1997 at Springfield 4-3 loss
The Worcester IceCats were hoping to clinch the AHL’s New England Division title, but the Falcons had other ideas as they kept their chances alive with a 4-3 win over the IceCats. Springfield opened up a 3-0 lead after one period on goals by Reggie Savage at 5:59 and 14:21 on the power play, and Jason McBain at 19:20. Chris Longo made it a four goal lead at 4:03 with a shorthanded goal. Mike Maneluk stopped the bleeding with a goal at 13:58, assisted by Bob Lachance. It was the ‘Cats first goal in 163:47 of play. Terry Virtue made it 4-2 at 19:18 with an unassisted tally, and then Jason Zent got Worcester within one 19 seconds into the third with help from David Williams. But the Falcons carried the play the rest of the period to win the game. Travis Scott made 41 saves in the game.
1998 vs Providence 5-1 win
The Worcester IceCats scored five first period goals and cruised to a 5-1 win over Providence. Shayne Toporowski started the scoring barrage 3:18 into the opening period, with Bob Lachance and Reed Low picking up assists. At 7:32 Ivan Ciernik made it 2-0 with Libor Zabransky and Jamal Mayers picking up points. Fifty-nine seconds later Chris Kenady made it a three goal game, assisted by Mike Prokopec. Toporowski would score again, this time shorthanded at 11:53, with Terry Virtue and Lachance getting helpers. at 15:35 Lachance would make it 5-0 on the power play, with help from Ricard Persson and Nick Naumenko. Jon Rohloff had a power play goal atr 1:23 of the secondto get the Baby-Bs on the board, but that would be all the scoring in the game. Frederic Cassivi had 24 saves in the win.
1999 vs Springfield 2-1 win
The Worcester IceCats trailed for most of the game, but two third period goals in 25 seconds was enough for a 2-1 win over the Falcons. Trevor Letowski gave Springfield the 1-0 lead with a goal at 3:04 of the first period, and that goal would stand up deep into the third period. Andrej Podkonicky finally got the tying goal for the ‘Cats at 17:29, with Derek Bekar and Reed Low getting the assists. Shayne Toporowski would get the game winner on the next shift when he connected at 17:54, with Bekar and Stephane Roy getting the helpers. Brent Johnson made 22 saves for the win.
2001 vs Lowell 4-3 win OT (New England Division SF, lead 1-0)
The Worcester IceCats and Lowell Lock Monsters played a see-saw contest, and it took until overtime to decide a winner as the ‘Cats skated away 4-3 victors. Joe Corvo got Lowell on the board first at 16:04 of the opening period while on the power play. In the second period Andrei Troschinsky tied it with a power play goal for the ‘Cats at 9:58. The Lock Monsters retook the lead at 4:45 of the third stanza with another power play goal, but at 5:41 Eric Boguniecki got the IceCats even again with a goal assisted by Jamie Thompson and Sebastien Bordeleau. Justin Papineau got Worcester its first lead of the game at 7:37 with an unassisted shorthanded goal, but at 11:56 it was Lowell’s turn to tie it on a
Stu Bodtker tally. To extra time the squads went where Thompson would end it at 10:17, with Papineau and Mike Peluso helping. Travis Scott made 37 saves for Lowell, including eight in the overtime period. Dwayne Roloson made 26 saves for the win.
2002 vs Manitoba 3-2 loss 2OT (Eastern Conference Qualifier, eliminated 2-1)
(ICECATS) The Worcester IceCats and the Manitoba Moose needed 25 minutes and 42 seconds of extra hockey to settle their best-of-three American Hockey League Qualifying Series. Jimmy Roy ended Game Three and Worcester’s season with a 20-foot wrister to give the Moose a 3-2 win in double overtime. The first two goals came on the first two shots of the game. Manitoba’s Pat Kavanagh opened the scoring as he received a feed while tiptoeing the Worcester blue line. He then dashed down the slot at Reinhard Divis and despite being hooked from behind, was able to muster a shot. The puck slid under the Worcester goaltender and into the net and for the first time in the series, Manitoba claimed the early advantage.
