the game on a Panzer shorthanded strike at 11:28, assisted by Terry Virtue. Hartford retook the lead on the power play at 18:42 with a goal by John Tripp. Jame Pollock got Worcester back to even before the period ended with a power play goal at 19:33, assisted by Panzer. Pollock then gave the ‘Cats the lead at 10:51, with Sergei Varlamov and Chris Corrinet providing the helpers. But Tripp would score two quick goals to complete his hat trick, the first at 16:07 and the second just 44 seconds later, to give the Wolf Pack the 4-3 win. Curtis Sanford made 19 saves in the loss.

2010 at Bridgeport 6-1 win
(WORSHARKS) The first place Worcester Sharks got two goals by Matt Jones and Cory Quirk along with strong goaltending by Alex Stalock in a 6-1 victory over the Bridgeport Sound Tigers at the Arena in Harbor Yard on Friday night. Matt Jones had two goals and an assist and was +4, Benn Ferriero extended his goal scoring streak to three games, and Nick Petrecki fought and had two assists in the Sharks 32nd victory of the season. Nick Petrecki and Michael Haley dropped the mitts and helmets and skated to center ice for their third brawl of the season at 3:53 of the opening period. After the fight, Haley left for repairs after he was cut by a right hand by Petrecki. After Alex Stalock and Nathan Lawson each stopped breakaway chances, the Sharks got on the board late in the period. Cory Quirk (4th) scored after he won the faceoff deep in the offensive zone and fired a rebound chance past Nathan Lawson at 17:14. Matt Jones recorded the only assist on the score as Worcester led 1-0 after twenty minutes of play. The Sharks and Sound Tigers traded goals in the middle frame with Bridgeport striking first. Anton Klementyev scored his first professional goal hoping on a loose puck in the right circle after an odd man rush for Bridgeport resulted in a blocked shot in front of Stalock. Klententyev fired the puck past a fallen Stalock at 9:14 to tie the score at 1-1. The Sharks would strike on the power play at 16:32 as Benn Ferriero (17th) slammed in a pass from Steven Zalewski from the back door ten feet on top of the crease down the right wing. Worcester out shot Bridgeport 21-14 in the 2nd period and headed into the locker room with a 2-1 advantage after two periods. The Sharks exploded for four goals in the third period, two by Matt Jones. After Jones had a power play goal disallowed by the linesman on a high stick call, he found the back of the net at 3:35 with a nice deflection off a Mike Moore shot from the left point. Jones scored his 4th of the season after Nick Petrecki kept in a clearing attempt and found Jones alone in the right circle at 8:44. Corey Quirk (5th) scored his second of the game firing in a loose puck past Lawson after a great rush by Jason Demers. Brandon Mashinter (15th) finished of the scoring with a wicked shot down the left wing at 17:31 after a great feed out of the Sharks zone by Petrecki. Worcester’s record climbs to 32-16-2-2 (68 points) and remain in first place in the Atlantic Division.

2012 vs Portland 5-2 win
(WORSHARKS) Tim Kennedy, Brandon Mashinter, and Ryan Del Monte scored second period goals to lead the way to a 5-2 victory over the Portland Pirates in front of a sellout crowd at the DCU Center on PINK in the RINK on Sunday afternoon. Harri Sateri grabbed 3rd star honors making 32 saves in net for Worcester for his 11th win of the season and Tim Kennedy added three points (1-2-3) to lead the way offensively for the Sharks. Jack Combs (11th) lit the lamp for a third straight game with a power play goal at 6:29 to give the Sharks a 1-0 lead. Combs had the puck in the right corner behind the goal line and zipped the puck off goaltender Justin Pogge and into the net with assists to Tim Kennedy and Mike Connolly. Each team fired eight shots in the opening frame with the Sharks taking a 1-0 lead into the first intermission. The Sharks exploded for three goals in the second period after Patrick O’Sullivan (8th) tied the game for the Pirates at 7:29 with a nice individual rush and stuffing a shot past Harri Sateri. Tim Kennedy (5th) gave the Sharks a 2-1 advantage with a terrific shot from the right circle through Justin Pogge on the power play at 11:18. Brandon Mashinter (9th) sent a rocket from the left circle past Pogge after a great cross ice feed by James Livingston on the rush at 16:15. The goal gave the Sharks a 3-1 lead and ended the afternoon for Justin Pogge as he was yanked after allowing three goals on 13 shots. Ryan Del Monte (5th) greeted netminder Marc Cheverie rudely after a terrific cycle by James Livingston and Brandon Mashinter found Del Monte alone in the center slot and a nice score to give the Sharks a 4-1 lead at 19:36. The Sharks led by three goals after 40 minutes, despite being outshot 19-15 by Portland. Brock Trotter (14th) gave the Pirates some life with a laser one timer shot from the left circle after a cross ice feed on a 2-on-1 with Marc-Antoine Pouliot at 5:16. The Sharks and Sateri shut the door the rest of the way and Andrew Murray (1st) added an insurance marker with an empty net tally at 19:20 to secure the 5-2 Worcester victory. Worcester’s record improves to 23-15-4-5 (55pts in 47gp) and 12-9-0-2 at the DCU Center.

