1998 at Hartford 5-1 loss (New England Division F, trail 2-0)
The Worcester IceCats were never really in their game two contest with the Wolf Pack and lost 5-1. Brad Smyth (2:51,pp) and Vladimir Vorobiev (15:57) both scored in the first period, and in the second Vorobiev (7:56) and Daniel Goneau (17:18) tallied. Stephane Roy got the IceCats on the board at 1:58 of the third on the power play, with Bob Lachance and Libor Zabransky assisting. Smyth then scored at 15:07 for the 5-1 final. Both Fred Cassivi (17 saves) and Brent Johnson (14 saves) played in the game. Dan Cloutier had 42 saves for Hartford.
1999 vs Providence 6-3 loss (New England Division SF, eliminated 3-1)
The Worcester IceCats needed a win to stay alive in the Calder Cup playoffs, but instead found themselves on the wrong end of a 6-3 contest and were eliminated. After a scoreless first period Eric Nickulas gave Providence the lead with a power play goal at 2:22 of the second period. Less than a minute later Shayne Toporowski scored an unassisted goal at 2:56 to tie the game. John Spoltore have the Bruins their lead back at 7:05, and Nickulas scored again on the power play at 12:15 to make it 3-1. In the third the ‘Cats came roaring back to tie it on a power play goal by Ladislav Nagy at 5:00 and Tyson Nash while at even strength at 7:41. Stephane Roy assisted on boarg goals, and Nagy added a helper to Nash’s score. Providence would take the lead for good at 12:55 on a goal from Antti Laaksonen, and Nickulas (18:59) and Marquis Mathieu (19:35) for the 6-3 final. Brent Johnson made 33 saves in the loss.
2001 vs Providence 3-2 loss OT (New England Division F, eliminated 4-3)
In what is considered by many to be the most heartbreaking loss in IceCats history, a slow whistle by referee Stephane Auger allowed the Bruins to knock the puck loose from under netminder Dwayne Roloson, where it was accidentally kicked into his own net by defenseman Dan Trebil to give the ‘Cats a 3-2 overtime loss and eliminate them from the playoffs. Jame Pollock got Worcester on the board at 8:04 of the opening period on the power play, with Sebastien Bordeleau and Mark Rycroft assisting. In the second period Kent Hulst tied it for the Baby-Bs at 16:27, and in the third period Providence took the lead on a Peter Ferraro strike at 10:05. Just 23 seconds later Justin Papineau tied it for the ‘Cats with Mike Van Ryn and Jamie Pollcok helping. So to overtime the teams went, and at 12:09 the red lght went on behind the IceCats net to end their season. Jeremy Brown was given credit for the goal.
2004 vs Hartford 3-0 loss (Atlantic Division F, trail 2-0)
(ICECATS) The Worcester IceCats lost 3-0 to the Hartford Wolf Pack in Game Two of the AHL’s Atlantic Division Finals Saturday, and fell behind 2-0 in the best-of-seven series. Chad Wiseman scored on a 5-on-3 power play 1:08 into the second period. Ryan Cuthbert converted later on a defensive turnover to make it 2-0 Hartford, 27 seconds into the third. Ken Gernander added an empty-netter with 15 seconds remaining in regulation. Cody Rudkowsky made 28 saves in the loss, one night after making 46 saves in an ECHL Eastern Conference Finals game as a member of the Reading Royals. Rudkowsky was summoned after Curtis Sanford was shaken-up in Game One on Friday night. Jason LaBarbera made 20 saves for Hartford, and now has three playoff shutouts. He set an AHL record with 13 regular season shutouts.
