Worcester Sharks defenseman #5 Matt Tennyson. Mandatory Credit: Worcester Sharks media department.

Worcester, MA– The Worcester Sharks (23-21-1-5, 52pts) kicked off a 3-in-3 home weekend with a 7-2 loss to the Manchester Monarchs (23-24-2-3, 51pts) on Friday evening in front of 3,978 fans at the DCU Center.   The Sharks continue the home stand on Saturday with a 7pm start vs. the Portland Pirates.

Harri Sateri allowed seven goals on 31 shots and Bracken Kearns added two assists as the Sharks tied a franchise record with their 7th straight home loss (0-5-0-2). Matt Tennyson and Jon Matsumoto scored for Worcester and Taylor Doherty returned to the lineup after missing the last 29 games due to injury. Seven different Monarchs recorded multi point games led by two goals by Brandon Kozun.

There was no scoring in the first period as both Harri Sateri Sateri made seven saves and Martin Jones six stops. The best scoring chance either team had was when Manchester’s Tyler Toffoli looked to have a easy rebound tap-in, but was denied by a highlight save by Sateri midway through the first period. Manchester went 0 for 2 on the power play while Worcester went 0 for 1 in the opening frame.

Manchester dominated the second period as they scored five goals in a 9:53 span to take charge and took a 5-1 lead. The scoring started when a botched deke move by Jordan Weal (7th) faked out Sateri, leaving the net wide open as Weal tapped the puck in giving the Monarchs a 1-0 lead at 8:37. Worcester tied the game less than a minute later as Matt Tennyson (4th) took a low wrist shot from the point that slipped past Jones on the power play at 9:30. Manchester would go on to score the next three goals in a span of two and half minutes to give them a 4-1 lead. Bryan Rodney’s (3rd) on the power play at 11:09 started the span, as goals by Brandon Kozun (17th) and Tanner Pearson (13th) would follow to stretch the Monarch’s lead to three goals. The Monarchs capped off the second period scoring by a Tyler Toffoli (25th) goal at 17:50 of the period, making it 5-1 in favor of Manchester. The Monarchs outshot the Sharks 17 to 9 in the second period and held a 23 to 15 advantage for the game.

After Daniil Tarasov was denied by Martin Jones on a penalty shot at 4:17 of the third period, Worcester would use the momentum they gained to cut the lead to 5-2. Jon Matsumoto (12th) took a nice pass from Bracken Kearns and roofed one over the glove of Martin Jones at 4:46 of the third period. Brandon Kozun (18th) would strike again for the Monarchs at 12:47 of the period making it 6-2 Manchester. The Monarchs would score the game’s final goal at 14:37 as Linden Very (14th) blasted a wrist shot past Sateri to make it 7-2. Worcester outshot Manchester 17 to 8 in the third period giving them a 32 to 31 lead in shots for the game.

The Sharks overall record falls to 23-21-1-5 (52pts in 50gp) and 8-10-1-3 (19pts in 21gp) on home ice this season.

Notables Report:

Three Stars:

1. MCH – 14 Tanner Pearson
2. MCH – 15 Brandon Kozun
3. MCH – 26 Tyler Toffoli

Final shots were 32-31 in favor of Worcester… Martin Jones made 30 saves on 32 shots for Manchester… Harri Sateri made 24 saves on 31 shots for Worcester.  Worcester went 1-for-3 on the power play, while Manchester went 1-for-6

***Post Game Report courtesy of the Worcester Sharks.***

Official Link: http://www.sharksahl.com/story.asp?story_id=3430

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Worcester Sharks goaltender #35 Harri Sateri denies Manchester Monarchs forward #21 Dwight King during the December 31, 2012 contest at the DCU Center. Mandatory Credit: InGoalMagazine.

Tonight the Worcester Sharks open up a three game home stand against their rivals from the north the Manchester Monarchs.  This will be the fifth time this season that the AHL Sharks play host to Manchester.  Currently Worcester has a 5-3 season series lead over their New England neighbors.  These two clubs last faced off against each other was back on January 18th in which Manchester defeated Worcester by a 3-1 final.  In that contest, the lone goal scorer for Worcester was Jon Matsumoto, who recorded his 10th goal of the season and was helped out by Daniil Tarasov and Brodie Reid.  As for the Monarchs, they received contributions from Linden Vey, Jordan Weal, and Tyler Toffoli.

