The Sharks kicked-off their fifth season in the AHL recording three points in two weekend games on the road in Bridgeport and Hartford. Jonathan Cheechoo was impressive in his debut with five points to lead the Sharks offensively. The Sharks opening four game road trip continues in Norfolk this weekend with two games against the Admirals.

#1 Jonathan Cheechoo makes a big splash in Worcester with five points (2-3-5) in his first two games with the Worcester Sharks!

#2 Benn Ferriero nets three first period points (2-1-3) and is #1 star in 4-3 win at Hartford on Sunday.

#3 Brandon Mashinter scores twice and is #2 star in 5-4 shootout in Bridgeport on Saturday,

 

 

Wed.     10/9       SOL             Worcester SHARKS 4 @ Bridgeport Sound Tigers 5 - Shootout

Fri.         10/10     W                 Worcester SHARKS 4 @ Hartford Wolf Pack 3

 

 

Fri.         10/15                          Worcester SHARKS @ Norfolk Admirals – 7:30pm

Sat.         10/16                          Worcester SHARKS @ Norfolk Admirals – 7:15pm

 

The Worcester Sharks scored three power play goals and received stellar goaltending late from Alex Stalock for their first victory of the 2010-11 season with a 4-3 win over the Wolf Pack at the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut on Sunday afternoon. Benn Ferriero (2-1-3) and Jonathan Cheechoo (1-2-3) each had three points while James Marcou scored a third period power play goal that proved to be the game winner. Alex Stalock made 30 saves in net for Worcester.

 

The Sharks are swimming in 1^st place with 3 points (1-0-0-1) in the Atlantic Division through two games, one point ahead of the Portland Pirates, Bridgeport Sound Tigers, Hartford Wolf Pack, Manchester Monarchs, Providence Bruins, and the Springfield Falcons.

 

 *400 WINS!….With the 4-1 victory vs. Springfield on November 1, 2009 head coach Roy Sommer became just the 4^th coach in AHL history to reach the 400 win plateau.

 

1. Fred “Bun” Cook          1937-56                 19seasons            1,171GP                636 WINS

2. Frank Mathers              1956-85                 18seasons            1,256GP               610 WINS

3. John Paddock               1981-2009             15seasons            1,107GP               585 WINS

 

 

*Coach Sommer will coach his 1,000^th AHL game on January 11, 2011 when the Sharks host the Albany River Rats.

 

*Assistant Coach David Cunniff has joined Coach Sommer in 289 of the 443 victories (65%).

*Captains for the 2010-11 season: Captain Jay Leach (1^st  year), Assistant Captains on the road: Jonathan Cheechoo (1^st  year) and Nick Petrecki (1^st year). Assistant Captains at home: Andrew Desjardins (1^st year) and Sean Sullivan (1^st year)

 

*From east to west….. The Sharks had 12 players that saw action in both the AHL and NHL last season (McLaren, Zalewski, Vesce, Joslin, McGinn, Couture, Callahan, Ferriero, Mitchell, Demers, McCarthy, and Helminen).  The Worcester Sharks have 0 CALL-UPS this season to San Jose… Currently; Logan Couture, Jason Demers, Derek Joslin, Mike Moore, Frazer McLaren, John McCarthy, Jamie McGinn, Joe Pavelski, Devin Setoguchi, Marc-Edourd Vlasic, and Doug Murray are all former Worcester Sharks that are currently playing with the San Jose Sharks.

 

*Reunion of sorts…Jonathan Cheechoo returns to the Sharks organization in Worcester and will once again play for head coach Roy Sommer…. Coach Sommer coached Cheechoo in Kentucky and Cleveland in the AHL before his NHL days. Cheechoo had 56-63-119pts in 137 games under coach Sommer.

 

*On the Hunt… Sharks forward Garet Hunt made the Sharks opening night roster after a try-out during training camp. The 22-year-old from Maple Ridge, BC had 463 penalty minutes in 115 games in Stockton over the last two seasons… Hunt has 17 penalty minutes (1 FM) in two games with the Sharks this season.

 

*Familiar Faces…16 players return to the 2010-11 roster from the regular season Atlantic Division championship team including four 20 goal scorers (DaSilva, Mashinter, Trevelyan, and Zalewski) and team MVP Alex Stalock. 

 

*Sweet 16…The Worcester Sharks are the 16^th professional team that Sharks captain has suited up for in this, his 10th professional season (Mississippi – ECHL, Springfield – AHL, Augusta – ECHL, Long Beach – ECHL, Providence – AHL, Trenton – ECHL, Bridgeport – AHL, Boston – NHL, Norfolk – AHL, Tampa Bay – NHL, Portland – AHL, Lowell – AHL, New Jersey – NHL, Montreal – NHL, San Jose – NHL, and Worcester – AHL)

 

*Young Guns… the Sharks have NINE rookies, including three from UMASS-Amherst (Braun, Irwin, and Marcou) and two from UMASS-Lowell (Hutton and Schaus).

