1995 at Providence 7-6 loss
(PROVIDENCE) The Worcester IceCats have accomplished a great deal in their inaugural season. But they haven’t been able to beat the Providence Bruins in Providence. Last night they came awfully close, but wound up losing, 7-6, for the seventh straight time here at the Providence Civic Center. Third-period goals by Brett Harkins and Marc Potvin 63 seconds apart broke open a 5-5 tie and sent the P-Bruins on to victory. “I guess that will be one of our goals next season,” said IceCats coach Jim Roberts. “Not only do we want to beat them in Providence, but beat them a lot.” Providence, which is headed to the AHL playoffs next week, wound up with 8-3-1 record against Worcester in their season-series. The IceCats, who finish their season tonight in Hershey, battled back all night long as they trailed, 3-0, 4-1, and finally 7-5. Shawn Heapy, who had a pair of goals for Worcester, scored his second goal with 4:04 left in the game pulling the IceCats to within one goal at 7-6. Roberts pulled goalie Chris Gordon in favor of a sixth skater and the strategy neatly paid off as Denis Chalifoux and Blair Atcheynum had golden opportunities. P-Bruins goalie Evgeny Ryabchikov, who did not have a good game, did come up with two big stops to preserve the victory. Both Chalifoux and Atcheynum scored goals earlier in the game for the IceCats as they they exploded for four goals ina span of 3:37 in the second period, wiping out Providence’s 4-1 lead and taking a 5-4 lead of their own. Atcheynum started the comeback with his 17th goal at 8:44, just 15 seconds after Tim Tookey had given the P-Bruins their 4-1 lead. John Carter cashed in a 4-on-2 break with his 18th goal beating Ryabchikov at 11:26 making it 4-3. Less than a minute later Chalifoux tied the game for Worcester with his 21st goal at 12:11. Bruins coach Steve Kasper called a time out after that goal. But that strategy didn’t work as the IceCats scored on the ensuing faceoff 10 seconds later as Heapy took a feed from Mark Ouimet and beat Ryabchikov at 12:21. “That time out really worked, huh,” said Kasper. “I’m discusted,” added Kasper. “In that second 20 minutes of hockey we had two hits. You can’t play at this level without playing the body. When we were up 3-1 I think we thought that was the game.” Providence finally recovered from the IceCats’ blitz, tying the game 5-5 on a goal by Jon Pratt at 15:42. That’s the way it stood until 7:28 of the third period when Harkins beat Gordon with a breakaway wrap-around. Potvin then followed with his goal at 8:31 for a two-goal cushion. It looked like a Providence rout early on as the Bruins zipped off to a 3-0 lead before the game was 10-minutes old. Sergei Zholtok scored his 22nd and 23rd goals of the season and Cam Stewart notched his 13th on a power play for Providence. The IceCats got one goal back in the period when defenseman Roy Mitchell converted a Rob Melanson pass and beat Ryabchikov at 14:37. “We’ve played hard all season long,” said Roberts. “That’s one thing I’ve been preaching the last few weeks. You don’t want to let up even if we’re not going to the playoffs. And the guys certainly haven’t let up.”
2000 at Lowell 3-0 loss
(TICKER) Travis Scott stopped 38 shots for his third shutout of the season and Eric Belanger scored twice as the Lowell Lock Monsters blanked the Worcester IceCats, 3-0. Scott made 29 saves over the final two periods to square his record against Worcester at 2-2. Belanger scored the only goal Scott needed 3:43 into the game, then tallied on the power play just over seven minutes into the third period. Craig Charron added a power-play goal 6 1/2 minutes later as Lowell polished off its sixth win in seven home games. Cory Rudkowsky stopped 25 shots for the IceCats, who are winless in eight of their last nine (1-7-1).
2001 vs Providence 3-0 win
The Worcester IceCats got 25 saves from Dwayne Roloson in a 3-0 blanking of the Bruins. The win clinched the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy for the IceCats, who finished with the best record in the AHL for the 2000-01 season. Jame Pollock opened the scoring for Worcester at 17:05 of the opening period with Justin Papineau and Ed Campbell picking up assists. Mark Rycroft made it 2-0 at 2:37 of the middle period, with Vladimir Chebaturkin and Andrei Troschinsky grabbing points on the play. Jaroslav Obsut closed out the scoring at 11:29 of the third, Mike Peluso and Papineau had the assists on the play.
