1999 vs New Haven 6-1 win
The IceCats swarmed all over the Beast of New Haven in a 6-1 victory. Jochen Hecht opened the scoring for Worcester with a power play goal at 8:58 of the first period, with Marty Reasoner picking up the assist. Derek Bekar, assisted by Bryce Salvador and Bryan Helmer, would make it 2-0 with an even strength goal 9:36. Tyson Nash would then grab the next two goals for Worcester, the first being shorthanded at 10:31 assisted by Reasoner and goaltender Brent Johnson, and the second a power play tally at 14:28 with Bekar getting the helper. Kevin Sawyer would make it five IceCats goals in a row with a third period strike at 10:03 assisted by Shayne Toporowski. Chad Cabana would ruin Johnson’s shutout bid at 11:00. Bekar would grab his second of the game, assisted by Nash and Stephane Roy, at 12:34 for the 6-1 final. Johnson ended the game with 22 saves.
2001 at Lowell 3-2 win OT (New England Division SF, win series 3-1)
(TICKER) Eric Boguniecki scored a pair of goals, including the game-winner in overtime, and assisted on another as the Worcester IceCats beat the Lowell Lock Monsters, 3-2, to advance to the second round of the AHL playoffs. Boguniecki netted his third postseason goal with just 1:19 remaining in the first overtime period. Boguniecki assisted on Pascal Rheaume’s first-period power-play score and collected his first goal of the contest midway through the second stanza, giving Worcester a 2-0 lead. Marko Tuomainen and Chris Schmidt scored goals within a 1:41 span in the second period to tie the contest for Lowell. Dwayne Roloson turned away 38 shots, including 13 in overtime, for the win. Travis Scott surrendered all three goals on 47 shots for the loss.
2004 at Manchester 3-2 win OT (Atlantic Division SF, lead 2-0)
(MONARCHS) Left wing Scott Pellerin’s goal 7:46 into overtime propelled the Worcester IceCats to a 3-2 win over the Manchester Monarchs in Game 2 of an Atlantic Division semifinal series on Saturday night. Pellerin’s first goal of the playoffs frustrated the energetic crowd of 6,589 at the Verizon Wireless Arena, and gave the IceCats a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. Defenseman Jame Pollock assisted on the game-winner as Pellerin tucked home his drive from the point after the puck slid between the pads of goaltender Milan Hnilicka. Center Jeff Panzer also assisted on the game-winner. The Monarchs collected the only goal of the opening period by taking advantage of a late power play opportunity. Defensemen Bryan Muir and Denis Grebeshkov shared assists on right wing Pavel Rosa’s first postseason goal, scored with laser-like precision from the left circle with just 27 seconds remaining in the stanza. Rosa, the AHL’s scoring champ with 88 points (39-49=88) in 77 regular season games, also nearly scored earlier in the period, but his right circle slap shot drilled the right post 3:01 into the frame. The IceCats tied the game 6:03 into the middle period with a power play goal from left wing Peter Sejna, who completed an odd-man rush into the Monarchs zone with his first playoff goal. Sejna scored after his sharp-angled shot from the bottom of the right circle deflected off of the stick of defenseman Maxim Kuznetsov, and then caromed into the Manchester net. Panzer had the lone assist on the play, batting the puck back toward Sejna, who earlier had been robbed on a diving stop by Hnilicka. The IceCats grabbed the lead with their second power play goal of the game, scored from the left point by Pollock 13:58 into the frame. Left wing Marc Brown and defenseman Trevor Byrne assisted on Pollock’s first playoff goal and first of two points on the night. Pollock leads the IceCats with three points (1-2=3) in two playoff games. The Monarchs tied the game at 2 apiece by scoring the only third period goal, and right wing Scott Barney’s excellent board work led to the marker. The lanky winger cycled out of the corner, faked a shot, and then shuffled his backdoor pass to the left side of the crease. Center Yanick Lehoux took the feed and slammed it past goaltender Curtis Sanford at 7:22. Rosa collected his second point of the game (0-2=2) with an assist on the play. He leads the Monarchs with three points (1-2=3) in two playoff games. Sanford (2-0-0) finished with 28 saves and his second series win. Hnilicka (0-2-0) finished with 26 stops. The IceCats had two power play goals on five chances. The Monarchs were 1-for-3 with the man-advantage.
