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San Jose Sharks Battle in Intrasquad Scrimmage
San Jose Sharks Battle in Intrasquad Scrimmage
Team B skates by Team A, 3-2; Good Intensity in First Matchup
Monday, 09.14.2009 / 8:00 PM / News
By Alex Aragon - Staff Writer
Though Training Camp officially opened on Sunday with practices, meetings and off-ice workouts, Monday’s intrasquad scrimmage marked the unofficial beginning to the 18th training camp in Sharks franchise history.
“Guys have been waiting for these two days for a long time,” said left wing Jody Shelley. “We got the first practice in under our belts, and now the first scrimmage. I think guys will settle in now and really get into their roles.” The two teams squared off in two 30-minute halves, with a 10-minute intermission between halves to resurface the ice. The first half opened with a brief feeling out period before players from Team A (wearing white) and Team B (wearing teal) got acclimated to a semi-structured game. As the first half progressed, passes appeared more crisp, breakout plays seemed more fluid and the hits became bountiful.
Predictably, defenseman Nick Petrecki was at the forefront of the hit parade sending a handful of Team B players to the ice with textbook blows. This time last week, Petrecki was doing the same thing in the exhibition game he and the Sharks rookies played against the Ducks rookies. The lone tally of the first half came when center Logan Couture one-touched a feed from linemate Dan Hinote past goaltender Thomas Heemskerk. Left wing T.J. Trevelyan moved the puck to Hinote in the neutral zone, then Hinote put the puck into space from the left wing halfboards where Couture made it a 1-0 game. “The coaches have done a good job of pumping it into our brains the kind of system they want and that was a perfect example,” said Hinote. “If you try to drive the middle lane, good things are going to happen. Our job is to keep fast hockey going and we’ll get a few bounces here and there.” Hinote, a veteran of more than 500 NHL games, is at training camp on a tryout, looking to find a place on the Sharks roster. His resume includes nearly 400 career penalty minutes, 72 games of playoff experience and a Stanley Cup Championship in 2001 (as a teammate of Rob Blake with the Colorado Avalanche). “I try to bring some energy,” Hinote said. “I try to get in the other team’s face and to be an agitation where the other team is more worried about our third or fourth lines than our top six. Summer’s a long break from hitting and battling and there’s really no way to replicate that during the summer, so it’s good to get back out there.” Team B extended their lead in the second half when right wing Devin Setoguchi stole a pass in the slot, put an initial shot on net, then collected his own rebound and beat Evgeni Nabokov to make it 2-0. Team A got on the scoresheet two minutes later when defenseman Jason Demers put home a rebound past goaltender Alex Stalock. Defenseman Douglas Murray put a heavy shot on net after forward Ryane Clowe broke into the zone and left it for the blueliner with a nifty drop pass, leading to Demers’ tally. The lone power play strike came with 10 minutes remaining in the second half when left wing Frazer McLaren teamed up with linemates Joe Thornton and Setoguchi to restore Team B’s two-goal lead.
Though the left wing spot on the team’s top unit might be reserved for Dany Heatley when he arrives, McLaren and Jamie McGinn each took shifts on Team B’s top line, an opportunity both players were excited to have. “Those are two highly skilled guys and big point producers on this team,” said McGinn. “They’re very fast out there and they want things done to perfection. It was a good learning experience for me. Just get pucks in deep, make sure I beat their D in, get the puck to Jumbo and try to make things happen. I think it was a great opportunity.” Team A pulled within one with 1:22 to play, but that is as close as they would come. Joe Pavelski won an offensive zone faceoff back to defenseman Derek Joslin, then headed to the front of the net. Joslin found a shooting lane and put the puck towards the net where Pavelski redirected the shot past Stalock. With extra attackers, penalties and big body checks, the 3-2 final was indicative of a training camp scrimmage that was as intense as any in recent memory. “That’s what you wait for,” said Shelley. “You finished last year and you can’t wait until training camp starts, especially the way we ended. Guys came in anxious and excited and you can feel it. The oldest guys and the youngest guys had the same butterflies today.” DAY THREE SCHEDULE Teams A and B will swap pre-scrimmage / post-scrimmage practice times on Tuesday. Both squads return to action with another intra-squad scrimmage beginning at 9:50 AM on the South Rink. 9:00 to 9:45 AM – Team A Practice, North Rink 9:50 to 11:00 AM – Team A vs. Team B Scrimmage, South Rink 11:15 to 12:00 PM – Team B Practice, North Rink Schedule and times are subject to change without notice. SJSHARKS.com will update all information as it becomes available. WORCESTER ANNOUNCES TRAINING CAMP SCHEDULE The Worcester Sharks will begin training camp at the New England Sports Center in Marlboro on Tuesday, Sept. 22. For more information, crash the net at www.SHARKSAHL.com. In addition, Worcester individual tickets for the 2009-10 season will go on sale on Tuesday, September 15th at 7:00 AM (Pacific). Tickets can be purchased by contacting the Worcester Sharks front office, by visiting the DCU Center Box Office, or through Ticketmaster. |
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(508) 929-0500 or email us at [email protected]
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© 2010 Worcester Sharks. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate in any form without permission of the Worcester Sharks.
