Worcester Sharks vs. Albany River Rats

DCU Center – Worcester, MA

March 22, 2008

 

 

 

 

By: Chris Del Vecchio

 

WORCESTER – After last night’s dramatic conclusion, a two goal deficit in the third period seemed to be another miracle in waiting.  But the Worcester Sharks only closed half the gap this time, falling by a 3-2 count to the Albany River Rats on Saturday night at the DCU Center.

 

Albany applied pressure early, and a holding call against Worcester’s Tom Cavanagh gave the Rats an opportunity to open the scoring via the power play.  Working deep in the right corner, Marc Cavosie fed teammate Pat Dwyer in the right slot.  Dwyer flicked a perfectly placed wrist shot over the shoulder of Sharks goaltender Thomas Greiss and into the top corner, giving Albany a 1-0 lead less than five minutes into the game.

 

Things remained quiet until the first Worcester power play, which began just beyond the halfway point of the period.  A diagonal pass from Mike Iggulden was redirected in front of the net, and only a desperation lunge from Albany backstop Justin Peters prevented Graham Mink from tying the game.

 

As the period came to a close, Cavosie found himself in a race against the clock during a last second breakaway.  The veteran redliner would win the race, tucking the puck behind Greiss with less than one second showing on the scoreboard clock.  Cavosie’s fourth AHL goal of the year doubled the Rats lead heading into the intermission.

 

Worcester was held shotless for the first seven minutes of the middle frame, before Peters finally erred.  The goaltender weakly poked a loose puck straight to Sharks forward Dennis Packard, who wasted no time in returning the puck top shelf on Peters at 7:24, cutting the Albany lead in half with his tenth goal of the year.

 

A Worcester turnover turned into an odd man rush for Albany with just over five minutes to play in the period.  Greiss made the initial save on Casey Borer’s shot from the left wing, but Jakub Petruzalek crashed the net and tapped home the rebound, plowing through Greiss in the process.

 

The visitors held the 3-1 lead deep into the third period, until the puck finally bounced in Worcester’s advantage.  A tight-angle try from Tom Walsh was redirected by T.J. Fox off the pads of Peters, and Ashton Rome cleaned up the loose puck at 12:12 for his sixth goal of the year.  Peters would make seven saves in the final period, however, which was enough to guarantee the victory for Albany.

 

The Sharks begin a three-in-three road weekend on Friday with a trip to Hartford, followed by contests in Lowell on Saturday night and Providence on Sunday afternoon.  Worcester also plays in Springfield the following Wednesday before returning to the DCU Center on Friday, April 4^th for a 7:05pm affair with the Portland Pirates.  For more information or to purchase tickets, call the Sharks offices at 508-929-0500 or visit sharksahl.com.

NOTES: Packard’s goal extended a season-high five game point streak… Iggulden and Cavanagh both extended pont streaks to three games… Rome scored a third period goal for the second consecutive night … No penalties were called in the third period… The Worcester Fire Department defeated the Worcester Police Department, 4-2, in the second annual “Guns N Hoses” charity game prior to tonight’s contest… The final attendance figure was 4,879 … Greiss had 24 saves on 27 shots for the Sharks while Peters made 21 stops on 23 shots for Albany …  Power plays: Worcester: 0 for 2,  Albany 1 for 3 … Niche Hospitality Group Three Stars: Mezcal 3^rd Star: Dwyer (1g, 1a), Bocado 2^nd Star: Rome (1g), Block 5 1^st Star: Cavosie (1g, 1a)