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Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Niclas Wallin and 5th round draft pick traded to San Jose for 2010 2nd, NHL Olympic trade freeze looms February 12-28th

2010-02-07T13:40:00.001-08:00

CAROLINA HURRICANES DEFENSEMAN #7 NICLAS WALLIN (47GP, 0G, 5A, 26PIM)

UPDATE: According to the News Observer blog, Hurricanes defenseman Niclas Wallin was traded to the Sharks along with a 5th round draft selection in 2010 for the San Jose Sharks 2nd round draft pick in 2010 (acquired from Buffalo). Confirmed via San Jose Sharks official twitter account.

"Niclas is a playoff-hardened, veteran player with lots of postseason experience and a Stanley Cup ring. Good, solid character players are hard to come by and we think he will complement our existing group very well. He has a history of playing his best when the games mean the most," San Jose Sharks EVP and general manager Doug Wilson told NHL.com.

After trade talks were recent rumored to be called off, reports were surfacing earlier today that San Jose Sharks EVP/GM Doug Wilson was still interested in trading for the services of 34-year old Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Niclas Wallin. San Jose Mercury News beat writer David Pollak noted on his blog last night after a 4-3 win over Nashville that the Sharks were still interested in Wallin. "Those conversations that would bring Niclas Wallin from Carolina to San Jose are back on again, according to a source familiar with the situation," Pollak said.

After TSN's James Duthie and Darren Dreger broke the news via twitter Wednesday night that the Sharks were interested in Wallin, trade talks apparently broke down with multiple sources in Carolina reporting Friday that the pending trade was "no longer pending". Hurricanes GM Jim Rutherford told Chip Alexander of the News Observer that, "There is no trade." According to Alexander, the apparent 24-hour window for the trade fell through when Wallin did not waive his no-trade clause. Wallin was scratched in a 4-3 win over Buffalo on Friday, and in Saturday's 3-1 win over the Islanders.

Bob Harwood Waeghe at the Canes Country blog noted Thursday that the sticking point in the talks might be the length of the contract extension San Jose is willing to sign. Canes Country cited a radio interview with Hurricanes radio play-by-play announcer Chuck Kaiton, where Kaiton believed the Sharks wanted to sign the 6-foot-3, 220-pound Wallin to a 2-year deal where the defenseman and his agent Paul Theofanous only wanted 1. Kaiton believed a good return for Wallin would be a second round draft pick (in a good, but not great draft).

ESPN insider Pierre LeBrun blogged today that, "Wallin has a no-trade clause, and it's believed he was seeking a contract extension to waive it." The Swedish-born Wallin is playing in the final year of a four-year, $6.9 million contract he signed with the Hurricanes in 2006.

For their part, the Sharks put up results earning 11 out of a possible 12 points in Boyle's 6-game absence due to a lower body injury, but scrambly losses to Chicago and Detroit highlighted possible weaknesses on the blueline. Minute eating defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic was also injured in the first period against Chicago, and the Sharks were forced to mix up all three D pairs with the addition of Worcester Sharks callups Jason Demers and Derek Joslin. Rookie Demers put forth his worst performance in the NHL to date against Chicago, with mistakes directly and indirectly leading to Blackhawks goals and scoring chances. He rebounded with his first 2 goal performance of the season against Minnesota, but management in San Jose has to be eyeing Demers with a focus on the postseason.

The Sharks were blessed with a puck moving element on each defensive pair last season (Boyle, Blake/Vlasic, Ehrhoff), and the result was 4 defenseman registering 30 or more assists for only the 4th time in NHL history. The Sharks needed to clear salary for Dany Heatley, and a significant portion of the blueline was turned over with the loss of Ehrhoff, Lukowich and Semenov. San Jose moved hulking Douglas Murray up to the top pair with Dan Boyle with great results, but Rob Blake and Marc-Edouard Vlasic have struggled to maintain their production from last season on the second pairing. Kent Huskins, who signed a 2-year, $3.4 million dollar contract with San Jose in the offseason, started on the third pair with rookie offensive-defenseman Jason Demers.

Demers registered a goal and 12 assists in his first two months of play, but a lack of intensity in his own zone and inconsistent play have been problems. Derek Joslin, whom this blog labeled a polished depth defenseman in the past, has taken a half a step back in his development this season. A fleet of foot skater with adequate size, positioning and defensive zone coverage have been problems for Joslin as well. Enter veteran defenseman Jay Leach, who was claimed off waivers from Montreal on December 1st. With Montreal responsible for half of his $475,000 cap hit, Leach quickly developed chemistry on the third pairing with Huskins.

The Sharks are tight against the NHL's $56.8 million cap for 2009-10, with a pair of websites placing them with roughly a million plus in space (prorated for season in progress). Not taken into account by either website are San Jose's near daily transaction wire manipulations. According to an excellent article by David Pollak, on January 16th the Sharks registered 76 seperate transactions, "three times the league average and 28 more than the next busiest team." The Sharks made 9 more transactions from January 16th to February 1st. San Jose has rotated in AHL forwards Frazer McLaren, Benn Ferriero, Ryan Vesce, Logan Couture, John McCarthy, Steve Zalewski and defenseman Jason Demers, Derek Joslin and Joe Callahan to make incremental improvements on the bottom line and provide enough cap room for a deadline trade or an emergency maneuver.

The acquisition of Niclas Wallin helps the Sharks blueline short and long term. In the near term, Wallin can buttress the defense in Marc-Edouard Vlasic's absence. Down the stretch run and in the postseason, Wallin could create a 3-person battle for playing time on the third pair with veterans Kent Huskins and Jay Leach. According to Hockey Forecaster, Wallin is described as a defenseman who "plays a smart game in the defensive zone and makes few mistakes with the puck."

A depth move by San Jose, the Sharks are looking for simple, sound fundamental play from Wallin early. Short chips off the wall and out of the zone, gauging how much time he has to play the puck, use of the body and stick to prevent a clear path to the crease. With the NHL Olympic trade freeze from February 12-28th, that leaves precious little time for GM Doug Wilson and the rest of the NHL to make a move before the March 3rd NHL trade deadline. Whether this is the last, or just the latest, tweak by Wilson remains to be seen.

[Update] San Jose Sharks GM Doug Wilson ready for annual trade dance - Mark Purdy for the San Jose Mercury News.

[Update2] Wilson Brings Blueliner From CarolinaSharks Add Cup Winning Defenseman - SJsharks.com.

This year is an odd year for the NHL’s annual trade deadline as there is a hiatus during the Olympics and then there are only three days for trades following the break. "It's important to have time to integrate someone into the team," said Wilson. "He understands how to play with good players."

A strong part of the trade is the Sharks were able to acquire a player with Wallin's qualities without having to deplete their roster. "It worked out, we wanted to add to our team and not subtract from it," said Wilson.

[Update3] San Jose Sharks acquire defenseman Niclas Wallin from Carolina Hurricanes - San Jose Mercury News. Pollak noted via his blog that Wallin is expected to be in the lineup tomorrow night when the Sharks visit Toronto.

Dan Boyle returns to lineup, 3-point night by Dany Heatley helps Sharks outlast Nashville 4-3 on the road

2010-02-07T08:44:00.000-08:00

#20 EVGENI NABOKOV STONES #19 JASON ARNOTT WITH PIVOTAL SAVE IN 2ND - CSNCA

Dan Boyle returned after missing 6-games with a lower body injury and Dany Heatley registered 2 goals and an assist en route to a sloppy Sharks 4-3 win over Nashville. One day after longtime Predators head coach Barry Trotz called out forward J.P. Dumont's 2-way game and lack of play in front of the net, Dupont responded with 2 goals in the first 2 periods against San Jose. "We win and lose as a team, it's a big loss but we played well," Dupont told Tennessean.com after the game.

The 6-foot-1, 220-pound Dumont is known as a scoring winger, but in his first 3 seasons after signing with Nashville he has yet to eclipse 30 goals. This season Dupont is on pace to match his lackluster 16 goal total from 2008-09. Early Saturday night at the Sommet Center, Dumont showed excellent coordination kicking a rebound off his skates and burying a point blank shot to open the scoring against the Western Conference leading Sharks. The Sharks answered with 4th-liner Brad Staubitz snapping a 16 game goal scoring drought. On a mixed-and-matched line with Pavelski and Mitchell, Staubitz took a clean faceoff win by Pavelski and drove to the left faceoff circle. After passing back to Huskins on the point, Staubitz drove the net and wedged the rebound of Huskins shot up and over Pekke Rinne to tie the game at 1-1.

Dumont scored his second goal of the game on a power play. About 10 feet farther out in the slot than his first goal, Dumont slid to an open area and buried a 1-timer as Heatley and Thornton scrambled for position on the penalty kill. Nashville was carrying much of the action in the second period, and they ended up outshooting San Jose 38-29 for the game. Factoring in shots that missed the net and blocked shots (CORSI number), that figure was 64-40. Despite allowing 1 power play goal on 3 opportunities against, the Sharks capitalized on 2 of their own 4 power plays, and finished a solid 63% from the faceoff circle (43-25). "They're No. 1 in the league and there's a reason why, they have a lot of experience there and some size. They do a good job in the face-off circle. Faceoffs haven't been a strength for us this year," Barry Trotz said.

The Sharks have a reputation at times of scoring their way out of problems, and Saturday night it was Dany Heatley who would lead that comeback. It would begin with spectacular goaltending by Evgeni Nabokov. After Brad Staubitz took a boarding penalty in the second, Joe Pavelski blocked a point shot on the PK but Patrick Marleau could not clear. Defesneman Shea Weber instantly fed captain Jason Arnott in front of the net to the left of Nabokov. Rob Blake had released up ice thinking Marleau would clear the blue line, so Arnott had an open lane to pass across the goal mouth to an unchecked Patric Hornqvist. Nabokov sealed the right post, forcing Hornqvist to pass back across the crease to Arnott. Jason Arnott fired a shot towards the center of the net, but Nabokov reversed direction and kicked the puck off the goal line with a pivotal skate save.

The Sharks would capitalize on Nabokov's performance minutes later when sniper Dany Heatley scored his 31st goal of the season on the power play. Heatley took a pass on the point from Devin Setoguchi, took 2 strides and wristed a shot that beat Rinne cleanly from 43-feet out. Marleau and 3 Predators provided a screen in front of the 6-foot-5, 206-pound Rinne on the play. After Joel Ward scored on a breakaway to give Nashville their third and final 1-goal lead of the game, goaltender Evgeni Nabokov came up with another explosive pad save to keep the game manageable. Ryane Clowe turned the puck over to Hornqvist in his own zone, creating a 2-on-0 odd man rush for Hornqvist and Arnott in front of the net. Hornqvist tried a hesitation forehand to backhand move, but Nabokov ate his lunch snapping his right pad out to close down the short side.

While the game realistically should have been 5-2 Nashville, it was 3-2 with an opportunity for the Sharks to pull off a patented late game comeback. A 3-on-2 rush for San Jose saw Patrick Marleau snap a shot wide off the end boards. The rebound came directly to Dany Heatley on the opposite side of the crease. Heatley wristed a quick shot, which was deflected off the goal line by a reverse facing Pekka Rinne. Rinne made a backhanded glove save after first trying to locate the puck behind the net, then diving to his left to cover the lower portion of the goal. Defenseman Rob Blake gained position at the top of the paint, then slid a quick backhand under Rinne to tie the game at 3-3.

"They played tight. They have good goaltending, some guys offensively that are quick and can make plays, I thought Nabby made some real huge saves and the right times for us tonight," Dany Heatley said after the game.

Dirk Hoag at ontheforecheck.com notes that after two periods the teams were tied with 22 shots apiece, and that Nabokov's 16 saves on 16 third period Nashville shots was the deciding factor in the game. After withstanding an early Preds barrage, defenseman Dan Hamhuis took a boarding penalty at 11:32. The Team Canada + USA/Russia power play unit was on for the Sharks as 6 Olympians took the ice (Marleau/Heatley/Thornton, Boyle, Pavelski and Nabokov). To say the door was open to win the game would be putting it mildly. Thornton and Marleau used a give-and-go to create room along the half boards. Dany Heatley gained stick and body position on defenseman Francis Bouillon, and he hammered home a hard pass from Patrick Marleau to give the Sharks their first lead of the game at 4-3.

"It wasn't a real good game. Between the second and third we were actually commenting that it felt like a September game, an exhibition game... It was sloppy, with turnovers, it was a little all over the map," San Jose Sharks head coach Todd McLellan told the media. "I thought we settled down in the third, and we were good enough at that point to get the win."

More game notes:

With an undisclosed lower body injury suffered by center Manny Malhotra in the last game against St. Louis, the Sharks dressed 7 defenseman and 11 forwards for Nashville. Defenseman Dan Boyle skated 21 shifts for 19:10 of ice time after returning from a 6-game absence. He registered 2 shots on goal, and 2 blocked shots. Defenseman Kent Huskins played in his 200th NHL game. Jody Shelley dropped the gloves twice with right wing Wade Belak for his 8th and 9th fights of the season according to David Singer of Hockeyfights.com. Tampa Bay center Zenon Konopka and recently traded Brandon Prust (NYR) lead the NHL with 21 total fights. Former Shark Marcel Goc was an injury scratch for Nashville. He is day-to-day with an upper body injury but is expected to return against the Islanders on Tuesday. Goc signed a 1-year, $775,000 contract extension with the Predators last week, and will join current and former San Jose Sharks backup goaltenders Thomas Greiss and Dimitri Pätzold, as well as former Sharks Christian Ehrhoff and Marco Sturm on the roster for Team Germany at the 2010 Olympics.

[Update] San Jose Sharks Coach and Players Comments after the Sharks 4-3 Win over the Nashville Predators - Youtube video by Buddy Oakes.

[Update2] Stop me if you think you've heard this one before, Sharks' fans - Jim Adams for TheUnion.com.

There is a certain snarl in San Jose these days. Excuse the discontent and general air of skepticism. The natives, indeed, are restless, and their wait-and-see attitude through these dog days of hockey's winter would leave the casual fan of the San Jose Sharks wondering if this were a first or last place team.

You see, not even a season full of sellouts, the best record in the Western Conference, the league's leading goal scorer, or the best penalty killing unit in the National Hockey League provides comfort.

Stop, I have heard it before.

Darryl Hunt: Shorthanded WorSharks Drop Game to Providence, 5-3

2010-02-07T05:06:00.000-08:00

The Worcester Sharks overcame several mental mistakes early in the game to take a late second period lead, only to lose that lead in the third period while playing half the period shorthanded in a 5-3 loss to the Providence Bruins Saturday night at the DCU Center in front of 6,319 fans.

Worcester defenseman Mike Moore would have the first costly mental error when six seconds into killing Joe Loprieno's interference minor his clearing attempt went into the crowd for an automatic delay of game minor. Providence would connect just nine seconds into their two man advantage when Trent Whitfield fired his own rebound over WorSharks goaltender Alex Stalock's right shoulder and just inside the far post for the 1-0 lead at 7:19 of the first period.

The WorSharks would even the score while skating with a two man advantage of their own early in the second period with Providence's Mikko Lehtonen in the box and referee Jamie Koharski ready to call a delayed minor on the Baby-Bs, allowing for Stalock to get to the bench for an extra attacker. Steven Zalewski threw an easy pass to Benn Ferriero, and Ferriero skated to some open ice and fired a seeing eye wrist shot through traffic that beat Providence netminder Dany Sabourin at 1:21. Danny Groulx had the second assist on the play.

WorSharks rookie defenseman Will Colbert, whose play has been very solid despite his limited duty in the AHL, had the second mental error when he lost control of the puck in the faceoff circle to the left of Stalock. P-Bruins' winger Craig Weller pounced on the loose puck and blasted a laser past Stalock to make it 2-1 at 9:08.

Worcester would again draw even with some hard work around the Providence net. After an initial Sabourin save Brandon Mashinter and TJ Trevelyan would both have whacks at the puck, with Trevelyan finally lighting the lamp at 17:37. Moore would also grab an assist on the tying goal.

It would take the WorSharks just 69 seconds to grab their first lead of the game when Jamie McGinn sent an easy backhand pass from the halfboards to Zalewski in the slot. The second year center skated in a couple of strides and threw a wrist shot to the stick side to beat Sabourin for the 3-2 lead at 18:46 of the second period.

Once the third period started the wheels were kicked off the wagon by referee Koharski, who called the WorSharks for six consecutive minors--mostly all terrible calls--resulting in the WorSharks being forced to play nearly half the pivotal period shorthanded. And because Worcester ranks near the bottom in penalty killing in the American Hockey League it was only a matter of time before Providence broke through.

With John McCarthy off for interference--the only truly legitimate penalty against the WorSharks in the period--Lehtonen connected at 6:05 with a one-timer from the circle to the right of Stalock to get Providence even.

The Baby-Bs would get the game winner at 12:05 when Brad Marchand's blast off a face-off rang off the far post and rolled along the goal line behind Stalock and on to the stick of Whitfield, who buried it for the 4-3 Providence lead.

After Lehtonen's empty net goal at 18:51--a goal scored with Koharski's arm up to call what was surely another phantom minor against Worcester--Groulx apparently had enough of the antics of the referee and lit into Koharski, earning himself a minor for unsportsmanlike conduct. After the final horn Groulx continued to show Koharski all the respect he deserved and earned himself a game misconduct for his efforts.

Worcester gets a quick chance to even the score with a game against Providence this afternoon in a pre-Super Bowl tilt in the Ocean State.

GAME NOTES
The WorSharks went with the same line-up as Friday night, and there were no updates to Worcester's injury list.

There were two fights in the contest, with Brandon Mashinter taking on Lane MacDermid in the first period and Dennis McCauley going with Drew Fata in the second period. Both Mashinter and MacDermid landed some clean shots, but Mashinter's finish with a flurry of several clean shots earned him the win. McCauley and Fata was a total mismatch, with McCauley landing an incredible amount of unanswered shots for the easy victory. Andrew Desjardins and Brad Marchand were in an altercation late in the third period that was everything a fight is without actually being called a fight. Both earned ten minute misconducts for their troubles.

With both goaltenders making great saves on the night, the biggest save on the evening may have been Danny Groulx scooping the puck off the goal line behind Stalock and flipping it harmlessly away in the third period while Worcester was killing Kevin Henderson's two minute minor for throwing a clean open ice check, called "roughing" by referee Jamie Koharski as he apparently forgot the hockey was a contact sport.

An update from last Sunday's Lowell game where a pane of the new glass was shattered during warm-ups. In a brief conversation about some of the building upgrades DCU Center General Manager Sandy Dunn was asked by Sharkspage how much one of those new panes of glass cost. Dunn wasn't specific with an amount, simply saying "it's up there", and then added with a smile "we'd prefer that no more get broken".

In the "why can't we get players like that?" department, last night playing against the ECHL affiliate of the San Jose and WorSharks Sharks Kalamazoo K-Wings former WorSharks forward T.J. Fox had a career night scoring two goals and adding five assists to set a single game scoring record for the Wheeling Nailers in their 10-1 over the K-Wings. Fox is averaging just over a point per game for the ECHL affiliate of the Pittsburgh/Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins.

The three stars of the game were
1. Whitfield (2g)
2. Zalewski (g,a)
3. Marchand (2a)

The Sharkspage player of the game was Brandon Mashinter

Even Strength Lines
McGinn/Zalewski/Ferriero
Mashinter/Quirk(Henderson)/Trevelyan
McCarthy/Desjardins/McCauley
McLaren/Henderson(Quirk)/Helminen

Moore/Groulx
Loprieno/Petrecki
Colbert/Liotti

Penalty Kill Lines
Ferriero/McGinn
Henderson/McLaren
Desjardins/McCarthy

Moore/Groulx
Loprieno/Petrecki

Power Play Lines
McGinn/Zalewski/Trevelyan
Mashinter/Desjardins/McCarthy

Groulx/Ferriero
Moore(Loprieno)/Petrecki

BOXSCORE

Providence 1 1 3 - 5
Worcester 0 3 0 - 3

1st Period-1, Providence, Whitfield 12 (Marchand, Arniel), 7:19 (pp). Penalties-Loprieno Wor (interference), 7:04; Moore Wor (delay of game), 7:10; MacDermid Pro (fighting), 10:27; Mashinter Wor (fighting), 10:27; Moore Wor (delay of game), 12:51.