Jame Pollock answered at 2:16, as Justin Papineau’s feed left Pollock alone at the bottom of the left wing circle. Pollock made tracks to the front of the Manitoba net and slid the puck inside the pipe. Two minutes and 28 seconds later, Marc Brown gave Worcester a 2-1 lead. After a Papineau slap shot hit the back wall wide of the Moose net, Brown found an opening in front with the rebound for his second of the post season. The game remained 2-1 until the third period. Steve Kariya tied the affair when he darted from the left wing corner and into the ‘Cats crease. The slippery forward lit the lamp at 2:05. The teams then played more than 43 minutes of hockey before Roy ripped a shot into the Worcester net. The winger led an odd man rush and held the puck at the right wing circle before dealing the final blow. Divis made some Buick-sized saves and stopped a total of 44 Moose shots. In the bonus periods, the IceCats were out-shot 13 to three and 47-25 overall. Manitoba’s Alfie Michaud earned the win.
2003 at Binghamton 4-2 loss (Eastern Conference QF, trail 2-0)
The Worcester IceCats took a 2-0 lead in the game, and then collapsed as the Senators came rolling along with four of their own in a 4-2 loss in Binghamton. Sergei Varlamov scored at 16:34 of the first period and Jeff Panzer at 3:26 of the second, but the entire time the ice was tilted toward the IceCats end. Eventually gravity took hold and Brad Smyth scored at 17:43 to make it 2-1. In the third period Bingo got three, by Smyth again, Joe Murphy shorthanded, and Dennis Bonvie. Curtis Sanford made 40 saves in the game.
2004 at Manchester 3-2 win
(MONARCHS) For the first time all season, the Manchester Monarchs lost a game where they led going into the third period. The Worcester IceCats, on the strength of third period goals from forwards Brendan Brooks and Greg Black, edged the Monarchs, 3-2, before a crowd of 8,715 on Sunday night at the Verizon Wireless Arena. The teams traded first period goals with the IceCats using the power play to take the early lead. Rookie left wing Peter Sejna’s one-timer from the right circle slipped by goaltender Milan Hnilicka at 11:11. Defensemen Jame Pollock and Trevor Byrne triggered Sejna’s 12th goal of the season. Right wing Pavel Rosa, the 2003-04 AHL Scoring Champion, tied the game 4:25 later by scooping center Michael Cammalleri’s slot pass over goaltender Curtis Sanford and into the Worcester net. Rookie left wing Petr Kanko, who unintentionally tipped Cammalleri’s pass to Rosa, also collected an assist on Rosa’s team-leading 38th goal of the season and 150th point as a Monarch. The Monarchs had the only score in the second period as Rosa added to his league-leading total with goal No. 39, jammed through the five-hole of goaltender Jake Moreland with 4:45 remaining. Moreland, who entered the game midway through the period, actually got a piece of Kanko’s centering pass in the crease, but deflected the puck onto Rosa’s stick. Center Yanick Lehoux also assisted on Rosa’s league-leading 88th point (39-49=88) of the season. Worcester head coach Don Granato pulled Sanford, appearing in his 17th straight game, in favor of Moreland after learning the IceCats were a lock for third in the division. Worcester nailed down third by virtue of a Providence Bruins 2-1 loss to the Hartford Wolf Pack on Sunday night. The Monarchs nearly added to their one-goal lead late in the period, but Moreland poke-checked the puck away from Jeff Giuliano as the left wing attempted a penalty shot with 1:01 to go. The IceCats drew even on the scoreboard 5:20 into the final period when Brooks sliced his shot over the shoulder of Hnilicka from the left circle. Pollock and center Jeff Panzer assisted on Brooks’ sixth of the season. Black collected the game-winner just 3:17 later with his fourth goal of the season. Black cleaned up a rebound and stuffed it by Hnilicka after a shot from defenseman Aris Brimanis clanked off the right post. Forward Blake Evans also notched an assist on the play. Moreland (1-1-0) earned his first AHL win in relief with eight saves. Sanford had 18 saves in just over 30 minutes of work. Hnilicka (8-10-0) finished with 27 stops, including 21 in the final two periods. Worcester was 1-for-7 on the power play. The Monarchs were 0-for-5.