2010 at Manchester 3-2 win (Atlantic Division F, tied 2-2)
(WORSHARKS) The Sharks scored two goals in the third period to overcome a one goal deficit and shocked the Monarchs in Game 4 of the Atlantic Division Finals, 3-2 at the Verizon Wireless Arena on Saturday night. The series is now tied at two games apiece. The Sharks scored the first goal of the game for the first time in the series, and came from behind for the third time in the playoffs with a stunning goal from Derek Joslin with 33.3 seconds remaining in the third period to tie the series at 2-2. The Sharks came out buzzing in the opening period and scored first for the first time in the series. Ryan Vesce (2nd) fired a loose puck in a scramble past Jonathan Bernier from the left side on the power play to give Worcester a 1-0 lead. Worcester was a perfect 3-for-3 on the penalty kill and out shot Manchester 12-10 in the opening twenty minutes and had a 1-0 advantage. Worcester was unable to score on an early 5-on-3 advantage in the middle period and the Monarchs made them pay. The Monarchs scored twice in a 63 second span midway through the period to take a 2-1 lead. Gabe Gauthier (2nd) went coast-to-coast down the left wing and fired a hard low shot off the post and past Alex Stalock at 12:36. Justin Azevedo (2nd) was left alone in front of the Sharks net and buried a nice feed from Bud Holloway from behind the Sharks net at 13:39. The Sharks trailed 2-1 after forty minutes of play. Cory Quirk (2nd) tied the score at 2-2 at 10:54 as he jammed the puck past Bernier after a mess of players collided at the top of the crease. Worcester kept the pressure on and scored the game winner on a similar play. With Bernier on his back, and a mad scramble on top of the crease, Derek Joslin (4th) poked the puck through for the game winning strike with just 33.3 seconds remaining for a thrilling 3-2 victory. Worcester outshot the Monarchs 13-2 in the third period.
2015 at Hershey 10-4 loss (Eastern Conference QF, eliminated 3-1)
(WORSHARKS) The Worcester Sharks (#7 seed in East) season came to an end after a Game 4 loss to the Hershey Bears (#2 seed in East) by the score of 10-4 in front 7,874 fans at the GIANT Center on Friday evening in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. The Bears won the series 3-1 as the Sharks played their last game as the Worcester Sharks. Dylan Demelo, Karl Stollery, Ryaln Schwartz, and Matt Taormina scored for Worcester while Troy Grosenick and Aaron Dell each saw action for the Sharks in the loss. Casey Wellman (3-1-4), Chris Brown (2-0-2), Jacub Vrana (1-2-3), Tim Kennedy (1-2-3), and Cameron Schilling (1-2-3) all had big games for the Bears while Phillipp Grubauer (19-21) and Pheonix Copley (11-13) held down the fort in net as Hershey advanced to the second round of the Calder Cup playoffs. A wild first period saw five total goals, nine penalties, 22 total shots, three goaltenders, and two timeouts used. Hershey scored three goals on four shots in the first 10:40 on goaltender Troy Grosenick to give Hershey a 3-0 advantage. Chris Brown (2nd) at 24 seconds, Dustin Gazley (1st) a shorthanded breakaway at 3:44, and Jacob Vrana (1st) at 10:40 scored for the Bears during the opening flurry. Aaron Dell replaced Troy Grosenick in net after the Vrana score. The Sharks finally got on the board after a goal mouth scramble which led to Ryan Carpenter finding birthday boy Dylan Demelo (1st) in the crease for an easy tap in at 12:17. Hershey scored with a two man advantage at 16:10 as Nate Schmidt (2nd) sent a puck across the crease that went off a Worcester defender and past Aaron Dell to give the Bears a 4-1 lead after 20 minutes. Each team had 11 shots on goals as Phillipp Grubauer made 10 saves for Hershey. Hershey scored twice more in the second period to take a 6-2 lead into the second intermission. Karl Stollery (1st) fired home a power play goal at 4:07 of the second period to get the Sharks within a pair of goals at 4-2. But Cameron Schilling (2nd) answered back at 9:05 with a one timer shot from the left circle after a cross ice feed from Tim Kennedy to put Hershey ahead 5-2. Evan Trupp was ejected for slashing at 17:55 and the Bears scored on the major power play at 19:32 as Tim Kennedy (1st) gave the Bears a four goal advantage. Shots 31-21 Bears through 40 minutes as the Sharks trailed 6-2 after two periods of play. Pheonix Copley began the third period in net for the Bears as Grubauer left the game with an undisclosed injury. Casey Wellman struck on the PP (2nd) at 1:28, Liam O’Brien (2nd) on the PP at 1:28 and Casey Wellman again at 2:09 of the third period put the game away for the Bears and gave Hershey a 9-2 lead early in the third period. Troy Grosenick came back in net for Worcester at 2:09 of the third period and Chris Brown (3rd) scored again at 8:06 to put Hershey up 10-2. Rylan Schwartz (1st) at 11:05 and Matt Taormina (1st) at 15:07 tacked on late goals for the Sharks as the Bears took Game 4 by the count of 10-4.
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