The Sharks will host a Skate with the Sharks in Fitchburg on Dec 17 from 5:20-7:10pm and will be hosted by the Twin City Youth Hockey Association.  The Sharks will hold a team practice from approximately 5:20-6:20p.m. Following practice, fans will have the opportunity to skate with the team and FINZ from 6:25-7:10p.m. Skate with the Sharks is free to attend and open for all Sharks fans to participate. Helmets are required.

 

The Worcester Sharks player of the week nominee is forward Eriah Hayes. The 25-year-old rookie forward from La Crescent, MN fired eight shots and had an even rating in two games last week.

 

The Sharks four game road trip continues Friday in Wilkes-Barre Scranton followed by a pair of games in Hershey on Saturday and Sunday.

 

 

·         The Worcester Sharks are currently in 5th place (10-10-1-1, 22pts) in the Atlantic Division and 14th place overall in the Eastern Conference.  – the Sharks trail by nine points for the 8^th and final playoff spot in the East but have five games in hand over the Norfolk Admirals.

·         The San Jose Sharks currently have 12 players on their roster that have spent time in Worcester (Couture, Desjardins, Pavelski, Sheppard, Wingels, Braun, Demers, Stalock, Irwin, Vlasic, Nieto, Hamilton and McCarthy).

·         The San Jose Sharks are currently in 3rd place in the Pacific Division and 5th place in the Western Conference with 46 points and a 20-7-6 record.

·         The Worcester Sharks have played the fewest amount of games in the AHL (22).

·         Defenseman Nick Petrecki played in his 254^th game as a member of the Worcester Sharks on Dec 8, surpassing Mike Moore for the franchise lead in games played.

·         The Worcester Sharks are tied for the lead in the AHL with five shootout wins this season.

·         Rookie goaltender Troy Grosenick ranks 2^nd among all AHL goaltenders with a 2.01 GAA and tied for 2nd with three shootout wins, and is 5-3-0-0 this season.

·         Despite missing seven games due to injury, Daniil Tarasov leads the club with nine goals, 17 points (9-8-17) through just 15 games. Tarasov is 3^rd in AHL with three game winning goals and also has a shootout game winner.

·         Adam Comrie leads all Worcester defenseman with nine points (1-8-9) in 16 games.

·         Worcester Sharks alumni Matt Nieto (Oct 8 vs. NYR) and Matt Pelech (Oct 10 at VAN) each have scored their first career NHL goals for the SJ Sharks this season

·         Worcester Sharks alumni Alex Stalock is 3-1-0 with the San Jose Sharks this season with a 2.06 GAA and a .930 save %.

·         Coach Roy Sommer currently ranks 4^th in the AHL with 550 wins in his career (16th season) and 2nd in games coached in the AHL with 1214. 

 

 Top 3… Last Week!

1.       Daniil Tarasov scored a highlight reel goal on the power play in the Sharks 3-1 loss to Manchester on Friday!

2.       Rylan Schwartz picked up his 3^rd goal of the season in the Sharks 5-1 loss at Portland on Saturday!

3.       Eriah Hayes fired four shots on goaland hit the postin the Sharks 3-1 loss to the Monarchs on Friday!

 

Fri.          12/13     L              Manchester Monarchs 3 @ Worcester SHARKS 1

Sat.        12/14     L              Worcester SHARKS 1 @ Portland Pirates (in Lewiston, ME) 5

 

 

Fri.          12/20                    Worcester SHARKS @ Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins – 7:05pm

Sat.        12/21                    Worcester SHARKS @ Hershey Bears  – 7pm

Sun.       12/22                     Worcester SHARKS @ Hershey Bears – 5pm

 

 

Daniil Tarasov scored his team leading 9^th goal late in the first period but it was the only strike for the Worcester Sharks (10-9-1-1, 22pts) in a 3-1 loss to the Manchester Monarchs (17-5-1-4, 40pts) at the DCU Center on Friday evening. With the loss, the Sharks six game point (5-0-0-1) came to an end as

Andrew Campbell tied the score late in the second period for Manchester, AJ Gale scored twice in the third and goaltender JF Berube was fantastic in net making 39 saves for the victory.