2nd Period-2, Worcester, Ferriero 15 (Groulx, Zalewski), 1:21 (pp). 3, Providence, Weller 2 9:08. 4, Worcester, Trevelyan 10 (Mashinter, Moore), 17:37. 5, Worcester, Zalewski 18 (McGinn), 18:46. Penalties-Lehtonen Pro (interference), 0:44; Marchand Pro (slashing), 1:21; Fata Pro (fighting), 6:22; McCauley Wor (fighting), 6:22; Bodnarchuk Pro (roughing), 10:33; McGinn Wor (roughing), 10:33; Lehtonen Pro (high-sticking), 12:41.

3rd Period-6, Providence, Lehtonen 15 (Penner, Wozniewski), 6:05 (pp). 7, Providence, Whitfield 13 (Marchand), 12:45. 8, Providence, Lehtonen 16 (Weller), 18:51 (en). Penalties-Loprieno Wor (tripping), 1:31; McCarthy Wor (interference), 5:59; Henderson Wor (roughing), 7:26; Petrecki Wor (slashing), 9:15; Henderson Wor (high-sticking), 13:39; Groulx Wor (unsportsmanlike conduct), 18:51; Marchand Pro (misconduct), 19:25; Desjardins Wor (misconduct), 19:25; Groulx Wor (game misconduct), 20:00.

Shots on Goal
Providence 12-5-10-27
Worcester 4-17-11-32.

Power Play Opportunities
Providence 2 of 9
Worcester 1 of 3.

Goalies
Providence, Sabourin 20-17-0 (32 shots-29 saves)
Worcester, Stalock 27-12-1 (26 shots-22 saves).

A-6,319. Referee-Jamie Koharski (84). Linesmen-Ed Boyle (81), Chris Millea (33).

Darryl Hunt: Sexsmith, WorSharks Shutout Devils, 3-0

2010-02-06T06:45:00.000-08:00

The Worcester Sharks used great team defense to help rookie goaltender Tyson Sexsmith to his first professional shutout in defeating the Lowell Devils 3-0 Friday night at the DCU Center in Worcester, Massachusetts in front of 3,012 fans. The win, coupled with the Manchester Monarchs loss, put the WorSharks in first place in the Atlantic division with three games in hand.

With Lowell's Olivier Magnan serving the second of a two game suspension for boarding Logan Couture Sunday afternoon, all thoughts were on the WorSharks looking to possibly settle the score. And Worcester showed exactly how they were going to do that right after the opening faceoff when Dennis McCauley leveled Lowell winger Patrick Davis in the center ice circle with a huge shoulder hit.

Referee Jean Hebert was obviously aware of the potential for the game to get out of hand and laid down the law early, calling McCauley for two borderline minors in the period and Lowell's Cory Murphy for a borderline minor of his own. Once it was clear that Worcester wasn't interested in anything but playing a physical game Hebert went back to his normal style of letting the boys play, and play they did.

Worcester held a 14-4 shots advantage in the scoreless first period by playing very sound hockey in their own end, keeping Lowell from getting any good scoring chances on Sexsmith while not being afraid to break out when the chance presented itself.

The WorSharks would grab the game's first goal at 1:37 of the second period right after Lowell netminder Jeff Frazee had made a couple of nice saves on a Worcester power play that straddled the first intermission. After a clear that put the puck in the Worcester end and a line change McCauley, playing in place of an injured Dan DaSilva, flipped the puck down the right wing boards and chased it into the corner, fighting off a check by Lowell defender Murphy along the end boards. The loose puck bounced to John McCarthy behind the net, and it was an easy bang-bang play to Andrew Desjardins in the slot that lit the lamp for Worcester.

Worcester would continue its great play on both ends of the ice, and nice saves by both Sexsmith and Frazee kept the score 1-0 deep into the third period when Lowell finally pulled Frazee in favor of an extra attacker. Lowell put their best pressure of the game on Worcester with the sixth skater on the ice, but several blocked shots and blasts going wide kept the puck away from Sexsmith. The one save he had to make turned into an assist for the rookie.

After Sexsmith made a nice left pad save Danny Groulx decided to relieve the pressure by icing the puck to give the Worcester defenders a breather. But McCauley had other ideas, and for the second time this season outraced an opponent--this time it was Lowell's Murphy--and after fighting off being checked managed to bang the puck into the wide open net for an empty net tally at 19:01.

All that was left for Worcester was to preserve the shutout, and the WorSharks went into full defensive mode to keep the puck away from Sexsmith. After another flurry in front of the net that resulted in no shots on goal, T.J. Trevelyan flipped a loose puck out of the slot to the left sideboards, where again Danny Groulx sent it the length of the ice to relieve the pressure, only this time the puck slid into the empty net for the 3-0 final.

With the shutout in his 10th professional start, Sexsmith becomes the second quickest to get his first pro shutout in franchise history. Alex Stalock was the quickest, getting his first professional shutout in just his fifth pro game.

GAME NOTES
Worcester's injury list is staring to get a little longer. Dan DaSilva was injured in Wednesday's 8-4 win at Springfield, although neither he nor the WorSharks think this will be a longer term type injury. And as usual, neither would actually say what the injury was. DaSilva joins Logan Couture, Joe Callahan, Ryan Vesce, and Michael Wilson on the injured list. With all of the injures Worcester recalled Matt Jones from Kalamazoo(ECHL), and he was a healthy scratch.

And that injury list may have gotten a little longer as Mike Moore didn't play during the third period Friday night. Moore took on Lowell's Louis Robitaille at 7:32 of the second period, with Moore winning the decision. Moore did play after serving his major, but didn't come out of the locker room for the third period.

With the potential for the game getting out of hand, for the first time in recent memory the referee and linesmen were at the Zamboni entrance watching warm-ups. Linesman Brian MacDonald was the first to venture out to watch, and he was eventually joined by linesman Chris Libett and referee Jean Hebert. Press row was also unusually full while both teams were on the ice, and in another unusual move WCTR Charter TV3, who was televising the game locally, had cameras rolling during warm-ups. It was all for naught as neither team showed any real interest in the other during warm-ups.

After the game as Dennis McCauley was being interviewed by Kevin Shea of WCTR, Frazer McLaren snuck up behind the pair and stuffed a towel full of shaving cream into the face of his teammate. McCauley took it in stride, wondering aloud when he started playing for the New York Yankees.

The three stars of the game were
1. Sexsmith (21 save shutout)
2. Frazee (34 saves)
3. Desjardins (gwg)

The Sharkspage player of the game was Dennis McCauley.

Even Strength Lines
McGinn/Zalewski/Ferriero
Mashinter/Quirk/Trevelyan
McCarthy/Desjardins/McCauley
McLaren/Henderson/Helminen

Moore/Groulx
Loprieno/Petrecki
Colbert/Liotti

Penalty Kill Lines
Ferriero/McGinn
Henderson/McLaren
Desjardins/McCarthy

Moore/Groulx
Loprieno/Petrecki

Power Play Lines
McGinn/Zalewski/Trevelyan
Mashinter/Desjardins/McCarthy

Groulx/Ferriero
Moore(Loprieno)/Petrecki

BOXSCORE

Lowell 0 0 0 - 0
Worcester 0 1 2 - 3

1st Period- No Scoring.Penalties-McCauley Wor (tripping), 0:43; Murphy Low (hooking), 7:13; McCauley Wor (roughing), 12:52; Corrente Low (hooking), 19:13.

2nd Period-1, Worcester, Desjardins 13 (McCarthy, McCauley), 1:37. Penalties-Robitaille Low (fighting), 7:32; Moore Wor (fighting), 7:32.

3rd Period-2, Worcester, McCauley 7 (Groulx, Sexsmith), 19:01 (en). 3, Worcester, Groulx 8 (Trevelyan), 19:49 (en). Penalties-Petrecki Wor (roughing), 4:57; Taormina Low (slashing), 14:14.

Shots on Goal
Lowell 4-12-5-21
Worcester 14-16-7-37.

Power Play Opportunities
Lowell 0 of 3
Worcester 0 of 3.

Goalies
Lowell, Frazee 12-11-0 (35 shots-34 saves)
Worcester, Sexsmith 4-5-1 (21 shots-21 saves).

A-3,012. Referee-Jean Hebert (87). Linesmen-Brian MacDonald (72), Chris Libett (19).

San Jose Sharks fail tests against Chicago and Detroit, questions remain unanswered until playoffs

2010-02-03T08:32:00.000-08:00

#12 PATRICK MARLEAU TRIES TO SHOOT 5-HOLE ON #35 JIMMY HOWARD IN 1ST

RIGHT WING #17 PATRICK EAVES FORCED WIDE OF #20 EVGENI NABOKOV IN 3RD

Notes and critical reactions from recent San Jose losses to Detroit and Chicago will be posted soon. A recap of Detroit's 4-2 win and a photo gallery from the game are available.

Toronto GM Brian Burke pulls trigger on a pair of 'Monster' multi-player deals Sunday, lands defenseman Dion Phaneuf and goaltender J.S. Giguere

2010-02-02T10:15:00.000-08:00

TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS TRADED G TOSKALA & LW BLAKE FOR G J.S. GIGUERE

PAIR OF MULTI-PLAYER TORONTO TRADES SUNDAY WITH CALGARY AND ANAHEIM

Mired in last place in the Eastern Conference with a league-worst 197 goals allowed, Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke pulled the trigger on a pair of multi-player trades Sunday that could shake up both conferences. Burke traded a quartet of starters in forwards Niklas Hagman, Matt Stajan, Jamal Mayers and defenseman Ian White to Calgary for former Calder and Norris Trophy finalist Dion Phaneuf, left wing Fredrik Sjostrom and defensive prospect Keith Aullie.

Burke also appears to have landed the Holy Grail from Anaheim in Conn Smythe and Stanley Cup winning goaltender J.S. Giguere for struggling Vesa Toskala and right wing Jason Blake. On the surface, it is hard not to acknowledge the fact that 57 goals and 39% of the Maple Leafs total offense is gone, according to Globe and Mail beat writer James Mirtle.

Hagman and Stajan are pieces of an offensive puzzle, and Ian White is garnering praise as one of the more underrated defenseman in the NHL, but the Leafs have been struggling mightly to receive even adequate goaltending from the trio of Gustavsson (9-12-8, 3.03GAA, .899SV%), Toskala (7-12-3, 3.66GAA, .874SV%) and MacDonald (1-4-0, 3.20GAA, .892SV%). A phalanx of highly paid defenseman never congealed as a unit, struggled to put up offensive numbers and provided a porous front in their own zone. The back end lacked an identity.

Both Burke, a former GM in Anaheim and Vancouver, and head coach Ron Wilson, a former bench boss in San Jose, have experience with Californian teams who emerged from transition years by rebuilding from the goal out. While GM of Anaheim, Burke was forced to waive Ilya Bryzgalov in favor of J.S. Giguere and Jonas Hiller. In San Jose, Ron Wilson watched as Miikka Kiprusoff and Vesa Toskala were moved out to make room for Evgeni Nabokov to take the reigns. Each situation offered a stability in goal, with the next priority falling on the defensive compliment in front of them.

In one day, Burke was able to add anchors in goal and on the blueline. The offensive numbers were down on the season for Phaneuf (55GP, 10G, 12A) and Bouwmeester (56GP, 2G, 18A) in Calgary, but in Toronto Phaneuf will play an oversized role. No other GM in the league can maximize what Phaneuf will bring to the table, a player about whom this blog once said, "The NHL's hacking and obstruction laws appear to be adjudicated differently for Phaneuf." That came in the regular season, before a bitterly contested playoff series where a Phaneuf hit to the head would later lead off an NHL officiating instructional video trying to crack down on hits to the head.

Phaneuf's $6.5 million cap hit leads a corps teeming with 7 defenseman earning more than $2.9 million a year (including an injured Mike van Ryan, not including a trade demanding Garnet Exelby). In the Globe and Mail roundtable podcast held this week to discuss the trade, it was noted that defenseman Jeff Finger could move up to forward, but it would be a stopgap move. Other notes from the podcast, Phaneuf could line up alongside Tomas Kaberle, Ron Wilson said that Giguere might get a majority of starts down the stretch, and that Finger was the player Toronto tried to send to Anaheim instead of Blake.

Goaltending was the largest problem facing the Leafs, the next largest problem is moving a defenseman prior to the March 3rd NHL trade deadline to add scoring punch to the forward lines. The most recent Yahoo Sports team report for Toronto lists 3 to-be-determined's for tonights game against New Jersey.

Defenseman Tomas Kaberle has famously declined to waive his no-trade clause in the past, but according to ESPN's Pierre Lebrun GM Brian Burke will not ask him to waive it prior to March 3rd. "I'm not going to ask Tomas Kaberle to waive his no-trade. It's not going to happen," Burke told ESPN. Burke directed questions about the defenseman to his agent Rick Curran. For his part, Curran said, "It's actually quite simple, Tomas Kaberle has been a Maple Leaf since the day he was drafted and would prefer to remain in Toronto to help turn things around there, rather than try to win somewhere else."

That appears to be a large 'No' on the most obvious trade candidate for Toronto, but it was an exceptionally diplomatic way for Brian Burke to handle the question. Off-season acquisitions Mike Komisarek and Francois Beauchemin fit into the Burke philosphy, which he espoused en route to a Stanley Cup in Anaheim. He mentioned that he wanted to create an element of fear on the ice for his opponents. Along with Phaneuf, Komisarek and Beauchemin can deliver on that dictate and then some.

The cliche bottom line analysis of each trade, the team that gets the best player wins, would appear to favor Toronto in each move. After locking up Jonas Hiller to a long term deal, the Anaheim Ducks get out of an untenable contract that apparently only the Maple Leafs could absorb. They also get a quality if oft-maligned winger in Jason Blake (56GP, 10G, 16A) to help fill in on an Anaheim second line wracked with injuries. Teemu Selanne just returned from a broken jaw, Joffrey Lupul is out indefinitely after back surgery, and Saku Koivu recently returned from a sprained knee.

Calgary media and fans were in panic mode after a recent 9-game losing streak. Hagman may not be a top-line offensive threat on many top NHL teams, but his work ethic could help a lineup in desperate need for inspiration. Matt Stajan might be an option to center Iginla, and Ian White compliments an already deep blueline that includes Regehr, Bouwmeester and Giordano. In a recent Calgary game in San Jose, CBC highlighted several rushes up ice by Bouwmeester and Phaneuf. While Bouwmeester had his head up, looking for options to make a strong first pass, Phaneuf had his head down, looking to gather the puck while trying to gain speed. Another note of caution for Toronto, Ian White was also singled out as an "unknown solider" yet "key contributor" in the February 1st issue of The Hockey News. Noted for moving the puck up ice with his head up, "You see a small defenseman out there and you think he gets overwhelmed, but he's a lot stronger than he looks and he plays bigger than he is," Toronto head coach Ron Wilson told THN. "It's his quickness that gets him out of danger and really adds to our offense."

The Leafs may have received the best player in each trade, but the departure of Dion Phaneuf and Chris Pronger out of the Western Conference will have a bigger impact than any addition made to date.

[Update] Flames deal Jokinen, Prust to Rangers - Toronto Star.

One day after sending defenceman Dion Phaneuf to Toronto in a seven-player deal, the Flames general manager dealt centre Olli Jokinen to the New York Rangers as part of a four-player trade.

Also heading to Broadway is rugged fourth-liner Brandon Prust. In return, the Flames pick up centre Christopher Higgins and right-winger Ales Kotalik.

[Update2] Komisarek admits season might be over - Globe and Mail.

Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Mike Komisarek is facing the possibility of having his season come to a premature end, with his immediate future hinging on another meeting with medical personnel Wednesday.

The 28-year-old has been sidelined since Jan. 2 with an undisclosed upper-body injury, which has been widely reported as a shoulder. His spot on the U.S. Olympic team is also hanging in the balance.

[Update3] Numbers Game: Maple Leafs double dealing - Scott Cullen for TSN.

San Jose Sharks head coach Todd McLellan interviewed by Greg Papa on CSNBA's Chronicle Live

2010-02-02T09:00:00.000-08:00

Prior to the drop of the puck against Chicago last Thursday, second year San Jose Sharks head coach Todd McLellan sat down with CSNBA's Greg Papa for an extended interview on Chronicle Live. McLellan talked about the differences in the makeup of the Blackhawks and the Sharks, how he planned to match up lines with Marleau-Thornton-Heatley against the top Patrick Kane line, how the 7-2 loss with 3 shorthanded goals against by Chicago earlier in the season was the worst performance of the year, how the Sharks were not the better team in each of the 3 previous SJ-CHI meetings, how Marleau responded to the offseason rumors and that he hopes "Marleau will be a Shark for life", and how the team will run a mini-training camp upon the players return from the Olympics to prepare for the second half of the NHL season among several other topics.

"I would like to think (Team Canada) will start with (Marleau-Thornton-Heatley). I haven't spoke directly to Mike (Babcock) directly about what his plans are, his lines and pairs or anything like that. In fact I probably spend more time talking to (GM) Steve Yzerman than I do Mike. Mike Babcock and his staff are the coaches of that group once they get them, they can use them any way he feels fit. I certainly know he will push their buttons and try to get the most out of them every night. In turn I think our players will respond appropriately. It is one of those situations where I as a coach will get to put my feet up, watch our players play, and not have to worry about the pressure of wins and losses." - Todd McLellan

Demers and Marleau each double up in 5-2 win over Minnesota, teams combine for 6 straight power play goals

2010-01-31T18:12:00.000-08:00

SHARKS LW #12 PATRICK MARLEAU STICK CHECKS DEFENSEMAN #8 BRENT BURNS

#21 SCOTT NICHOL FLATTENS MINNESOTA DEFENSEMAN #5 KIM JOHNSSON

SJ DEFENSEMAN #3 DOUGLAS MURRAY CARRIES THE PUCK UP ICE IN THE 3RD

The San Jose Sharks rebounded from an OT loss to Chicago by powering to a 5-2 win over the Minnesota Wild Saturday night at HP Pavilion. Defenseman Jason Demers and NHL leading goal scorer Patrick Marleau each add a pair of power play goals, and Evgeni Nabokov stopped 36 of 38 shots against to bolster San Jose's position atop the league.

Longtime former Sharks captain Owen Nolan opened the scoring for Minnesota. As center Eric Belanger and former Hab Guillaume Latendresse broke into the offensive zone, Nolan beat Jay Leach to the front of the net and tipped a shot short side. It was the first in a string of 6 straight power play goals by both teams. The Sharks answered with seconds ticking down on the man advantage. Rookie defenseman Jason Demers took a feed from Ryane Clowe on the point and uncorked a rising slapshot that beat Josh Harding up high.

Reigning NHL hit leader Cal Clutterbuck, who would send Jed Ortmeyer cartwheeling over the boards and onto the bench later in the game, added a second power play goal. After leach blocked a shot by Brodziak behind the net, Brunette gathered the rebound and banked a pass of the end boards back to him. Brodziak snapped a hard pass to Clutterback at the top of the crease, and he punched it home for a 2-1 lead. A large contingent of Minnesota Wild season ticket holders who made the trip to San Jose for the game cheered loudly, and in response were boo'd heavily by the partisan San Jose crowd. With several of their own chants, flags and songs, they looked more like a soccer supporter's group.

