SHARKSPAGE

Petrecki, WorSharks Defeat Providence In Overtime, 2-1

The Worcester Sharks stumbled again late in the third period but bounced back to grab a 2-1 overtime victory against the Providence Bruins during a Saturday matinee at the DCU Center in Worcester, Massachusetts in front of 3,079 fans. The route 146 rivals finish their Halloween home-and-home series Sunday afternoon in Providence.

With Saturday’s early afternoon start coming less than 15 hours after one of the worst third period collapses in team history there were some questiosn as to how the squad would respond. They responded by playing their best defensive game of the season, holding the P-Bruins to just 16 shots and keeping their opponents to under three goals for the first time this season. WorSharks head coach Roy Sommer went with a line-up that included all seven of the team’s defenseman playing, and in doing so may have found the formula to cure Worcester’s defensive woes. Dressing only 17 forwards didn’t have much negative impact with Worcester outshooting Providence 43-16. The offense’s biggest problem was P-Bruins goaltender Michael Hutchinson, who stopped just about everything he saw and a few that he didn’t.

Despite outshooting Providence 9-2 over the opening 20 minutes fans were grumbling this had the makings to be ‘one of those nights’ where Worcester has a huge shot advantage but ended up on the wrong end of the score. Hutchinson made several key saves in the period, and was helped by a poorly played 59 seconds of two man advantage by the WorSharks. Benn Ferriero would calm the fans’ fears at 5:02 of the second period after a broken play bounced well for Worcester. With the WorSharks controlling the puck along the perimeter but not finding a good opening to the net, Jonathan Cheechoo fed Nick Schaus from the right wing side to the point. Schaus didn’t have an open passing lane, so the rookie defenseman took his best option by wristing the puck on net. P-Bruins winger Lane MacDermid blocked the shot but the puck bounced right to Ferriero, who backhanded it over Hutchinson for the 1-0 lead.

Worcester would carry that lead well into the third period despite some great chances to extended their advantage, but that one goal lead started to look pretty good as the WorSharks were heading on the power play when Wyatt Smith crosschecked Nick Petrecki into the P-Bruins net after an odd man rush at 15:50 of the third. Sommer used that moment to utilize his one time out to make sure his young squad understood the situation and didn’t take too many chances. Unfortunately, they took one chance too many and Providence got the shorthanded equalizer when Steven Kampfer fired a high wrist shot over Stalock’s right shoulder after a feed from Jeff LoVecchio. To add insult to injury, Hutchinson had the second assist on the play.

The WorSharks didn’t fold after that heartbreaking moment, and continued to pepper Hutchinson with quality scoring chances as time wound down on regulation. The overtime period was all Worcester as they outshot Providence 4-0, and their hard work paid off when Petrecki notched his first professional game winner. Standing in almost the exact spot as his Friday night tally Petrecki blasted a Cheechoo feed on net that Hutchinson saw the entire way but beat him cleanly as the puck broke down and away from him as it got to the net at 3:17. Petrecki has scored goals in consecutive games for the first time in his pro career, and the two game point streak matches his high from last season.

GAME NOTES
With WorSharks head coach Roy Sommer going with just 17 forwards Garet Hunt was the odd man out. Cam MacIntyre and Tony Lucia remain on the injured list. Carter Hutton, who is expected to get the start Sunday in Providence, was the backup netminder.

The game saw one fight, with Brandon Mashinter (6’4″ 222#) taking on Lane MacDermid (6’3″ 211#) at the halfboards to the left of P-Bruins goaltender Michael Hutchinson early in the first period. Both got in some good shots, but this scorekeeper gives the bout to MacDermid on points.

The three stars of the game were
1. WOR – 29 Nick Petrecki (gwg)
2. WOR – 21 Benn Ferriero (g)
3. PRO – 5 Steven Kampfer (shg)

The Sharkspage player of the game was Jonathan Cheechoo.

Even Strength Lines
Trevelyan/Ferriero/Cheechoo
Mashinter/Wingles/Marcou
Henderson/Desjardins/Zalewski
Henderson(Cheechoo)/Quirk/DaSilva

Worcester dressed seven defensemen and rotated them all throughout the game.

BOXSCORE
Providence 0 0 1 0 – 1
Worcester 0 1 0 1 – 2

1st Period- No Scoring.Penalties-MacDermid Pro (fighting), 2:10; Mashinter Wor (fighting), 2:10; McIver Pro (tripping), 6:55; Bodnarchuk Pro (interference), 7:56; Schaus Wor (interference), 14:08.

2nd Period-1, Worcester, Ferriero 6 (Cheechoo, Schaus), 5:02. Penalties-Reich Pro (hooking), 0:43; Ferriero Wor (tripping), 8:35; Nelson Pro (goaltender interference), 17:10.

3rd Period-2, Providence, Kampfer 2 (LoVecchio, Hutchinson), 16:59 (SH). Penalties-Bodnarchuk Pro (boarding), 11:21; Smith Pro (cross-checking), 15:50.

OT Period-3, Worcester, Petrecki 2 (Cheechoo), 3:17. Penalties-No Penalties

Shots on Goal-Providence 2-11-3-0-16. Worcester 9-17-13-4-43.
Power Play Opportunities-Providence 0/2; Worcester 0/6.
Goalies-Providence, Hutchinson 1-2-0 (43 shots-41 saves). Worcester, Stalock 3-4-1 (16 shots-15 saves).
A-3,079
Referee-Geno Binda (22). Linesmen-Todd Whittemore (70), Brian MacDonald (72).