By Jeremy Lemoine
Sharksahl.com Staff

Worcester, Mass. – The Worcester Sharks scored three goals in the first period and never looked back to snap the Providence Bruins six-game winning streak. Forwards Joe Pavelski and Craig Valette scored two goals apiece and defenseman Justin Kurtz added three assists to pace the Sharks for their second straight win in as many nights. Nolan Schaefer picked up his fourth win with 22 saves on the night for Worcester.

The Sharks upped their season record to 7-3-0-2 to pull just one point behind the Providence Bruins with 16 points in the Atlantic Division.

Grant Stevenson got the Sharks on the board first at 7:01 of the first period. Worcester broke out of the defensive zone and went into the Bruins zone on a three-on-two. Stevenson took a pass from Pavelski and fired a wrister that beat Bruins goaltender Hannu Toivonen on the glove side.

Sharks forward Ashton Rome fed linemate Craig Valette with a beautiful pass to the slot for a one-timer that rocketed past Toivonen. The goal was Valette’s second of the season and put the Sharks up 2-0.

The Sharks weren’t done though. Less than two minutes later, rookie Joe Pavelski roofed a rebound from a Mathieu Darche shot to notch his fourth goal of the season and put the men in teal up 3-0. Stevenson picked up the other assist to record his fourth consecutive multi-point night on the season.

Ryan Glenn put Providence on the board five minutes into the second period. The goal came on the power play and was Glenn’s third goal of the season to make it 3-1.

The Sharks made it 4-1 just two minutes before the second period completed when Lukas Kaspar tallied in his second goal of the season on a scrum in front of the Bruins’ Toivonen.

The Baby-B’s made it 4-2 when forward Martins Karsums redirected a Tyler Redenbach feed from in front of Schaefer for his fourth goal of the season.

With Jordan Sigalet replacing Toivonen with an injury, the Bruins got to within one when forward Jeremy Reich fired a wrist shot that beat Schaefer to the high glove side for his second of the year at 11:17 of the third period.

Worcester responded just 33 seconds with Pavelski beating Bruins netminder Jordan Sigalet, with a snap shot from the slot for his second of the night to make it 5-3. Stevenson and Justin Kurtz grabbed the assist.

Valette added one more for good measure with a nifty wrister that beat Sigalet to the glove side for his second of the night. The goal secured a 6-3 win for the Sharks.

Worcester will travel to Bridgeport to take on the Sound Tigers for their third game in three nights. The Sharks game can be heard on Newstalk 580 WTAG. Please note, the Sharks warm-up show will not be aired. Sharks coverage will begin immediately following the Holy Cross basketball game.