2007 vs Lowell 6-1 win
(DEVILS) The Worcester Sharks (40-26-3-8) scored three times in both the second and third period for a 6-1 win over the Lowell Devils (37-29-5-6) at DCU Center Wednesday night. The Devils drew first blood in the opening frame. Chris Minard reached the 30-goal plateau at 9:28 with a pair of defensemen, Mark Fraser and Alex Brooks, picking up the assists. Lowell took that lead into the dressing room after a quick first, and outshot the Sharks 11-7 in the period. Both teams were scoreless on one power play. It didn’t take long for Worcester to tie it up early in the second. Josh Prudden knocked the puck away from a Devils defenseman and banged it home to make it 1-1 at 1:14. At 2:53 they took the lead. Riley Armstrong snapped home his 18th of the season to make it 2-1 Worcester. The Sharks attack continued, when Torrey Mitchell pounded away at a loose puck, banging it past Devils G Frank Doyle at 11:35. Meanwhile Thomas Greiss was strong between the pipes for Worcester, an! d he kicked out all 16 opportunities in the period from Lowell shooters. Lowell came out to a furious start in the third period, but couldn’t beat Greiss on any early chances. Meanwhile the Sharks extended the advantage with a trio of tallies. Graham Mink added his 30th goal of the season to make it 4-1 at 8:59. Worcester made it 5-1 with a redirection of a point shot past Doyle at 12:57. Lukas Kaspar potted his 11th of the season at 18:17 to cap the scoring.
2008 at Portland 3-2 win OT
(WORSHARKS) The Sharks had something to play for. No, not the playoffs, but some pretty impressive bragging rights. A 3-2 overtime win over the Portland Pirates on Friday night means the Sharks will finish with a .500 or better record against four of the six Atlantic Division opponents. Heading into the game, the Pirates were tops in the AHL with 27 home victories, and with 6,640 fans in the building coupled with a quick 2-0 deficit left Worcester’s task even more daunting. Worcester inched within 2-1 before rookie Steven Zalewski scored his first two professional goals, the first to tie the game mid way through the third period and the second to send the Sharks home with the thrilling victory in overtime. Worcester goaltender Taylor Dakers made his second start in as many games since his recall from Phoenix of the ECHL. He finished with 29 saves on 31 shots, good for his first win in a Worcester uniform since Jan. 21 at Springfield. NHL veteran Jean-Sebastian Aubin made 31 saves on 34 shots, dropping his second straight to the Sharks. The Sharks unveiled a new lineup, dressing 11 rookies while resting veterans Patrick Traverse, Graham Mink, and Dennis Packard. Mike Moore was the newest Shark to make his professional debut. The defenseman out of Princeton was assessed a hooking penalty in his first professional shift and was whistled for a high-sticking major in the second period, finishing the game with 11 penalty minutes. At 4:39 of the overtime period, Dan Spang started a rush on the left wing side, feeding Zalewski, who beat Aubin top shelf for Worcester’s second-straight overtime win over the Pirates. The comeback started with a late first period goal. After missing nine straight games due to an injury, Sharks sparkplug Riley Armstrong returned to the lineup in full force by scoring a crucial goal with only eight seconds remaining in the first period to cut Portland’s lead to 2-1. Tom Cavanagh won the faceoff in the left wing circle back to Spang. Spang’s ensuing shot was blocked, but Frazer McLaren collected the puck behind the net and swung it back in front to Armstrong who beat Aubin just inside the post. David MacDonald dropped the gloves against Darryl Bootland at 13:05 of the third period leading to the game-tying goal. Despite MacDonald being assessed an extra two minutes for instigating, the Sharks rode the added energy. Worcester won the ensuing defensive zone draw, springing Lukas Kaspar down the right wing side. He found Zalewski down the middle who made the touch over Aubin’s shoulder for his first professional goal and the 2-2 score. The Pirates came out flying with two goals in the first nine minutes to put Worcester in the early hole. A turnover by Kaspar led to a point-blank opportunity and a 1-0 Portland lead only 3:26 into the game. Kaspar tried to clear the puck up the middle, but instead found the stick of Geoff Platt who passed to Stephen Dixon. Dixon easily made the tip past Dakers for his 16th goal of the season. Just over five minutes later, Brendan Mikkelson poked in a rebound for the 2-0 advantage. Mikkelson carried the puck on the left wing side and left it for Matt Caruana, who fired a shot from 50 feet away. Mikkelson crashed the net and poked in the rebound for his sixth of the season at the 8:53 mark.