 

*Vets… Three veterans will provide leadership for the Sharks squad this season, which include: former Maurice Richard winner Jonathan Cheechoo, former Boston Bruins defenseman Jay Leach, and the leading goal scorer for the Sharks from last season, T.J. Trevelyan.

 

*I’ll take a draft…. Six Worcester Sharks players were drafted by the San Jose Sharks. (Braun, Cheechoo, Lucia, Petrecki, Stalock, and Zalewski)

 

*You always remember your first…..still waiting for a Shark to score his first professional goal this season!

 

*An apple a day… Sharks rookie defenseman Justin Braun has five assists in his first five professional games.

 

*These Sharks know how to score!... Worcester finished 2nd in the AHL last season averaging 3.44 goals per game! This season the Sharks have averaged 4.00 goals per game (7^th in AHL).

 

*Firsts this Week… James Marcou scored his first professional game winning in Hartford on Sunday… Jonathan Cheechoo scored the first goal of the Sharks season in Bridgeport on Saturday to join Mathieu Darche, Graham Mink, Cory Larose, and Andrew Desjardins on the list of first goals of the season.

 

*Can I buy a vowel Pat?... All four Sharks goals scored in Hartford were scored by players that have a last name that end in a vowel… Ferriero 2, Cheechoo, and Marcou.

 

*Stole it from Bill Ballou… Dan DaSilva became the 22^nd Worcester Sharks player to reach the 100 games played plateau.

 

*Crazed Rats part 2… Garet Hunt has joined DaSilva and Desjardins on the Crazed Rats Line…. John McCarthy is currently in San Jose.

 

 *Massachusetts… The Sharks have THREE players born and raised in Massachusetts (Sean Sullivan – Boston, Corey Quirk – Brockton, and Benn Ferriero – Essex) In all, the Sharks have 14 American born players and nine Canadians.

 

*Feeling Special… Worcester ranks tops in the AHL with a perfect penalty kill (5-for-5) and 3^rd in the AHL on the power play with a 33.3% conversion rating (4-for-12).

 

 *Follow the leaders…. Jonathan Cheechoo is tied for 1^st in AHL points with five (2-3-5) and 1^st with three power play points (0-3-3)… Garet Hunt is 2^nd in the AHL with 17 penalty minutes.

 

*Mr. Dependable…. Andrew Desjardins has dressed in 156 straight games for Worcester breaking the record held by Derek Joslin (114 games)…. Desjardins has the 2^nd longest streak behind Nick Dodge of the Charlotte Checkers with 162 straight games.

 

*Five for fighting…The Sharks have THREE fighting majors this season… (Garet Hunt 1, Sean Sullivan, and Nick Petrecki 1). The Sharks had 73 fighting majors last season, 78 fighting majors in 2009-10, 68 fighting majors in 2007-08 and 54 in 2006-07.

 

10/12 Tommy Wingels was assigned to Worcester from San Jose.

 

o Goals                                    Cheechoo and Ferriero(2)

o Game Winners                   Marcou (1)

o Assists                                  Cheechoo (3)

o Points                                   Cheechoo (2-3-5)

o Power play Points              Cheechoo (0-3-3)

o Shots                                     Mashinter (6)

o PIM                                       Hunt (17)

o Fighting Pen.                       Hunt, Petrecki, Sullivan (1)

o Plus/Minus                          Quirk (+2)

o Wins                                     Stalock (1)

o G.A.A.                                   Stalock (3.36)

o Save %                                  Stalock (.896)

o Shutouts                             

The San Jose Sharks are 1-0-1-0 with three points after beginning their season in Sweden with two games against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

 

Logan Couture had the game winning goal in the Sharks opener, while former Worcester Sharks; Joe Pavelski, Devin Setoguchi, and Torrey Mitchell all scored for San Jose. Frazer McLaren played two games and recorded a fighting major.

  

The Stockton Thunder kick-off their ECHL season this weekend vs. Ontario. Ryan Constant (AHL contact), Tyson Sexsmith (NHL contract), and former Sharks player Matt Jones are all in Stockton to begin the season.

 

The Sharks continue their season opening four game road trip on Friday and Saturday with a pair of game in Norfolk against the Admirals.

 

 

Chris Curtis, Marina Riva, Jonathan Forsberg, Jason Jones, Kristen Moore, and Matt Renzulli are taking deposits for the Sharks 5^th season in Worcester!  Jump in today and save over 30% off box office prices!  Some of the exclusive benefits for full season ticket holders will include:

 

·         Guaranteed same seat for all 40 home dates and playoff home games at the DCU Center

·         Priority access to purchase tickets to DCU Center events (subject to availability)

·         Five FREE friends and family vouchers

·         Exclusive events with the Worcester Sharks players

·         Merchandise discounts and much, much, more!

 

Season ticket packages and group tickets for the 2010-11 season are on sale now by contacting the Worcester Sharks Office at 508.929.0500 or by crashing the net at www.SharksAHL.com.