2002 vs Portland 3-2 win
(ICECATS) Andrei Troschinsky’s goal midway through the third period gave the Worcester IceCats a 3-2 win last night over the Portland Pirates at Worcester’s Centrum Centre. The IceCats, however, only learned how important Troschinsky’s first game-winner of the season really was, almost five hours later. By virtue of Worcester’s win and Manitoba’s 5-2 loss to the Grand Rapids Griffins last night, the ‘Cats finished the 2001-2002 season as the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference and will host the number nine seed Manitoba Moose in the Qualifying Round if the 2002 Calder Cup Playoffs starting Tuesday at 7:05 PM. The Moose, who completed their Winnipeg based tilt at 10:40 PM, had an opportunity to send the IceCats on the road. One Manitoba point would have had the ‘Cats on a Monday morning bus bound for a game in Toronto with the St. John’s Maple Leafs. Instead, Worcester will await the Moose in Massachusetts. Worcester and Manitoba both finished the season with 86 points, but by virtue of the fourth tiebreaker, goal differential, the IceCats sprung to the host position for the best-of-three series. A Moose win last night would have actually placed them in first in their Division and third in the Conference. A single point would have had them seeded sixth, eliminating an appearance in the Qualifying Round all together. This will be the first meeting ever between Worcester and Manitoba. The Moose, slotted in the Eastern Conference’s Canadian Division, were one of nine teams to join the AHL this season. They finished the season 39-33-4-4. Worcester wrapped up the campaign 39-33-7-1.
2004 vs Hartford 5-2 win
(ICECATS) The Worcester IceCats’ push to solidify a prime playoff spot continued with a 5-2 win over the Hartford Wolf Pack Wednesday night at Worcester’s Centrum Centre. Five different IceCats scored goals, while Blake Evans and Peter Sejna each had a goal and an assist. After wrapping up the season series with the Atlantic Division leading Wolf Pack 5-1-1-1, Worcester is holding the third spot in the Atlantic Division with three regular season games remaining this weekend. Worcester’s Jay McClement opened the scoring in the second period after the ‘Cats outshot Hartford 17-3 in a scoreless first period. Hartford rallied for two quick goals by Fedor Tyutin and Alexandre Giroux just 54 seconds apart, but Worcester retook the lead before the middle period ended. Blake Evans tied the game at two with his 21st goal of the year, then Mike Glumac bagged his team-leading 28th on the power play to put the ‘Cats ahead to stay. Now with 52 points and nine goals on the power play, the first year AHLer has a share of the league’s rookie scoring lead. Sejna’s goal in the third period was of the highlight reel variety. He took a feed from along the left boards, brought the puck to the front of the net, and then roofed a 10 foot backhander over the glove of Hartford’s Steve Valiquette to make it a 4-2 game. Aris Brimanis scored a rink-long empty-netter with one second remaining in regulation on an assist from ‘Cats goalie Curtis Sanford. Sanford earned his 20th win of the season with 20 saves and the first point of the season for an IceCats goaltender. Valiquette, meanwhile, stopped 31 in the loss.
2007 at Binghamton 7-6 win OT
(BINGHAMTON) Never leave a Worcester Sharks game early. Garrett Stafford scored on the power play with 27.1 seconds left in regulation, and Graham Mink’s overtime power-play goal gave the Sharks a 7-6 win over the Binghamton Senators last night at the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena. The Sharks skated six-on-four after pulling goalie Thomas Greiss. Mike Iggulden found Stafford all alone at the top of the left circle where the Sharks defenseman one-timed a blast to the far side. Darche’s shot from the right corner in overtime, after Binghamton defenseman Jamie Allison was sent off for hooking, hit goalie Jeff Glass in the left shoulder and rolled to the right side of the goal where Mink was able to cash in and cap the come-from-behind effort. The Sharks found themselves trailing by a goal after the first period and by two after two periods, only to storm back with four in the third to send the game into overtime. Greiss made the save of the game with 78 seconds left in the third when he robbed a point-blank chance by Binghamton’s leading scorer Jeff Heerema. Stafford also scored twice in the game. The Sharks kept things close by scoring soon after Binghamton and not allowing any momentum. After Jean-Francois David put Binghamton on the board at the midpoint of the first Stafford snapped home a shot from the slot 42 seconds later. Mink tied the game at 2-2 when he picked a Darche rebound out of the air at the midpoint of the second period. Darche started the play that led to Torrey Mitchell’s goal early in the third. Darche stole the puck at the blue line, skated into the right corner and hit Tom Cavanaugh. Mitchell then fired home Cavanaugh’s rebound. Scott Ferguson pulled the Sharks within one with an unassisted power-play goal at 15:39.