Backup goaltender Josh Harding has been carrying the load with starging goalie Nicklas Backstrom out, but Harding injured his hip 2 days earlier in a 29 save shutout over the Avalanche (he did not leave the game as late callup Wade Dubielewicz arrived shortly before the drop of the puck). On the long skate to the opposite crease, Harding was heavily favoring his injured side. It was even more noticeable in the brief warmup before the second period. Holding off waves of San Jose Sharks scoring chances would be a difficult proposition healthy, injured and having to fend off 5 more power plays would prove insurmountable.

Wild defenseman Kim Johnsson was checked hard on the penalty kill, and pressured into a pass up center ice. Defenseman Jason Demers held the puck in, took 2 strides to his right to open a shooting lane, and wristed a hard shot by Harding for his second goal of the game. Game tied 2-2. As Harding pushed across the crease to his left, Demers shot across the grain and through traffic to beat him on the opposite side.

Nabokov held off a furious Wild assault in the second period, as Minnesota outshot San Jose 18-12. Captain Mikko Koivu nearly doubled the next highest shot total of the game with 9. Minnesota was caught on a shorthanded line change, Joe Pavelski accelerated uncontested down the left wing and snapped a shot just under the crossbar blocker side. He hopped over a sliding Brent Burns and dropped to one knee to give an Alexander Ovechkin fist pump, one that many Americans hope he can replicate as a member of Team USA in the Olympics.

The Sharks kept pressing, and the Wild kept affording them power plays in the third period. Patrick Marleau scored his first goal of the game at 13:14 on a shot that the radio broadcast thought went off the face of Dany Heatley on the doorstep. Instead it was an errant stick by defenseman Marek Zidlicky that went up high. Marleau's league leading 36th goal of the season was followed just over 2 minutes later by his 37th. Dany Heatley picked the puck of the boards on another power play, and drove down the right wing. Marleu made a b-line down the left side, and a pass through the slot was deflected into the air by the stick of defenseman Zdlicky. Marleau punched home the goal with a baseball swing out of mid-air as the sellout crowd of 17,562 celebrated. "I just hoped for the best. It was just at the right height and I happened to get a stick on it," Marleau told reporters after the game.

A photo gallery from the game is available here, video highlights are available here.

[Update] San Jose Sharks 5, Wild 2; Wild gives up franchise-record four power-play goals - Russo's Rants.

So obviously, like the loss here in October, it's a frustrating defeat because the score looks one-sided and it wasn't. The Wild skated right with San Jose, took 38 shots, had great chances. In fact, this was one of the most exciting hockey games I've covered this year. It was fast, up-and-down, great puck movement, lots of turnovers, which in my opinion, always makes for fun hockey because that leads to a lot of chances.

Just a fun game for the always passionate soldout Sharks faithful, but a painful loss for the Wild because everybody right above the Wild who played tonight won -- Calgary, LA , Phoenix, Nashville. So the Wild fell four points behind now eighth-place Calgary and heads to Dallas, where it hasn't won at in almost seven years.

Darryl Hunt: WorSharks Drop Overtime Game To Lowell 4-3

2010-01-31T15:09:00.000-08:00

The Worcester Sharks suffered what appeared to be two losses Sunday afternoon at the DCU Center in Worcester, Massachusetts, a 4-3 overtime hockey game to the Lowell Devils, and Rookie of the Year candidate and leading scorer Logan Couture to what looked like a left shoulder injury.

Lowell would open the scoring at 2:38 of the first period when Alexander Vasyunov saw WorSharks defenseman Nick Petrecki giving far too much room to Stephen Gionta in front of the Worcester net, and Vasyunov wasted no time in getting the puck to the Devils captain. Worcester goaltender Alex Stalock had no chance, and it was 1-0 Lowell.

The Devils would make it 2-0 with a power play tally at 8:06 of the second period when defenseman Tyler Eckford fired a booming shot from the point beat Stalock cleanly.

Benn Ferriero would get Worcester within a goal at 10:32 of the second just after the WorSharks had killed off a minor to Danny Groulx. While shorthanded and just a handful of seconds left in the penalty, the WorSharks cleared the puck into the Devils zone. Ferriero was offside by five feet or more when the puck was dumped in, but neither linesman made the call and play continued. With Worcester forechecking for several seconds a clearing attempt by Lowell was picked off by Ferriero, who blasted a shot past the blocker of Lowell netminder Jeff Frazee to make it 2-1.

The WorSharks would get the equalizer with a power play tally of their own at 15:58 when Danny Groulx blasted a slap shot from the point that Frazee had come out so far to cut off the angle of that Couture was standing behind. The blast found an opening to light the lamp, with Steven Zalewski and Jamie McGinn getting the assists.

Worcester has gotten into the bad habit of giving up goals late in periods, and they did it again at 19:12 when Brad Mills flipped a lose puck over Stalock to give Lowell a 3-2 lead heading into the second intermission.

Ferriero's second of the game would knot the game at 3-3 at 7:00 of the third period. Steven Zalewski pounced on a loose puck deep in the Lowell zone when Devils defenseman Matthew Corrente fell down and fed Couture at the halfboards, and Couture found Ferriero alone in the slot for the game tying tally.

Worcester was rolling along looking for the potential leading goal when Couture was checked from behind into the boards by the visitors exit by defenseman Olivier Magnan. Couture appeared to injure his left shoulder, and as he left the ice through the visitors exit he was bent over and didn't straighten up as he was led down the tunnel. Referee Ghislain Hebert, in a move that this writer will unapologetically call "gutless", sent Magnan to the box for just a minor.

Couture did not return to the game, and the extent of his injury is unknown.

Lowell center Michael Swift would get the game winner at 1:55 of overtime when Petecki backed off Devils center Ben Walter so far that Walter had an open lane to pass the puck to Swift uncovered in the slot.

GAME NOTES
Worcester scratches were Ryan Vesce, Joe Callahan, Michael Wilson, Cory Quirk and Dennis McCauley. With Wilson being injured Worcester recalled defenseman Louis Liotti from the K-Wings. Tyson Sexsmith was the back-up goaltender.

The start of the game was delayed about 15 minutes due to a broken pane of glass in the Lowell zone. The glass was broken when a shot during warm-ups missed the net, and it's the first broken pane since the boards and glass were replaced over the summer during phase one of the DCU Center's renovation project.

At the end of regulation Worcester's rookie netminder Alex Stalock made a very veteran move that won't appear in the boxscore. After Lowell broke into the WorSharks zone as time was winding down Stalock made a routine glove save, and as the 5,147 fans in attendance were counting down the last few ticks of the period Stalock chose to toss the puck into the empty far corner to keep the clock running instead of giving Lowell a late faceoff deep in the Worcester zone.

Bryan Marchment joined head coach Roy Sommer and assistant head coach David Cunniff behind the Worcester bench.

The three stars of the game were
1. Ferriero (2g)
2. Gionta (g,a)
3. Swift (gwg)

The Sharkspage player of the game was Steven Zalewski.

BOXSCORE

Lowell 1 2 0 1 - 4
Worcester 0 2 1 0 - 3

1st Period-1, Lowell, Gionta 10 (Vasyunov, Taormina), 2:38. Penalties-Corrente Low (instigating, fighting, misconduct - instigating), 11:47; Desjardins Wor (boarding, fighting), 11:47.

2nd Period-2, Lowell, Eckford 8 (Walter, Swift), 8:06 (pp). 3, Worcester, Ferriero 12 10:32. 4, Worcester, Groulx 5 (Zalewski, McGinn), 15:58 (pp). 5, Lowell, Mills 8 (Gionta), 19:12. Penalties-Petrecki Wor (tripping), 1:37; Ferriero Wor (goaltender interference), 7:48; Groulx Wor (delay of game), 8:19; Desjardins Wor (kneeing), 11:17; Davison Low (hooking), 14:25; Eckford Low (high-sticking), 16:56; Davison Low (roughing), 19:12; Ferriero Wor (roughing), 19:12.

3rd Period-6, Worcester, Ferriero 13 (Zalewski, Couture), 7:00. Penalties-Magnan Low (boarding), 13:42; Davison Low (roughing), 15:48; Petrecki Wor (roughing), 15:48.

OT Period-7, Lowell, Swift 12 (Walter, Murphy), 1:55. Penalties-No Penalties

Shots on Goal
Lowell 9-9-11-2-31
Worcester 10-9-15-0-34.

Power Play Opportunities
Lowell 1 of 4
Worcester 1 of 3.

Goalies
Lowell, Frazee 12-10-0 (34 shots-31 saves)
Worcester, Stalock 26-11-1 (31 shots-27 saves).

A-5,147. Referee-Ghislain Hebert (49). Linesmen-Todd Whittemore (70), John Costello (24).

Darryl Hunt: WorSharks Survive Late Penalty Shot To Defeat Manitoba 5-3

2010-01-30T05:54:00.000-08:00

The Worcester Sharks used goals from five different players and survived a third period onslaught and a late penalty shot to defeat the Manitoba Moose 5-3 on "Guarantee Win Night" Friday night at the DCU Center in Worcester, Massachusetts.

The old saying is it's a cardinal sin to give up a goal in the first or last minute of a period, and unfortunately for Worcester they did both during period number one Friday night. The first goal came just 53 seconds into the first period when Guillaume Desbiens and Mario Bliznak broke in against rookie Joe Loprieno, with Loprieno's defensive partner Nick Petrecki no where to be found. The rookie played it decently, but Desbiens was still able to get a pass over to Bliznak who fired it past WorSharks goaltender Alex Stalock for a 1-0 Moose lead.

The second "sin" goal happened with 25 seconds left in the period when Desbiens skated in against four Worcester players down the left side as the Moose were changing lines. Defenseman Michael Wilson played it just about perfectly, forcing Desbiens to stay wide. Desbiens' incredible laser from a bad angle found just a small opening over Stalock's left shoulder and snuck into the far corner to light the lamp.

Worcester would have a goal of their own between they two bookend Moose tallies at 13:21 of the period. Dan DaSilva fed Mike Moore at the point, and Moore's attempted pass to Dwight Helminen at the far post was deflected away by the Moose defense. Brandon Mashinter jumped on the loose puck in the right circle and whistled a backhander past Moose netminder Cory Schneider for the rookie's 14th of the season.

Despite giving up that late first period goal, the young WorSharks squad came out like lightning in the middle stanza, and drew the game even at 1:13 of the second period with some hard work from the fourth line when a wide open Frazer McLaren ripped a wrist shot from the slot past the blocker of Schneider after a nice centering feed from Mashinter.

The WorSharks would have a golden chance to take the lead with 43 seconds of five on three play during the middle of the period, but twice the Moose were able to get control and clear the puck. Worcester's head coach Roy Sommer was clearly upset about his team's inability to even keep the puck in the zone with a two man advantage, kicking the boards behind the bench area in anger. Jamie McGinn would put a smile back on Sommer's face just a handful of seconds later when Worcester was able to convert with just a single man advantage.

With Worcester's power play hardly firing on all cylinders, McGinn fixed the problem when he grabbed a loose puck at the Moose blueline and skated with the puck in the blue paint. He found Benn Ferriero at the right halfboards and played give-and-go with his line mate as he skated into the slot. McGinn's shot whizzed past past the blocker of Schneider for a 3-2 WorSharks lead at 10:42 of the second. Steven Zalewski had the second assist on the goal.

Worcester would get a much needed insurance goal at 15:26 of the third period when a lucky bounce landed right at the feet of John McCarthy. Worcester had just broken into the Manitoba zone on a three on two, and after their scoring chance went wide McCarthy was knocked to the ice just outside the far post. The puck went around to Wilson, whose blast from the left point was deflected away from the net by Moose defenseman Lawrence Nycholat. A great bounce for the WorSharks put the pick right at the feet of McCarthy, who had just regained his skates from being knocked down in the original break in. McCarthy buried the biscuit for the 4-2 lead. Andrew Desjardins notched an assist on the play for his feed to Wilson at the point.

The WorSharks would need that insurance marker as Manitoba would get a goal of their own at 16:52 when Brian Salcido fired a booming slapshot off a clean face-off win past the glove of Stalock to make it 4-3.

The Moose would have their best chance to get the equalizer at 17:22 when referee Ghislain Hebert ruled that Desbiens was hauled down from behind on a breakaway chance by Loprieno, a call that looked "iffy" at best and was argued by alternate captain Moore to no avail. Stalock wouldn't need to come up with a big save as Desbiens fired his chance right into the chest of the rookie netminder.

Worcester would ice the game with a very late empty net goal by Helminen, with assists to Cory Quirk and Danny Groulx, for the 5-3 final.

GAME NOTES
The Worcester shuttle made another stop in the Bay State yesterday, dropping off Logan Couture and picking up Derek Joslin. Jason Demers, who had been reassigned to Worcester, either did not return to Worcester or was turned around at some point in his journey back east. With Joslin being recalled to San Jose the WorSharks recalled defenseman Will Colbert from the K-Wings.

WorSharks scratches were Joe Callahan (neck; out long term), Logan Couture (healthy; didn't arrive until after game time), Dennis McCauley (healthy), Ryan Vesce (groin; officially "day to day") . Tyson Sexsmith was the backup netminder.

There was one fight in the contest, with Andrew Desjardins taking on the Moose's Taylor Ellington. Desjardins gets the knock out victory by landing several unanswered blows that knocked Ellington to the ice.

The WorSharks much maligned penalty kill, ranked 26 out of 29 American Hockey League teams at just 79.3%, killed all 11 Manitoba power plays in the two games this week.

Friday's contest was a "Guaranteed Win" night for Worcester, and had they lost fans would have received a free ticket to next Friday's home game against Lowell. With the win, the WorSharks have chosen to "let it ride" and guaranteed a win next Friday.

During both intermissions the WorSharks held a fundraising contest on the concourse behind press row to raise money for the Haitian relief efforts. WorSharks captain Ryan Vesce sat behind one table and veteran defenseman Joe Callahan sat behind another, each urging fans to donate into the player's bucket to see which player could raise the most funds. Vesce was just able to squeak out a small victory over Callahan as the players raised over $700 in total.

The three stars of the game were
1. Mashinter (g,a)
2. Desbiens (g,a)
3. McCarthy (gwg)

The Sharkspage player of the game was Alex Stalock.

Even Strength Lines
McGinn/Zalewski/Ferriero
Helminen/Quirk/Trevelyan
McCarthy/Desjardins/DaSilva
Mashinter/Henderson/McLaren

Moore/Colbert
Groulx/Wilson
Loprieno/Petrecki

Penalty Kill Lines
McGinn/Ferriero
Desjardins(Helminen)/McCarthy
Henderson/McLaren

Groulx/Moore(Loprieno)
Petrecki/Wilson

Power Play Lines
McGinn/Zalewski/Trevelyan
Mashinter/DaSilva/Helminen

Groulx(Loprieno)/Ferriero
Moore(Groulx)(Mashinter)/Wilson

BOXSCORE

Manitoba 2 0 1 - 3
Worcester 1 2 2 - 5

1st Period-1, Manitoba, Bliznak 6 (Desbiens, Keane), 0:53. 2, Worcester, Mashinter 14 (Moore, DaSilva), 13:21. 3, Manitoba, Desbiens 10 (Keane), 19:35. Penalties-served by Zalewski Wor (bench minor - too many men), 6:27; Grabner Mtb (hooking), 11:08; Moore Wor (interference), 14:33; Trevelyan Wor (high-sticking), 17:01.

2nd Period-4, Worcester, McLaren 2 (Mashinter), 1:13. 5, Worcester, McGinn 6 (Ferriero, Zalewski), 10:42 (pp). Penalties-Trevelyan Wor (tripping), 3:10; Salcido Mtb (slashing), 8:03; Desbiens Mtb (roughing), 9:10; Pettinger Mtb (goaltender interference), 9:10; Groulx Wor (roughing), 9:10; Ellington Mtb (fighting), 17:54; Murray Mtb (roughing), 17:54; Desjardins Wor (goaltender interference, fighting), 17:54; Moore Wor (delay of game), 18:06.

3rd Period-6, Worcester, McCarthy 8 (Wilson, Desjardins), 15:26. 7, Manitoba, Salcido 7 (Galvin, Bliznak), 16:52. 8, Worcester, Helminen 8 (Quirk, Groulx), 19:58 (en). Penalties-No Penalties

Missed Penalty Shot
Desbiens Mtb, 17:22 of 3rd Period (rule 57.3)

Shots on Goal
Manitoba 14-7-11-32
Worcester 13-10-10-33.

Power Play Opportunities
Manitoba 0 of 5
Worcester 1 of 3

Goalies
Manitoba, Schneider 19-14-1 (32 shots-28 saves)
Worcester, Stalock 26-10-1 (32 shots-29 saves).

A-3,717. Referee-Ghislain Hebert (49). Linesmen-Tim Low (68), Todd Whittemore (70).

Troy Brouwer stops Sharks 3-goal comeback, scores in OT to give Blackhawks 4-3 win

2010-01-29T07:42:00.000-08:00

Chicago right wing Troy Brouwer stopped a 3-goal Sharks comeback with an overtime goal, his second of the game, to give the Blackhawks a 4-3 OT win over the San Jose Sharks Thursday night at HP Pavilion. In the "Best of the West" battle for first place in the NHL, the Sharks surrendered 3 even-strength goals in less than 8 and a half minutes to put themselves squarely behind the 8-ball early in the first period.

The game consisted of a series of pivotal momentum swings that could have playoff implications. After Ben Eager took a charging penalty at 2:26, the Hawks repeatedly denied the Sharks power play entry into the offensive zone. Dominating the regular season series between the two teams (2-1), Chicago's quick transition game and puck possession caused matchup and coverage problems for San Jose. On this penalty kill, it helped them shut down the neutral zone and San Jose's first special teams opportunity. A minute and 14 seconds later, Patrick Kane and Dustin Byfuglien combined for a one-timer from the slot to open the scoring.

The momentum continued to build for the Blackhawks as the Sharks tried to press. Shortly after Jonathan Toews hit the post, Dany Heatley tried a dramatic deke around Troy Brouwer. Joe Thornton could not gather the loose puck, and a quick breakout pass by Toews to Brouwer opened him up for an uncontested shot on the left wing. Brouwer held on to the puck on his stick, then snapped a shot that beat Nabokov cleanly. Chicago scored 2 quick goals in 48 seconds, capitalizing on a pair of broken plays. A Thornton turnover and an ill-timed defensive change contributed to the first goal, another neutral zone turnover set the table for the second.

Todd McLellan called a timeout to stem the bleeding, but it did not help. On a lazy play behind the goal line, rookie defenseman Jason Demers did not match the urgency of right wing Marian Hossa bearing down on him. The result was another turnover, a quick shot on goal, and a faceoff in the Sharks d-zone. Patrick Sharp won a draw against the NHL's leading faceoff artist Manny Malhotra, and hit Andrew Ladd for a quick shot on goal. His legs moving, Shark was the first player to reach the rebound as Ladd beat Rob Blake for stick position in front of the net. Another one-timer resulted in a 3-goal lead for the Blackhawks.

Forced against a wall, it would get a little better before it got worse. Goaltender Thomas Greiss was sent back into the locker room to make game preperations, but head coach Todd McLellan left Evgeni Nabokov in net. A quick outlet pass by Douglas Murray sprung Patrick Marleau in the neutral zone. As the Blackhawks were caught in a line change, Marleau held on to the puck as Marc-Edouard Vlasic drove down the left wing and Joe Pavelski drove to the net. Marleau fed a Vlasic, who spun towards the crease and hammered a shot/pass off the stick of Pavelski to make the score 3-1.

Vlasic earned his 10th assist of the season on the play, but an ice-time leader and the player with the second longest ironman streak in Teal would be out of the game with 10 shifts (7:25 TOI) in the first period. Already missing Dan Boyle, the Sharks defense had to scramble on pairings and matchups in Vlasic's absence. The momentum swung back in Chicago's favor on a second penalty kill, as they denied San Jose an entry into the offensive zone 3 straight times.