2022 vs Adirondack 4-2 win
(RAILERS) The Westboro guy, the captain, the 35-year-old former NHLer, Jordan Lavallee-Smotherman scored two goals including the game winner as Worcester won a crucial divisional game versus Adirondack, 4-2, Saturday night. Rookie Connor McCarthy and Nolan Vesey had the other Railers goals. Between them, Smotherman and McCarthy have 291 professional goals. Smotherman has 290 of them. “People have no idea what he brings to the team,” Railers coach David Cunniff said. He’s having a great season. He’s a great player. You talk about a guy who’s trying to get better — whatever age he is, 18, 19, is that what he is? That’s what it seems like. “The energy level he brings, the excitement. He really loves the game, and he’ll be around the game for the rest of his life I’m sure.” To top it off, Smotherman scored those two goals wearing the wrong number. Due to some miscommunication with the manufacturer, Smotherman’s Pink in the Rink jersey was 58, not 14. Some athletes are superstitious about such things — not Smotherman. “I don’t want to make Todd (MacGowan, the equipment manager) have to change my number,” Smotherman said. “You know, maybe if I was wearing 14 the puck wouldn’t have bounced over my stick in the last minute.” Adirondack goalie Brandon Kasel was out of the net and Smotherman had a chance at a hat trick. The Railers retrieved the puck from McCarthy’s first pro goal. He added an assist on Vesey’s empty-netter and also recorded his first multi-point game. “He’s taken some big steps forward for us,” Cunniff said of the tall rookie. “We’ve asked him to be assertive in several different areas and he has really improved. He’s earned his minutes. He hasn’t been given anything.” The Railers scored the game’s first two goals and last two goals. They were sandwiched around a pair of goals by Thunder forward Nicholas Rivera. McCarthy’s goal came at 3:25 of the first period. It took a while get that first one. It was McCarthy’s 34th game as a pro, 24th with the Railers. Vesey set it up with a long pass from the right corner to the left point. McCarthy’s high wrist shot through traffic beat goalie Brandon Kasel over his right shoulder. After the game, McCarthy wasn’t sure if he’d get the puck, but it was indeed rescued. And if Kasel didn’t see it go in, McCarthy did and it was a bit of a relief. “Even if I don’t score the rest of the year,” he said, “one is definitely better than none.” McCarthy had not been involved in the offense very much early in the season and had merely 10 shots on goal before this one went in. However, five of those had come in the previous four games. “For me, just shooting the puck is my offensive game,” he said, “but I think it starts in the defensive zone, doing the little things.” After McCarthy’s ice-breaker, Smotherman expanded Worcester’s lead to 2-0 less than four minutes later. He was just outside the crease near the left post when he controlled a bouncing puck and flipped it over Kasel’s blocker. Rivera scored on the power play at 11:26 of the first period then tied it 15:30 of the second. It was a nail-biter the rest of the way and Smotherman finally put Worcester back ahead at 10:48 of the period. It was a power play goal, a sizzling wrist shot from the right circle. Vesey, who was 1-1-2 and plus-2, hit the empty net at 18:49. Anthony Repaci and Jacob Hayhurst both had two assists. Colten Ellis continued the Railers’ streak of excellent goaltending with 29 shots and is 5-0-2 in his last seven appearances. MAKING TRACKS_Attendance was 6,958. That is the second-largest of the season and eighth best ever for the Railers. They are 5-3-0 in those eight games. … Smotherman is the first “58” in Worcester hockey history. … The teams play again at 1:05 p.m. Sunday, the early start due to the Super Bowl. It is a quick turnaround, but fair in that neither team played on Friday night. … Felix Bibeau returned from Bridgeport where he was 0-3-3 in 16 games. It was his first appearance for Worcester since Nov. 19. … Bobby Butler and John Furgele went on injured reserve, joining Grant Jozefek while rookie Matt Sredl came off that list. Ken Appleby is back with Bridgeport and Jimmy Poreda was Ellis’ backup. Nick Albano, Chris Ordoobadi, Ethan Price and Myles McGurty all did not dress. …The game featured another new referee in Brett Roeland. … Governor Charlie Baker did the ceremonial puck drop.

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