2009 vs Providence 3-0 win
(WORSHARKS) Bodies were flying during a physical 60 minutes of hockey as the Sharks finish the regular season with their 42nd win in a 3-0 battle against the Bruins. Derek Joslin netted two goals and Thomas Greiss recorded his 1st career shutout in front of the largest crowd this season for Worcester on “Fan Appreciation Night” at the DCU Center on Saturday. The score would remain blanked 0-0 after a high tempo and physical 1st period of hockey. The Sharks put pressure on Providence goaltender Adam Courchaine in his 1st game in net for the B’s as Worcester outshot the Bruins 14-7. Frazer McLaren would light the lamp for his 7th tally of the season and gave the Sharks a 1-0 lead at 13:56 in the 2nd frame. McLaren pounded home a rebound during a scrum for the puck in front of the Bruin net. T.J. Fox and Matt Jones has the assists. Derek Joslin then added a 2nd Worcester goal with 2.5 seconds left in the 2nd period. Joslin fired a shot from the right faceoff circle that found its way through the pads of Courchaine for the power play score. Prior to the goal, Dan DaSilva rattled the boards with a big shoulder hit on Providence defensemen Jeff Prenner behind the Bruin net. Worcester net minder Thomas Greiss stood tall through the 2nd to maintain the lead when he made a terrific glove save on a quick shot during a Providence power play. Ryan Vesce set the goal light off early in the 3rd stanza when rang he pipes on a wrister from the left faceoff circle but the goal was waved off by the official to hold on a 2-0 Worcester lead. Steven Zalewski would also play the pipes later in the game as he deflected a wrist shot of the post.Worcester went up 3-0 when Joslin reached back and launched a missile from the point through traffic and into the back of the Providence net for his 2nd of the night at 13:46 in the 3rd. The Sharks killed off a 5 on 3 Providence power play late in the 3rd that allowed for Greiss to pick up his 1st career shutout as the Sharks defeated the Bruins 3-0 in the final clash of the regular season. Greiss made several tremendous saves down the stretch to secure the victory. It was the first ever shutout by a Sharks goaltender in 120 games. The win finishes Worcester’s regular season record at 42-35-1-2 with 87 points through 80 games. Worcester finishes the regular season in 4th in the Atlantic Division.
2010 at Portland 5-2 loss
(WORSHARKS) The Sharks fell to the Portland Pirates 5-2 on Sunday afternoon at the Cumberland County Civic Center in the regular season finale for both clubs. The Sharks finished the season with 49 wins, 104 points, and were crowned the Atlantic Division champions for the first time in franchise history. Worcester will host the Lowell Devils in Game 1 of the Atlantic Division Semi-Finals at the DCU Center on Wednesday night. The Pirates scored three times on five shots in the opening period to charge out to an early lead. Phillip Gogulla (15th) gave the Pirates a 1-0 advantage at 3:10 with a quick snap shot from the left slot after a feed from the left corner. Danny Groulx (14th) tied the score at 1-1 after Kevin Henderson won an offensive zone faceoff back to Groulx who sent a quick low shot through a screen and past J.P. Lamoureux at 3:29. Mark Mancari (28th) gave Portland a 2-1 lead at 12:01 and Felix Schutz (13th) jammed in a loose puck past Alex Stalock at 15:33 after a turnover in the Sharks zone. Worcester trailed 3-1 after twenty minutes despite outshooting the Pirates 8-5. Paul Byron (14th) gave the Pirates a three goal advantage after a goal mouth scramble on the power play at 7:42. After the goal, Roy Sommer pulled Alex Stalock in favor of Frank Doyle. The Sharks were outshot 20-11 in the 2nd period and trailed 4-1 after forty minutes. Cody McCormick (17th) snapped one past Frank Doyle at 4:33 to extend the Pirates lead to four goals. Brandon Mashinter (22nd) scored the final regular season Sharks goal at 18:55 on a rebound chance after Nick Petrecki’s shot was denied by Lamoureux. Worcester finished with 49 wins (49-25-3-3, 104 points) and are the Atlantic Division champions.