"The start was unacceptable, we are all going to talk about how hard we fought and how we worked our way back into a game, but start was unacceptable to me," San Jose head coach Todd McLellan said after the game. "The mistakes we made in the first 5 minutes, that is not a characteristic of ours... you are not going to win many games against good teams in this league with that kind of start."

The Sharks would work their way back into contention, and early in the second period it was the fourth line of Jody Shelley, Brad Staubitz and recent AHL Worcester callup Logan Couture who provided a energizing shift. A Brent Seabrook shot hobbled defenseman Douglas Murray, but after a brief visit to the locker room he returned to the bench. A lot of the Sharks pressure in the second period was a simple return to basics. Devin Setoguchi fired a quick shot on net, and Pavelski battled for a rebound as goaltender Cristobal Huet bobbled it. On another sequence, Dany Heatley sidestepped a Seabrook check as the Chicago defenseman nearly landed on top of his own goaltender.

Pavelski would punch through for his second goal of the game on the power play 17:40 into the second period, assists by Jason Demers and Dany Heatley. With Pavelski and Demers manning the point on the PP, Pavelski unloaded a shot with 2 Blackhawks and 1 Shark providing traffic in front of Huet. The shot deflected off of Hossa, and bounced twice off the ice before beating Huet cleanly inside the post. Huet made very little effort to keep his eyes on the puck through traffic, set up in the wrong position on the shot, and made no effort to stop Pavelski's shot (a sign he could not see it).

The Sharks television broadcast described the second period Thursday night as San Jose's best against Chicago all season. That momentum continued, as Huet was forced to stop 4 quality scoring chances early in the period. A Rob Blake point shot was tipped by Huet by Manny Malhotra to tie the game at 3-3. The Sharks were in business, 15:04 was left to decide first place in the Western Conference and first place in the NHL. Chicago Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenville, briefly rumored for the opening in San Jose before Todd McLellan was named, called a timeout to give his players a breather.

After outshooting Chicago 19-10 in the second, the pendulum would swing to 18-11 in the Blackhawks favor in the third. The shot total skyrocketed during one extended sequence in the Sharks defensive zone at 13:10. For 55 seconds the Sharks failed to clear the puck 4 times, committed 2 turnovers, and Heatley was forced to give his stick to Murray in a scramble down low. On another extended scramble at the end of the third, Logan Couture made a desperate clear just outside of his own blueline. It was Chicago pressing hard to put the game away in regulation, allowing overtime would give the Sharks a point and leave them at the top of the standings. A turnover by Joe Thornton created another Chicago rush, and in a desperation move Thornton earned a delay of game penalty trying while prone trying to glove a rebound into his body. Evegni Nabokov stopped all 18 shots he faced in the period, Manny Malhotra and Rob Blake combined for the game tying goal, but all of the momentum left the Sharks balloon at the end of the period and the scrambled just to make it into overtime.

The Sharks successfully killed a 33 second Blackhawks power play in OT, and a driving Rob Blake tried to hit Joe Thornton on the doorstep for the game winner. The puck deflected wide, and 4-on-4 the Blackhawks were able to instantly transition up ice. Troy Brouwer entered the Sharks zone, dropped Jason Demers with a fake shot, and wristed home the game winner at 1:37. In possibly the Sharks largest regular season test of the second half, they came out flat and leaved themselves more questions than answers heading into the postseason.

Dany Heatley registered his 600th NHL point with an assist on Joe Pavelski's second goal of the game. Following in Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum's footsteps, SF Giants teammate Pablo Sandoval dropped the puck prior to the Blackhawks game. "It's my first game, I am excited to be a part of the game," he said during an in-game interview. "I just like the fights." The Sharks accepted fan donations to support the victims in Haiti before the game. In an interview with the NHL hour host Gary Bettman on Thursday, EVP/GM Doug Wilson said that the Worcester AHL affiliate also had a program in place to raise money for Haiti. "Our organization, our fans, our players are all committed to helping people that are in a terrible situation because of that tragedy," Wilson told Bettman. The NHL and NHLPA each made previous $100,000 donations.

DOH Podcast #84

2010-01-28T17:17:00.000-08:00

Mike Peattie and Doug Santana discuss Avatar, recent Sharks wins over Anaheim and Buffalo, a turning point win over Calgary, the salary cap and on ice ramifications of defensive waiver pickup Jay Leach, the Worcester shuttle journey of Jason Demers, an analysis of a listener Pavel Kubina trade proposal, and preview Thursday's game against the Chicago Blackhawks on the 84th episode of Dudes on Hockey.

This Sharks podcast is posted here with permission. Visit dudesonhockey.com for more coverage of the team, or download the MP3 file directly here.

Shark Notes - 1/28

2010-01-28T11:09:00.000-08:00

CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS RIGHT WING #88 PATRICK KANE - FILE PHOTO

SAN JOSE SHARKS INCREASED SECONDARY SCORING IN LAST HALF OF JANUARY

- The San Jose Sharks (35-10-8, 1st Pacific, 1st NHL) face off against the Chicago Blackhawks (36-13-4, 1st Central, 2nd NHL) for a heavily anticipated battle between the two top teams in the Western Conference tonight at HP Pavilion. The Sharks answered an embarassing and out of character 7-2 loss to Chicago Nov. 25, one where they allowed a franchise worst 3 short-handed goals against, with a 3-2 win at the United Center on the back of a sparkling 45-save performance by Evgeni Nabokov.

The Sharks are rolling on a 5-game unbeaten streak, having registered 15 out of a possible 16 points in the last 8 games. A subtle lineup change against Edmonton, and possible a shaved head by Devin Setoguchi, mixed up the offensive attack for the Sharks and has produced results. Manny Malhotra joined center Joe Pavelski and right wing Devin Setoguchi on the second line. Instead of trying to shoehorn Setoguchi in to the Milan Michalek role from last season, where the second line carried the Sharks down the stretch, Malhotra and Setoguchi add speed to each wing to the playmaking U.S. Olympian Pavelski.

Dropping a blue collar 6-foot-2, 225-pound Ryane Clowe to the third line along with Scott Nichol and Jed Ortmeyer has created a perfect "grind line" that does most of its work in dirty areas. After ending a 9-game goal scoring drought, Clowe said it was not a change in "chemistry" that resulted in the success, but a change in the environment and a change in linemates that helped him mix up his play. After going 6 games without a goal from anyone not on the top Marleau-Thornton-Heatley line, Pavelski, Clowe and Setoguchi all broke scoring droughts and helped the secondary scoring actually outpace primary scoring over the last 6 games.

The Sharks penalty kill has been well documented, Marleau-Pavelski, Nichol-Ortmeyer, and Thornton-Heatley have clicked to the point that the PK is measured by the number of shutouts instead of a percentage. They have held opposing power plays scoreless 9 times in the last 12 games. Goals against per game have also dropped from 2.06/gm to 1.3/gm in the last 2 months, and shots against slightly from 31.5/gm to 31/gm.

According to San Jose Mercury News beat writer David Pollak, Sharks defenseman Dan Boyle is expected to miss his third game tonight with an upper body injury. Earlier this season on his blog Boyle mentioned that this season was "the toughest year for me yet physically." He began the season slowly with a non-reported broken thumb, and he suffered an awkward lower body injury trying to check Phoenix Coyotes forward Taylor Pyatt in the final seconds of a 2-1 win on December 12th. Boyle is expected to be replaced in the lineup by Jason Demers.

To adjust to the Boyle injury, defenseman Rob Blake and Marc-Edourd Vlasic also joined new defensive partners. Blake scored his second goal in 4 games after a 16-game drought, and Vlasic scored for the first time in 36-games against Anaheim. The third pairing of Kent Huskins and Monteal waiver acquisition Jay Leach continues to improve. Leach has settled into a sound defensive role in San Jose with 10 starts in the last 12 games.

Also added to the lineup according to Pollak, AHL Worcester Sharks leading scorer Logan Couture. Couture's addition to the lineup at center may be a hint on the Sharks possible postseason configuration, as day-to-day salary cap considerations do not apply. His addition also speaks to the depth of Chicago up front and on defense. While San Jose has the size and the girth to beef up for opponents like Calgary and Anaheim, for up-tempo teams like Chicago and Los Angeles a different tact may be in order.

- Hawks, Sharks put clash in perspective - Scott Burnside for ESPN.com.

The Sharks, of course, are cognizant of the fact that finishing the regular season ahead of the pack guarantees exactly nothing. They were the Presidents' Trophy winners last season, finishing five points ahead of Detroit in the West and one point ahead of the Eastern Conference's top team, Boston. The Sharks were then dispatched in six games by the eighth-seeded Anaheim Ducks in the first round. See ya. Thanks for coming out … again.

If anything, one would imagine the Sharks would be in a hurry to get back to the playoffs, to rush through the final 29 games of this regular season in an effort to begin the task of redeeming themselves after another disappointing playoff turn. But Pavelski said they're still aware of the importance of finishing first and earning home ice, even if it didn't matter much last spring.

"You have to play every night," he said. If you don't, you can find yourself falling down the standings pretty quickly.

- Len Ziehm of the Chicago Sun-Times reports that the Blackhawks are gearing up for first place in the NHL. "Up to this point, it's the biggest game on the trip. It sets up first place. I know they'll be ready to play us," Chicago head coach Joel Quenneville told the Sun-Times. On the game preview at the offical Blackhawks website, Dave Bolland is listed as questionable and defenseman Brent Sopel is listed as probable. ESPN Chicago's Jesse Rogers notes that the Blackhawks know the stakes for the regular series finale in San Jose.

The inconvient backstory headed into tonight's SJ-CHI matchup is a series of personal photos several Blackhawks took after a recent road game. Blackhawk forwards Patrick Kane, John Madden and Kris Versteeg were pictured with their shirts off in the back of a limo with a pair of women looking on.

"For us, obviously, it's not the way we want to represent the team. It has been discussed internally with the team and it has been figured out inside this locker room," Kane told the Chicago Tribune. End of story. The players and the team take a few lumps via blogs, TMZ and ESPN, then it will be business as usual Thursday night against San Jose.

"I'm 21 years old, but it's probably time to grow up a little bit," Kane added. Part of being 21 years old is making mistakes, unfortunately for Kane he has to make them in front of a media fishbowl.

- TheHockeyNews.com writer John Grigg penned an article last week on the Top 10 unrestricted free agents for 2010. Numbers 2 and 3 on that list should be of interest to fans in San Jose, they were goaltender Evgeni Nabokov and left wing Patrick Marleau respectively. On Marleau, Grigg's noted that he had the C "stripped" only to respond with offensive numbers on pace for the best of his career. On Nabokov, Grigg's noted that Nabokov is at his usual place among the league leaders in wins and games played, with "gaudy" GAA and SV% numbers for the 9th round (219th overall) 1994 San Jose draft selection.

The discussion surrounding the future for both Marleau and Nabokov has been held to a minimum locally, and with the national and Canadian hockey press. Five straight incomplete postseason efforts weigh heavy on the franchise, and there appears to be an unspoken "wait and see" approach between the players and the team with regards to the future.

Marleau, despite leading the NHL with 35 goals, has developed into one of the top two-way players in the league. He has adopted his speed and power game to dramatic effect on the penalty kill, and his consistent back pressure 5-on-5 inspires linemates teammates to do the same on a regular basis. Bristling at the mention of being "stripped" of the captaincy in the offseason, the media and fans in San Jose characterized it as more of a change in leadership than a removal.

However you want to frame that offseason move or his current performance, the question of what the future holds remained for the most part unasked until a recent Sharks pre-game Shark Byte interview with color analyst Drew Remenda (full interview here). In the interview, Remenda put Marleau on the record regarding the early playoff exit to Anaheim, how he approached the change in captaincy, how he has adapted to playing on the "Team Canada" line with Joe Thornton and Dany Heatley, and what the future holds for him after 2009-10.

[DR] Lets go to the playoffs last year, playoffs don't go very well and you and Joe Thornton take the heat. Is that fair?

[PM] I think a certain part of it is. Obviously being one of the top players on the team, that is where the spotlight is, where it usually starts and ends. That's part of the territory.

[DR] Do hockey fans overrate the captaincy?

[PM] Probably not. People wear it for a reason, because they have certain attributes and bring things to the team. That part of it is right. Maybe there is a little more read into it by fans on the other side of things.

[DR] Were you bothered being replaced as captain?

[PM] We had lots of talks about it. I am here to win, so whatever the team feels it will take to win I am game for. It was one of those things that was talked about all summer. The bottom line is that I want to win.

[DR] People outside this game thought you would slide a little bit because the C was taken off, was that a motivating factor?

[PM] Yes. You really don't need it. I am still the same person, I am still going to do the same things in the lockerroom whether I have it or don't have it. I would gladly wear it again. It is not a burden of any sort.

[DR] What is the motivating factor behind Patrick Marleau this year?

[PM] You want to play your best, there is probably a little bit of that in there (show up the critics). To be honest with you, you hear a lot of things but frankly I think I am a pretty good player. You want everybody to be able to realize that, and you want to be able to show that to everybody.

[DR] Discuss playing with Joe Thornton?

[PM] Playing with him last year and this year, the more you play the more you find that little bit of timing, that little bit of seperation between a defender and he will find you. He has got that great vision, and he is always ready to release the puck. You don't get passes like that from too many other players in the league.

[DR] Have you had to change your game playing with him?

[PM] A little bit, from center to wing. A lot of the plays go through the centerman, so he has the puck a lot more. I find myself wanting to get him the puck and wanting to get open as opposed to when I play center and maybe hanging on to it a little more and try to find open guys.

[DR] Discuss the change in play under head coach Todd McLellan?

[PM] Each day Todd comes to the rink he has a focus on what he wants to accomplish, what he wants to get done as a team. The main focus is getting better every day. He has a way with players, he reads them well. He knows when a player needs to be kicked in the pants or patted on the back. He knows how to do that with this team, he has a good feel for the team. He makes the game fun for myself, he is always challenging you in a good way. It keeps guys engaged.

[DR] Do you look beyond this year, you are an unrestricted free agent, have you ever thought about any other team but the San Jose Sharks?

[PM] No, I haven't. Right now the focus is on this team, on winning. Right now I can't really focus on that until the end of the season. That's where that is at.

[DR] Nothing ever phases you, do people mistake that for a lack of passion?

[PM] I am sure they do. If people want to find something to pick on you about, they will find something. Personally, people who know me, teammates and friends, they know where my passion is and how badly I want to win.

Marleau does not mention it, but he suffered the first knee injury of his career at the end of the 2008-09 regular season. This blog labeled him at playing around 60% when he returned for the first round against Anaheim. Up tight against the salary cap, Marleau could join teammates Joe Thornton and captain Rob Blake to take less than market value and sign a contract similar to his last extension (2yr/$12.6 million). In his 12th season as the face of the franchise Marleau still has a ways to go to match a one-team icon like Steve Yzerman (22 seasons with Detroit), but at only 30 years old he is just entering the sweet spot of his career.

The situation regarding Evgeni Nabokov is a little more cloudy. Nabokov was given an opportunity in goal after an injury to then-starting goalie Steve Shields in 2000-01. He went on to register a 32-21-7 record in the regular season and earn a Calder Cup as the top rookie for his efforts. Nabokov fiercely battled Miikka Kiprusoff and Vesa Toskala for several years to cement himself in the #1 role, a position it would be difficult for him to relinquish. On pace for his 3rd straight 40+ win season, Nabokov (and former goaltending guru Warren Strelow) helped develop a prestige and a cache about the starting goaltender position in San Jose that will remain long after his playing days are over.

The excellent Sharks blog Fear the Fin noted the Nabokov is currently on pace for 71 starts this season. Peaking heading into the 2010 Winter Olympics next month, both GM Doug Wilson and head coach Todd McLellan have said that figure should dip as backup Thomas Greiss carries a little more of the load down the stretch run. Fear the Fin also pointed out that the last goaltender to win a Stanley Cup with more than 70 starts was Martin Brodeur in 2003 (73), that the average number of regular season games for Stanley Cup winning goaltenders post-lockout is 44.75, and that Nabokov's save percentage has increased in the past when he has started less games (in 2004 and 2007).

Described repeatedly as a "workhorse" in goal, occasionally questions about rest/work ratio or stamina and conditioning, are raised in the playoffs because of the large regular season workload. It may have been a slightly noticeable issue at the tail end of his rookie season in 2000-01, even though he held a potent St. Louis offense to 2 goals or less in the opening WCQF playoff series 4 times. Since that season, the work Nabokov has put in with the Sharks strength and conditioning staff has had a noticeable impact on his performance on the ice. Along with improvements in playing the puck, in shutting down wraparounds, in communication with the defense, in the the proper balance of aggressive play and patience, Nabokov has continually worked on specific weaknesses to develop into a solid well-rounded netminder.

All of those individual traits will be taken into account by a thorough Sharks front office. As a goaltender ages, a lack of mobility in the hips, a lack of explosive speed and other subtle factors can slowly lead to a degridation in play. The single biggest mistake an NHL general manager can make is giving an enormous salary cap hobbling contract to a goaltender who can not deliver year over year for a majority of the term. The second largest mistake an NHL general manager can make is not having elite NHL-caliber goaltending prior to the drop of the puck on opening night.

San Jose Sharks EVP/GM Doug Wilson, and Evgeni Nabokov himself, may be in a similar "wait and see" position based on 2009-10 postseason results. Jonathan Willis at thescore's Hockey or Die blog examined the Top 10 highest paid goaltenders in the NHL. Willis notes that 4 of the 10 high dollar contracts are delivering less than expected (although Niklas Backstrom and Cristobal Huet's inclusion are debatable). Number 10 on that list at $5.375 million, Willis says of Evgeni Nabokov "On pace for the best season of his career".

The prevailing opinion in some hockey circles is that the Sharks might need to choose between a Marleau and a Nabokov, but if each re-signed for the status quo, and there was no drastic change in the salary cap, the Sharks would have roughly 10 million to sign 6 roster players (4 forwards and 2 defenseman). Manny Malhotra is a UFA forward who signed at a greatly reduced rate for 2009-10 and may be due a raise moving forward. The organizational depth in San Jose could fill out the roster with young developing talent under contract like Jamie McGinn, Benn Ferriero, Frazer McLaren and Logan Couture. Asking players to sign for less than market value is one thing, asking them to maintain the status quo is another. Signing both Marleau and Nabokov in the face of heavy demand around the league would be an enormous accomplishment for GM Doug Wilson, at this stage in his tenure it still remains a possibility.

- Nabokov's new Team Russia mask photo - Bay Area Sports Blog.

- Unusual shot at Nabokov by David Shoalts in a Globe and Mail discussing the Toronto Maple Leafs offseason goaltender possibilities: Clock’s ticking on Leafs' goaltender choices. In a near league wide list that included the likes of Thomas Vokoun, Pekka Rinne, Dan Ellis, Martin Biron, Chris Mason and Marty Turco, Shoalts also included pending UFA Evgeni Nabokov with the addendum:

"Other attractions on the unrestricted free agent side include Evgeni Nabokov of the San Jose Sharks, who is said to have few friends in that dressing room. But it is hard to imagine him wanting to play for Wilson again."

This may just be a one-off comment that makes it into a weekly notes column, but it deserves a little more analysis. Former Sharks and current Toronto head coach Ron Wilson once said of Nabokov, "he knows more about goaltending than I do". He added that except for the occasional tweak, Nabokov was the one who told him when he was and was not ready to play. In Nabokov's case, that would mean he was ready for 82 games.

