1996 at Cornwall 6-4 loss
The Worcester IceCats, according to the team game notes, “ran out of gas” in the third period in allowing four goals over the final 20 minutes to drop a 6-4 contest to the Cornwall Aces. Sergei Kharin got the ‘Cats on the board with a power play tally at 6:27 of the opening period, assisted by Fred Knipscheer and Paul Broten. In the second period Eric Veilleux had the next two goals, at :26 unassisted and 4:00 on the power play, to give the Aces a 2-1 lead. Jason Widmer then tied the game with a shorthanded marker at 11:45, assisted by Knipscheer. Ken Sutton got the IceCats the lead back at 13:40 on the power play, with Broten and Jamie Rivers getting the helpers. Former Worcester forward Denis Chalifoux tied it for Cornwall at 1:14 of the third, but at 2:40 Lindsay Vallis made it 4-3 with Knipscheer and Terry Virtue assisting. But the next three would belong to the Aces, with Chalifoux scoring again at 2:56, Doug Friedman lighting the lamp at 7:12, and Paul Brousseau adding an empty net goal at 19:15 for the 6-4 final. Mike Buzak made 36 saves in the loss.
1997 at Providence 3-2 win
The Worcester IceCats got 64 saves from Travis Scott in defeating the Providence Bruins 3-2. Marquis Mathieu got the ‘Cats on the board at 8:33 of the opening period with a power play goal assisted by Jamie Rivers and Nick Naumenko. Mike Maneluk made it 2-0 at 3:29 of the second period, with Bob Lachance and Rivers earning the helpers. In the third period the Baby-Bs came roaring back, with Ken McRae scoring 20 seconds into the frame and Todd Elik tying it at 7:58 on the power play. Jason Zent would get the game winner for the IceCats at 10:11 with an unassisted power play goal. [210Sports note: Scott’s 64 saves is still a Worcester pro hockey single game record for goaltenders]
1998 vs Springfield 5-3 win
The Worcester IceCats fell behind three times to the Springfield Falcons, but had the final two goals of the game to win 5-3. Dan Focht got the Falcons on the board at 5:39 of the first period with an unassisted goal, but Jamal Mayers would tie it for the IceCats at 7:07. Jason Zent and Justin Hocking had the assists. The Falcons would retake the lead a second time on a Scott Levins goal at 16:54. Stephane Roy made it 2-2 on the power play at 1:06 of the middle stanza with Zent and Shayne Toporowski getting points. For a third time Springfield would take a lead, with Jeff Shevalier tallying at 8:07. Bob Lachance would get the ‘Cats even again, with help from Nick Naumenko and Roy, 9:40. Zent would give Worcester the lead with Terry Virtue and Libor Zabransky providing the assists, at 10:50. The ‘Cats would have the only goal of the third period on a power play score by Robert Petrovicky, from Mayers and Zabransky, at 17:34. Frederic Cassivi made 31 saves in the victory.
2001 vs Portland 3-1 win
The Worcester IceCats surrendered the first goal of the game but bagged the next three in a 3-1 win over the Pirates. Martin Hlinka gave Portland the lead at 14:59 of the opening period, but Pascal Rheaume got the equalizer at 18:40 unassisted. In the second frame Doug Friedman scored two power play goals on the same man advantage, the first coming while the ‘Cats were up five on three at 2:57. Mark Rycroft and Darren Rumble assisted on that goal. The second came at 3:50, with Andrei Troschinsky and Dan Trebil picking up points. Dwayne Roloson had 23 saves in the win.
2003 vs Manchester 5-2 win
(ICECATS) The Worcester IceCats scored three times in the third period to break a 2-2 tie and skate to a 5-2 victory versus the Manchester Monarchs. Johnny Pohl continued his hot hand, scoring twice for Worcester, including the first and last goals of the game. His first came 28 seconds into the first period, setting a season mark for quickest goal from the start of a game. His last, and 25th this season, secured Worcester’s win with 35 seconds remaining in the game after Manchester pulled goalie Jeff Sanger for the extra attacker. The ‘Cats allowed Manchester to tie the game twice, giving up leads of 1-0 and 2-1 in the second period. Manchester’s Noah Clarke, in his first AHL game, scored to tie the game at 1-1. Jared Aulin made it 2-2 after Greg Day’s breakaway goal gave the ‘Cats a 2-1 lead at 12:16. Worcester’s Jeff Panzer scored a shorthanded goal 2:43 into the third that held up to be the game-winner. Chris Corrinet gave the IceCats a cushion three minutes later, lifting a backhander past Sanger after working the puck off the corner boards. Curtis Sanford earned the win with 14 saves after replacing starter Reinhard Divis in the second period.
