SHARKSPAGE

WorSharks silence Sound Tigers with 2-1 shootout win

The Worcester Sharks outhit, outshot, outfought, and basically out-everythinged the Bridgeport Sound Tigers but still found themselves outscored until Taylor Doherty blasted an absolute bomb that found the back of the net early in the third period to get the WorSharks back to even, where rookie goaltender Troy Grosenick kept them with several big saves and then was perfect in the shootout as Worcester defeated Bridgeport 2-1 in front of 3,305 fans.

WorSharks defenseman Taylor Doherty notched the WorSharks only goal in regulation
but it led the way to a 2-1 shootout victory over Bridgeport on Saturday
File photo courtesy of TEAMSHRED

For video highlights we point to AHLlive.com, mostly because the YouTube videos have the audio of the Sound Tigers, and WorSharks radioman Eric Lindquist’s call of the fights is great.

Scratches for the WorSharks were Konrad Abeltshauser, Sena Acolatse (lower body), Lane Scheidl (knee), Sebastian Stalberg, Daniil Tarasov (groin), and Marek Viedensky. Harri Sateri was the backup goaltender.

If there’s anyone out there that thinks extending the current five minute overtime period to ten minutes won’t result in less shootouts all they need to do is check out the following stat: The WorSharks and Sound Tigers combined for 13 shots in the 20 minute third period and 12 in the five minute four-on-four overtime stanza. If it wasn’t for several big saves by Grosenick and Bridgeport netminder Kenny Reiter in overtime there would have been a winner in the extra period. Five more minutes would have most certainly led to a game winning goal.

In hockey, there’s a time to fight and a time to just take a number. Bridgeport rookie defenseman Scott Mayfield hopefully learned that lesson last night when after deciding he’d had enough Eriah Hayes dropped the gloves with Hayes along the far half boards in the Sound Tigers zone. The only problem with that was 130 feet away Bridgeport winger Kirill Kabanov was heading in all alone on Grosenick for a breakaway. Not only did referee Trevor Hanson’s whistle stop that scoring chance but it also put the Sound Tigers down a man when Mayfield picked up an extra two for roughing.

For the first time since their 4-3 loss to Abbotsford on February 27, 2010 Worcester wasn’t shorthanded in a game as despite handing out 52 minutes in penalties referee Hanson didn’t call a single WorSharks player for a power play educing penalty despite Team Teal having too many men on the ice more than a couple times. Worcester was 0-3 with the man advantage. (Because this writer was unable to dig up the last time Worcester didn’t to kill a penalty Ian Healy of hockeyfights.com jumped into the breach and found the info.)

As this writer also noted on twitter (@210Darryl), I can’t recall a game where so many pucks were laying in the crease and no one could put it in the net. It was easily half a dozen. It also a good think that none appeared to go in and out of the net because the video replay system in apparently not working at the DCU center. That’s something that needs to be fix pronto.

Bracken Kearns started the season on fire, relatively speaking, but has gone pointless in his last six games and still doesn’t have an even strength goal in the current campaign. It looks to this writer like Kearns is trying too hard out there knowing he’s one of the very few legitimate goal scorers on the team. He really needs to just go out and play his game and not try to carry the entire squad on his back.

Even strength lines (courtesy of Michael Fornabaio of the Connecticut Post)
Schwartz-Kearns-DaSilva
Reid-Hamilton-Hayes
Gogol-Oleksuk-Livingston
Bonneau-Brace-Pelech

Davison-Tennyson
Comrie-Doherty
Petrecki-Demelo

The three stars of the game were
1. WOR – 4 Taylor Doherty (g)
2. BRI – 35 Kenny Reiter (37 saves)
3. WOR – 15 Brodie Reid (SO game winner)

The Sharkspage player of the game was Troy Grosenick.

BOXSCORE

Bridgeport 1 0 0 0 – 1
Worcester 0 0 1 0 – 2

1st Period-1, Bridgeport, Jackson 2 (Cornell, Strome), 13:58. Penalties-Johnson Bri (unsportsmanlike conduct, fighting), 2:07; Bonneau Wor (unsportsmanlike conduct, fighting), 2:07; Gallant Bri (unsportsmanlike conduct, fighting), 2:09; Pelech Wor (unsportsmanlike conduct, fighting), 2:09; Mayfield Bri (roughing, fighting), 3:37; Hayes Wor (fighting), 3:37; Halmo Bri (roughing), 8:56; Brace Wor (slashing), 8:56; Cornell Bri (holding), 15:46.

2nd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Kabanov Bri (hooking), 4:14.

3rd Period-2, Worcester, Doherty 1 (Schwartz, Hamilton), 4:47. Penalties-Diamond Bri (unsportsmanlike conduct), 3:11; Brace Wor (unsportsmanlike conduct), 3:11.

OT Period- No Scoring.Penalties-No Penalties

Shootout – Bridgeport 0 (Sim NG, Strome NG, Diamond NG, Sundstrom NG), Worcester 2 (DaSilva NG, Reid G, Livingston G).
Shots on Goal-Bridgeport 4-7-4-5-0-20. Worcester 13-9-9-7-1-39.
Power Play Opportunities-Bridgeport 0 / 0; Worcester 0 / 3.
Goalies-Bridgeport, Reiter 1-3-2 (38 shots-37 saves). Worcester, Grosenick 3-2-0 (20 shots-19 saves).
A-3,305
Referees-Trevor Hanson (47).
Linesmen-Todd Whittemore (70), Jack Millea (23).