2010 at Hartford 9-2 win
(WORSHARKS) The Sharks set a franchise record scoring nine goals and closed out a season long seven game road trip 4-2-1-0 with a 9-2 win in Hartford at the XL Center on Wednesday night. Nine players had a multi-point game for the Sharks, Worcester had three power play goals, and Alex Stalock made 24 saves in his 38th victory of the season. Justin Braun had three assists in his first pro game, Danny Groulx set a Sharks record with his 12th goal from the blue line, and Dan DaSilva and Brandon Mashinter each reached the 20 goal plateau as the Sharks exploded for a franchise record nine goals in the hockey game. The Sharks scored three goals and had rock solid goaltending by Alex Stalock in the opening period. Dan DaSilva (20th) fired a shot from the left circle that banked off Matt Zaba at 1:27 to give the Sharks a 1-0 lead. T.J. Trevelyan (27th) scored on his own rebound after a strong dig in the Hartford crease to put Worcester ahead 2-0. Rookie Justin Braun’s shot from the right point was deflected in front by Brandon Mashinter (20th) with 1.2 seconds remaining as the Sharks headed into the locker room ahead by three goals outshooting Hartford 15-10. Each team scored a special teams goal in the second in a period capped by a wild brawl at 18:07. Kris Newbury (14th) extended his point streak to eight games at 4:00 with a shorthanded tally after he tapped the puck past Stalock after a great centering feed by Dan Byers on the shorthanded rush. Newbury received 22 penalty minutes and got the gate for arguing a non-call with referee Terry Koharski at 16:56 to give the Sharks a power play. T.J. Trevelyan (28th) fired a shot from on top of the left circle that was deflected off the skate of a Wolf Pack defender and past Zaba at 17:06 to give the Sharks a 4-1 lead. After Dwight Helminen was knocked down by an open ice check by Julien Broulliette, a wild brawl broke out in front of the Sharks bench at 18:07 that involved all ten skaters and the Sharks bench. Frazer McLaren and Jared Nightingale each received fighting majors to highlight the brawling. Worcester put the game away in the third period with five goals; four of which came in the first 8:37 of the final period. John McCarthy (15th) scored at: 39 seconds followed by James Marcou’s first professional goal at 1:27 to give the Sharks a 6-1 lead. Cory Quirk (8th), Brandon Mashinter (21st), and Danny Groulx (12th) also touched the back of the net in the final period to set a franchise record for nine goals in a game. Dane Byers (23rd) scored at 10:45 of the third period for the Wolf Pack. Win the win, Worcester’s record improves to (48-23-3-3, 102 points) and they now lead the Atlantic Division by three points over Portland. Worcester has three regular season games left this season (1 road, 2 home) and have a franchise best 102 points this season.
2012 at Portland 5-4 SOL
(WORSHARKS) The Sharks led 1-0, 2-1, and 3-2, but fell to the Portland Pirates in the shootout 5-4 at the Cumberland County Civic Center on Saturday night. With the point, Worcester is now seven points away from the 8th and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with four games remaining. Rookies Nathan Moon, Sena Acolatse, Curt Gogol, and Matt Tennyson scored for Worcester and Harri Sateri made 28 saves in his 10th straight start for Worcester in a game that ended with a wild brawl after the shootout. The Sharks grabbed a 3-2 lead through 20 minutes in a back and forth wide opening first period. Nathan Moon (12th) broke a ten game goalless drought at 46 seconds to give the Sharks a 1-0 lead after he slammed home a centering pass from Ben Guite past goaltender Peter Mannino. Ethan Werek (9th) tied the score at 1-1 at 4:43 with a deflection past Harri Sateri to get the Pirates on the board. Worcester struck on the power play at 7:12 with Sena Acolatse (6th) sending a laser from down low in the left circle after a terrific feed by Ben Guite at 7:12. Portland would tie the score again with a 5-on-3 power play goal as Nick Ross (4th) sent a blast from the left side into the back of the net at 10:35. Curt Gogol (6th) gave the Sharks their third lead of the period jamming home a loose rebound after an original rush and shot by Tony Lucia at 12:54. Worcester outshot the Pirates 13-10 in the first period. Portland would tie the score for a third time with the only goal in a relatively quiet middle frame. Defenseman Tyler Eckford (10th) roofed a shot over the shoulder of Sateri from down low after great puck movement on the power play at 4:37. Sateri would stone former Worcester Sharks forward Ashton Rome soon after on a breakaway rush to keep the score tied at 3-3. Portland outshot Worcester 9-8 in the 2nd period. Each team scored in the third period, with Ethan Werek (10th) putting the Pirates ahead 4-3 at 53 seconds followed by Matt Tennyson (1st) scoring his first professional goal on the power play at 10:26 to tie the score at 4-4 with a quick snap shot from the right wall that snuck through the pads of Peter Mannino. Neither team found the back of the net the rest of the overtime period as the Sharks headed to overtime for the first time in 16 games. In overtime, Sebastian Stalberg was called for goaltender interference at 3:07 to set up a 4-on-3 Pirates power play. Pirates defenseman David Runblad scored with 12.2 seconds remaining, but the goal was waved off by referee Mark Lemelin as it was ruled that Brett Sterling was in the crease. Sterling was given a ten minute misconduct for arguing the call but was allowed to come back and score the eventual game winner in the shootout. The Pirates went ahead 2-0 through three rounds of the shootout with goals by Marc-Antoine Pouliot and Brett Sterling. After Sterling scored, he skated by and taunted the Worcester bench which would set up the eventual fireworks after the game. Sena Acolatse was stopped in round 4 by Peter Mannino to give the Pirates a 5-4 win. After the game, all 40 skaters came together in the Pirates zone with several fights breaking out over the course of a few minutes. Worcester’s record drops to 29-31-4-8, with 70pts and currently in 14th place in the Eastern Conference with 4 games remaining. (210Sports note: by rule Sterling was ineligible to take part in the shootout. The AHL subsequently admitted the error.)
