SAN JOSE, Calif.- With the 2007-08 Worcester Sharks season complete, the attention now focuses to San Jose where the Sharks are gearing for a run at The Stanley Cup. It’s in San Jose where 11 Worcester alumni are making their mark in hockey’s biggest stage.

 

The Sharks dropped the first two games of the Western Conference semifinal series and now look to cut Dallas’ series advantage in half at 7:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday!

 

Tom Cavanagh, Thomas Greiss, Derek Joslin, Sandis Ozolinsh, Devin Setoguchi, Tomas Plihal, and Marc-Edouard Vlasic all skated for Worcester at some point this season and are currently in San Jose. Meanwhile, Matt Carle, Torrey Mitchell, Doug Murray, and Joe Pavelski called the DCU Center home in Worcester’s inaugural 2006-07 campaign.

 

After a hard-fought first-round series win over Calgary, San Jose knew they would have their hands full with Pacific Division rival Dallas. Colorado’s (6^th seed) upset over Minnesota (3^rd seed) planted the “seeds” for a familiar second round matchup. The Sharks and Stars battled to 160 penalty minutes in the last regular game of the season on Apr. 6, only adding to the intrigue and intensity of an already great rivalry.

 

San Jose drew first blood in Game 1, riding a second-period goal by Milan Michalek to the early advantage. Dallas took the 2-1 lead before the Sharks responded as Jonathan Cheecho scored late in the third for the tie score. Two former 2006-07 Worcester Sharks, Mitchell and Carle, were credited with the assists on the play. Unfortunately, Dallas picked up the overtime game-winner less than five minutes into the extra session to send the home crowd home unhappy.

 

Another Worcester alum, Joe Pavelski, gave San Jose its second straight first-goal in Game 2.  Dallas stormed back from a 2-1 deficit and scored four unanswered in the third (one of which was an empty-netter), for the 5-2 win and 2-0 series lead. 

 

The teams have had tremendous success in each other’s home building as the Sharks look to ride that trend right back into the series. Please check out the San Jose Sharks official website for up to date information and a link to the radio broadcast for Tuesday. Remember, the series is back on VERSUS on Wednesday for the 9 p.m. start time. Keep checking back to sharksahl.com for more updates to follow Worcester alumni in their “Quest For The Cup!”

 

 

SERIES L	TIME	#2   vs.   #5	Network
Friday, April 25, 2008	10:00 PM	Dallas at San Jose	L, 3-2 (OT)
Sunday, April 27, 2008	9:00 PM	Dallas at San Jose	L, 5-2
Tuesday, April 29, 2008	7:30 PM	San Jose at Dallas	TSN
Wednesday, April 30, 2008	9:00 PM	San Jose at Dallas	VERSUS, TSN (JIP)
*Friday, May 2, 2008	10:00 PM	Dallas at San Jose	VERSUS, TSN
*Sunday, May 4, 2008	9:00 PM	San Jose at Dallas	VERSUS, TSN
*Tuesday May 6, 2008	10:00 PM	Dallas at San Jose	TSN

Josh Gorges, who played in seven games with Worcester last season, skated in all seven games of Montreal’s 4-3 series win over Boston. The defenseman finished the series with one assist while helping the Canadians get past the feisty Bruins. Gorges and the Canadians are currently deadlocked at 1-1 against the Flyers in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

SERIES I	TIME	#1   vs.   #6	Network
Thursday, April 24, 2008	7:00 PM	Philadelphia at Montreal	W, 4-3
Saturday, April 26, 2008	7:00 PM	Philadelphia at Montreal	L, 4-2
Monday, April 28, 2008	7:00 PM	Montreal at Philadelphia	VERSUS, CBC, RD
Wednesday, April 30, 2008	7:00 PM	Montreal at Philadelphia	VERSUS, CBC, RDS
*Saturday, May 3, 2008	7:00 PM	Philadelphia at Montreal	CBC, VERSUS, RDS
*Sunday, May 4, 2008	7:00 PM	Montreal at Philadelphia	VERSUS, CBC, RDS
*Tuesday, May 6, 2008	7:00 PM	Philadelphia at Montreal	CBC, RDS

Worcester Sharks season tickets for 2008-09 are on sale NOW by calling 508-929-0500 or crashing the web at www.sharksahl.com.