Worcester Sharks Lead Early, cant Hold On in 4-1 Loss to the Hartford Wolf Pack

Monday

17Mar2008

Monday, March 17, 2008 at 01:48PM

MLN Newswire - www.mlntherawfeed.com – WORCESTER, MA – An episode of déjà vu struck the Sharks last night during their home ice loss to the Hartford Wolf Pack at the DCU Center. Despite a different venue and different opponent, for the second straight game Worcester was scored upon from behind its own goal line, trimmed a 2-0 first period deficit to 2-1 with a dominant second period, and let the game slip away in the third en route to a 4-1 final score.

The similarities began early in the first, when Hartford’s Jordan Owens opened the scoring from behind the Sharks goal line. Owens tracked down an Artem Anisimov shot that caromed off the end boards and fired the puck off Sharks netminder Thomas Greiss, who was late to recover from the initial shot. The puck bounced into the net, giving Owens his fourth goal of the year and Hartford a 1-0 lead just 1:23 into the contest.

Craig Valette was sent to the penalty box for slashing at 14:42, giving the league’s third-best power play unit their only chance of the period. Hartford took advantage, however, as Mike Ouellette redirected a slap shot from Anisimov past Greiss to double the Wolf Pack advantage heading into the first intermission.

ADVERTISEMENT Worcester received a man advantage chance of its own early in the middle frame when Corey Potter was booked for closing his hand on the puck, but Hartford goaltender Miika Wiikman used a quick glove to rob Sharks newcomer Oren Eizenman from close range. Wiikman made 9 saves over 5:28 worth of Wolf Pack penalty killing before the Sharks broke through at even strength. Dennis Packard played a centering feed from the left corner, and Brad Staubitz touched the puck just beyond the outstretched foot of Wiikman to cut the Hartford lead in half at 11:57. The goal, also assisted by Marc Busenburg, was the fourth of the year for Staubitz. Graham Mink nearly tied the game two minutes later on a goal mouth scramble, but Hutchinson swept the puck out of the crease behind Wiikman to preserve the one goal lead for Hartford.

After firing 18 shots in the second period, the Sharks remained aggressive in the third with eight shots over the first six minutes of the period. Hartford bent but did not break amidst the onslaught, and picked up an insurance goal with just over six minutes remaining. Winger Hugh Jessiman found Owens alone on the weak side of the crease, and the rookie used fancy stickhandling to freeze Greiss before flicking the puck top shelf. Following concurrent minor penalties to Dennis Packard for goaltender interference and Riley Armstrong for unsportsmanlike conduct, Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau capped the scoring with a 5-on-3 power play goal to produce the 4-1 final score.

Worcester plays their next three games at the DCU Center, starting with a Wednesday evening matchup against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. The Sharks will entertain Bridgeport again on Friday followed by a Saturday night date with Albany. All three games are scheduled to begin at 7:05pm. For more information or to purchase tickets, call the Sharks offices at 508-929-0500 or visit sharksahl.com.

NOTES: Eizenman made his Sharks debut after being signed to a PTO from Fresno; he played in one game for the AHL Milwaukee Admirals earlier this year without registering a point… Packard registered a point for the second consecutive game … The Sharks wore their specially designed St Patrick’s Day jerseys and auctioned off selected jerseys immediately following the game, with all proceeds benefiting Sharks Charities… Worcester falls to 0-7-0-0 against Hartford this year, with one game remaining in the season series …The final attendance figure was 5,317 … Greiss had 26 saves on 30 shots for the Sharks while Wiikman made 39 stops on 40 shots for Hartford … Power plays: Wocester: 0 for 5, Springfield 2 for 4 … Niche Hospitality Group Three Stars: Mezcal 3rd Star: Owens (2g), Bocado 2nd Star: Ouellette (GWG), Block 5 1st Star: Wiikman (39 saves).