Worcester Sharks to face Bruins in Atlantic Division Finals!
April 27, 2009
Worcester Sharks to face Bruins in Atlantic Division Finals!
Sharks win four straight and defeat Wolf Pack in 6 games to advance
Top 3!
1. The Sharks win their first ever playoff series four games to two with a 5-3 win at home against the Hartford Wolf Pack in Game 6 on Saturday.
2. Ryan Vesce scores twice in Game 3, including his 5th overtime goal of the season at 1:07 of the 2nd overtime to get the Sharks back into the series.
3. Thomas Greiss records his first playoff shutout, making 30 saves in a 6-0 win in Game 4 to even the series at 2-2.
Atlantic Division Semi-finals Playoffs: Sharks defeat Wolf Pack 4-2 in best of seven series
Thu. 4/16 L Worcester SHARKS 0 @ Hartford Wolf Pack 2
Sat. 4/18 L Worcester SHARKS 3 @ Hartford Wolf Pack 5
Mon. 4/20 W Hartford Wolf Pack 2 @ Worcester SHARKS 3 - Double OT.
Wed. 4/22 W Hartford Wolf Pack 0 @ Worcester SHARKS 6
Thu. 4/23 W Worcester SHARKS 3 @ Hartford Wolf Pack 1
Sat. 4/25 W Hartford Wolf Pack 3 @ Worcester SHARKS 5
Atlantic Division Finals Playoff Schedule: Worcester Sharks vs. Providence Bruins
Tue. 4/28 Worcester SHARKS @ Providence Bruins – Dunkin Donuts Center
Wed. 5/6 Providence Bruins @ Worcester SHARKS – DCU Center
Fri. 5/8 Worcester SHARKS @ Providence Bruins – Dunkin Donuts Center
Sat. 5/9 Providence Bruins @ Worcester SHARKS – DCU Center
*Mon. 5/11 Worcester SHARKS @ Providence Bruins – Dunkin Donuts Center
*Wed. 5/13 Providence Bruins @ Worcester SHARKS – DCU Center
*Thur. 5/14 Worcester SHARKS @ Providence Bruins – Dunkin Donuts Center
* if necessary
Rewind the Tape:
Game 1: Sharks 0 Wolf Pack 2
The Sharks outshot the Hartford Wolf Pack 38-23 but came up empty offensively dropping game 1 in Hartford by a score of 2-0. Rookie netminder Matt Zaba made 38 saves in his first playoff appearance in the AHL for the shutout while Thomas Greiss made 21 saves for the Sharks. Artem Anisimov scored at 4:19 of the 2nd period slamming in a backdoor pass on to top the crease from Dale Weise past an outstretched Greiss. Dane Byers, playing in his first game since October 31st, gave the Wolf Pack some insurance at 7:20 of the 3rd period after he was set up on top of the crease after a great feed by Jordan Owens. The Sharks went 0-7 on the power play while the Wolf Pack went 0-5.
Game 2: Sharks 3 Wolf Pack 5
In a feisty affair, the Sharks trailed 3-0 early, tied the game in the second period, but eventually lost game 2 by the count of 5-3 on Saturday night in Hartford. Artem Anisimov, Jordan Owens, and Bobby Sanguinetti scored first period goals on just eight shots in the opening period to charge to a 3-0 lead after 20 minutes. Worcester fired 22 shots on netminder Matt Zaba but came up empty in the first period. At 9:51 of the 2nd period, Brendan Buckley would fire a bouncing wrist shot from 60 feet which squeaked through the pads of Zaba to break the shutout streak at 89:51 to get the Sharks on the board. Just 29 seconds later, Andrew Desjardins went five hole on Zaba from a tough angle at the side of the net to get the Sharks within one. On the power play, a Riley Armstrong shot from on top of the right circle broke through Zaba and Cory Larose banged in the loose puck at 14:40 to tie the score at 3-3. Worcester outshot the Wolf Pack 41-13 after 40 minutes in a tied game. Mike Ouellette put Hartford ahead at 2:23 of the third period and Mark Bell scored an empty netter to put the game away as the Wolf Pack won game 2. The Sharks went 1-13 on the power play while the Wolf Pack went 1-7. The two teams combined for 76 penalty minutes as the Sharks outshot the Wolf Pack 47-19.