2004 at Lowell 8-2 win
The Worcester IceCats scored six second period goals as they routed the Lock Monsters 8-2 in a Sunday afternoon contest at the Tsongas Arena. David Inman had the only goal of the opening 20 minites to give Lowell a 1-0 lead at 11:13. But from that point it was all ‘Cats as they would run off four straight in quick succession in the middle period. Johnny Pohl got it started at 5:32, with Mike Glumac and Jon Coleman getting assists. Ryan Ready, from Trevor Byrne and Peter Sejna, would make it 2-1 at 6:21. Pohl had Worcester’s third goal, with Scott Pellerin and Coleman earning points, at 8:08. Marc Brown then made it 4-1 at 13:58, with Greg Black and Jay McClement having the helpers. Chad Larose would get one for Lowell at 15:06 to temporarily stop the bleeding, but Glumac would re-open the wound at 17:29, with Scott Pellerin and Pohl getting assists. The IceCats piled it on in the third, with Jeff Panzer making it 7-1 at 5:58 with help from Coleman, and Aris Brimanis adding a power play tally at 9:37. Sejna picked up his third assist of the night on the goal, while Ready earned his second. Curtis Sanford had 32 saves in the victory.
2007 vs Manchester 5-3 loss
(MONARCHS) The Manchester Monarchs clinched home ice advantage for the 2007 Calder Cup Atlantic Division Semi-Finals with a 5-3 win over the Worcester Sharks in front of a crowd of 3,742 at the DCU Center on Wednesday night. Center Matt Ryan broke away from the Sharks defense and skated in solo on goaltender Thomas Greiss. At 14:19 of the first period, Ryan scored his seventh goal of the season by sliding the puck between the legs of Greiss on a breakaway. Left wing Matt Moulson and defenseman T.J. Kemp assisted on the first goal of the game. The Monarchs are 34-5-3-1 when they score the first goal of the game this season. Manchester doubled their lead at 2:28 of the middle frame when defenseman Bryan Schmidt scored his fifth goal of the season on a power play. Schmidt collected the puck at the center point from center Gabe Gauthier and sent a slap shot through traffic and into the back of the net for a 2-0 lead. The Sharks brought the game to within one with center Josh Prudden’s seventh goal of the season at 4:53 of the second stanza. Left wing Lukas Kaspar fired a shot on Monarchs goaltender Jason LaBarbera who made the right pad save. The rebound bounced free to Prudden who buried it into the back of the net while LaBarbera was down. Right wing Graham Mink earned an assist on the Sharks first tally of the night. Center Marty Murray regained Manchester’s two goal lead at 9:22 of the second period. Defenseman Oleg Tverdovsky sent a pass from the top of the left face-off circle to Murray at the right doorstep. Murray tallied his 12th goal of the season with a one-timer into the open net. Defenseman Peter Harrold assisted on the power play goal. Worcester’s leading goal scorer left wing Mathieu Darche collected his 34th goal of the season at 14:41 of the middle period. Center Tom Cavanagh carried the puck behind the Monarchs net and fed a backhand pass to Darche in the slot for the wrist shot and goal to bring the game to 3-2. Center Mike Iggulden earned an assist on the goal. Center Shay Stephenson registered his 11th goal of the season for a 4-2 Monarchs lead at 18:40 of the middle stanza. Schmidt fired a shot from the right point through traffic and into the pads of Greiss. The rebound bounced to the left of Greiss and Stephenson picked up the loose puck and tickled the twine of the open net. Ryan earned his second point of the night with an assist on the goal. Right wing Grant Stevenson tallied his 13th goal of the season on the power play at 7:22 of the final period. Stevenson threw the puck on net from the right wing boards that deflected of Monarchs Stephenson’s skate, between LaBarbera’s legs and over the goal line. Defenseman Patrick Traverse and Cavanagh assisted on the Sharks final goal of the game. Moulson finished off Worcester by flipping in his 24th tally of the season at 18:36 of the third stanza. Gauthier attempted to feed the puck through the slot but a Sharks defenseman blocked it. The loose puck found Moulson’s stick who then flipped it over Greiss for the final 5-3 win. LaBarbera backed the win with 35 saves on 38 shots. Greiss took the loss stopping 20-of-25. Manchester went 2-for-8 with the man advantage. Worcester was 1-for-5 on the power play.