 

The Worcester Sharks (10-10-1-1, 22pts) dropped back to .500 after a disappointing 5-1 loss to the Portland Pirates (10-9-1-4, 25pts) at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee in Lewiston, ME on Saturday night to kick off a four game road trip.   Andy Miele recorded five points (3-2-5) for Portland and Mark Visentin made 30 saves as Worcester scored just once for the 6^th time this season. Harri Sateri made 21 saves in the loss as Rylan Schwartz scored the only Worcester goal early in the third period.

 

The Sharks (10-10-1-1, 22pts in 22gp) are currently in 5^th place in the Atlantic Division; which is 21 points behind the 1^st place Monarchs (43pts in 29gp), 11 points behind the 2nd place IceCaps (33pts in 29gp), 10 points behind the 3rd place Bruins (32pts in 27gp), and three points behind the 4^th place Pirates (25pts in 24gp) to round out a very choppy Atlantic Division.

 

 Coaching Milestones….

*1000 GAMES… With the 3-1 victory at Springfield on January 14, 2011, head coach Roy Sommer became just the 4^th coach in AHL history to reach the 1,000 games plateau.

 

*1200 GAMES… With the 5-1 loss in Lewiston, ME vs. the Pirates on November 8, 2013, head coach Roy Sommer became just the 2^nd coach in AHL history to reach the 1,200 games plateau.

 

*500 WINS!.... With a 3-2 shootout victory in Hershey on February 11, 2012, head coach Roy Sommer became just the 4^th coach in AHL history to reach the 500 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              1981-2010            16seasons            1,125GP                589 WINS

4. Roy Sommer                1998-current          16seasons           1,214GP                 550 WINS

 

*Worcester Sharks Head Coach Roy Sommer, who plays a major role in developing players for the San Jose Sharks, is currently the longest-tenured coach (16^th season) in the American Hockey League. His current regular season record is now: 550-480-49-52-53. (W-L-T-OTL-SOL)

 

 

*Associate Coach David Cunniff has joined Coach Sommer in 393 of the 548 victories (72%).

 

*ECHL… Coach Sommer also has 176 wins in the ECHL coaching in five seasons with Roanoke Valley and Richmond.

 

*Captains for the 2013-14 season:  Rob Davison was named the Sharks 6^th captain in team history on October 12, 2013. Alternate captains for this season: Bracken Kearns and Jimmy Bonneau. – Brodie Reid, Marek Viedensky, and Freddie Hamilton have also worn the A this season.

 

 

*Breaking down October… The Sharks went 2-3-0-0 (4pts in 5gp) record in October with 12 GF and 14 GA. PP was 5-27 (18.5%); opponents PP was 2-for-22 (9.0%), and the Sharks had 10 fighting majors in October.

 

*Breaking down November… The Sharks went 6-5-1-0 (13pts in 12gp) record in November with 26 GF and 35 GA. PP went 7-for-51 (13.7%); opponents PP went 11-for-60 (18.3%), and the Sharks had 18 fighting majors in November.

 

*Breaking down December… The Sharks are 2-2-0-1 (5pts in 5gp) record in December with 15 GF and 15 GA. PP is 2-for-23 (8.7%); opponents PP is 4-for-19 (21.1%), and the Sharks have 2 fighting majors in December.

 

*PP struggles… the Sharks are just 3-43 (6.9%) in their last ten games on the power play. Worcester has just four power play goals in ten road games this season (4-49 at 8.2%) which is 29^th in the AHL.

 

*More Goals Late…. the Sharks have scored 11 goals in the 1^st, 15 in the 2^nd, and 22 goals in the 3^rd period this season… the Sharks have allowed 13 goals in the 1^st, 23 in the 3^rd, and 26 goals in the 3^rd.

 

*Wow… despite scoring just 18 goals in 10 games (1.80 goals per game) on the road this season, the Sharks are somehow 5-4-1-0 away from the DCU Center this season.

 

*Battling Back… four of the 10 wins for the Sharks this season have occurred when the team was trailing after 40 minutes of play.

 

*Barely outshot… Worcester has only been outshot four times this season… by far the fewest in the AHL this season.

 

*8 Goal Explosion!... the Worcester Sharks scored eight goals vs. the Portland Pirates on Dec 6 – setting a franchise record for most goals scored at the DCU Center! – heading into that game (18^th game), the Sharks had not scored more than three goals in a game!