Game 3: Sharks 3 Wolf Pack 2 - 2ndOT
Captain Ryan Vesce scored just 67 seconds into the 2nd overtime period to propel the Sharks to a 3-2 victory in Game 3 at the DCU Center on Monday. The Sharks trailed 1-0 and 2-1 before Ryan Vesce tied the score with his first AHL playoff goal at 6:25 of the 2nd period. Tom Cavanagh tied the game at 1-1 late in the first period banging in a loose rebound in front of Matt Zaba. Thomas Greiss made several key saves late in the third period and in overtime before Patrick Traverse found Ryan Vesce in the center slot early in the 2nd OT. The overtime goal was Vesce’s 5th overtime goal this season and the first every playoff goal for the Sharks. Thomas Greiss made 34 saves in his first career postseason victory while Matt Zaba made 42 saves in net for the Wolf Pack. The Sharks went 0-5 on the power play while Hartford went 1-7. Riley Armstrong added two assists for the Sharks while Corey Potter and Dale Weiss scored the goals for the Wolf Pack.
Game 4: Sharks 6 Wolf Pack 0
The Sharks exploded for five goals in the third period and shutout the Wolf Pack 6-0 in Game 4 at the DCU Center. Frazer McLaren gave the Sharks an early 1-0 lead in the first period deflecting in a bomb from the blue line by Kyle McLaren. Thomas Greiss was brilliant in net making 30 saves for his first professional playoff shutout. Logan Couture, Lukas Kaspar, Ryan Vesce, Tom Cavanagh, and T.J. Fox all scored in the third period in the victory. Mat Zaba made 21 saves in net for the Wolf Pack as the Sharks evened the series at 2-2.
Game 5: Sharks 3 Wolf Pack 1
Patrick Traverse recorded two power play goals and an assist all in the first period as the Sharks rode their Game 4 third period momentum into Hartford in a 3-1 win in Game 5. Riley Armstrong continued his point streak to four games (0-6-6) and T.J. Fox scored in his 2nd straight game. Thomas Greiss held off a flurry of Hartford chances in the third making 27 saves overall as the Sharks won their third straight game to take a 3-2 series lead. The Sharks went 2-6 on the power play. Matt Zaba made 23 saves for the Wolf Pack.
Game 6: Sharks 5 Wolf Pack 3
The Sharks clinched their first playoff series in franchise history winning its 4th straight game over the Wolf Pack in a 5-3 win at the DCU Center. Dan DaSilva scored two goals and added an assist to lead the Sharks offensively. Andrew Desjardins gave the Sharks an early 1-0 lead before the Pack tied the score. The Sharks lead 3-1 after twenty minutes as Lukas Kaspar and DaSilva had the other first period tallies. Thomas Greiss made 27 saves in net for Worcester and Logan Couture netted his 2nd goal of the series. Frazer McLaren, Jason Demers, and Riley Armstrong all had two assists as the Sharks became the 20th team in AHL history to win a series after trailing two games to nothing.
Important Playoff #’s:
Worcester Providence
Goals For 3.33 – 5th 2.20 – 11th
Goals Agst 2.17 – 5th 1.40 - 2nd
Shots For 36.17– 2nd 37.40 – 1st
Shots Agst 27.67 – 8th 29.80 – 9th
PP 4-36 (11.1%) - 13th 3-21 (14.3%) – 9th
PK 27-31 (87.1%) – 7th 19-20 (95.0%) – 2nd
PIMS 16.83– 5th 14.00 – 11th
Sharks in the Atlantic… (regular season)
The Sharks finished (42-35-1-2) swimming in a 4th place in the Atlantic Division with 87 points, 12 points behind the first place Hartford Wolf Pack. Worcester finished one point behind the Pirates for the 3rd spot and 7 points behind the Bruins for the 2nd spot. The 5th place Monarchs finished five points behind the Sharks and the Devils were eight points out in a very choppy Atlantic Division.