2008 vs Portland 2-1 win OT
(WORSHARKS) With a slew of young teammates playing their first game on DCU Center ice, Graham Mink and Mike Iggulden treated the newcomers to a thrilling home victory as the Sharks came from behind to knock off the Portland Pirates 3-2 in overtime on Friday night. Cautious offensive play produced no goals and just ten combined shots over the opening 20 minutes, a stretch which included the Sharks holding Portland’s power play without a shot on net while killing off two first period penalties. Scoring remained elusive until 6:19 into the middle frame. Pirates winger Simon Ferguson closed in on Sharks backstop Thomas Greiss and fired a shot from the right faceoff dot. Greiss got behind the initial shot, but the rebound caromed right to the stick of Michal Birner, who buried his 8th goal of the year into a vacated net to give Portland a 1-0 lead. Greiss came up big a few moments later to keep Worcester close. A pinpoint feed from blueliner John de Gray gave Portland leading scorer Andrew Ebbett a clean look from just outside the crease, but Greiss denied the point-blank try and quickly smothered the rebound. Worcester nearly tied the game in the opening seconds of the third period, but a loose puck in the Portland crease was cleared away by the stick of a diving Salcido. The Sharks fired another 6 shots on net in the third period before they finally solved Jean-Sebastien Aubin. Mink cleaned up a blue line drive from Tom Walsh, notching his 23rd goal of the year and tying the game at 1-1 with 5:32 left to play. That score would hold into overtime, when Iggulden sealed the Worcester victory with a remarkable individual effort, picking up the unassisted game-winner by beating a Pirate defenseman to the outside, fooling Aubin and tucking the puck between the netminder’s leg just 1:06 into the extra frame.
2009 at Manchester 3-2 win
(WORSHARKS) Thomas Greiss stopped a penalty shot with :6 seconds remaining in the third period as the Sharks defeated the Monarchs behind Kyle McLaren’s first AHL goal in a 3-2 thriller in the Verizon Wireless Arena. Fresh back to Worcester after eight games with the San Jose Sharks, Captain Ryan Vesce would give the Sharks a 1-0 lead at 12:35 of the first period with a great shot from the right circle that beat netminder Jonathan Bernier glove side for his 23rd goal of the season. Tom Cavanagh and Mike Moore recorded assists on the play as the Sharks led 1-0 after twenty minutes outshooting the Monarchs 14-9. The Monarchs would tie the score on the power play as Thomas Hickey scored his first professional goal in his third professional game hopping on a loose puck in the right circle and blasting the puck past Greiss at 10:42. The Sharks would regain the lead as Dan DaSilva deflected a Patrick Traverse bomb from the point past Bernier at 17:22. DaSilva was set up to the right of the Monarchs’ net and had an awesome tough angle deflection to give the Sharks a 2-1 lead after forty minutes outshooting the Monarchs 28-27. Kyle McLaren would give the Sharks some much needed insurance as his blast from 60 feet from the right sound found the back of the net for his first goal in the AHL at *:35 gave the Sharks a 3-1 lead. But the Monarchs would trim the lead as rookie Viatcheslav Voynov fired a laser just inside the cross bar and in from 45 feet to get the Monarchs within one goal. Manchester would pull their goaltender late in the third period and were awarded a penalty shot with just six seconds remaining after Kyle McLaren knocked the net off its pegs. Matt Moulson was stopped by Thomas Greiss as the Sharks held off the Monarchs for their 5th straight win on the road, a franchise record and their 4th straight win overall. The win brings Worcester’s record to 40-34-1-2 with 83 points through 77 games and the Sharks currently sit in third place, one point ahead of the 4th place Pirates, and three points ahead of the fifth place Monarchs in the Atlantic Division.
