Worcester Sharks vs. Lowell Devils

Tsongas Arena – Lowell, MA

December 27, 2007

 

 

 

WORCESTER – Opening up a stretch of seven games in ten days, the Worcester Sharks fought from behind to earn a standings point but fell to the Lowell Devils 4-3 in overtime at the Tsongas Arena in Lowell on Thursday evening.

 

Worcester applied pressure early with six shots over the first seven minutes, including a close-range try from Mike Iggulden that demanded a sprawling save from Devils netminder Frank Doyle, who stopped 27 shots in the victory.  The game’s first penalty, a holding the stick call against Lowell centerman Petr Vrana, gave Worcester a chance to break through.  Dan Spang threaded a feed to Tomas Plihal, who controlled with his back to the net before backhanding his fourth goal of the year over the glove-side shoulder of Doyle to give the Sharks a 1-0 lead.  Lowell struck back quickly, however, as Jason Ryznar cleaned up the rebound of a Petr Vrana try that Sharks backstop Thomas Greiss had kicked away.

 

A late first period holding call to Craig Valette gave the Devils a man advantage to start the middle frame, and just 27 seconds after intermission Stephen Gionta capitalized for the hosts.  Vrana and Clarke cycled to Gionta at the top of the right wing circle, and the winger blasted a rocket past Greiss for his 11^th goal of the season.  The assist to Vrana was his 30^th point in just 32 games.  Lowell missed a golden chance to open up a two goal lead when tip-in try by Devils redliner Nicklas Bergfors struck iron and slid wide.  Just one minute later the pipes again worked in Worcester’s favor.  Josh Prudden’s wrist shot struck the upright behind Doyle but the puck fell neatly onto the stick of Dennis Packard, who pulled the Sharks even at 4:53 of the second period.

 

One more strange circumstance, this time favoring the Devils, was due before play settled down.  Released from the penalty box after serving a hooking minor, Ryznar found himself in a footrace with Lukas Kaspar for a puck drifting into the Sharks zone.  Fighting off a hook from Kaspar, Ryznar beat Greiss to give Lowell a 3-2 lead just seven seconds after his own penalty expired.

 

That score would hold until the 3:32 mark of the third period, when Worcester edged even again courtesy of an aggressive wraparound try from Prudden that snuck in behind Doyle amongst a crowd.  Seconds later, the Sharks were recipients of yet another beneficial bounce, as Lowell’s Ryan Murphy was denied a go-ahead goal by the upright behind Greiss. 

 

Worcester managed 13 shots in the final period but couldn’t break through, and Bergfors capped the evening just 20 seconds into overtime, tallying the gamewinner for the Devils on an assist from Patrick Davis.

 

The Sharks return to Worcester for back-to-back home contests this Saturday and Sunday at the DCU Center.  Saturday’s 7:05 pm contest against the Manchester Monarchs will feature an early New Year’s Eve celebration complete with an indoor fireworks display.  Mike Iggulden autographed collectors cards will also be given away to the first 3,000 fans through the gates.  SpongeBob SquarePants joins the fun at 4:05 pm Sunday for Kids Club Night, as the Sharks again meet up with the Lowell Devils.  Four tickets plus a free extra large Papa Gino’s pizza are just $48 through the Sharks offices or online at sharksahl.com.

NOTES:  Tonight’s game concluded a five game road trip on which the Sharks went 3-1-1-0 for 7 of a possible 10 points… Graham Mink and Patrick Traverse were scratched due to illness… Three stars: 3. Prudden (1 goal, 1 assist), 2. Ryznar (2 goals), 1. Bergfors (GWG) … Power plays: Lowell 1 for 4, Worcester 1 for 3… Shots on net: Lowell 27, Worcester 30.