Worcester, Mass. - The Worcester Sharks handed out their team awards prior to hosting the Providence Bruins on home ice at the DCU Center.  President and CEO Michael T. Lehr along with Assistant General Manager Michael Mudd were on the ice to present the awards.

 

Rookie netminder Thomas Greiss took home two of the four awards with his tremendous play this season.  Greiss is 24-15-2 on the season and has appeared in 22 consecutive games.

 

The first award presented to Greiss was the 1-Star Realty Three Stars award.  The award goes to the player who received the most points during the season for being one of three stars after the game.  The sliding scale gave the first five points, the second star picked up three points and the third star received one point.  Greiss racked up 55 points in the voting and thus beat out all his teammates.  Eight of his 55 points came from being a No. 1 Star of the game.  On hand to present the 1-Star Realty Three Stars was President of 1-Star Realty, Matteo Gentile.

 

It was no surprise to anyone that Greiss picked up the Rookie of the Year award as well.  Greiss has been stellar all season and with the departure of Joe Pavelski in November, the award was there for Greiss’ taking.  Defenseman Dan Spang started off the season looking like he had a strong chance as well, but with a few hampering injuries throughout the year, he fell out of the running. 

 

With his numbers, the German native more than deserved the two awards.  Greiss owns a goals against average of 2.61 and a save percentage of .912.  The Sharks are 12-3 in their last 15 games and Greiss has been the catalyst for Worcester’s superb play.

 

Also receiving awards were two very important players on the Sharks roster.  Forwards Mathieu Darche and Tom Cavanagh picked up Most Valuable Player and Unsung Hero awards, respectively. 

 

Darche has been, without question, the Most Valuable Player for the Sharks and continues to impress his teammates, coaches, and fans.  The veteran Darche has set four records for the Sharks in their first season, ranks atop the Sharks scoring race, and is in top 10 in scoring within the American Hockey League.  Darche has 35 goals and 45 assists for 80 points in 74 games played. 

 

This season, Darche scored the first goals ever for the Sharks both on the road and on home ice at the DCU Center against the Portland Pirates.  Greiss also recorded the Worcester Sharks first franchise hat trick on December 22^nd against the Manchester Monarchs.  In the same game, he also picked up two assists to give him a total of five points.  Those five points in a game are also a record for most in a game by any Sharks player.

 

In addition to Darche having a career year, he was the lone Sharks representative at this season’s AHL All-Star Classic in Toronto.  Although his Canadian All-Star team lost, he factored in two of their five goals scored.

 

Last, but certainly not least, Cavanagh has been an integral part of the Sharks this season, especially on the penalty killing unit.  Cavanagh received the Unsung Hero award and although many of he players on the Sharks team were in the running, Cavanagh is the perfect choice.  Cavanagh’s strong penalty killing put him tops on the team with two goals and three points while playing a man-down.   The Rhode Island native, along with many other Worcester Sharks players, is having a career year – bettering all of his previous season highs.  This season he has registered 12 goals and 31 assists for 43 points in 72 games played and a plus-10 rating.  Last season, his rookie year, he recorded 10 goals and 11 assists for 21 points.

 

The Sharks will look for these three players to continue their stellar play to vault them into the Calder Cup Playoffs during their first season in Worcester. 

 

To purchase tickets to Worcester’s final game of the regular season against the Lowell Devils at 4:00 p.m., visit the DCU Center Box Office Lobby, any Ticketmaster location or by calling the Sharks offices at 508.929.0500.  The first 3,000 fans will receive Thundersticks, courtesy of the Telegram and Gazette.  The concourse doors will open at 1:30 p.m., in time for the first game of the afternoon which pits the Bruins Alumni vs. the Why Me All-Stars to benefit Why Me.