 

*Monster Night…. The line of Freddie Hamilton (2-1-3), Matt Nieto (2-3-5), and Daniil Tarasov (1-2-3) combined for 11 points, 18 shots, and a combined +12 in the Sharks 8-2 win over the Pirates on Dec 6.

 

*Multi-Point Game….Tough Guy Jimmy Bonneau had two assists in the Sharks 8-2 win over the Portland Pirates on Dec 6… his 1^st multi point game as a member of the Sharks in game #88.

 

*Welcome Back… Dan DaSilva returned to the Worcester Sharks on Nov 20 after leading the ECHL with 26 points (7-19-26) in just 14 games for the Ontario Reign and was recently named the ECHL Player of the Week for Nov 11-17. DaSilva currently ranks 9^th all-time in Worcester Sharks history with 109 points (43-66-109) in 187 games for Team Teal and is the franchise leader in playoff points with 18 (5-13-18) in 23 Calder Cup playoff games. A member of the original Crazed Rats Line with John McCarthy and Andrew Desjardins; DaSilva had his best professional season with the Sharks in 2010-11 as he set career highs in points (53), goals (21), assists (32), and was +23 as the Sharks won the regular season Atlantic Division title with a 49-25-0-6 record. DaSilva was signed to a standard player AHL contract on Dec 12 for the rest of the season.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*Streakers… the Sharks have outshot their opponents in ten straight games.

 

 

*Memorial Cup… rookie defenseman Konrad Abeltshauser won the Memorial Cup in 2013 with the Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL) and was named to the 2013 Memorial Cup All-Star Team.

 

 *Tallest Shark…. Worcester Sharks rookie defenseman Taylor Doherty is the tallest player in team history standing at 6’7” 235lbs…. Doherty scored his first professional goal in game #70 and added an assist in the Sharks 3-2OTL to the IceCaps on Nov 3, 2012. Doherty has two goals in 125 games with the Worcester Sharks…. Doherty is 2^nd on Worcester with 62 penalty minutes, 3rd with four fighting majors, and 3rd with a +3 rating.

 

*Four straight seasons with 20?…. Forward Bracken Kearns scored his 21 goals last season and hit the 20 goal plateau for the third straight season having scored 20 and 22 goals the previous two seasons with San Antonio…. Bracken has five goals and 11 assists in 22 games this season.

 

 

 

 

 

*Keeping your hat on (Thanks Ballou)… Worcester had gone 263 games without one of its players recording a hat trick before Daniil Tarasov scored three goals in Springfield on Oct 26. That was easily the longest active streak in the AHL. The Sharks’ last hat trick had belongs to Dan DaSilva, who scored three times in Manchester during a 5-2 Worcester victory in Manchester on Feb. 14, 2010. No Worcester player has recorded a hat trick on home ice in more than three years, or since P.J. Fenton had one on Feb. 28, 2009 in the Sharks’ 7-3 victory over Springfield. The home-ice drought has lasted for 176 games. In all, Worcester players have recorded hat tricks only eight times in the franchise’s 557 games. The Sharks are 8-0 in those games and 1-12-3 in the 16 games in which the opposition has had a hat trick.

 

*Franchise Player… Sharks defensemen Nick Petrecki is 1st in Sharks history with 254 games played (surpassed Mike Moore on Dec 8 at MCH)… Nick also ranks 2^nd in penalty minutes with 489 (Frazer McLaren had 577)…. Nick made his NHL debut in San Jose’s 3-2SOW over the Anaheim Ducks on 1/29/13 and played 11:58… the 216 games before his first NHL game was the most of any Worcester Sharks graduate to San Jose.

 

*200/50…. John McCarthy played in his 200^th game for the Sharks on Jan 26, 2013… J-Mac scored his 50^th goal as a member of the Worcester Sharks joining Riley Armstrong, Mike Iggulden, Graham Mink, and Brandon Mashinter as the only five players to score 50+ goals as a member of the Worcester Sharks… JMac is currently on recall with the San Jose Sharks and has played 17 games (0-0-0).

 

*Like Father, Like Son… Rookie Curt Gogol finished 2nd on the Sharks with 139 penalty minutes in just 38 games in 2012-13… his father Brent racked up 892 penalty minutes in 157 professional games in the IHL, CHL, EHL, and the AHL including 380 pims in 1978-79 in 57 games with the Flint Generals…. Gogol has 5 fighting majors, 2 goals, and 59 penalty minutes in 19 games this season.