2012 vs Albany 2-1 win
(WORSHARKS) John McCarthy scored his 20th goal of the season to break 1-1 tie midway through the third period as the Sharks held on for a 2-1 victory over the Albany Devils at the DCU Center on Wednesday night to break out of a six game losing streak. With the victory, Worcester moved to within seven points behind the 8th and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with six games remaining. Tony Lucia also scored for Worcester and Harri Sateri was sharp with 31 saves in net for his 13th win of the season as the Sharks closed out the four game home stand 1-3-0-0. Neither team found the back of the net in the first period with the Sharks killing off the only three power plays of the period. Jeff Frazee made nine saves for Albany and Harri Sateri made seven saves through a relatively quiet 20 minutes of play. Both teams found the back of the net in a fast moving and high tempo middle period with the Sharks leading the way with 21 shots on goal. Tony Lucia (8th) banged home a loose rebound past Jeff Frazee after an initial shot by James Livingston at 5:55 to put Worcester ahead 1-0. Stephen Gionta (6th) tied the game at 1-1 with a quick wrap-around try past Harri Sateri at 18:18 as the two teams headed into the 2nd intermission tied at 1-1. Worcester outshot the Devils 30-19 through 40 minutes. John McCarthy (20th) scored the only goal of the third period, the game winning goal, after he roofed a rebound try past the pad of Jeff Frazee at 12:21. The Devils would fire 13 shots on goal in the third frame but Harri Sateri stood tall including on a late 6-on-4 advantage to close the game out for the Sharks. Worcester’s record improves to 29-30-4-7, with 69pts and currently in 14th place in the Eastern Conference with 6 games remaining.
2013 at Bridgeport 6-3 loss
(WORSHARKS) The Worcester Sharks (29-30-2-6, 66pts) were swept in a home-and-home series by the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (29-28-6-5, 69pts) by the count of 6-3 on Thursday morning in front of 7,550 fans at the Webster Bank Arena during a school day game. With the loss, the Sharks remain seven points behind the 8th place Hershey Bears in the Eastern Conference playoff picture with nine games remaining. The Sharks led 2-0 before the clock hit noon, but the Sound Tigers scored five straight goals as Worcester dropped their season high 6th straight game (0-5-1-0). Matt Nieto scored his first professional goal in the third period, Bracken Kearns scored his team leading 20th, and Daniil Tarasov grabbed his 11th in the loss. Harri Sateri made 25 saves in net while Jon Matsumoto and Derek Joslin added two assists. The Sharks broke out to a 2-0 lead in the first period and for the 2nd straight game Daniil Tarasov (11th) beat goaltender Rick DiPietro early in the opening frame assisted by Taylor Doherty at 5:30. Worcester went ahead 2-0 as Bracken Kearns (20th) deflected a Jon Matsumoto shot from on top of the right circle on the power play past the Sound Tigers netminder. The power play goal for Worcester broke a 1-for-32 slump. Harri Sateri made 11 saves as the Sharks led 2-0 after 20 minutes. Bridgeport scored four goals in an eight minute span early in the second period to take a 4-2 lead. Scott Campbell (5th) at :44 followed by Brock Nelson (20th) on the power play at 4:32 to tie the score at 2-2. Matt Donovan (12th) sent a blast from on top of the left circle past Sateri on the power play to give Bridgeport a 3-2 advantage. Captain Matt Watkins (11th) gave Bridgeport a 4-2 lead with a nice deflection in front at 9:43 to end the scoring in the middle frame. Bracken Kearns (8th FM) and Nathan McIver (18th FM) engaged in a quick fight at 13:35 as Worcester trailed by two goals through 40 minutes. Matt Pelech (16tt FM) was ejected early in the 3rd period after he fought Nathan McIver and it led to a five minute major power play for the Sound Tigers. Brock Nelson (21st) scored the 3rd Bridgeport power play goal of the contest with a wicked one timer shot from the right circle at 6:33 to put Bridgeport ahead 5-2. Rookie Matt Nieto (1st) scored his first professional goal in his 2nd professional game firing home a power play rebound score at 10:02 to get Worcester within two strikes. But, the Sound Tigers regained their three goal lead with the final goal of the afternoon as Joey Diamond (2nd) found the back of the net for a 2nd straight game scoring on a left wing rush past Sateri at 16:29.