On that comment about friends in the dressing room, it is no secret goaltenders sometimes live in their own ecosystem. Former San Jose Sharks goaltender Ed Belfour (insert groan here) oftentimes had lengthy discussions between himself and his goal post. Regarding Nabokov, he has meshed well with the locker room in San Jose. In an interview with friend of the blog Mikhail Bykov and Puck Daddy's Dmitry Chesnokov, Evgeni Nabokov described Joe Thornton, "Joe is such a team player, that I think he is willing to spend more time with the guys than his own family. You know how they say that the team is your second home? I think for Joe it is the first home."

That may have changed somewhat with Thornton's subsequent marriage to Swiss girlfriend Tabea Pfendsack, but it is still a peek inside the Sharks locker room from Nabokov himself. Add to that the heated ping pong battles between teammates, and it clearly becomes evident it is a non-issue.

- How do the NHL, AHL and ECHL Differ, a Goalie’s Perspective - Mike McKenna for InGoalmag.com.

Therein lays the biggest difference: the speed of the game isn’t that different, but the intelligence and skill of the game is. While the puck may not physically move any faster, the rate at which plays are made and the creativity associated with them improves at every level.

The best way to describe this, from a goaltender’s perspective, would be to envision killing a penalty with the opposing team already in your zone. Imagine yourself, on your goal post ready to explode, puck in the corner and in possession of an attacking player. In the ECHL, there might be one or two viable options available for the opposing forward given their skill set/mental makeup. A top-end AHL player might have two or three options. But an NHL player – whose level of experience and ability to read the play (again think the game) surpasses those in the minors – might be able to create a third or even fourth option.

A great example of this type of player, whom I was lucky enough to grow up watching in my hometown of St. Louis, was Brett Hull. Everyone remembers Hull for his wicked shot, but very few realize just how good Brett was at getting open in the offensive zone. This is truly what set him apart from the rest of the snipers in the NHL: his mental game was every bit as good as his physical, if not better.

Very interesting read. An archive Sharkspage photo of Mike McKenna with the ECHL Las Vegas Wranglers is available here.

- Brian Burke quote of the month 2 weeks ago on HNIC, "Your goal in this league is to make the playoffs. If it's not, do something else. Go drive a truck."

- Puck the media posted a Versus press release on the newly redesigned Versus.com website.

- San Jose based blogger Mike Chen will helm SBN's fromtherink.com as James Mirtle stepped down to cover the Toronto Maple Leafs beat for the Globe and Mail. Joining Chen will be a pair of Carolina bloggers, and one each from the Rangers and Pittsburgh blogosphere.

- Awesome note from the KHL via Puck Daddy:

ESPN360.com will bring international hockey fans exclusive coverage in the United States of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) All-Star Game live from Minsk-Arena in Minsk, Belarus, this Saturday, Jan. 30th. Beginning at 8:20 a.m. ET, fans will be able to watch their favorite international teams and individual stars take the ice, as Team Yashin, comprised of Russian and Belarusian players, will face off against Team Jagr, comprised of international players, in KHL's second annual mid-season showcase event. ESPN's Steve Levy and former NHL player and coach Barry Melrose will call the game for ESPN360.com.

[Update] Marketing 101: Advertising a 2010 return of Forumla 1 to Canada, Toro Rosso driver Sebastien Buemi drives a Red Bull F1 car through a pond hockey game, takes a turn down the snow laden streets of Montreal, and smokes the tires on the start/finish line. Sold. Tune in June 13th, and if it all possible try to catch the BBC broadcast.

Darryl Hunt: Stalock, WorSharks Defeat Manitoba 3-1

2010-01-28T09:05:00.000-08:00

The Worcester Sharks used another outstanding effort by rookie goaltender Alex Stalock to defeat the Manitoba Moose 3-1 Wednesday night at the DCU Center in Worcester Massachusetts. The win was Stalock's American Hockey League leading 25th on the season.

The Moose, who entered the game on a four game losing streak where they had been outscored 29-9, came out on fire, and combined with some defensive lapses by Worcester lead to three breakaways on Stalock in the first period. Michael Grabner had the first chance, and Stalock made the save on Grabner's backhand attempt. Mario Bliznak's breakaway happened about four minutes later, but Stalock was not fooled by the deke and Bliznak was left with no angle as his shot went wide. Seconds later Matt Pettinger broke in alone and went five hole, but Stalock calmly closed the pads to snuff out the opportunity.

Worcester would finally show some signs of life, and would get on the board first just seconds after a play by Stalock put the home town fan's hearts in their throats. After a Manitoba dump in Stalock went out to play the puck and attempted to pass the puck off the end boards around his net. Unfortunately for Stalock, he was a lot closer to his net than he thought, and the rookie nearly fired the puck into his own net. Frazer McLaren grabbed the puck as it bounded off the side of the net and fed Keven Henderson, who broke down the middle of the ice into the Moose zone. Henderson was stood up in the slot by the Moose defense, but Brandon Mashinter was there to grab the loose puck and beat Manitoba netminder Cory Schneider with a blast at 17:05 of the first.

The WorSharks would make it 2-0 just 1:45 into the second period on a nice individual play by Benn Ferriero. Ferriero took a feed from Steven Zalewski into the Moose zone, and deftly sidestepped a check by defenseman Lawrence Nycholat. Ferriero's blast from the high slot beat Schneider to the stick side to light the lamp.

Manitoba would get within one at 12:34 of the third period after trapping the WorSharks in their own end for almost a minute. With the Worcester defenders running out of gas, Nikita Kashirsky was able to lose his man and end up in the slot wide open. Guillaume Desbiens' pass found the open forward, and Stalock had no chance on Kashirsky's blast.

The Moose would have a golden opportunity to tie the contest in the final two minutes when Mike Moore was called for a very borderline hooking minor when he lifted the stick of Sergei Shirokov multiple times during a breakaway. The Moose would increase their advantage to two men when they pulled Schneider with just over a minute to play, but Worcester would hold firm and ice the game when Zalewski's lazy backhand clear slowly went the length of the ice and crossed the gaol line with just 2.2 seconds remaining. Danny Groulx and Derek Joslin had the assists on the short handed empty net goal.

GAME NOTES
The Worcester shuttle made a couple of pick-ups prior to the game, with Logan Couture and Jason Demers heading to the left coast. Dennis McCauley was Worcester's only healthy scratch. Joe Callahan's season appears to be in jeopardy as he is scheduled to undergo neck surgery sometime early next week. There is no official time table for his possible return. Ryan Vesce's groin injury has gone from "day to day" to "week to week" as his missed games begin to pile up.

The two teams will have a rematch Friday night in Worcester, with the WorSharks holding a "guaranteed win" night. If Worcester does not with the contest fans will be allowed to turn in their tickets for one seat of equal value when the Sharks host the Lowell Devils on Friday, February 5. As if a team on a five game losing streak needed more motivation to play hard...

With Manitoba's visit, Wednesday night was the first time in the Sharks era in Worcester that "O, Canada" was needed. As it was late in the IceCats' term, DCU Center usher Dick Saseville sang the Canadian national anthem. Saseville's usual rendition is entirely in French, but with Manitoba being in the English speaking portion of Canada Saseville went with the duel language version.

The three stars of the game were
1. Stalock (29 saves)
2. Ferriero (gwg)
3. Mashinter (g)

The Sharkspage player of the game was Joe Loprieno.

Even Strength Lines
McGinn/Zalewski/Ferriero
Helminen/Quirk/Trevelyan
McCarthy/Desjardins/DaSilva
Mashinter/Henderson/McLaren

Moore/Joslin
Groulx/Wilson
Loprieno/Petrecki

Penalty Kill Lines
Zalewski/Ferriero
McGinn/Helminen(Zalewski)
Desjardins/McCarthy
Henderson/McLaren

Power Play Lines
McGinn/Zalewski/Trevelyan
Mashinter/DaSilva/Helminen

Groulx/Ferriero
Moore/Joslin

BOXSCORE

Manitoba 0 0 1 - 1
Worcester 1 1 1 - 3

1st Period-1, Worcester, Mashinter 13 (McLaren, Henderson), 17:05. Penalties-Moore Wor (hooking), 8:01; Rankin Mtb (hooking), 9:48; Wilson Wor (hooking), 18:17.

2nd Period-2, Worcester, Ferriero 11 (Zalewski), 1:45. Penalties-Petrecki Wor (interference), 2:42; Desjardins Wor (hooking), 14:21.

3rd Period-3, Manitoba, Kashirsky 2 (Pettinger, Desbiens), 12:34. 4, Worcester, Zalewski 17 (Groulx, Joslin), 19:57 (sh en). Penalties-Ramsey Mtb (delay of game), 1:48; Pettinger Mtb (hooking), 4:07; McCarthy Wor (hooking), 7:30; Moore Wor (hooking), 18:11.

Shots on Goal
Manitoba 6-15-9-30
Worcester 9-14-9-32.

Power Play Opportunities
Manitoba 0 of 6
Worcester 0 of 3.

Goalies
Manitoba, Schneider 19-13-1 (31 shots-29 saves)
Worcester, Stalock 25-10-1 (30 shots-29 saves).

A-2,630. Referee-Shaun Davis (31). Linesmen-Scott Whittemore (96), Tim Low (68).

Darryl Hunt: McGinn, WorSharks Crunch Syracuse 5-4

2010-01-24T04:35:00.000-08:00

The Worcester Sharks used multiple point nights from three rookies and a shorthanded game winner by Jamie McGinn to defeat the Syracuse Crunch 5-4 Saturday night at the Onondaga County War Memorial in Syracuse, New York in front of 4,952 disappointed fans.

It was the Crunch that would get on the board first at 4:04 of the opening stanza when defenseman Grant Clitsome fired a wrist shot from the point that looked to bank off the far post and into the net past WorSharks netminder Alex Stalock.

Logan Couture would draw Worcester even at 1-1 with a power play tally at 9:46 with a half slap shot from the circle to the right of Crunch goaltender Dan LaCosta. Danny Groulx and Benn Ferriero had the assists on the goal. It was Worcester's lone power play goal of the game.

Andrew Desjardins would make it 2-1 at 14:37 when he pounced on a loose puck in a pile of players in front of LaCosta and flipped it into the net, with John McCarthy and Derek Joslin assisting on the tally. The goal was Desjardins 12th on the season. He had just eight in 74 games last season.

Couture would have his second of the game just 86 seconds into period number two when he deflected a Nick Petrecki shot from the point past LaCosta for the 3-1 lead. Couture, who was standing at the right post, fought off a check that should have been a minor for interference by Syracuse forward Mike Blunden to gain position for the tip in. Ferriero had his second assist of the game on the play.

Nick Petrecki would score his first professional goal at 6:51 of the second period to chase LaCosta from the game. Petrecki nicely went end to end, but badly misfired on his wrist shot from a bad angle. LaCosta was totally eaten up by the floating shot, and completely misplayed the puck as it floated past him and into the net. Joe Loprieno had his first professional point with his lone assist.

Syracuse would stop the bleeding at 11:50 of the second period when Bates Battaglia fed center Derek MacKenzie from behind the WorSharks net. Stalock had no chance on the MacKenzie blast as the Crunch cut the lead to 4-2.

Jamie McGinn would have the eventual game winner with a highlight reel shorthanded goal. McGinn deflected a pass from defenseman Nick Holden to his blueline partner Brendan Bell standing in the slot toward the neutral zone. After fighting off a check from Bell McGinn went three zones on LaCosta's replacement Kevin Lalande, beating him to the glove side with a nifty move at 13:30.

Bell would atone for his failed check of McGinn with a goal of his own at 3:37 of the third period. Bell's blast from up high deflected off a WorSharks player in front and past Stalock to make it 5-3. Syracuse would pull Lalande for an extra attacker, and that would pay off for the Crunch when Dan Fritsche scored with 35 seconds left in the contest. But that was as close as Syracuse would get as Worcester celebrated their eleventh road win of the season in 19 games.

GAME NOTES
While the WorSharks were on their All Star break the Worcester shuttle was in full swing delivering Benn Ferriero to San Jose and back again, and picking up Jason Demers and leaving him in The Golden State. Worcester also pared their own roster, sending Dean Strong to Kalamazoo(ECHL). Worcester's scratches were Joe Callahan, Kevin Henderson, Dennis McCauley, and Ryan Vesce. Tyson Sexsmith was the back-up netminder.

The three stars of the game were
1. Couture (2g)
2. Petrecki (g,a)
3. Clitsome (g)

The Sharkspage player of the game was Jamie McGinn.

BOXSCORE

Worcester 2 3 0 - 5
Syracuse 1 1 2 - 4

1st Period-1, Syracuse, Clitsome 3 (Frischmon, Picard), 4:04. 2, Worcester, Couture 17 (Groulx, Ferriero), 9:46 (pp). 3, Worcester, Desjardins 12 (McCarthy, Joslin), 14:37. Penalties-Blunden Syr (hooking), 9:18; Loprieno Wor (unsportsmanlike conduct), 10:53; Harvey Syr (unsportsmanlike conduct), 10:53; Clitsome Syr (tripping), 15:46; Petrecki Wor (hooking), 18:23.

2nd Period-4, Worcester, Couture 18 (Petrecki, Ferriero), 1:26. 5, Worcester, Petrecki 1 (Loprieno), 6:51. 6, Syracuse, MacKenzie 9 (Battaglia, Fritsche), 11:50. 7, Worcester, McGinn 5 13:30 (sh). Penalties-Helminen Wor (high-sticking), 9:09; Mashinter Wor (roughing), 9:09; Liffiton Syr (roughing, roughing), 9:09; Petrecki Wor (roughing), 12:35.

3rd Period-8, Syracuse, Bell 8 (Reese, Battaglia), 3:37 (pp). 9, Syracuse, Fritsche 10 (MacKenzie, Bell), 19:25. Penalties-Desjardins Wor (slashing), 2:20.

Shots on Goal
Worcester 11-9-8-28
Syracuse 11-8-9-28.

Power Play Opportunities
Worcester 1 of 2
Syracuse 1 of 3.

Goalies
Worcester, Stalock 24-10-1 (28 shots-24 saves)
Syracuse, LaCosta 6-14-1 (15 shots-11 saves); Lalande 10-11-2 (13 shots-12 saves).

A-4,952. Referee-Jamie Koharski (84). Linesmen-Fraser McIntyre (94), Jeff Walker (28).

Darryl Hunt: Groulx's Helpers Lift WorSharks over Bridgeport, 4-2

2010-01-18T05:36:00.000-08:00

The Worcester Sharks used three assists by Danny Groulx and another stellar performance by rookie netminder Alex Stalock to enter the American Hockey League's All Star break on an up note after defeating the Bridgeport Sound Tigers 4-2 in a Sunday afternoon matinee at the Arena at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

In a reverse to usually happens for the WorSharks, it was they that was being outworked and outplayed in the early part of the first period. After a quick--and very vocal--timeout by head coach Roy Sommer the WorSharks were able to wright the ship on Cory Quirk's goal at 7:16 of the opening period. Dwight Helminen had the original shot that was saved by Sound Tigers goaltender Scott Munroe, but Quirk was there to bat the rebound out of the air and into the upper corner of the net for a 1-0 lead. Groulx had the second assist on the play.

Worcester would make it 2-0 at 11:42 with a power play goal when Steven Zalewski sent Jamie McGinn streaking into the Bridgeport zone on a two on one with Logan Couture. McGinn unleashed a hard wrist shot from the faceoff dot to the left of Monroe that beat the netminder to the stick side and just snuck inside the far post. As with Worcester's first goal, Groulx had the second assist on the tally.

Sean Bentivoglio would cut Worcester's lead in half when he jumped on a loose puck in front of Stalock and banged the puck home. Sound Tigers winger Matt Martin had dumped the puck along the ice into the Worcester zone from just outside of the blueline that Stalock tried to corral with his stick along the ice, but the puck bounced away and Bentivoglio capitalized at 3:04 of the second.

Worcester would get their two goal lead back just 89 seconds later on a double deflection of Danny Groulx's blast from the blueline. Groulx fired the puck into traffic in front of Munroe, where McGinn and then Couture both tipped the blast just enough to beat Monroe to the glove side for the 3-1 lead at 4:33. The eventual game winner was Couture's AHL leading eighth on the season.

The WorSharks, who have the next to worse penalty killing in the AHL, had another defensive breakdown while being a man short that allowed Bridgeport to get to 3-2. The WorSharks were a man short due to a brainless roughing minor by Nick Petrecki, and at one point all four Worcester penalty killers were in the left half of the Worcester zone. Despite outnumbering the Sound Tigers on that half of the zone, Trevor Smith was able to control the puck and feed it to Mark Flood. Flood fired a blast from the blueline that was tipped in by Greg Mauldin, who was standing all alone in front of Stalock at 7:39.

Bridgeport would continue to storm the net trying to get the tying goal, but with Monroe pulled for an extra attacker and after a great save by Stalock the WorSharks iced the game with a three zone shot from Zalewski that found the center of the open net to start the All Star break off on the right foot.

GAME NOTES
Worcester went with the same line-up as Saturday night, with Joe Callahan, Joe Loprieno, Dennis McCauley, Dean Strong, and Ryan Vesce all being scratched. Tyson Sexsmith was the back-up.

The game saw one fight when rookie Nick Petrecki jumped Sound Tigers forward Michael Haley behind the Worcester net in retaliation for Haley's hit on Petrecki earlier. Petrecki picked up the extra minor in what was essentially a wrestling match on the ice.

The Worcester Sharks have three players heading to Portland, Maine for Monday and Tuesday's All Star festivities. Logan Couture was elected a starter for Team Canada, and Danny Groulx was named to the team by a panel of coaches. Alex Stalock was recently named to the Planet-USA squad as an injury/recall replacement. In this writer's biased opinion, Stalock should have been named to the team when it was originally announced.

The three stars of the game were
1. Groulx (3a)
2. McGinn (g,2a)
3. Mauldin (g)

Jamie McGinn was named the number three star of the night by the AHL.

For a team leading sixth time this season, the Sharkspage player of the game was Alex Stalock.

Even strength lines
Zalewski/Couture/McGinn
Helminen/Quirk/Trevelyan
McCarthy/Desjardins/DaSilva
Mashinter/Henderson/McLaren

Moore/Joslin
Groulx/Demers
Wilson/Petrecki

Power play lines
Zalewski/Couture/McGinn
Mashinter/DaSilva/Trevelyan

Groulx/Demers
Moore/Joslin

Penalty kill lines
Desjardins/McCarthy
Couture/McGinn
Henderson/McLaren

Moore/Joslin
Groulx/Demers
Wilson/Petrecki

BOXSCORE

Worcester 2 1 1 - 4
Bridgeport 0 1 1 - 2

1st Period-1, Worcester, Quirk 3 (Helminen, Groulx), 7:16. 2, Worcester, McGinn 4 (Zalewski, Groulx), 11:42 (pp). Penalties-Joensuu Bri (charging), 8:44; Haskins Bri (slashing), 10:41.

2nd Period-3, Bridgeport, Bentivoglio 14 (Martin, Haskins), 3:04. 4, Worcester, Couture 16 (McGinn, Groulx), 4:33. Penalties-Joslin Wor (holding), 12:39.

3rd Period-5, Bridgeport, Mauldin 15 (Flood, Smith), 7:39 (pp). 6, Worcester, Zalewski 16 (McGinn, Couture), 19:39 (en). Penalties-Petrecki Wor (roughing, fighting), 6:21; Haley Bri (fighting), 6:21.

Shots on Goal
Worcester 8-7-8-23
Bridgeport 9-9-14-32.

Power Play Opportunities
Worcester 1 of 2
Bridgeport 1 of 2.

Goalies
Worcester, Stalock 23-10-1 (32 shots-30 saves)
Bridgeport, Munroe 11-10-1 (22 shots-19 saves).

A-4,716. Referee-Chris Brown (86). Linesmen-Kevin Redding (16), David Spannaus (8).

