Pirates Handle Sharks
By Ryan Bayer
Portland Pirates #14 Chris Conner weaves through Worcester Sharks defenseman #23 Matt Pelech during the November 14th, 2012 contest at the Cumberland County Arena. Mandatory credit: Ron Morin
The Worcester Sharks (18-12-1-2, 39 points) returned to action tonight as they took on the Atlantic Division leading Portland Pirates (20-12-1-1, 42 points) and wrapped up a their four game road trip. The Sharks are coming off a 2-1 win in Hershey this past Sunday trail Portland by three points for the Division lead. Worcester is (3-3-0-0) verse Portland this year and (1-2-0-0) in Portland. Their last win against the Pirates dates back on November 14, 2012 that featured a 4-2 victory.
Worcester Sharks forward #51 Brodie Reid. Mandatory credit: Worcester Sharks media department.
Portland, ME– The Worcester Sharks (18-13-1-2, 39pts) led 2-0 and 3-2 but the Pirates scored the final five goals as Worcester dropped a 7-3 decision to the Portland Pirates (21-12-1-1, 44pts) on Tuesday evening in front of 2,800 fans at the Cumberland County Civic Center. The Sharks finished 2-2-0-0 on their four game road trip as they return home to the DCU Center to host the Springfield Falcons on Friday at 7:30pm.
Denny Urban scored his first AHL goal while James Sheppard and Jon Matsumoto each picked up two assists in the loss for Worcester. Brodie Reid scored his 6th and 7th goals of the season and Alex Stalock allowed seven goals on 39 shots as the Pirates scored the final five goals for the 7-3 win.
The Sharks came out flying in the first period and grabbed a 2-0 lead while outshooting the Pirates 14-2 through the first ten minutes. Denny Urban (1st) scored his first AHL goal with a 5-on-3 power strike at 5:31 with Jon Matsumoto and Matt Tennyson picking up the helpers. Physical play picked up as Frazer McLaren (6th FM) and Joel Rechlicz (7th FM) had a rockem-sockem brawl at 6:40 that brought the crowd to their feet. Brodie Reid (6th) gave the Sharks a 2-0 lead at 9:31 with a wicked shot from the right slot past the glove of Chad Johnson as Worcester was buzzing early. But the Pirates came back with a pair of goals as Alexandre Bolduc (17th) slammed home a centering feed by Chris Connor past Alex Stalock at 12:09 followed by a rebound power play marker by Brendan Shinnimin (5th) at 18:19 to tie the score at 2-2. Worcester outshot Portland 18-9 in the opening frame.
Brodie Reid (7th) gave the Sharks a 3-2 lead at 2:35 of the second period after he stuffed the puck through the pads of Chad Johnson after a nice feed by James Sheppard. The Pirates would score the next three goals to go ahead 5-3 to end the period. Rob Klinkhammer (10th) evened the score at 3-3 at 3:04 followed by a power play blast by defenseman Michael Stone (6th) at 8:39 to put Portland ahead 4-3. Brendan Shinnimin (7th) scored a breakaway shorthanded tally after he crashed into the net at 12:42 to give Portland the 5-3 lead through 40 minutes.
Chris Brown scored twice in the third period at 9:30 and 13:04 to put Worcester away as Portland outshot the Sharks 16-8 in the final frame.
The Sharks overall record falls to 18-13-1-2 (39pts in 34gp) and 11-8-0-1 on the road this season.
Worcester Sharks forward #15 James Sheppard. Mandatory credit: Worcester Sharks media department.
Post NHL Lockout news: With the tentative agreement of the new CBA for NHL and NHLPA, the Worcester Sharks could very well be without some key players as the shortened NHL season is just days from starting. Possible invitees that could come to San Jose for a short training could be James Sheppard and Brodie Reid. As of right now, Sheppard is in second with 23 points on the season with Worcester that includes, eight goals and 15 assists thru 34 games. With the injury to Worcester Sharks leading point producer Tim Kennedy, Sheppard is leading candidate on offense. Brodie Reid has played just 20 games with the Worcester Sharks as has put up seven goals and nine assists. In addition, I believe that defensemen’s Matt Tennyson and Matt Irwin are also candidates that I think have a shot to join the brief training camp in San Jose. Tennyson has played 34 games this season with Worcester and has scored three goals with 14 assists. As for Irwin, he has played only 29 games with the AHL Sharks and scored one goal and 13 assists. Look for those two to be plug players down the road on the blue line for San Jose in the event of any injuries come into play. As the old saying goes, “keep your fingers crossed.”
****Official Post Game Report Courtesy of the Worcester Sharks.****
Story link: http://www.sharksahl.com/story.asp?story_id=3359
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