2014 vs Adirondack 4-1 win
(WORSHARKS) The Worcester Sharks (35-32-4-2, 76pts) topped the Adirondack Phantoms (27-37-1-6, 61pts) 4-1 before 3,117 fans at the DCU Center Friday evening. The first period made for a single Worcester goal at 5:57 when Brodie Reid (11th) finished a rebound off Matt Pelech’s initial shot. The Sharks added two more to the scoring in the second period. At 1:01 Adam Comrie (3rd) went one-on-one with Heeter and found an opening to make it 2-0. Then at 8:41, Eriah Hayes (11th) tipped in a wrister by Freddie Hamilton from inside the paint to make it 3-0. Adirondack got on the board early in the third at :52, when the Phantoms cycled the puck and found Brandon Alderson (10th) open on the right of Sateri. With 1:20 remaining, Freddie Hamilton (22nd) scored an empty netter to seal the 4-1 win. Sharks tender Harri Sateri made 33 saves on 34 shots in the winning effort, while Phantom goalie Cal Heeter made 29 saves on 32 shots for Adirondack. The clock expired after the opening 20 minutes of action with the Sharks leading the Phantoms 1-0. The single marker came at 5:57 after Matt Pelech sent a shot through traffic from along the right side of the boards that found Heeter in front. Heeter made the initial save, but Brodie Reid (11th) came skating in to bat the rebound in from the backdoor, as Marek Viedensky also got a touch on the puck and was credited with an assist. Shots were even at 11-11 during the hard-hitting period of play between the two teams. Sateri blanked the Phantoms, blocking all 11 of their attempts. The Sharks led comfortably by a score of 3-0 after the close of the middle frame as Sateri again slated the Phantom offense. Worcester recorded its second mark of the evening just 1:01 into the period after Mirco Mueller exited the penalty box and skated over to the bench. Before coming off for a change he picked up a puck and found Adam Comrie open in the center of the Sharks offensive zone. Comrie (3rd) then skated towards Heeter on a one-on-one, freezing him before sliding a backhander near-post of a diving Heeter. The second tally of the period happened at 8:41 when Comrie skated the puck along the right boards of the offensive zone and sent a dish back to an overlapping Freddie Hamilton. Hamilton then sent a wrister from just outside the right circle the Eriah Hayes (11th) tipped by Heeter at the far left pipe. Worcester outshot Adirondack with 13 shots while the Phantoms again registered 11. The Phantoms were able to get on the scoreboard with a single third period goal, before the Sharks sealed a 4-1 win with an empty net goal as the clock ran down. The lone Adirondack goal of the tilt came just :52 into the period after the Phantoms cycled the puck in their offensive zone. The puck eventually found Derek Whitmore in the slot, who sent it to Brandon Alderson (10th) to one-time in from outside the left post. With 1:20 left, Heeter was on the bench and an extra Phantom attacker was on the ice to try to bring the score closer, but Freddie Hamilton (22nd) shut down the Phantoms hopes with an empty netter to solidify the win. The Sharks’ overall record improves to 35-32-4-2, 76pts and 18-15-1-1, 38pts at home.
2015 vs Providence 3-0 loss
(WORSHARKS) The Worcester Sharks ( 40-26-4-2, 86pts) continued their 3-in-3 weekend with a tough 3-0 loss to the Providence Bruins ( 40-23-7-2, 89pts) in front of 5,538 fans at the DCU Center on Saturday night. With the loss, the Sharks remain in 7th place in the Eastern Conference with four regular season games left on the schedule. Three skaters scored for Providence including Yann Sauve (1-0-1, +1), Frank Vatrano (1-0-1, E), and Tyler Randell (1-0-1, +1) in the 3-0 shutout over Worcester. Although the Sharks outshot the Bruins 33-24, they could not manage a goal, as Malcolm Subban picked up a shutout and his 15th win, making 33 saves in the victory. Troy Grosenick made 21 saves in net for Worcester as the Sharks magic number remains at 1. Worcester had two power play opportunities but were unable to capitalize. Troy Grosenick made 11 first-period saves while Malcolm Subban stopped 10 shots from the Sharks in a scoreless first period. Providence got on the board at the 8:29 mark of the second period when defenseman Yann Sauve (2nd ) ripped a shot from the left point, beating Worcester goaltender Troy Grosenick to make it 1-0 Bruins. With 1:56 left in the second frame, the Bruins tacked on another during a power play after forward Frank Vatrano (1st) slung a wrist shot from the right circle, which found the back of the net for his 1st professional goal. Both teams managed 9 shots in the period, but Providence had the 2-0 advantage though forty minutes. At 7:22 of the final period, a fight broke out in the Sharks’ zone between Worcester forward Matt Willows and Providence’s forward Andrew Cherniwchan, resulting in fighting penalties on both sides. The Bruins added a third goal with 4:39 left in the game when right winger Tyler Randell (10th) stuffed it in from close to give Providence the 3-0 lead. They would hold on to that lead as Bruins’ goaltender Malcolm Subban picked up the shutout and his 15th win of the season. The Sharks overall record falls to 40-26-4-2, 86pts and 22-11-2-1, 47pts at the DCU Center this season.
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