DCU Center

February 23, 2013

Meeting 10 of 12 vs. the Pirates

Sharks are 4-5-0-1 vs. the Pirates this season

By Matt Metcalf

Portland Pirates @ Worcester Sharks. Mandatory Credit: Ron Morin

Worcester, MA– The Worcester Sharks (24-21-1-5, 54pts) defeated the division rival Portland Pirates (30-19-1-1, 62pts) by a score of 4-1 on Saturday evening in front of 5,045 fans at the DCU Center. The Sharks wore specialty jerseys in the game to benefit the Autism Resource Center of Central Massachusetts and broke a seven game home losing skid at the DCU Center.

First period goals by Danny Groulx (3rd), Bracken Kearns (13th), and Jimmy Bonneau (1st) was the difference-maker in the game, as the Sharks got the early lead and never looked back. Matt Tennyson (5th) also added a goal of his own in the second period to give the Sharks a 4-0 lead, before Phil Lane (5th) got the Pirates on the board early in the third period. Alex Stalock was awesome in net, stopping all but one of the 37 shots that he faced in the game. This win was Stalock’s 14th of the season.

After a back-and-forth start to the first period, the Sharks were finally able to strike first at 13:15 on a missile from the point by defenseman Danny Groulx (3rd) that beat Portland goaltender Mike Lee glove-side, giving the Sharks a 1-0 lead. Just over two minutes later, Bracken Kearns (13th) increased the Sharks lead on a shorthanded bid, when he stole the puck from a Portland defenseman and went in on a breakaway and beat Lee five-hole, making it a 2-0 game. The Sharks didn’t let up there. After the Sharks killed off Jimmy Bonneau’s (1st) penalty, he stepped out of the box and scored to give the Sharks a 3-0 lead on a low shot far-side. The Sharks outshot the Pirates 13-10 in the opening period.

There wasn’t much action until the late stages of the second period. With just over three minutes left in the period, James Livingston made a great cross-ice feed to a wide open Matt Tennyson (5th), who walked in and buried a wrist shot to the left of Louis Domingue, who replaced Mike Lee in net following the first period, extending the Worcester lead to 4-0. The Sharks continued their offensive pressure in the second, firing 14 more shots on the cage.

The Pirates cut into their four-goal deficit 4:47 into the final period, when Phil Lane (5th) curled out from behind the net and beat Alex Stalock glove side, trimming the Worcester lead to 4-1. Stalock played great down the stretch to secure the victory for the Sharks, including a big save on a breakaway by Portland’s Chris Brown and a number of saves on quality shots on a Portland power play following their first goal, eliminating any chance that the Pirates had of getting back in the game.

The Sharks overall record improves to 24-21-1-5 (54pts in 51gp) and 9-10-1-3 (22pts in 23gp) at home this season.

Worcester Sharks Official Logo. Mandatory Credit: Worcester Sharks media department.

Notables:

Final shots were 37-36 in favor of Portland.  Mike Lee made 10 saves on 13 shots, while Louis Domingue made 22 saves on 23 shots for Portland.  Alex Stalock made 36 saves on 37 shots for Worcester.  Worcester went 0-for-6 on the power play while Portland went 0-for-6

***Post Game Report provided by the Worcester Sharks.****

Official Link: http://www.sharksahl.com/story.asp?story_id=3432

3 Stars of The Game:

1. WOR – 43 Jimmy Bonneau
2. WOR – 16 Bracken Kearns
3. WOR – 32 Alex Stalock

Be sure to follow all of your BoT staff on twitter!!!  

@KingShark49 @81Bayer

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

Worcester Sharks vs. Portland Pirates. Mandatory Credit: WGME News 13.

Scouting Report:

A Look at Portland:

The Portland Pirates (30-18-1-1, 62 points) are in second place in the Atlantic Division, trailing Providence by one point and fifth place in the Eastern Conference. The Pirates have been a constant offensive force as they lead the Atlantic Division in goals scored with 147 goals, but have needed every single one of their goals, as they also lead the  Division in goals allowed with 143 goals. They have twice scored seven goals against Worcester this season, which is the most that Worcester has given up in a single game this season. In their last ten games Portland has a record of (6-4-0-0).
Pirates Watch Report:

With Portland’s captain, Alexandre Bolduc returned from his call up to the Phoenix Coyotes, he is one of the players to watch as he has posted 36 points (19 goals and 17 assists) in 39 games with Portland. Chris Conner, another dynamic player for Portland seems to save his best for Worcester as he has tallied 10 points (4 goals and 6 assists) out of his 24 points (8 goals and 16 assists) in nine contests this season. Rob Klinkhammer seems to be another Pirate that saves his best for Worcester as he has collected 7 points (3 goals and 4 assists) out of his 40 points (13 goals and 27 assists) in nine games verse the Sharks.

***Special Scouting Report courtesy of the Worcester Sharks.***

Official Link: http://www.sharksahl.com/Story.asp?story_id=3429

Official WTAG Radio Logo. Mandatory Credit: Rick In the News

 

Tonight’s match up has a 7:30p EST puck drop.  In addition the contest 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.

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

Be sure to follow all of your BoT staff on twitter!!!  

@KingShark49 @81Bayer

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