For the Worcester Sharks they return home after completing their season long five game road trip in which they recorded a 3-2 record over that span.  For the Manchester Monarchs over a stretch of five games, have posted a 1-3-1 record.  In their most recent game, the Worcester Sharks were defeated by the Springfield Falcons by the final score of 3-1.  As for Manchester they too are coming off of a loss courtesy of the Connecticut Whale who edged them out by a 3-2 final.

As of today, Worcester is 23-20-1-5 with a third place spot in the AHL’s Atlantic Division and ninth overall in the Easter Conference which includes 52 points to their credit.  The Manchester Monarchs are in fourth place in the Atlantic just three points behind Worcester with a 22-24-2-3 record and 49 points.  In addition, the Monarchs are sitting in 12th in the East.

Tonight’s match up can be heard on WTAG News/Talk 580 and 94.9 FM and for AHL Live subscribers they can enjoy live televised coverage of the game at AHLLive.com.

LET’S GO WORCESTER!!!!!!!!

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Manchester Monarchs goalie Martin Jones traps the puck by his glove arm as Worcester Sharks Bracken Kearns jumps out of the way during the second period of their game Friday at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester. Mandatory credit: Mark Bolton/Union Leader

Tonight the Worcester Sharks face off against the Manchester Monarchs for some Friday night hockey.  The two Atlantic Division rivals met for the eight time this season and the third time at the DCU Center.

Right before the game started Jimmy Bonneau of Worcester and Andy Andreoff of Manchester dropped the gloves that caused both benches rise from their seats.  Both combatants traded blows with one another but the fight ended as the refs separated the two.  Both received fighting majors at 0:01 of the opener.

The Sharks went into the Manchester Monarchs end as Matsumoto scored on a breakaway to put Worcester up early 1-0.  Matsumoto tallied his 10th goal of the season with the lone assist from Daniil Tarasov at the 1:30 mark of the first.

At 6:12 of the period, Sharks Mike Wilson went off to the box for a kneeing minor.  The good news for the Sharks was that Monarchs failed to convert on their first power play opportunity of the contest.

On Bonneau’s second shift of the night he dropped the gloves for his second fight of the night with Manchester’s Johnson at center ice.  Johnson and Bonneau exchanged some haymakers.  After the fight, the two received matching fighting majors at 9:02 of the first stanza.

The Sharks went on their first power play of the game with 5:52 remaining in the first period when Deslauriers of Manchester was caught for an elbow.  Like the visiting Monarchs on their first opportunity on the power play, Worcester did not convert on their first attempt.

After 20 minutes of play the Sharks held on their one goal lead.  In addition, Worcester and Manchester ended the period tied in the shot clock with six shots each.

Less than two minutes into the second period the Sharks went on the power play as Linden Vey from Manchester went off to the box for slashing.  On the second power play for the Sharks, the visiting Monarchs played some keep away to stop the Sharks the opportunity to really set up.  Thus making Manchester a perfect 2-2 in the penalty kill department.

Manchester Monarchs Linden Vey scored on a wrist shot short side under the arm of Sateri to tie the game up at 1.  Vey’s tally made it his ninth of the season with the assists from both Kozun and Pearson at 7:33 of the second.

At the 9:49 mark of the second frame O’Neill from Manchester and Tennyson of Worcester each get coincidental minors giving the contest the first look at four skaters aside.

Thru 40 minutes of play, Worcester managed to put some distant between them and Manchester with an 18-13 advantage.

Manchester Weal banged one home to take a 2-1 at the 7:27 mark of the final period.  Weals goal was his fourth of the season with the assists to Legein and Loktionov.

With 1:12 remaing of the contest, Manchester added some insurance when Toffoli scored his 19th goal of the season.  His goal was assisted by Andreoff and Vey.

At the end of the game Worcester beat Manchester on the shot clock by nine shot margin, 29-20.

The Monarchs came away with this one by a final score of 3-1.

3 Stars of the Game:

1. MCH – 31 Martin Jones
2. MCH – 19 Jordan Weal
3. WOR – 18 Yanni Gourde

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Blades of Teal: Tape to tape “WITH THE PASS” of expert analysis on San Jose Sharks, Worcester Sharks, and San Francisco Bulls hockey