The Worcester Sharks player of the week nominee is forward Freddie Hamilton. The 21-year-old forward from Toronto, Ontario recorded four points (3-1-4) in three games last week highlighted by a three point game (2-1-3) in the Sharks 3-2 win at Hershey on Saturday.

 

Forward Bracken Kearns has played in 498 games in the AHL. Kearns is expected to play in game #500 when the Sharks host the St. John’s IceCaps on Friday.

 

After the three day holiday break, the Sharks play three games in three days. The Sharks host two games during holiday vacation week! On Thursday, Dec 26 at 7pm the Sharks host the Providence Bruins with the first 500 kids receiving a free Sharks winter hat! Celebrate the New Year early on Friday, Dec 27 at 7:30pm the Sharks host the St. John’s IceCaps with a postgame fireworks display presented by Enterprise Cleaning! The Sharks close out the 3-in-3 with a Saturday night game at Hartford at 7pm.

 

·         The Worcester Sharks are currently in 5th place (12-11-1-1, 26pts) in the Atlantic Division and 14th place overall in the Eastern Conference.  – the Sharks trail by even 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 50 points and a 22-8-6 record.

·         The Worcester Sharks have played the fewest amount of games in the AHL (25).

·         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.

·         Rookie goaltender Troy Grosenick ranks 1st among all AHL goaltenders with a 2.01 GAA and tied for 2nd with three shootout wins, and is 6-3-0-0 this season.

·         Veteran Bracken Kearns leads the club with 18 points (5-13-18), tops in power play points (3-7-10), and has currently play 498 games in the AHL. Kearns is expected to play in his 500^th AHL game on Friday vs. the IceCaps.

·         Despite missing nine games due to injury, Daniil Tarasov is tied for the team lead with nine goals, 2^nd with 17 points (9-8-17) through just 16 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 18 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 4-1-0 with the San Jose Sharks this season with a 2.02 GAA and a .936 save %. Stalock made 44 saves, was 5-for-5 in the shootout, and was the #1 star in his first career start at the SAP Center in San Jose in the Sharks 3-2SOW vs the Stars on Dec 21.

·         Coach Roy Sommer currently ranks 4^th in the AHL with 552 wins in his career (16th season) and 2nd in games coached in the AHL with 1217. 

 

 Top 3… Last Week!

1.       Freddie Hamilton recorded three points (2-1-3) to extend his point streak to five games in the Sharks 3-2W at Hershey on Saturday!

2.       Marek Viedensky recorded a goal and an assist in the Sharks 4-1W at WBS on Friday!

3.       Matt Tennyson scored a goal and added an assist in the Sharks 3-2W at Hershey on Saturday!

 

Fri.          12/20     W           Worcester SHARKS 4 @ Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins 1

Sat.        12/21     W           Worcester SHARKS 3 @ Hershey Bears 2

Sun.       12/22     L             Worcester SHARKS 0 @ Hershey Bears 4

 

Thu.       12/26                    Providence Bruins @ Worcester SHARKS – 7pm

Fri.          12/27                    St. John’s IceCaps @ Worcester SHARKS – 7:30pm

Sat.        12/28                     Worcester SHARKS @ Hartford Wolf Pack – 7pm

 

 

The Worcester Sharks (11-10-1-1, 24pts) snapped a two game skid with a 4-1 victory over the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins (16-8-1-2 35pts) at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza on Friday evening. 

Freddie Hamilton, Jimmy Bonneau, Marek Viedensky, and Dan DaSilva all scored for Worcester while Harri Sateri made 24 saves in the victory as the Sharks scored more than three goals in a game for a 2^nd time this season.

 

Freddie Hamilton extended his point streak to five games (6-3-9) with a pair of goals and an assist to lead the Worcester Sharks (12-10-1-1, 26pts) past the Hershey Bears (11-10-2-3 27pts) by the count of 3-2 in front of 8,744 fans at the Giant Center on Saturday evening.   Matt Tennyson added a first period power play marker and an assist while Troy Grosenick was terrific making 29 saves in the victory as the Sharks improve to 2-0-0-0 in the 3-in-3 weekend.

 

Despite firing 44 shots on goal, the Worcester Sharks (12-11-1-1, 26pts) were shutout for the 1^st time this season with a 4-0 loss to the Hershey Bears (12-10-2-3 29pts) in front of 8,986 fans at the Giant Center on Sunday afternoon. Freddie Hamilton had his five game point streak snapped and Harri Sateri made 30 saves in the loss as Worcester grabbed four points in the 3-in-3 road weekend in Pennsylvania. David Leggio made 44 saves for the Bears in his 1^st shutout of season.

 

The Sharks (12-11-1-1, 26pts in 25gp) are currently in 5^th place in the Atlantic Division; which is 21 points behind the 1^st place Monarchs (47pts in 31gp), 8 points behind the 2nd place Bruins (34pts in 29gp), 6 points behind the 3rd place IceCaps (33pts in 29gp), and one point behind the 4^th place Pirates (27pts in 26gp) 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           1,217GP                 552 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: 552-511-48-53-53. (W-L-T-OTL-SOL)

 

 

*Associate Coach David Cunniff has joined Coach Sommer in 395 of the 552 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 4-3-0-1 (9pts in 8gp) record in December with 21 GF and 22 GA. PP is 5-for-37 (13.5%); opponents PP is 5-for-34 (14.7%), and the Sharks have 3 fighting majors in December.

 

*More Goals Late…. the Sharks have scored 14 goals in the 1^st, 16 in the 2^nd, and 25 goals in the 3^rd period this season… the Sharks have allowed 14 goals in the 1^st, 25 in the 3^rd, and 30 goals in the 3^rd.

 

*Wow… despite scoring just 25 goals in 13 games (1.92 goals per game) on the road this season, the Sharks are somehow 7-5-1-0 away from the DCU Center this season.

 

*Battling Back… four of the 12 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 five 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 110 points (44-66-110) in 189 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… no current streaks L

 

 

*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 128 games with the Worcester Sharks…. Doherty is 3rd on Worcester with 66 penalty minutes, 3rd with four fighting majors, and 2nd 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 13 assists in 25 games this season. Kearns has played in 498 AHL games in his career.

 

 

 

 

 

*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 a team high 83 penalty minutes in 22 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 93 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 42 penalty minutes through 13 games this season.

 

 *Five for fighting… The Sharks have 31 fighting majors through 25 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, Matt Tennyson 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 50 points and a 22-8-6 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;

Happy Holidays! The Worcester Sharks hockey team will enjoy a three day holiday Break (Dec 23-25) – office will be open Dec 24.

 

 

 

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!