By Anna LaCombe

Worcester, Mass. - What time is it you may ask? Well in the world of hockey, the second half of the season is what is considered to be crunch time! The official All-Star Break is usually an indicator that half of the season has passed and the remainder is lurking in the faces of nervous hockey fans everywhere! The tight Atlantic division has provided AHL fans an exciting race for first place and a Worcester Sharks team standing fourth with only 34 games left to play.

Remaining in the league’s top 10 for leading scorers, Mathieu Darche was the lone Shark to represent Canada and Worcester in this week’s All-Star festivities in Toronto.

In Sunday’s AHL Skills Competition, Darche competed in the RepeatSeat Rapid Fire contest where he notched 1 out of 5 shots and the Rbk Pass and Score competition alongside Martin St. Pierre of Norfolk and T.J. Kemp of Manchester where together all three came up short missing all three possible attempts. Darche capped off his All-Star appearance with two assists in Monday’s All-Star game, but it didn’t seem to help with the unfortunate 7-6 loss for his fellow Canadian teammates.

Darche sure has made his mark in Worcester holding four inaugural season records for the team to date. He scored the first ever Worcester Sharks goal in Portland, the first ever home goal at the DCU Center, the first ever hat trick along with the most points ever recorded in one game by an individual Sharks player with five (3+2=5).

Alongside Darche, other key standouts on the Sharks roster are the likes of Mike Iggulden and rookie Dan Spang. Iggulden can be known as the teams closer! He has the second most points on the team and he leads the team in clutch goals with 7.

On the defensive front, Spang just surpassed Garrett Stafford in points to lead all defenseman with 3 goals and 20 assists for 23 points.

As for the other major defensive aspect to the Worcester Sharks lineup, it has not been split one way. Goaltenders Nolan Schaefer (now on a loan to the Hershey Bears), Thomas Greiss and Dimitri Patzold all are sharing the spotlight with around 15 appearances each in net for the Sharks. Who knows what the remaining 34 games will hold for goaltending, as long as there is a winning consistency, whoever it takes to get it done in net, will do!

In the remaining 34 games, 18 will be played at the DCU Center with a long nine-game home slide in March. Half of the remaining away games will all be played in a row in the middle of February. So there are a lot of chances for the Sharks to pull off a first season playoff appearance!