Darryl Hunt: Couture, WorSharks Slam Monarchs 5-2

2010-01-17T06:52:00.000-08:00

The Worcester Sharks used Logan Couture's American Hockey League leading seventh game winning goal and a solid performance from goaltender Alex Stalock to defeat the Manchester Monarchs 5-2 Saturday night at the DCU Center in Worcester, Massachusetts in front of 5,139 excited fans.

After a scoreless opening period that saw the WorSharks outshoot Manchester 16-8 and Worcester playing one of their most physical periods on the season, the Monarchs would get on the board with a power play goal at 4:34 of the second period. Monarchs center Marc-Andre Cliche fought for control of the puck along the boards to the right of Stalock, and fed Corey Elkins with a shot pass. Elkins went to the net and fired a shot that Stalock made the save on, but the puck flipped into the air and over the rookie netminder and into the net before he and defender Derek Joslin could gather the loose puck.

Worcester would tie the game with a power play goal of their own on their fourth chance with the extra man. The WorSharks first three power plays were full of great chances where Manchester goaltender Jeff Zatkoff was forced to make several great saves, but for most of their fourth attempt the puck was in their own zone. But Steven Zalewski turned their worst chance into their best at 10:29 of the second to knot the game 1-1. Danny Groulx and Jason Demers had the assists on the goal.

The WorSharks would make it 2-1 with another power play tally. Joslin took a bouncing feed from Brandon Mashinter at the blueline directly in front of the net, and fired a low laser that Dan DaSilva tipped past Zatkoff at 13:54.

Manchester thought the had tied the game at 16:38 when Cliche banged home a lose puck with a pile of players in front of the Worcester net, but referee Jean Hebert quickly and emphatically waived the power play goal off indicating former San Jose and Worcester Sharks forward Tom Cavanagh, now playing for the Monarchs, was in the crease and prevented Stalock from making a save.

Couture would make Manchester pay for that error when he converted with a shorthanded goal with just one second left on Joslin's interference minor. Zalewski had fired an easy shot on Zatkoff, but the netminder lost control of the rebound and fell to the ice hoping he was falling on the puck. He wasn't, and Couture jammed the puck under Zatkoff and just over the goal line to make it 3-1 at 18:11.

Worcester would make it 4-1 after Frazer McLaren gathered up a turnover in the neutral zone and fed Mashinter streaking into the Monarchs zone down the left side. Mashinter unleashed a laser that beat Zatkoff to the glove side and just inside the far post at 9:42 of the third.

The Monarchs would try and make of game of it with a power play goal at 18:28 when Viatcheslav Voynov gathered a loose puck in the slot and threw a backhand past Stalock, but John McCarthy's 115' empty net goal sealed the deal for Worcester.

GAME NOTES
Worcester's scratches were Joe Callahan, Joe Loprieno, Dennis McCauley, Dean Strong, and Ryan Vesce. Vesce hasn't played since December 19th (12 games) with a groin injury. Callahan has missed four games with his undisclosed injury. Tyson Sexsmith was the back-up.

With the game still scoreless in the first period and Worcester throwing bone jarring hits literally every shift, Monarchs captain Drew Bagnall tried to pick up Manchester's physical play by throwing a huge hit on John McCarthy right in front of the Monarchs bench. Unfortunately for Bagnall, he took the brunt of the hit and struggled to get on the bench. It was hard to determine what he injured, but he was in obvious pain as he sat doubled over on the Manchester bench. He did not return to the game.

As noted above, former San Jose and Worcester Sharks forward Tom Cavanagh has signed a contract to play for the Manchester Monarchs. Saturday was his third game of the season, and he picked up an assist on Voynov's power play goal. Cavanagh, who is wearing number 41, has two goals and an assist in three games but is just (-3).

There was a moment of silence before the game for both the victims of the earthquake in Haiti and for Nick Manzello, the long time local sports columnist for the Worcester Telegram and Gazette who passed away Friday morning at age 82 after a long battle with cancer.

With Worcester's 1:00pm EST game Sunday at Bridgeport the WorSharks left Worcester right after the Monarchs game and will spend the night in southern Connecticut. It's just the second night Worcester has spent out of their own beds this season; the first being the season's opening night in Glens Falls, NY as the WorSharks went to the Empire State the day before the game.

Prior to the Worcester/Manchester game the WorSharks held the 2nd Annual High School Hockey Clash between the Auburn Rockets and Hudson Hawks. Sean O’Keefe scored the game's first goal for Hudson, but Trevor Standring scored on a nice laser from the slot to tie the game and Corey Lussier had the game winner for Auburn. The Rockets goalie Mike Jenkins was the player of the game with 24 saves. With the win, Auburn’s record improved to 7-2-2 and previously unbeaten Hudson dropped to 9-1-1.

The three stars of the game were
1. Zalewski (g,a)
2. Demers (2a)
3. Couture (sh-gwg)

The Sharkspage player of the game was Dan DaSilva.

Even strength lines
Zalewski/Couture/McGinn
Helminen/Quirk/Trevelyan
McCarthy/Desjardins/DaSilva
Mashinter/Henderson/McLaren

Moore/Joslin
Groulx/Demers
Wilson/Petrecki

Power play lines
Zalewski/Couture/McGinn
Mashinter/DaSilva/Trevelyan

Groulx/Demers
Moore/Joslin

Penalty kill lines
Desjardins/McCarthy
Couture/McGinn
Henderson/McLaren

Moore/Joslin
Groulx/Demers
Wilson/Petrecki

BOXSCORE

Manchester 0 1 1 - 2
Worcester 0 3 2 - 5

1st Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Westgarth Mch (roughing), 3:30; Walker Mch (delay of game), 7:23; Holloway Mch (boarding), 16:29.

2nd Period-1, Manchester, Elkins 12 (Cliche, Voynov), 4:34 (pp). 2, Worcester, Zalewski 15 (Groulx, Demers), 10:29 (pp). 3, Worcester, DaSilva 8 (Joslin, Mashinter), 13:54 (pp). 4, Worcester, Couture 15 (Zalewski, Demers), 18:11 (sh). Penalties-Henderson Wor (holding), 3:41; Kolomatis Mch (tripping), 8:50; Piskula Mch (high-sticking), 13:40; Joslin Wor (interference), 16:12.

3rd Period-5, Worcester, Mashinter 12 (McLaren), 9:42. 6, Manchester, Voynov 8 (Cavanagh), 18:28 (pp). 7, Worcester, McCarthy 7 (Groulx, Desjardins), 19:02 (en). Penalties-Westgarth Mch (goaltender interference), 4:00; Rheault Mch (roughing), 7:27; DaSilva Wor (roughing), 7:27; Demers Wor (tripping), 11:51; Demers Wor (hooking), 17:37; Westgarth Mch (high-sticking), 20:00.

Shots on Goal
Manchester 8-7-14-29
Worcester 16-15-11-42.

Power Play Opportunities
Manchester 2 of 4
Worcester 2 of 6.

Goalies
Manchester, Zatkoff 8-4-0 (41 shots-37 saves)
Worcester, Stalock 22-10-1 (29 shots-27 saves).

A-5,139. Referee-Jean Hebert (87). Linesmen-Bob Paquette (18), Brian MacDonald (72).

Too Good, Tim Thomas and Boston Bruins outlast Evgeni Nabokov and San Jose Sharks to earn 2-1 OT shootout win in goaltender's duel

2010-01-15T08:29:00.000-08:00

SHARKS GOALTENDER #20 EVGENI NABOKOV THROWS AN OT SHOOTOUT POKE CHECK

BOSTON RW #81 MIROSLAV SATAN BREAKS INTO OFFENSIVE ZONE IN 3RD

#21 SCOTT NICHOL CRASHES INTO #30 THOMAS, #61 BITZ, AND #33 CHARA IN 2ND

More notes and links from the Boston Bruins 2-1 OT shootout win will be posted soon. A photo gallery from the game is available here, video highlights are available here.

DOH Sharks podcast #82: Rebounding against Los Angeles and Phoenix, and the trade deadline approaches

2010-01-14T07:10:00.000-08:00

Mike Peattie and Doug Santana discuss Conan O'Brien, take an in-depth look at the collapse against Detroit (third home loss by 3 goals or more), how the Sharks snapped an 8-game points allowed streak against Los Angeles and Phoenix with back-to-back wins, Evgeni Nabokov's work load, and examine trade possibilities and scenarios for the Sharks and GM Doug Wilson prior to the March 3rd NHL trade deadline on the latest DOH podcast.

This Sharks podcast is posted here with permission. Visit dudesonhockey.com for more coverage of the team, or download the MP3 file directly here.

[Update] Interview with the Dudes on Hockey, Mike Peattie and Doug Santana - September on Sharkspage.

Hockey Notes - 1/13

2010-01-13T07:37:00.000-08:00

WESTERN CONFERENCE PLAYOFF PICTURE ON 1/13

- The Sharks registered back-to-back wins against Pacific division rivals with a gritty 3-1 win at Phoenix on Tuesday night. Patrick Marleau scored his league leading 30th and 31st goals, and became the quickest San Jose Shark to reach the 30 goal plateau in the franchise's 18 season history.

The 2 points did not come smooth, or easy. The Sharks took a too many men on the ice penalty 50 seconds into the the first period, one of 7 penalties the Sharks would have to kill successfully on the night. Later in the first, Coyotes center Matthew Lombardi had a shot kicked over the goal line by defenseman Douglas Murray. The play was blown dead by an early whistle. The Sharks followed the bad whistle with a good bounce. On the power play, goaltender Jason LaBarbera tripped over the gremlins living behind his net while trying to play the puck. He got just enough stick on it to tee up a charging Marleau. To his credit, Marleau jumped on the free shorthanded goal instead of staring blankly at the most unusual bounce in a Sharks game since Jeremy Roenick's 500th goal.

San Jose also broke through on the other side of the special teams ledger. After registering only 4 goals in the last 28 opportunities with the man advantage (14.2%), the Sharks made it 2-0 as Marleau punched home the rebound on a twice-deflected point shot by Dan Boyle. Dany Heatley bumped the Sharks cushion to 3-0, with a second effort after his initial wraparound was blocked down low by goaltender Jason LaBarbera. One night earlier, Heatley scored a similar second effort goal with a baseball swing off a rebound against Los Angeles.

The Sharks were tempting fate later in the second. With Joe Thornton in the box on a boarding minor, Rob Blake tried to take Martin Hanzal's head off with an elbow that narrowly missed its mark. Blake is old school NHL mean. He earned a 2 minute minor, forcing the Sharks to kill off an ill advised 5-on-3. The PK unit of Marleau-Boyle-Murray followed Blake's lead, and killed off the penalty in an uncoventional fashion. After Scottie Upshall tried to punch home a point blank 1-timer, Murray and Boyle each collapsed in on him and gave him a shot. As Upshall backed off, Marleau confronted him and shoved him repeatedly before geting a punch to the face in retaliation. Upshall was given 2 minutes for roughing, penalty killed.

Dan Boyle and Phoenix captain Shane Doan took matching minors on a tripping/histicking incident late in the second, and the 9000+ fans in attendance at Jobing.com Arena got their money's worth with hearty boo's directed at referees Frederick L'Ecuyer and Kelly Sutherland. According to Mercury News beat reporter David Pollak, 9,248 fans attended the game Tuesday in Phoenix, the 11th time they have failed to reach 10,000 this season. San Jose blogger Mike Chen sees signs of life for fan attendance in Phoenix (especially for weekend games), and notes that February and March attendance will be critical for the struggling franchise's future.

The Sharks power play was unsuccessful in its lone opportunity against Phoenix in the third period, but short, crisp passing by Boyle, Blake, Marleau and Thornton made it appear as if they were playing with the puck on a string. The Coyotes answered with beautiful scoring display of their own. Petr Prucha drove down the left wing and dropped a pass to defenseman Sami Lepisto. Lepisto continued driving down the left wing and dropped a pass to left handed shot Radim Vrbata. As Prucha and Lepisto circled towards Evgeni Nabokov, a hard Vrbata wrist shot deflected off a stick for the lone Coyotes goal of the game.

The Sharks let up considerably in the final minutes. Playing in their third game in four nights, dumps were not made deep and forwards lost battles for loose pucks. Added to the 7 penalties against, the Sharks allowed a small window of opportunity that Phoenix did not take advantage of. Evgeni Nabokov finished with 32 saves on 33 shots for his 26th win of the season.

Head coach Todd McLellan used a John McCarthy, Torrey Mitchell, Brad Staubitz line in the first period that had some jump. The bench shortened in the third period, Jody Shelley and Brad Staubitz each only had 1 shift while Scott Nichol had 8. One night earlier in LA Shelley and Staubitz were not used in the third, Nichol had 7 shifts. Prior to the game on the KFOX pregame radio show, head coach Todd McLellan drew a line between his top forward lines and his grinders. "You can really tell the difference between an offensive player and a player who will muck and grind by stick and body position."

- Oddities hinder Coyotes in loss to Sharks - Arizona Republic.

"We're not in rhythm right now," coach Dave Tippett said. "There's some mistakes going against us. We've talked about that since the start of the year; our margin for error is very slim on most nights"...

"It's that time of year when things get tougher, and we're going through it," forward Scottie Upshall said. "We've got to realize what it is that makes us a good team - that's playing in the system and not turning pucks over. Tonight it was almost like a selfish effort by people just trying to do too many things by themselves, and we've got to work together as 20 guys out there to win games."

- A week ago Wednesday Pierre Lebrun interviewed San Jose GM Doug Wilson about the Sharks NHL leading 8 Olympic representatives headed to Vancouver (Marleau, Thornton, Heatley, Boyle, Nabokov, Pavelski, Murray, and Greiss): Wilson on Sharks in Games: 'We're proud of them'. Wilson told LeBrun that wear-and-tear and injury concerns were valid, but that "the positives far outweigh the negatives." He added that the games in Vancouver are in the Pacific time zone, and that the short flight will cut down on travel and adjustment time for his players. The Sharks also have a home heavy schedule post-Olympics, including a 4-day break sandwiched between 5 straight home games.

Doug Wilson expanded on many of those comments Monday night during intermission interviews on the radio and television broadcasts from Los Angeles. He added that the level of competition ("best on best") and a deep tournament run could have a significant impact on his players after they return.

Radio analyst Jamie Baker, in his interview with Wilson, did bring up the issue of an Olympic hangover both mentally and physically. In December, this blog noted the short slump Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau and Dan Boyle experienced after the 2009 NHL allstar game. Thornton and Marleau combined for 5 points in their next 12 games, and Dan Boyle suffered an undisclosed upper body injury at the ASG and missed 3 games.

It was a small speed bump, but problems kept piling up for San Jose culminating in a late season rash of injuries (9-10 roster players) and a first round playoff exit to Anaheim. After suffering through 5 straight ignominious Stanley Cup playoff exits, fans in San Jose do not want any excuse for a repeat performance.

- Saturday's Hockey Hotstove on HNIC delved into the Atlanta Thrasher's no-win situation with pending free agent Ilya Kovalchuk, trade rumors surrounding Calgary Flames defenseman Dion Phaneuf, the cause of the recent Minnesota Wild equipment fire, player escrow, and another look back at the dramatic Team USA win over Canada in the WJC's (actually more of a Mike Milbury taunt).

More from a Elliotte Friedman's Inside Hockey interview with Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke, when asked whether he set expectations too high with pre-season talk of the playoffs, Burke took umbrage with the question. He went on to say that the playoffs should be the goal of every player on his team. "Your goal in this league is to make the playoffs. If it's not, do something else. Go drive a truck."

- More Sunday hockey notes wrapups: The venerable Larry Brooks speculates wrongly in the NY Post that Zach Parise is the only Team USA player who could suit up for Team Canada, as well as noting an alleged internal riff between Calgary Flames captain Jarome Iginla and head coach Brent Sutter. In a Monday column, Brooks speculates that the Rangers may dip UFA's Vinny Prospal and Christopher Higgins, and young RFA defenseman Dan Girardi into the trade waters. The Edmonton Journal's Jim Matheson believes that Henrik Sedin or Joe Thornton are the top NHL centers and MVP favorites at this point in the season, Buffalo Sabres defenseman Tyler Myers is his favorite for rookie of the year, and Russian center Alexander Burmistrov impressed scouts the most at the WJC's (over heavily hyped Nikita Filatov). William Houston opines about How the NHL could conquer Europe at Truth and Rumors. Lyle "Spector" Richardson believes that the trade market should pick up earlier than usual with the 2 week Olympic break on the NHL schedule. Spector believes that Edmonton and Carolina are bonafide sellers, and that Toronto, St. Louis, Anaheim and Columbus could join them soon.

The Toronto Star's Damien Cox believes that the Maple Leafs trade deadline maneuverings begin with a firm assessment of goaltender Jonas Gustavsson's future. Two first round draft picks in 2010 and 2011, and a second round pick in 2010 was a steep price for the Maple Leafs to pay for RW Phil Kessel, currently mired in a 1-goal-in-13-game slump. Instead of hitting a home run, the Leafs need to hit more ground ball singles. Both head coach Ron Wilson, a former San Jose Sharks head coach, and GM Brian Burke, a former Anaheim Ducks GM, have a familiarity with the Sharks deep pool of talent on the blueline (last year Boyle-Blake-Vlasic-Ehrhoff each registered 30+ assists, the 4th time in NHL history four defenseman on the same team recorded that feat).

Vesa Toskala's injury situation notwithstanding, Montreal's experience with former Sharks defenseman Josh Gorges is a more cost effective route the Maple Leafs should consider. A young defenseman like Derek Joslin has size, speed and defensive responsibility now, and a legitimate upside in the puck moving and leadership arenas. With younger defenseman percolating in the system, the Leafs might be able to pull the trigger with mid-round draft picks if the Sharks go in another direction and add a veteran dman at the trade deadline.

- NARCh Winternationals Return to San Jose - California Rubber Magazine.

The North American Roller Hockey Championship (NARCh) series will wield a hefty presence in Northern California during the 2010 season with two regional tournaments - the NARCh West Coast Winternationals and NARCh Finals - both taking place Rollin’ Ice at the Silver Creek Sportsplex in San Jose.

The three-rink venue will play host to the West Coast Winternationals Jan. 15-18, then will host regional qualifiers March 27-28 and May 8-9 in advance of the world’s largest and most competitive amateur inline hockey championship tournament: NARCh Finals, which will run from July 16-31.

The Silver Creek Sportsplex in San Jose hosted over 430 teams for the NARCH roller hockey finals in 2008.

- Here is an unusual Sharks website via an email from Joe, girlswearingmyjersey.com.

- For the second time in as many years, Toronto blogger James Mirtle waves goodbye at fromtherink.com. You can still follow him on the Globe Sports hockey blog and via their NHL coverage as he is their Maple Leafs beat writer. Also tune in to Mirtle on the weekly Globe Sports hockey podcast. James was kind enough to answer a few questions for this blog almost 2 years ago to the day: Interview with the Globe and Mail's James Mirtle.

Monster likes life in Toronto - James Mirtle for theglobeandmail.com.

- The Washington Post's Dan Steinberg offers a hilarious still-by-still recap of former Shark Matt Bradley stepping in front of Alexander Ovechkin to fight up and coming goon Steve Downie, complete with internal monologue.

[Update] Another Look At Secondary Scoring - Fear the Fin.

[Update2] The Sharks assigned defenseman Jason Demers to Worcester.

[Update3] Sports Illustrated MMA writer Josh Gross reported via twitter that a Versus deal with DirectTV was close to being finalized prior to Sunday's WEC 46 in Sacramento. "A deal was close before WEC 46," Gross said. He expects a resolution to the protracted Versus-DirectTV impass in March, "disaster avoided if they nail something down before March -- WEC, UFC, NHL playoffs."