2005 vs Manchester 2-1 loss
(MONARCHS) Goaltender Mathieu Garon made 29 saves as the Manchester Monarchs skated past the Worcester IceCats 2-1 before a crowd of 10,211 at the DCU Center on Sunday afternoon. Left wing Noah Clarke started the scoring for the Monarchs with his 21st goal of the season at 11:41 of the first period. Defenseman Mike Weaver shoveled a pass to Clarke just inside the IceCats blueline and Clarke riffled the puck past Worcester goaltender Curtis Sanford. Right wing Tom Kostopoulos also assisted on the play. Defenseman Denis Grebeshkov scored the game-winning goal on a breakaway as he stepped out of the penalty box to a perfect pass from center David Hymovitz. Kostopoulos added an assist to Grebeshkov’s fifth of the year at 17:50 of the first period. The IceCats lone goal came at 8:23 of the final period as center Brendan Brooks was able to poke the puck free from a scramble in front of the net and past Garon for his 20th goal of the season. It was the final goal scored in IceCats franchise history. Left wings D.J. King and Brian McCullough assisted on the goal. Manchester and Worcester each went 0-for-1 on the power play.
2010 at Lowell 3-2 win (Atlantic Division SF, lead 2-1)
(WORSHARKS) For the third straight game in this series, it was a 3-2 final, as Worcester won game three over the Lowell Devils at the Tsongas Center Saturday night. The Sharks now lead the best-of-seven series, 2-1. Alex Stalock was tremendous in net, making 32 saves for the Sharks. Derek Joslin scored the game-winning goal, his second goal in as many games, and Andrew Desjardins chipped in with two assists. Worcester started game three much like they started game two; with plenty of pressure. Unlike game two, when they had a goal disallowed early in the first period, the Sharks made it count in game three as they hopped out to an early 1-0 lead at the 5:24 mark. Desjardins centered a pass across the crease that Dan DaSilva (2) took two whacks at, with the second attempt beating Mike McKenna to put the Sharks on top. The Sharks extended their lead to 2-0, on the power play 16:05 into the period, as a Frazer McLaren strong body check in the neutral zone freed up Desjardins who streaked down the right side and slid a pass across to Trevelyan (1) who rifled one past McKenna. It was one of five power plays in the first period for the Sharks, but the only one they converted. The Sharks outshot the Devils, 18-7. Lowell cut the deficit in half on the power play, 17:52 into the second period, when David McIntyre (1) forced a turnover in the Sharks zone and shifted his way past Stalock. Bret Snetsinger and Nathan Perkovich assisted on the goal. However, the Sharks stemmed the tide at the 19:19 mark when Joslin (2) wristed one from the high slot past the blocker of McKenna. Steven Zalewski and Brandon Mashinter earned the assists as the Sharks regained their two-goal lead, 3-1. Lowell outshot Worcester by a margin of 16-7. Matt Taormina (1) inched Lowell closer, 14:07 into the third period, with the Devils on the man advantage. Taormina’s blast from the point rippled the back of the net and the Devils trailed 3-2. It would be as close as Lowell would get though, as the Sharks held on for a 3-2 victory. The Devils held the shot advantage, 11-6.
