Sharks Lose Preseason Opener in Hartford 4-1

The Worcester Sharks opened their preseason slate last night as they traveled down to Simsbury, CT to take on the Hartford Wolf Pack. The teams skated a scoreless first period with a lot of end to end action. Worcester out shot the Pack in the frame 11-9, but unfortunately the Sharks’ netminders would get shelled for the rest of the game stopping 37 of 41 shots.

Bryce Lampman broke the scoreless tie in the second with a fluke goal. He missed fired on his shot and just trickled by McVicar who was fooled by the direction. Dwight Helminen and Martin Richter picked up assists on Lampman’s first goal of the young preseason. Hartford had a chance to make it 2-0 when they had a wide open net, but a huge sprawling save by McVicar kept it a one goal game. However, a few minutes later they did convert on their power play opportunity when Corey Potter’s slap shot found the back of the net. Hartford moved the puck well with the man advantage and Mike Gabinet and Jakub Petruzalek were credited with assists. Tough guy Ryan Constant showed a lot of emotion last night and dropped the helmets and gloves with Sharks defensemen Brennan Evans. The two dropped their gloves and flicked off their helmets before skating to center ice where the two danced. Constant threw small punches and Evans would just hold his jersey and throw small jabs before the linesmen broke them up. Although Ryan landed more punches, they were small, so therefore it was considered a draw.

Torry Gajda would score the Sharks first goal in franchise history when he came in on a 2 on 1 against Al Montoya. He would cut in on goal and fire a wrist shot between the circles that went stick side on Montoya. The goal was unassisted and the Sharks were still alive. Unfortunately, penalties killed any momentum the Sharks created as they often visited the box. Millbury native Marvin Degon, would score on a 5 on 3 power play for the Wolf Pack to give them their 2 goal lead once again. Quick passes from Laun Korpikoski and Ryan Constant would set up Degon who was in the high slot area. Then a few minutes later the Pack would make it a 4-1 game with a very controversial call. The puck appeared and sounded to go off the outside post, but the referee quickly pointed towards the net for the goal. Mark Lee would get credit for the blast from Martin Richter and Jakub Petruzalek.

Although the Sharks lost their preseason opener, they can take many positives out of the game. They are very deep at the goaltending position; all the goaltenders in camp would be dependable with a supportive defensive cast. They also played most of their rookies tonight with Evans, Olson, and Prudden being the only seasoned AHLers. Torry Gajda was the stand out for the Worcester Sharks last night and is hoping to stick with the big club.


SHARK ATTACK:

• They may not have scored many goals last night, but they sure do have a hard shot. Last night during warm ups a member of the Sharks broke a piece of glass behind the net. The game was delayed for a few minutes because they had to find another piece of glass
• While giving the first period wrap up, the announcer said “Shots on goal in the first period, for the Worcester IceCat’s 11”. It’s still good to know that some people remember the ‘Cats.
• Torry Gajda had a cheering section when he scored. His family lives in Westfield, MA which is about 15 minutes away from the rink. Also Tyler McGregor’s mother was in attendance. Also in attendance were former Springfield Falcon’s head coach Dirk Graham and current Portland’s Pirates assistant coach Bruce Crowder.

Lines
Prudden-Hooton-Gajda
McGregor-Przepriorka-Martin
Bonello-Snider-Rome
Olsen-Seney- Tremblay

Elzinga-Evans
Walsh-Hutchins
Levin- Songin

Starters in bold