In a recent interview with MMAjunkie.com, WEC vice president Peter Dropick talked about his promotion's success on the channel. "Versus has been a great, great partner. They keep growing in terms of their properties. They're up about 10 percent overall in their viewers from last year, and we're one of the cornerstone properties. We're actually, on a consistent basis, the highest rated live event on the network," Dropick said. Versus is the cable television home of the NHL, the Tour de France, the IndyCar racing series, and the WEC.

The Hockey News video profile of the Phoenix Coyotes and head coach Dave Tippett

2010-01-12T16:31:00.000-08:00

VIDEO PROFILE OF PHOENIX/DAVE TIPPETT - THEHOCKEYNEWS.COM

The Hockey News reporter Rory Boylen profiled the resurgent Phoenix Coyotes under new head coach Dave Tippett, how they have adapted to his defense-first style of play, what he demands of his players every game, and how the experience of veteran NHL/KHL coach (now an assistant for Phoenix) Dave King has added to the team in this THN TV video profile.

"I think the style of play is a little bit different than what was there before. You look at your team, you see what you have, your assets, and you try to figure out a plan to how this is going to get you wins. I looked at Bryzgalov as a very strong goaltender, if we can keep shots to the outside and limit opportunities on him, you are going to have a chance to win." - Phoenix Coyotes head coach Dave Tippett.

"The one thing I learned (in Russia), is that you can play quicker than you think you can play. In all situations, whether it is offense or defense, play quick, play fast. There is a tendency as a game wears on for guys to slow down a little bit, if you play short shift hockey, 30-35 seconds, there is absolutely no exuse why you can not play a quick game." - Phoenix Coyotes assistant coach Dave King.

According to an update on SJsharks.com, San Jose center Manny Malhotra will miss his 6th game with a lower body injury, Phoenix Coyotes defenseman Ed Jovanovski will sit the first of two games due to a suspension for elbowing. Right wing Scottie Upshall was activated off the IR today. Upshall missed 3 games after suffering an upper body injury against Detroit on January 2nd.

The Phoenix Coyotes host the San Jose Sharks tonight at 6PM.

[Update] Coyotes facing Sharks for 5th time - Arizona Republic.

[Update2] The Phoenix preview: Nabokov will be in net, Demers will be watching from the press box - David Pollak's Working the Corners blog.

Darryl Hunt: Worcester Sharks Half-Season Report Card

2010-01-12T15:02:00.000-08:00

With the Worcester Sharks nearing the halfway mark in the season, this is a good time to take a look at the WorSharks players and how well they’re doing after playing 39 of 80 regular season games of the 2009-10 season. Each player’s grade is based on what was expected of them, how they’ve performed against those expectations, and a general feel of how they’ve played compared to other players on the team.

Players are listed by number, forwards first, then defensemen, and ending with the goaltenders. All statistics are as of 1/11. “X” denotes the player is currently not with Worcester. Players must have played a minimum of 21 games for Worcester or have spent significant time in the NHL in addition to their Worcester games to be graded.

FORWARDS
X-7 John McCarthy LW
36 games: 6 goals, 12 assists, 18 points; +14, 19 PIM
As a pro rookie McCarthy, a 2006 seventh round pick out of Boston University, has stepped right into Worcester’s highly successful third line like a seasoned veteran. His energy and abilities have meshed well with his line mates, which has made his transition from the college game to the pros almost seamless. McCarthy also plays on the penalty kill, and his +14 leads Worcester.
Season highlight: Game winning goal against Manchester on 12/29
Grade: A

9 Logan Couture C
27 games: 14 goals, 25 assists, 39 points; +13, 8 PIM
What can be said about Couture that hasn’t already been said? As a rookie Couture is one of the best players in the AHL, and it will only be a matter of time before he is an NHL regular. Couture leads the WorSharks in scoring, and leads all AHL rookies in scoring despite playing 13 games less than most of the players chasing him in that category. Couture was elected as a starter for the AHL Canadian All Star team.
Season highlight: Scored first NHL goal at Detroit on 11/5
Grade: A

10 Dwight Helminen C
38 games: 7 goals, 3 assists, 10 points; (-12), 8 PIM
Helminen, a fourth line forward and occasional second line fill in, always seems to be right at that “break through” moment but for some reason he just can’t seem to get over the hump. He is currently no more than AHL depth, and his plus/minus is a team worst (-12).
Season highlight: Game winning overtime goal against Portland on 11/10.
Grade: C

11 Cory Quirk C
32 games: 2 goals, 5 assists, 7 points; (-3) 10 PIM
A free agent out of UMass-Amherst, Quirk’s small stature is causing him some issues at the pro level. He has the speed to compete in the AHL, but his strength is a problem as he is constantly out-muscled along the boards. A good puck handler, Quick is best utilized with other quick forwards where their speed can potentially overwhelm slower defensemen.
Season highlight: Goal, assist against Bridgeport on 1/3
Grade: C

14 Frazer McLaren LW
17 games: 1 goal, 4 assists, 5 points; (-1), 58 PIM
McLaren has split time between San Jose and Worcester, and it seems somewhere in his cross country travels he has reverted back to his early rookie season form where he looks to have no idea what his role should be. McLaren can only benefit from the return of roster stability in San Jose so he can continue his development into a future NHL forward.
Season highlight: Scored first NHL goal at Vancouver on 11/29
Grade: C

15 Steven Zalewski C/LW
38 games: 14 goals, 22 assists, 36 points; +1, 7 PIM
Zalewski’s switch from center to left wing has been a potentially career altering experiment as he has nearly matched his season point totals from last season in just half as many games. His transition to blue chip prospect has been visible on the ice since the switch, and should his progress continue he may well find himself in San Jose next season with his two first line teammates.
Season highlight: Two goals against Manchester on 12/29
Grade: A

17 Ryan Vesce C
14 games: 6 goals, 10 assists, 16 points; (-2), 10 PIM
The WorSharks captain has split time between San Jose and Worcester this season, but because he will require passing through waivers if he’s recalled to the NHL under anything other than emergency conditions his games with the big club are probably limited for the rest of the season. Vesce’s dangerous combination of speed and hockey sense make him a threat to score every time he’s on the ice, and like last season, Worcester will be relying on him heavily as they enter the second half of the season.
Season highlight: Scored first NHL goal, a game winner, at the Islanders on 10/17
Grade: B

21 Benn Ferriero C/RW
21 games; 10 goals, 15 assists, 25 points; +6, 6 PIM
After a slow start likely caused by multiple cross country trips on the Worcester Shuttle, Ferriero has lit up the AHL on a more than a point a game pace. Ferriero’s chemistry with his line mates, along with his ability to find the open ice to take advantage of his sniper-like shot, have made him one of Worcester’s top scorers despite playing in just half as many games as his teammates. Ferriero, who plays on the top even strength and power play lines, is also one of the team’s top four penalty killers and leads the team with two shorthanded goals.
Season highlight: Two goals, two assists against Springfield on 12/26
Grade: A

22 Andrew Desjardins C
39 games; 10 goals, 10 assists, 20 points; +7, 33 PIM
Desjardins centers Worcester’s high energy third line, the line that starts nearly every period and sent on the ice after almost every goal against. He is one of the team’s hardest hitters and grittiest players, and makes the most of his abilities by outworking his opponents in every way he possibly can. Desjardins is also one of the best forecheckers on the team, and many of his points come off of turnovers that he and his line mates create.
Season highlight: Two goals, assist against Albany on 10/18
Grade: B

23 Dan DaSilva RW
34 games; 7 goals, 14 assists, 21 points; +8, 30 PIM
DaSilva is a career AHL forward that has seemingly found a permanent home on the WorSharks third line. DaSilva has the skills and speed to play whatever type of game is needed, and his high energy style of play makes him a perfect fit with his third line teammates. Not known as a fighter, DaSilva has dropped the gloves twice in recent weeks trying to fire up his team when they were not playing up to their full potential.
Season highlight: Goal, assist against Portland on 12/6
Grade: B

24 T.J. Trevelyan F
22 games; 7 goals, 9 assists, 16 points; (-5), 6 PIM
Trevelyan missed over six weeks with a broken jaw, and is just now getting back to full speed. Adding to the issue of rust Trevelyan, who anchors the second line, has had to deal with players rotating in and out of his line as they take rides on the Worcester shuttle. He is another player that will benefit from stability on San Jose’s roster, and once he gets some chemistry with more permanent line mates should have no problem approaching his AHL average of 23 goals per season.
Season highlight: Game winner, two assists against Bridgeport on 1/3
Grade: C

28 Dennis McCauley F
29 games; 3 goals, 1 assists, 4 points; E, 61 PIM
McCauley is a fourth line physical presence who, unlike many of his enforcer brethren, possesses enough hockey skills to play meaningful minutes if forced into such a role by circumstance. No one will confuse McCauley for Wayne Gretzky, but he certainly plays a vital role in the WorSharks potential success this season.
Season highlight: Game winning goal against Portland on 12/31
Grade: B

47 Kevin Henderson F
31 games; 0 goals, 6 assists, 6 points; (-6), 16 PIM
Henderson is the only forward to play for the WorSharks this season that has not registered a goal. Playing on the fourth line, Henderson has enough ability to not hurt Worcester when he’s playing, but he generally brings very little to the table in the minutes he does get. One has to wonder if perhaps some time in the ECHL will bring forth the goal numbers he put up in Kitchener (OHL) and the University of New Brunswick (AUS).
Season highlight: Shorthanded assist against Providence on 11/27
Grade: D

53 Brandon Mashinter LW
39 games; 10 goals, 8 assists, 18 points; (-4), 78 PIM
Mashinter’s ability to play on all four of the WorSharks even strength lines and his willingness to drop the gloves when needed is quickly making him a fan favorite in Worcester. Mashinter has the size to play a purely physical game if needed, and while he doesn’t have the speed of the quicker forwards he has more than enough to keep up with the play and to create skating room for the smaller players. He had some consistency issues earlier in the season, but lately he’s figured out his role and has excelled in it.
Season highlight: Gordie Howe hat tricks on 10/9 vs Bridgeport and 11/11 vs Lowell
Grade: B

DEFENSE
4 Danny Groulx
9 games; 4 goals, 21 assists, 25 points; +5, 40 PIM
Groulx is the prototypical offense-first defenseman, and is currently tied for ninth in the AHL in defenseman scoring just three points out of the top spot. Groulx, who at one point this season was at (-7), has picked up his defensive play of late to become more of a two way player. Groulx isn’t the player you necessarily want on the ice protecting a lead, but he is the guy you want on the ice when trailing late. Groulx has been named to the AHL Canadian All Star team.
Season highlight: goal, assist against Bridgeport on 11/28
Grade: C

8 Mike Moore
24 games; 0 goals, 6 assists, 6 points; +6, 23 PIM
Moore is a pure shut down defenseman that has turned himself from solely being a hitting machine into a well rounded defender. Moore does have good puck handling skills and isn’t afraid to lead the rush out of the zone should the opening present itself, and has the speed to rush up ice and still get back in time to maintain his defensive responsibilities. Were it not for his high salary cap hit Moore would have likely been one of the players on the Worcester Shuttle earlier this season.
Season highlight: 3 assists and +5 against Springfield 12/26
Grade: B

19 Michael Wilson
34 games; 4 goals, 6 assists, 10 points; +6, 32 PIM
In an incredible transformation, Wilson has gone from being a low level ECHL regular to becoming one of Worcester’s most solid two way defenseman. The addition of some muscle mass has helped him on the defensive end without sacrificing any of his speed and offensive skills. Wilson is a virtual shoe-in for any “most improved” award around.
Season highlight: goal, assist, +3 vs Providence on 1/10
Grade: B

25 Derek Joslin
21 games; 1 goal, 11 assists, 12 points; +2, 6 PIM
Joslin is in the AHL what he is in the NHL, an offense-first defenseman. On defense Joslin can play either physical or passive depending on whatever the situation calls for, but lately he has had issues in his own end. Like last season, Joslin has had a tremendous amount of shots blocked by opposing forwards in front of him. He will need to learn a faster release to have any success in getting hit booming slap shot through to the net.
Season highlights: Three assists against Lowell on 10/10
Grade: C

26 Joe Callahan
35 games; 4 goals, 11 assist, 15 points; +5, 19 PIM
Callahan is the veteran of the defensive corps, and because of the youth that surrounds him he earlier appeared to be trying to do too much too often which causes many defensive lapses. Now that he’s paired with Moore on the first pairing Callahan’s play has improved on both ends of the ice.
Season highlight: Assist (on Logan Couture’s first NHL goal), +1 at Detroit 11/5
Grade: C

27 Nick Petrecki
39 games; 0 goals, 6 assists, 6 points; (-5), 56 PIM
Petrecki had lots of problem transitioning from the college game to the pro game of the AHL. In college, Petrecki was a very physical player that out-muscled many of his opponents; in the AHL Petrecki was no longer the strongest player on the ice, and because of that he needed to relearn how to play defense because he can no longer rely on the things that got him by at Boston College. Lately Petrecki’s play has improved, but he’s got a long road ahead to be ready for the NHL.
Season highlight: Assist, +3 against Bridgeport on 11/28
Grade: D

GOALTENDERS
31 Tyson Sexsmith
9 games; 3-4-1, 4.10, .855
Sexsmith had looked very rusty in every game he’s played so far this season, and it’s no wonder considering how little he gets to play. Sexsmith really needs to get into more games, and that may just mean a long term trip to the ECHL so he can get some ice time.
Season highlight: 32 save win over Lowell on 10/10
Grade: Incomplete

32 Alex Stalock
31 games; 21-9-1, 2.44, .908
Simply put, Stalock is the best Sharks goaltender to play in Worcester and is second only to Dwayne Roloson in Worcester’s 15 year AHL history. He plays the puck very well, is positionally very good, and can be heard loudly directing the defense while the puck is in his zone. He has poise that veteran netminders would envy, and his smooth style of play allows for his offensive minded defensemen to take extra chances. Stalock currently holds the WorSharks record for quickest first shutout, whitewashing Lowell in just his fifth pro game. Barring the unforeseen, the NHL is definitely in his future.
Season highlight: 40 save win against Lowell on 1/2
Grade: A

Sharks hold on for 2-1 win over Los Angeles Kings, GM Doug Wilson gives midseason meeting update to KFOX/CSNCA

2010-01-12T07:04:00.000-08:00

GLOVE SAVE #4 ROB BLAKE - PHOTO MICHAEL ZAMPELLI LETSGOKINGS.COM

LA CAPTAIN #23 DUSTIN BROWN - PHOTO MICHAEL ZAMPELLI LETSGOKINGS.COM

The Sharks, who have plateaued slightly after an 8-game win streak finished off 2009, held on for a 2-1 win over division rival Los Angeles Monday night at the Staples Center. Stellar goaltending by Evgeni Nabokov helped kill off a late 5-on-3 Kings power play after a pair of third period penalties on Dan Boyle and Douglas Murray. Dan Boyle and Dany Heatley scored for San Jose, and Evgeni Nabokov finished with 33 saves on 34 shots for his 25th win of the season.

"We were a little more detailed. It still wasn’t easy. They are a very good hockey club. They came at us very hard in the third period.," San Jose head coach Todd McLellan told reporters when asked about the difference in play over the 6-2 loss to Los Angeles a week ago at HP Pavilion, a loss where the Sharks gave up 3 power play goals. "They got a lot of momentum off the power play, but I thought we were better along the boards. We won more battles. Our penalty kill, although we were under siege for a while, we were more detailed there. Just a better overall game." The Sharks killed off all 5 Kings power plays Monday night, including a critical 34 second 5-on-3 in the third period. "Bottom line is that Nabby was making saves and we were getting down blocking shots," Sharks center Scott Nichol told the San Jose Mercury News.

In 18 games since December 1st, San Jose has held opponents off the board on the power play 10 times (45-45), and allowed only one goal 6 times (25-31). Second and third efforts to clear pucks, blocked shots, and key faceoff wins are solidifying the defensive zone in front of Evgeni Nabokov during that stretch, but critical mental errors and mental lapses have creeped into the Sharks play over the last 4 games to sabotage those defensive efforts. It happened again Monday night when Dan Boyle took a hard line to upend Ryan Smyth on the right wing, and Douglas Murray took a delay of game penalty 1:26 later for firing the puck over the glass.

The Sharks used a three man low, one man high penalty kill against the Los Angeles three man high umbrella power play unit. Blake was particularly effective clearing Ryan Smyth and Dustin Brown out of the crease, an area Marc-Edouard Vlasic needs to improve on. Nabokov was sharp on the shots that found their way through traffic. After Marleau cleared the puck to allow a line change, Murray drew another penalty on the second PK unit trying to bank it off the glass and missing high.

McLellan called a timeout for the most pivotal sequence of the game, but Thornton lost the subsequent d-zone faceoff to Jarret Stoll. Quick puck movement up top set up Stoll for a shot from the left dot, but Nabokov made the quick pad save to deflect it into the corner. Nabokov slammed shut the 5-hole on a point shot from Drew Doughty, and sprawled on his back to stop Kopitar from the side of the crease to end the 2-man Kings advantage. Kings backup goaltender Erik Ersberg was forced to make a pair of saves to finish out the regular power play as defenseman Randy Jones made a costly turnover to Joe Thornton inside his own blueline. Thornton barreled in on Ersberg and tried a backhand-to-forehand deke that was stuffed up high, before Dan Boyle took a whack at the open rebound.

The Sharks (29-10-7, 46GP, 1st Pacific) win moved them within 1 point of the Chicago Blackhawks (31-11-4, 46GP, 1st Central) for 1st place in the NHL, but it may have been a more important statement against a team they have struggled against. The Kings were 3-0-1 against San Jose this season, earning 7 out of a possible 8 points in memorable fashion (blown 4 goal lead, 6 shootout rounds, Brown GW OT goal, 3PP goals). When asked about the "rivalry" with the Kings, head coach Todd McLellan downplayed the issue. He noted that it was not a must-win game against a division rival, it was an effort worth 2 points in January. There might be hints of last year's regular season/playoff rivalry with Anaheim. A 1-2 game swing in the standings could position the Sharks for their second Battle of California playoff series in as many years, this time with Los Angeles.

The Sharks fourth line of Scott Nichol, Jody Shelley and Brad Staubitz created traffic in front of Erik Ersberg on Dan Boyle's opening goal in the first period. Boyle snapped a high shot from 62 feet out that deflected off traffic and into the net. Three Kings reached for the puck on the play, the puck may have deflected off of a hand. Brad Staubitz banged on Ersberg's pads trying to stuff the puck home not knowing it was already in the back of the net. After being robbed on the power play by a point blank Ersberg glove save, Dany Heatley followed up with a baseball swing goal 4:40 in the second period for his 26th goal of the season (PP).

Sharks broadcaster Randy Hahn noted that secondary scoring has been a concern for San Jose. According to Randy, the Sharks had only 11 goals in their previous 5 games. Outside of the defense and Marleau-Thornton-Heatley, Jamie McGinn had the lone goal from the Sharks bottom 3 lines. Technically, that trend continued against LA but Shelley-Nichol-Staubitz contributed to the first goal, and Clowe-Pavelski-Setoguchi combined for 6 shots on goal and 1 shot that hit a post.

Game Notes:

Defenseman Rob Blake earned another save on Dustin Brown in the first period. In recent games he has slide tackled a puck out of the crease, earned one save with his shin pads, and gloved another Monday night against Los Angeles. San Jose has scored 2 or fewer goals in 4 of the last 5 games, and allowed 2 or fewer goals in 11 of 13 games. The Sharks lead the California Olympic contingent with 8 Olympic representatives (the most in the NHL), Anaheim will have 7 and Los Angeles will have 5. In the 2006 Turin Olympics, Los Angeles and Anaheim each sent 5 players, SJ sent 4. Sharks left wing John McCarthy played in his second NHL game against Los Angeles. He finished with 2 shots on goal, and lead both teams with 3 blocked shots. A co-captain for Boston University last season, McCarthy helped BU to a fifth NCAA D-1 National Championship. The Kings new-look forward lines shook out to Frolov-Kopitar-Parse, Smyth-Stoll-Simmonds, Richardson-Handzus-Brown, and Ivanans-Moller-Segal according to Rich Hammond. Backup goaltender Erik Ersberg earned his first start in 5 games. He replaced starter Jonathan Quick after 45 minutes Saturday against St. Louis, stopping all 9 shots he faced. Alex Frolov played in his 500th NHL game.