Playoff Bites:
*The 2nd round series against the Bruins is just the 3rd ever playoff series for the Sharks. In 2007, the Sharks lost round 1 to the Manchester Monarchs four games to two.
*The Bruins enter their 29th playoff series, having won their 15th series four games to one past Portland. The Bruins won the Calder Cup in 1999. Providence has lost in the Atlantic Division Finals in each of the last two years.
* The Sharks became just the 20th team in AHL history to win a series after losing the first two games.
*Brendan Buckley scored his first playoff goal in Game 2 at Harford in his 56th AHL playoff game.
*Rookie Andrew Desjardins scored his first AHL playoff goal in Game 2 at Hartford.
*The Sharks had a franchise record 13 power plays in Game 2 at Hartford (1 for 13).
*Kyle McLaren dressed in his first AHL playoff game in Game 1 at Hartford after playing in 70 NHL playoff games.
*Rookie Frazer McLaren recorded one assist in 75 regular season games but already has three in six playoff games. Frazer is 10th in the AHL rookie scoring race with four points (1-3-4).
* Ryan Vesce scored his first two AHL playoff goals in Game 3 vs. Hartford including his 5th OTG this season. Vesce is 4th in the AHL with 24 shots on goal.
* Thomas Greiss made 34 saves in Game 3 vs. Hartford for his first AHL playoff victory in six starts and followed up with 30 saves in game 4 for his first playoff shutout in a 6-0 victory. Greiss is 4th in the AHL with a 1.90GAA and 5th in save % at .927. Greiss has made 22 straight starts dating back to the end of the regular season.
* Riley Armstrong is riding a six game point streak (0-8-8) and is 2nd in the AHL in assists (8) and is 5th in points (0-8-8).
* Patrick Traverse leads all AHL defenseman with five points in the playoffs (2-3-5).
* Dan DaSilva recorded three points in Game 6 (2-1-3) and is 13th in the AHL with six points (2-4-6).
* The Sharks set a franchise record with 78 fighting major penalties this season through 80 games and have two in the AHL playoffs. Andrew Desjardins and Frazer McLaren have each dropped the gloves in the playoffs.
Coming and goings from the shark tank:
No player movement this week.
Top Sharks:
o Goals Vesce (3)
o Game Winners DaSilva, Vesce, F. McLaren, Fox
o Assists Armstrong (8)
o Points Armstrong (0-8-8)
o Power play Points Traverse (2-1-3) and Armstrong (0-3-3)
o Shots Vesce (24)
o PIM F. McLaren (17)
o Fighting Pen. F. McLaren and Andrew Desjardins (1)
o Plus/Minus Desjardins (+5)
o Wins Greiss (4)
o G.A.A. Greiss (1.90)
o Save % Greiss (.927)
o Shutouts Greiss (1)
Coming Up:
The Sharks travel to Providence for Game 1 of the Atlantic Division Finals on Tuesday, April 28th at 7:05p.m. The Sharks host Game 2, eight days later at the DCU Center on Wednesday, May 6th at 7:05p.m.
Any Sharks fan that mentions that they are growing a playoff beard will receive a discounted $16.00 best available ticket for any game at the DCU Center in the 2nd round of the playoffs!
In addition, fans may purchase a variety of Playoff ticket packages:
· Family Fun Pack – 4 tickets, 4 hot dogs, and 4 sodas for just $65 ($16.25 per extra person).
· Playoff Fun Pack – 4 flex vouchers and either 1 signed Sharks stick or 4 Sharks camouflage hats for $66 (16.50 per extra person).
The Sharks reduced their 2009-10 season ticket prices and playoff tickets are on sale now! Purchases can be made by visiting the box office, contacting the Worcester Sharks office at 508.929.0500, or by crashing the net at www.SharksAHL.com.
All games can be heard live on 580AM and 94.9FM WTAG, as well as online through AHL Live, by following the link on the Sharks website at www.SharksAHL.com.
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