 

*Piling up the PIMS with Pelech… Forward/Defenseman Matt Pelech played in his 300^th AHL game on Oct 20, 2012 vs. the Devils. The 6-foot-4 bruising defenseman turned forward from Toronto, ONT has accumulated 1,034 penalty minutes and 81 fighting majors in 360 AHL games. “Pelly” led the Sharks with 238 penalty minutes last season in 58 games. #23 is only the 2^nd player in Worcester Sharks history to hit the 200 pim plateau (Evans 211 in 2007-08). Matt led the Worcester Sharks with 17 fighting majors and had one fighting major (Jared Boll) in two games last year with the SJ Sharks in 2012-13… Pelech has 22 penalty minutes and his 1^st NHL goal in six games with San Jose this season…. With his two game suspension this season by the AHL, Pelech has missed 19 games due to suspension in the last 25 months with the Worcester Sharks.

 

*Major Bonneau… Worcester Sharks tough guy Jimmy Bonneau has racked up 39 fighting majors in 90 games for the Worcester Sharks. Bonneau has set the Worcester Sharks record for most fighting majors in a season in 2011-12 with 22, surpassing Frazer McLaren (21 in 2008-09). Jimmy has 111 fighting majors in 284 AHL games along with 842 penalty minutes…. Jimmy has 5 fighting major and 40 penalty minutes through 10 games this season.

 

 *Five for fighting… The Sharks have 30 fighting majors through 22 games and rank 9^th in the AHL (Kearns 3, Bonneau 6, Davison 3, Gogol 5, Doherty 4, Pelech 4, Tarasov 2, Hayes 1, Demelo 1, and Brace 1). The Sharks had 84 fighting majors in 2012-13, 120 fighting majors in 2011-12 (1^st in AHL), 81 fighting majors in 2010-11, 73 fighting majors in 2009-10, 78 fighting majors in 2008-09, 68 fighting majors in 2007-08 and 54 in 2006-07.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The San Jose Sharks are currently in 3rd place in the Pacific Division and 5th place in the Western Conference with 46 points and a 20-7-6 record.

 

Worcester Sharks alumni include: Logan Couture, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Tommy Wingels, Jason Demers, Matt Nieto, Matt Irwin, Andrew Desjardins, Justin Braun, James Sheppard, John McCarthy, Alex Stalock, and Freddie Hamilton.

 

Week ahead for the SJ Sharks;

The Sharks hit the road for a 3-in-3 weekend!

 

On Friday, the Sharks battle the Penguins at Wilkes-Barre Scranton, PA at 7:05pm.

 

On Saturday, the Sharks play in Hershey, PA vs. the Bears at 7pm and close out the weekend with another clash with the Bears on Sunday at 5pm.

 

 

Score a Family Fun Pack (4 tickets, 4 hotdogs, and 4 sodas) for any Friday, Saturday, or Sunday game starting at just $79!

 

2013-14 Flex ticket packages are on sale now! Score your 40 or 12 ticket flex package by contacting the Sharks front office at 508-929-0500. You decide how many tickets and how many games YOU want to attend while saving $$$ off box office pricing! It is that EASY!

 

Bring a group to sing the national anthem, book a fundraising event, host a birthday party, or have a blast in the high fin tunnel…. secure your personalized Sharks experience today!

 

Contact Worcester Sharks account executives Kristyn Galante, Erin Croce, Sean West, Amanda Perkins, Peter Kelly, Andrew Nawn, and Mike Connole as they are taking deposits for the Sharks 8^th season in Worcester! Jump in today and save up to 40% off box office prices! Some of the exclusive benefits for full season ticket holders will include:

 

·          Guaranteed same seat for all 38 home dates and playoff home games at the DCU Center

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

·          Seven FREE friends and family vouchers

·          Exclusive events with Sharks players

·          Merchandise discounts and much, much, more!

 

Season ticket packages and group tickets for the 2013-14 season are on sale now by contacting the Worcester Sharks Office at 508.929.0500 or by crashing the net at www.SharksAHL.com.

 

Socialize with the Worcester Sharks all year long! Join us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/WorcesterSharks, follow us on Twitter @WorcesterSharks, and download the Worcester Sharks App for free on your Droid or iPhone today!