Photos above from friend of the blog Michael Zampelli at LetsgoKings.com and MichaelZampelli.com.

[Update] Sharks defeat Kings 2-1 - Rich Hammond for LAkings.com.

[Update2] San Jose Sharks EVP/GM Doug Wilson was a first intermission guest on the KFOX 98.5FM radio broadcast of the game, and a second intermission guest on the CSNCA television broadcast. Wilson returned from a mid-season meeting with allof the organization's professional and amateur scouts in Worcester.

A few rough notes below:

On KFOX, Wilson described the midseason meetings as an opportunity to gather all the professional and amateur scouts in the organization together in Worcester to evaluate junior and college players for the upcoming NHL Entry Draft, and to evaluate all NHL/AHL players for the remainder of the season. Holding the meetings in Worcester also gave the scouts and opportunity to evaluate the AHL affiliate Sharks, who have won 8 of their last 9 games.

"John McCarthy has been one of the best players in Worcester from the beginning of the year. He won a national championship last year, he has brought details every day that Worcester has relied on, that never changed even during the losing streak."

Wilson noted that conversations on building the 2009-10 Sharks began 6 months in advance. "You have to get better every day, bringing up 10-11 players from Worcester broadened the pool of players to draw from." He added, "you want to make sure you are healthy, and you want to give your guys a chance to win roster spots." Radio analyst Jamie Baker noted that player development is different than it was even 5-6 years ago. "The majority of the credit goes to the coaching staff. The work they do in the summer not only to define what they need to do and learn, but also to create an environment where they know if you do this, this and this, you are going to get a chance (in the NHL). We are I think #1 or #2 in the league in players that are home grown."

Baker also asked Wilson about player movement leading up to the NHL trade deadline, and specifically mentioned the plight of the Atlanta Thrashers and star forward Ilya Kovalchuk. Wilson vaguely responded to Atlanta and Don Waddell's situation, and added, "If you look at what other teams are going to do, you might not know until the last second. Yes we are conscious of it, we are more concerned with the day to day operation of this hockey team."

(On whether the Sharks, as a skill or finesse team, have seen the culture of the club change over the offseason and the first half of 2009-10) "Sure it has. Look at the players we have brought in, 11 or 12 new players. The majority have a blue collar element to them. You also learn from things that happen in your career. It's not what happens in your life, it is what you do with what happens".

"Thornton and Marleau, 16 veterans came in early (in the offseason). That is what you do. Adding guys like Nichol, Ortmeyer and Malhotra, you know what you are going to get every night. This is a very competitive team. When they don't play up to their standards, they might even get a win, they are still not happy."

On the recent release of the Central Scouting Bureau player rankings, "It will be another good draft this year. Central Scouting sends an awful lot of people out there, they do an awful lot of work. You look at that, you put some value on that, but our guys do a lot of work."

"Tim Burke goes the extra mile. I am biased when I say this, but I think he is the best in the business, probably the most important guy in this organization. With what he does and the staff he built, we made some decisions in the past that other people didn't agree with or didn't see coming. It is based on more merit than perception. Sometimes a lot of things that are promoted out there aren't entirely based on substance."

Radio analyst Jamie Baker also pressed Doug Wilson on sending 8 players to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, and whether the mental and physical fatigue may effect the Sharks down the line. Wilson noted the Olympics are in the Pacific time zone, and that the West Coast flight considerably cuts back on travel time. Wilson also pointed to the schedule post-Olympics, the Sharks have 5 home games in 13 days including a 4-day break between games 3 and 4. "Todd (McLellan) sat down this summer and worked on our schedule. Rest always has to be worked out with a west coast team, and we brought in fresh bodies. You monitor the time and the type of practices you have. You better make sure this team came in with the best fitness level it has ever had, which they did. The anticipation of these things, you try to stay ahead of the curve."

Baker pressed him on the mental side, the positives that could be gained from the tournament and the fatigue that could follow. "Our guys are young, big and strong, and in their prime. The mental pressure of it is a great asset for them. I played in the Canada Cup before, whenever it is best on best, you want to know you belong there. You earned your way on that type of team. It is essentially a 2 week tournament, the rewards far outweigh the fatigue factor for our guys."

On the Comcast Sportsnet California interview with Randy Hahn and Drew Remenda, Doug Wilson discussed the midseason meetings and evaluations, and discussed Logan Couture and Benn Ferreiro earning co-rookie of the month honors in the AHL (Getzlaf-Perry were the only teammates to earn the AHL honors in the same month previously, Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Matt Carle won NHL co-rookie defenseman of the year honors in 2006-07), Wilson called Couture "one of the best players in the AHL", he discussed defenseman Nick Petrecki, the trade deadline ("we are active in the process, the elevated NHL parity makes it difficult but if you can add something that makes sense, we'll do it"), the change in the culture of the San Jose Sharks with regards to the grit factor and the compete level ("they put the work in, many different nights (the Sharks) can win in many different ways, we are not as reliant on the power play and goaltending as last year"), and the growth of the core players.

Note a link to Sharks TV and a link to Sharks Radio have been added to the San Jose section on the right, the NHL Network Online was moved under NHL.

[Update3] Kings Gameday: Terry Murray Shuffles it Up - Battle of California.

[Update3] Sharks munch on hapless Kings' offense - Life in Hockeywood.

Darryl Hunt: WorSharks Overcome Four Goal Deficit to Shock Portland In Overtime, 6-5

2010-01-10T15:55:00.000-08:00

The Worcester Sharks got goals from six different players to overcome a four goal second period deficit to defeat the Portland Pirates 6-5 in overtime Sunday afternoon at the DCU Center in Worcester, Massachusetts in front of 3,132 fans.

The WorSharks began digging the deep hole they would eventually climb out of very early, just 42 seconds into the game on the second shot against Worcester goaltender Tyson Sexsmith. Mike Kostka would skate right in unmolested and beat a partially screened Sexsmith for the 1-0 Pirates lead.

Worcester had a golden chance to draw even with about eight minutes to go in the opening period, but Dean Strong’s blast from about 20’ found the inside of the near post and bounded across the open net harmlessly ending up in the corner to the right of Pirates netminder J.P. Lamoureux.

The first period would end at that 1-0 score, and it was in the second period where the wheels fell off for Worcester. The Pirates would make it 2-0 when Joe DiPenta converted a Derek Joslin turnover into a shorthanded tally at 3:42, and Felix Schutz would make it 3-0 when he blasted an easy one timer into an open net as he stood at the far post behind Sexsmith at 6:02.

Steven Zalewski would stop the bleeding for Worcester when he converted from in the slot after a nice behind the net feed from Logan Couture. Couture found Zalewski all alone in front after Benn Ferriero pushed the puck deep into the Portland zone from the half boards. Zalewski beat Lamoureux over the left shoulder for his 14th of the season at 7:02.

But Portland would continue their second period onslaught when Mark Mancari fired a rebound into an open net for a power play tally at 10:26, and Paul Byron would make it 5-1 when he tipped a centering feed over Sexsmith and just under the crossbar at 12:48.

Brandon Mashinter began the improbable comeback when he took an Andrew Desjardins feed out of traffic and broke in alone on Lamoureux. Mashinter would throw a backhander over Lamoureux’s shoulder to make it 5-2 at 16:28. Nick Petrecki had the second assist on the play.

Twenty-nine seconds after the Mashinter tally Worcester would get a major power play when Byron was called for checking Mike Moore from behind, and it would take just seven seconds for the WorSharks to get to 5-3. After a clean face-off win Zalewski hit Joslin with a pass at the blueline, and Joslin’s blast was tipped in by Couture at 17:04. Despite numerous chances Worcester was unable to get another during the remainder of the power play that continued into the start of the third period.

The WorSharks would get within one at 5-4 when Couture found Ferriero all alone in the slot. Ferriero fired a laser past Lamoureux at 3:20 of the third. Zalewski had the second assist on the play. Worcester would continue to pressure the entire period, and when Portland was able to get into the Worcester zone WorSharks players were doing everything they could to keep the pirates from getting anything close to a good shot on goal.

Worcester would get the game tying goal with 43 seconds to go on a nice play by Danny Groulx while skating with an extra attacker. After Worcester had stormed the net twice and forced turnovers each time they lost possession, Groulx ended up with the puck at the top of the face-off circle to the right of Lamoureux, and held the puck as a Portland forward slid past him along the ice attempting to block his shot. With the shouts of “shoot” echoing throughout the DCU Center, Groulx did just that, toward the glove side and through a screen. The building erupted as the red light lit completing the miracle comeback.

But Worcester wasn’t content with just the point for getting the game into overtime and at 3:29 of the extra period Dwight Helminen, the WorSharks sixth different goal scorer on the night, flipped in a rebound of a Ferriero shot to send the Pirates home surprise losers.

GAME NOTES
With the WorSharks playing their third game in 44 hours and several members of San Jose's hockey operations in town for organizational meetings, Worcester went with a line-up that had a "junior varsity" feel to it. Worcester's scratches were Joe Callahan, Joe Loprieno, Frazer McLaren, Cory Quirk, and Ryan Vesce. With Tyson Sexsmith seeing his first AHL action since December 5th, Alex Stalock was the back-up netminder.

Worcester center Andrew Desjardins and Pirates center Cody McCormick must have done a double-take when they lined up for the ceremonial puck drop as Darth Vader walked down the red carpet to drop the puck. Yes, you read that correctly.

In related news, Mike Ricci was behind the bench with Roy Sommer and David Cunniff.

In a statistical oddity, not only did Worcester have different goal scorers for each of their tallies, the Portland Pirates also had different goal scorers for each of their goals.

The three stars of the game were
1. Helminen (OT gwg)
2. Mancari (g,a)
3. Couture (g,2a)

The Sharkspage player of the game was Benn Ferriero.

Even Strength lines
Zalewski/Couture/Ferriero
McGinn/Strong/Trevelyan
McCauley(Helminen)(Mashinter)/Desjardins/DaSilva
Mashinter/Henderson/Helminen

Moore/Wilson
Groulx/Joslin
Versteeg/Petrecki

Penalty kill lines
Couture/Ferriero
Henderson/Helminen

Moore/Wilson
Joslin/Petrecki

Power play lines
Zalewski/Couture/Trevelyan
Mashinter/DaSilva/McGinn

Ferriero/Joslin
Groulx/Moore(Wilson)

BOXSCORE

Portland 1 4 0 0 - 5
Worcester 0 3 2 1 - 6

1st Period-1, Portland, Kostka 2 (Mancari, Schutz), 0:42. Penalties-Kostka Por (roughing), 18:05; McCauley Wor (roughing, roughing), 18:05.

2nd Period-2, Portland, DiPenta 1 3:42 (sh). 3, Portland, Schutz 7 (Whitmore, Weber), 6:02. 4, Worcester, Zalewski 14 (Ferriero, Couture), 7:02. 5, Portland, Mancari 17 (Persson, Ennis), 10:26 (pp). 6, Portland, Byron 7 (Generous, Ennis), 12:48. 7, Worcester, Mashinter 10 (Desjardins, Petrecki), 16:28. 8, Worcester, Couture 14 (Zalewski, Joslin), 17:04 (pp). Penalties-Wanvig Por (holding), 2:27; Trevelyan Wor (tripping), 9:30; Byron Por (major - checking from behind, game misconduct - checking from behind), 16:57.

3rd Period-9, Worcester, Ferriero 10 (Couture, Zalewski), 3:20. 10, Worcester, Groulx 4 (Ferriero, McGinn), 19:17. Penalties-McCormick Por (fighting), 7:55; McGinn Wor (fighting), 7:55.

OT Period-11, Worcester, Helminen 7 (Joslin, Ferriero), 3:29. Penalties-No Penalties
v Shots on Goal
Portland 15-14-2-0-31
Worcester 16-9-12-6-43.

Power Play Opportunities
Portland 1 of 2
Worcester 1 of 3.

Goalies
Portland, Lamoureux 6-6-0 (43 shots-37 saves)
Worcester, Sexsmith 3-4-1 (31 shots-26 saves).

A-3,132. Referee-Jeff Smith (49). Linesmen-Bob Bernard (4), Scott Whittemore (96).

Darryl Hunt: WorSharks Stun Providence With Late Comeback, 4-3

2010-01-10T06:15:00.000-08:00

The Worcester Sharks fired a franchise record 55 shots on goal but needed two late third period goals to defeat the Providence Bruins 4-3 Saturday night at the DCU Center in Worcester, Massachusetts in front of a season high crowd of 6,334.

Michael Wilson, returning to the lineup after missing three games as a healthy scratch, would give Worcester a 1-0 lead at 11:32 of the first as the WorSharks stormed the net trying to bang home a loose puck. With all five Providence players in the slot trying to get control of a loose puck and Worcester second line forwards trying to pry it loose, Wilson skated in from the point and grabbed the loose puck out of the pile of players and skated just to the left of the slot to get a clear shot. P-Bruins netminder Dany Sabourin had no idea where the puck was until it was in the net behind him. Jamie McGinn and T.J. Trevelyan had the assists on the play.

Providence center Levi Nelson would knot the game 1-1 at 15:21 on a nice deflection. Jordan Knackstedt broke into the Worcester zone with Nelson and fired a centering pass through the legs of WorSharks defenseman Danny Groulx. Nelson, with Frazer McLaren draped over his back, was able to get a stick on the pass and deflect it high over the right shoulder of Worcester goaltender Alex Stalock and just under the crossbar. Worcester would outshoot the Baby-Bs 21-9 after 20 minutes.

Despite the ice being tilted toward the Providence end most of the night, it was the P-Bruins that would grab an early second period goal when Nelson scored his second of the game at 1:09. Knackstedt picked the pocket of the Worcester defense trying to transition up the ice, and found Nelson in the left face off circle. Nelson beat a partially screened Stalock to make it 2-1.

Zach Hamill would build Providence's lead to 3-1 at 11:55 when he scored from the slot after a nice feed from Knackstedt. The assist was Knackstedt's third on the night.

Worcester would get themselves back within one with a power play tally at 16:02. The WorSharks home power play, which is ranked in the bottom five in the AHL, was hardly clicking on all cylinders when Derek Joslin fired a 40' laser on net from the high slot that beat Sabourin clean. Dan DaSilva and Brandon Mashinter recorded the assists on the goal. The WorSharks outshot the Baby-Bs 15-8 in the second period for an overall 36-17 advantage.

After killing an early Andrew Desjardins kneeing minor, Worcester again tilted the ice toward Sabourin and he was more than up to the challenge, often making consecutive great saves to keep the WorSharks at bay.

The WorSharks had a golden opportunity to tie the game when Groulx pounced on a rebound with a wide open net in front of him, but he couldn't control the rebound after being highsticked in the face by a Providence defender scrambling for the loose puck. Worcester continued to press as Groulx skated to the bench to be replaced, and their constant pressure finally paid off when Steven Zalewski collected a rebound of a Joslin shot and beat Sabourin at 17:19. Logan Couture had the second assist on the goal.

As loud as the hometown crowd was on the Zalewski tally, it would get even louder just 49 seconds later when Worcester's third line would give them the lead. Wilson flipped the puck into the Providence zone so the WorSharks could get a line chance, but instead of peeling off DaSilva and Desjardins drove into the P-bruins zone with DaSilva heading to attack Sabourin behind the net as the netminder went to stop the dump in. DaSilva stole the puck away from Sabourin and found Desjardins all alone in front of the wide open net as the DCU Center exploded in cheers.

Providence would pull Sabourin for an extra attacker, but all the scoring chances would actually be for Worcester, and were it not for some great saves by the P-Bruin defense--and a solid shot off the far post--the WorSharks would have iced the game before the final horn. But as it played out, the game was iced as Providence was reduced to a 150' blast as the clock expired by the tenacious Worcester forecheck. Worcester would again outshoot the P-Bruins for the period 19-5, for a game total of 55-22.

GAME NOTES
Worcester's scratches were Joe Loprieno, Dennis McCauley, Dean Strong, Mitch Versteeg, and Ryan Vesce. Tyson Sexsmith was the backup goaltender.

With the WorSharks setting a franchise record with 55 shots it's hard to believe there were players that didn't have any, but both defenseman Mike Moore and center Dwight Helminen both went without one. Danny Groulx tied the team record of ten set December 11th by Dan DaSilva in a 6-3 loss at Manchester.

The game saw one fight, Brandon Mashinter taking on Lane MacDermid in a first period contest that was pretty much a yawner. The fight was Mashinter's team leading tenth on the season.

As it sems to happen in many of the WorSharks big games, Bryan Marchment was behind the bench with Roy Sommer and David Cunniff.

Prior to the WorSharks/P-Bruins tilt the DCU Center hosted the "High School Hockey Showdown", the first of three high school games being played prior to the AHL contest. The game featured the Shrewsbury Colonials, the reigning Division 3 Massachusetts state champions, and the Marlboro Panthers. The Colonials defeated the Panthers 6-5, with Clark Dumart leading Shrewsbury with a hat trick. Cody Evangelous also had a hat trick in the losing effort. Last season, WorSharks head coach Roy Sommer's son Castan played for Shrewsbury during their state title run.

The three stars of the game were
1. Desjardins (gwg)
2. Joslin (g,a)
3. Nelson (2g,a)

For the second game in a row the Sharkspage player of the game was Dan DaSilva.

Even Strength lines
Zalewski/Couture/Ferriero
McGinn/Quirk/Trevelyan
McLaren(Mashinter)/Desjardins/DaSilva
Mashinter/Henderson/Helminen

Moore/Callahan
Groulx/Joslin
Wilson/Petrecki

Penalty kill lines
Couture/Ferriero
Henderson/McLaren
Quirk/McGinn

Moore/Callahan
Joslin/Groulx

Power play lines
Zalewski/Couture/McGinn
Mashinter/DaSilva/Trevelyan

Groulx/Joslin
Callahan/Ferriero

BOXSCORE

Providence 1 2 0 - 3
Worcester 1 1 2 - 4

1st Period-1, Worcester, Wilson 4 (McGinn, Trevelyan), 11:32. 2, Providence, Nelson 2 (Knackstedt, Arniel), 15:21. Penalties-MacDermid Pro (fighting), 12:14; Mashinter Wor (fighting), 12:14; Wozniewski Pro (roughing), 18:30.

2nd Period-3, Providence, Nelson 3 (Knackstedt), 1:05. 4, Providence, Hamill 6 (Nelson, Knackstedt), 11:55. 5, Worcester, Joslin 1 (DaSilva, Mashinter), 16:02 (pp). Penalties-Nelson Pro (tripping), 9:18; Wozniewski Pro (elbowing), 14:25.

3rd Period-6, Worcester, Zalewski 13 (Couture, Joslin), 17:19. 7, Worcester, Desjardins 10 (Wilson, DaSilva), 18:08. Penalties-Desjardins Wor (kneeing), 0:46.

Shots on Goal
Providence 9-8-5-22
Worcester 21-15-19-55.

Power Play Opportunities
Providence 0 of 1
Worcester 1 of 3.

Goalies
Providence, Sabourin 16-13-0 (55 shots-51 saves)
Worcester, Stalock 21-9-1 (22 shots-19 saves).

A-6,334. Referee-Jeff Smith (49). Linesmen-Luke Galvin (2), Brian MacDonald (72).