2013 vs Springfield 4-3 loss
(WORSHARKS) The Worcester Sharks (30-34-4-6, 70pts) fell to the Springfield Falcons (44-21-5-4, 97pts) by the count of 4-3 on Wednesday evening in front of 3,695 fans in the final home game of the season at the DCU Center. Lane Scheidl scored his first professional goal, Eriah Hayes added a goal and an assist, and Daniil Tarasov scored on the power play in the loss as Worcester dressed 12 rookies and seven players on ATO’s. With the loss, the Sharks will finish under .500 this season with two game remaining. Each team scored three goals in a high scoring opening frame including three power play strikes. Eriah Hayes (2nd) gave the Sharks a 1-0 lead at 2:57 with a 5-on-3 power play goal with a wicked shot from the left faceoff dot with Riley Brace providing a screen in front of goalie Curtis McElhinney. Boone Jenner (2nd) deflected a centering feed from Nick Drazenovic through the pads of Harri Sateri as Springfield tied the game on the power play at 9:15. The Falcons went ahead 2-1 at 11:16 with Spencer Machacek (15th) finishing off a 2-on-1 after the Sharks turned the puck over right before their blue line. Lane Scheidl (1st) scored his first professional goal after following up a Sebastian Stalberg rush with a wrister into the back of the net at 15:13 to tie the score at 2-2. The Falcons went ahead again at 16:16 as Jake Hansen (3rd) found a bouncing puck in the right circle and swept it through Sateri to put Springfield up 3-2. Worcester would tie the game again at 3-3 with a late power play rebound marker by Daniil Tarasov (13th) at 19:57 to head into the intermission even with the Falcons. Springfield had five power plays in the 2nd period and scored the only goal in the middle frame. Michael Chaput (13th) jammed home a loose puck in a scramble in front of the Worcester net at 16:01 to put Springfield ahead 4-3. Shots were 21-18 in favor of Worcester through 40 minutes. Neither team found the back of the net in the third period as the Sharks outshot the Falcons 11-6 in the final frame. Curtis McElhinney stood tall to keep the Sharks at bay as the Falcons held on for the 4-3 victory.
2015 at Providence 5-2 win
(WORSHARKS) The Worcester Sharks (41-27-4-2, 88pts) clinched a playoff spot for the first time since 2010 with an impressive 5-2 win over the host Providence Bruins (40-25-7-2, 89pts) in front of 8,739 fans at the Dunkin Donuts Center on Friday evening. With the win, the Sharks remain in 7th place in the Eastern Conference with two games remaining in the regular season. Chris Tierney (1-2-3) and Barclay Goodrow (0-2-2) had multipoint games for Worcester while Troy Grosenick made 25 saves for his 20th win of the season. Matt Taormina (10th), Rylan Schwartz (5th), Daniil Tarasov (16th), and Matt Tennyson (4th) also scored for Worcester in a physical contest that featured three fights. The Sharks finished with a 46-46-10 in 102 career matchups vs. the Providence Bruins all-time. Back from the Boston Bruins, rookie David Pastrnak (11th) gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead at 5:18 after his quick snap shot from on top of the right circle got through a screen and snuck through the pads of Troy Grosenick. Worcester would even the score as Chris Tierney (8th) fired a wicked shot on the rush from 30 feet that beat goaltender Malcolm Subban on the glove side at 13:47. The score was tied 1-1 after 20 minutes with the Bruins holding a 14-8 shot advantage. The second period featured three fights with each team finding the back of the net once. Micheal Haley picked up his team leading 10th fighting major after he fought Tyler Randell at 2:06 which all started after a huge hit by Eriah Hayes on Chris Casto. The Sharks grabbed a 2-1 lead at 3:51 after Matt Taormina (10th) fired a quick wrister from the left wall at the blue line that found its way through a maze of bodies and past Subban. The Bruins tied the game at 7:14 after a great individual effort by Rob Flick (17th) as he won the puck behind the net and carried in front and fired a shot top shelf. Daniil Tarasov picked up his first fighting major this season with a quick scrap with Justin Florek at 19:06. On the ensuing faceoff Gus Young (3rd) won a one sided fight vs. Ben Sexton at 19:06. The two teams headed into the second intermission tied 2-2 with the Bruins holding a 22-17 shot advantage. The Sharks exploded for three goals in the third period with Rylan Schwartz (5th) netting the eventual game winner with a quick wraparound strike at 3:06 to give Worcester a 3-2 lead. Daniil Tarasov (16th) fired home a rebound score at 10:20 and Matt Tennyson (4th) finished the scoring at 17:39 with a blast from on top of the right circle. Worcester outshot Providence 12-5 in the third period. The Sharks overall record improves to 41-27-4-2, 88pts and 19-15-2-1, 41pts on the road this season.
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