2014 at Providence 3-2 SOL
(WORSHARKS) The Worcester Sharks (34-30-3-2, 73pts) suffered a shootout loss to the Providence Bruins (37-23-2-7, 83pts) with a final score of 3-2 before 8,320 fans Friday evening at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in the last road game of the season. With the shootout loss and seven games left the Sharks picked up a point and are now six points away from the last playoff position in the Eastern Conference, currently held by the eighth-placed Norfolk Admirals. The Sharks took control of the game with the only goal of the first period after a left point drive by Konrad Abeltshauser (6th) before doubling up on their goals in the second with a power play mark by Eriah Hayes (10th). Providence then returned the goal deficit to one with a rebounded score by Alexander Khokhlachev (20th) to close out the second. Late in the third with an extra attacker, Craig Cunningham (25th) tallied the equalizer for Providence and forced a scoreless overtime, as the game was decided in the shootout. Carpenter and Hayes scored for the Sharks, but the Bruins edged Worcester in the end with shootout goals by Khokhlachev, Griffith and Johnson. The Sharks played well on both the offensive and defensive ends in the first 20 minutes of play as they took a 1-0 lead in the opening frame. Konrad Abeltshauser (6th) started the scoring for the tilt at 6:42, after Oleksuk won a face-off in the left circle of Worcester’s offensive end. After the face-off win Matt Tennyson possessed the puck at the right point before sending it across the blue line to the left where Abeltshauser sniped a slapper through the defense and Niklas Svedberg. The Bruins outshot the Sharks 12-8 in the period, but Sateri remained solid between the pipes to keep Providence off the board. Both the Sharks and the Bruins took away a goal from the middle period as the Sharks held onto their one-goal lead after 40 minutes. Worcester scored first, doubling up their goals with a power play tally at 8:55. Assisted by Oleksuk and Tennyson, Eriah Hayes (10th) was found alone for a breakaway through the center of the slot where he fake out Svedberg and slide the puck between his pads. Then at 15:37, the Bruins were finally able to break through Sateri after a shot from the point by a Bruins defensemen caused a rebound in front that was cleaned up by Alexander Khokhlachev (20th). Providence again controlled the shooting, holding an 11-8 edge over Worcester. After almost a full period of scoreless hockey, the Bruins found the back of the net for a late tying goal with just 1:09 on the clock and an extra skater on the ice to force overtime. The tying mark came off a wrister by Craig Cunningham (25th) from the left stick-side circle after the Bruins cycled the puck in their offensive end to find the open player with a sixth skater. Shots for the final period of regulation were 9-8 with the Bruins holding the advantage over the Sharks. After a scoreless, yet action packed overtime with a flurry of scoring chances for each side, the game was set to be decided in a shootout. Following five rounds of shooters, the Bruins edged the Sharks 3-2 in both the shootout and the contest. Sateri stopped Providence’s first two shooters while Carpenter and Hayes scored for the Sharks and Khokhlachev, Griffith and Johnson netted shootout goals for Providence. The Sharks’ overall record shifts to 34-30-3-2, 73pts and 17-17-3-1, 38pts on the road.
2018 at Reading 2-1 win OT
(RAILERS) The Worcester Railers HC (36-26-4-4, 80pts) picked up a season high fifth straight win with a 2-1 overtime victory over the host Reading Royals (37-24-9-0, 83pts) in front of 2,524 fans at the Santander Arena on Wednesday evening. Barry Almeida scored just 90 seconds into the overtime period while Matty Gaudreau also found the back of the net for Worcester as Mitch Gillam made 30 saves in his 13th straight start in net for his 23rd win of the season. Worcester outshot Reading 15-10 in a scoreless first period as goaltenders Mitch Gillam and Brenden Komm each stood tall in net. The Railers led the way physically to set the tone for the rest of the hockey game as we headed into the first intermission scoreless. Matty Gaudreau (12th) gave Worcester a 1-0 lead as he followed his own rebound with a quick shot past netminder Brenden Komm assisted by Barry Almeida and Dylan Willick at 3:44. After an icing call on the Railers, Adam Schmidt sent a puck through the crease on a wrap-around attempt that went off the skate of Steven Swavely (12th) at 13:04. Worcester held a 28-20 shot advantage through 40 minutes of play as the two clubs were tied 1-1. Mitch Gillam made 11 saves in the third period to keep the game knotted at 1-1 as the shots were 33-31 in favor of Worcester through 60 minutes of play. In overtime, Kyle McKenzie skated into the offensive zone and found Barry Almeida (22nd) on the left wing side as Barry sent a backhander through the pads of Brenden Komm just 90 seconds into the extra frame to give Worcester the 2-1 road victory.
-30-
210Sports 