2013 vs Manchester 4-3 OTL
(WORSHARKS) The Worcester Sharks (29-31-3-6, 67pts) tied a franchise record with their 8th straight loss (0-6-2-0) dropping a 4-3 overtime decision to the Manchester Monarchs (32-31-3-4, 71pts) on Sunday afternoon in front of 3,715 people and 70 dogs at the DCU Center on Pucks N Paws Day. With the overtime loss, the Sharks are now eight points behind the 8th place Hershey Bears in the Eastern Conference playoff picture with seven games remaining. Riley Brace (Mississauga – OHL) scored his first professional goal and added an assist in his first professional game for Worcester and Freddie Hamilton tied the score with 1.7 seconds remaining in the third period to force overtime. Harri Sateri made 19 saves in net and Chris Crane (Ohio St. Univ) was +1 and fired two shots in his professional debut for Worcester. Andrew Campbell (2nd) sent a blast from the left point through traffic and past Harri Sateri at 12:12 of the opening frame for the only score of the first period. Hunter Bishop sent Derek Joslin flying into the corner boards in the Worcester zone at 18:54 which led to Yanni Gourde (3rd FM) and Bishop (1st FM) to drop the mitts. Yanni Gourde left the game and did not return due to a lower body injury and Bishop received an extra penalty for boarding. Worcester outshot Manchester 10-3 but trailed 1-0 after 20 minutes of play as Martin Jones held down the fort in net. In the second period, the Sharks tied the score at 1-1 at 5:36 with a terrific score by Riley Brace (1st) for his first professional goal with a great snap shot from 45 feet that beat goaltender Martin Jones up high. Manchester would get the next two goals as Jordan Weal (14th) snapped a quick shot from the right circle on the power play at 9:31 followed by Brian O’Neill (3rd) deflecting home a centering feed by Nick Deslauriers at 17:39 to put Manchester ahead 3-1 through 40 minutes. Daniil Tarasov (12th) scored on the power play just 17 seconds into the third period after Martin Jones mishandled a shot from the red line and Tarasov ripped the rebound past his blocker to get the Sharks within a goal. With Harri Sateri pulled for the extra attacker, Riley Brace found Freddie Hamilton (11th) in the left circle and Hamilton’s quick shot went through Jones with 1.7 seconds left to tie the score at 3-3 and force overtime. In overtime, defenseman David Kolomatis (7th) capped a three point night (1-2-3) with a wicked shot from 40 feet just inside the cross bar at 1:50 to give Manchester the 4-3 overtime victory.
2015 at Portland 1-0 win OT
(WORSHARKS) The Worcester Sharks (40-24-4-2, 86pts) won for the 8th time in their last nine games with a 1-0 overtime victory over the host Portland Pirates (37-25-7-1, 82pts) in front of 1,652 fans at the Cross Insurance Arena on Tuesday evening. With the win, the Sharks move into 5th place in the Eastern Conference with six games remaining in the regular season. Aaron Dell won his 7th straight start with 30 saves and his 4th shutout of the season while Ryan Carpenter scored his team leading 5th game winner with an overtime strike at 2:03 as the Sharks magic number to clinch a playoff spot moves to four. Portland dropped their 4th straight game as David Leggio made 24 saves in net in the loss. The Sharks are now 3-1-0-0 on their five game road. Aaron Dell made 10 first period saves while David Leggio made seven stops for Portland in a scoreless first period of play. Neither team scored on nine shots a piece in the middle frame. The best chance came in the final minute as Brendan Shinnimin had a shorthanded breakaway that was stopped by Aaron Dell to keep the game scoreless through 40 minutes of play. Portland outshot Worcester 11-6 in the third period as tempers flared between Micheal Haley (9th fighting major) and Eric Selleck at 14:44 with a spirited scrap. Portland held a 30-22 shot advantage through 60 minutes of play. It was all Worcester in overtime and rookie Ryan Carpenter (12th) won the game with a snap shot from 25 feet through a screen and past David Leggio as the Sharks grabbed the 1-0 road victory. Joakim Ryan picked up his first pro point with the primary assist and Eriah Hayes picked up the secondary helper. The Sharks overall record improves to 40-24-4-2, 86pts and 18-14-2-1, 39pts on the road this season.
2018 at Manchester 3-2 win
(RAILERS) The Worcester Railers HC (37-26-4-4, 82pts) picked up a season high sixth straight win with a 3-2 victory over the host Manchester Monarchs (40-25-3-3, 88pts) in front of 7,316 fans at the SNHU Arena on Saturday evening. Dylan Willick, Dwyer Tschantz, and TJ Syner found the back of the net for Worcester as Will King made 25 saves in net for his first win in a Railers sweater. Worcester has won a season high six straight games and now 11-1-1 in their last 13 games. Dylan Willick (2nd) got Worcester on the board at 2:51 after he deflected a Ben Masella point shot past netminder Charles Williams to give the Railers an early 1-0 lead. Dwyer Tschantz (1st) scored his first professional goal after he deflected a Justin Hamonic drive at 15:00 to give the Railers a 2-0 edge. But the Monarchs would tie the score with a pair of goals just 25 seconds apart as Kevin Morris (12th) struck on the power play at 18:40 and Matt Schmalz (23rd) ripped a shot on the rush at 19:05 past Will King. Shots were 6-5 in favor of Worcester through 20 minutes of play. Manchester had three power plays in the second period and outshot Worcester 17-7 in a scoreless middle frame as Will King stood tall in net for the Railers. Connor Doherty dropped the mitts late in the period vs. Craig Wyszomirski at center ice for the only real action in the second period of play. Manchester held a 22-13 shot advantage through 40 minutes of play. Only eight total shots were fired in the third period as TJ Syner (10th) broke a 2-2 tie at 15:43 with a nice deflection off a Josh McArdle shot to give the Railers a 3-2 road victory.
2019 at Adirondack 5-4 OT win
(RAILERS) The Worcester Railers HC (32-29-7-4, 75pts) closed out the 2018-19 regular season schedule with a come-from-behind 5-4 overtime victory over the host Adirondack Thunder (37-26-6-3, 83pts) in front of 3,515 fans at the Cool Insuring Arena on Sunday afternoon. Ivan Chuckarov scored his first two professional goals while Tommy Kelley and Ryan Hitchcock also found the back of the net for Worcester as Mitch Gillam made 32 saves on 36 shots in net for his 21st win of the season. Alex Sakellaropoulos made 19 saves in net for the Thunder while John Edwardh led the way offensively for Adirondack with a pair of goals. Matty Gaudreau netted the game winner at 2:08 of sudden overtime in a back-and-forth game thought saw several lead changes. Nick Sorkin added two assists as the Railers finished with a 15-17-1-3 record away from the DCU Center. Adirondack grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first period on the power play as John Edwardh (26th) ripped a shot through a screen from the left circle that went top shelf at 10:29. The Thunder outshot Worcester 13-7 through 20 minutes as the Railers trailed 1-0 after the first period. Ivan Chukarov (1st and 2nd) scored his first two professional goals in the second period and Tommy Kelley (7th) also scored as Worcester outscored the Thunder 3-1 in the middle frame. John Edwardh (27th) scored a shorthanded goal for Adirondack as the Railers took a 3-2 lead into the second intermission despite getting outshot 26-17 through 40 minutes of play. James Henry (15th) and Matt Salhany (15th) got the Thunder back ahead 4-3 with two quick strikes in the first five minutes of the third period. The Railers would tie the score at 18:40 of the third period as Ryan Hitchcock (17th) fired a rebound into the cage to force overtime. A wild back-and-forth overtime frame saw both teams have several great chances but Matty Gaudreau (12th) carried the puck behind the back of the net and maneuvered his way in front before snapping a quick shot just past Sakellaropoulos’ blocker to give the Railers a 5-4 win at 2:08 of the overtime period.
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