Worcester Sharks
| Worcester Sharks | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| City | Worcester, Massachusetts |
| League | American Hockey League (AHL) |
| Conference | Eastern Conference |
| Division | Atlantic Division |
| Founded | 1996 |
| Home arena | DCU Center |
| Colors |
Deep Atlantic Teal, Black, Gray, White |
| Owner(s) | San Jose Sports & Entertainment Enterprises (Greg Jamison, President & CEO) |
| General manager | Wayne Thomas |
| Head coach | Roy Sommer |
| Media | Worcester Telegram & Gazette WTAG Radio 580-Worcester WCTR-Worcester Channel 3 |
| Affiliates | San Jose Sharks (NHL) San Francisco Bulls (ECHL) |
| Franchise history | |
| 1996–2001 | Kentucky Thoroughblades |
| 2001–2006 | Cleveland Barons |
| 2006–present | Worcester Sharks |
| Championships | |
| Division Championships | 1 (2009–10) |
The Worcester Sharks are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). The franchise is located in Worcester, Massachusetts and play their home games at the DCU Center in Downtown Worcester. The Sharks and the city of Worcester hosted the 2009 AHL All-Star Classic.
Contents |
History [edit]
On November 9, 2004 the St. Louis Blues announced the sale of the Worcester IceCats to the owners of their ECHL affiliate, the Peoria Rivermen.[1] The new owners moved the franchise to Peoria, IL, for the 2005–06 season. Shocked by the loss of the IceCats, the people of Worcester bargained with several National Hockey League (NHL) franchises, trying to bring hockey back to the city. On January 6, 2006, the San Jose Sharks announced that they were moving their AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Barons, to Worcester, Massachusetts, and the Worcester Sharks played their first home game on October 14, 2006, in front of a sold-out 7,230 fans in a shootout loss to the Portland Pirates. The Sharks qualified for the postseason in their first season, but were knocked out in six games by the Manchester Monarchs in the first round.
The Sharks' main rival is the Providence Bruins, which dates all the way back to early IceCats' days.[citation needed] Over the past few years, a rivalry with the Norfolk Admirals has developed. Even though they play each other three or four times a year, the games are usually very intense and physical usually containing fights, including multiple line brawls, once including a goalie fight between Thomas Greiss and Jonathan Boutin.[citation needed] The Sharks were well represented in the 2010 Winter Olympics held in Vancouver, with former Sharks Joe Pavelski (played for the U.S.A.), Douglas Murray (represented Sweden) along with the goaltending tandem from the franchise's first two years with Thomas Greiss and Dimitri Patzold suited up for Germany.
On Sunday November 1, 2009, Head Coach Roy Sommer became only the fourth coach in AHL history to record 400 wins. Currently, Sommer is the longest tenured coach in the AHL. Then, on January 14, 2011, Sommer was behind the Sharks bench for his 1,000th regular-season game as an American Hockey League head coach, becoming just the fourth man in AHL history to reach that milestone.[citation needed]
On February 11, 2012 Roy became the fourth coach in AHL history to record 500 wins with a 3-2 shootout win over Hershey at Giant Center.
This market was previously served by:
- Worcester Warriors (1954–1956) - members of the Eastern Hockey League (1954–55) and Atlantic Hockey League (1955–56)
- Worcester IceCats (1994–2005) - affiliated with the St. Louis Blues
Broadcasters [edit]
- Radio
- Eric Lindquist - Play-by-Play
- Television
- Eric Lindquist - Play-by-Play
- Kevin Shea - Color Commentary
Season-by-season results [edit]
| Regular Season | Playoffs | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Games | Won | Lost | OTL | SOL | Points | PCT | Goals for |
Goals against |
Standing | Year | 1st round |
2nd round |
3rd round |
Finals |
| 2006–07 | 80 | 41 | 28 | 3 | 8 | 93 | .581 | 247 | 244 | 4th, Atlantic | 2007 | L, 2–4, MCH | — | — | — |
| 2007–08 | 80 | 32 | 37 | 5 | 6 | 75 | .469 | 216 | 258 | 6th, Atlantic | 2008 | Out of playoffs | |||
| 2008–09 | 80 | 42 | 35 | 1 | 2 | 87 | .544 | 223 | 223 | 4th, Atlantic | 2009 | W, 4–2, HWP | L, 2–4, PRO | — | — |
| 2009–10 | 80 | 49 | 25 | 3 | 3 | 104 | .650 | 275 | 239 | 1st, Atlantic | 2010 | W, 4–1, LOW | L, 2–4, MCH | — | — |
| 2010–11 | 80 | 36 | 31 | 4 | 9 | 85 | .531 | 210 | 245 | 4th, Atlantic | 2011 | Out of playoffs | |||
| 2011–12 | 76 | 31 | 33 | 4 | 8 | 74 | .487 | 199 | 218 | 5th, Atlantic | 2012 | Out of playoffs | |||
| 2012–13 | 76 | 31 | 34 | 4 | 7 | 73 | .480 | 191 | 228 | 4th, Atlantic | 2013 | Out of playoffs | |||
Players [edit]
Current roster [edit]
Team captains [edit]
- None, 2006–2007
- Graham Mink, 2007–2008
- Ryan Vesce, 2008–2010
- Jay Leach, 2010–2011
- Mike Moore, 2011–2012
- John McCarthy, 2012–present
All-Star Classic Representatives [edit]
- Mathieu Darche, 2007 Canadian
- Mike Iggulden, 2008 Canadian
- Derek Joslin, 2009 Canadian
- Ryan Vesce, 2009 PlanetUSA
- Logan Couture, 2010 Canadian
- Alex Stalock, 2010 PlanetUSA
- Justin Braun, 2011 Eastern
- Jonathan Cheechoo, 2011 Eastern
Player records [edit]
All-time regular season leaders [edit]
- Games Played: Mike Moore, 253
- Goals: Riley Armstrong/Mike Iggulden 59
- Assists: Tom Cavanagh, 92
- Points: Tom Cavanagh, 138
- PIM: Frazer McLaren, 490
- Wins: Thomas Greiss, 74
- Losses: Thomas Greiss, 60
- Shutouts: Alex Stalock, 4
- Lowest GAA (min. 35 games) : Alex Stalock, 2.55
Individual regular season [edit]
- Most Goals: Mathieu Darche, 35 (2006–07)
- Most Assists: Danny Groulx, 52 (2009–10)
- Most Points: Mathieu Darche, 80 (2006–07)
- Most Penalty Minutes: Brennan Evans, 211 (2007–08)
- Most Power-Play Goals: Mathieu Darche, 16 (2006–07)
- Most Shorthanded Goals: Ryan Vesce, 3 (2008–09)
- Most Appearances: Alex Stalock, 61 (2009–10)
- Most Minutes Played: Alex Stalock, 3,534 (2009–10)
- Most Wins: Alex Stalock, 39 (2009–10)
- Most Losses: Thomas Greiss, 24 (2008–09)
- Most Shutouts: Alex Stalock, 4 (2009–10)
- Lowest GAA (min. 25 games): Thomas Greiss, 2.47 (2008–09)
- Highest Save Percentage (min. 25 games): Thomas Greiss, .912 (2006–07)
All-time playoff leaders [edit]
- Games Played: 14 players tied, 12
- Goals: Patrick Traverse/ Jamie McGinn/ Andrew Desjardins, 4
- Assists: Riley Armstrong, 11
- Points: Riley Armstrong, 14
Franchise firsts [edit]
- First Game & Win: October 6, 2006. Worcester Sharks 4, Portland Pirates 3 [SO]
- Franchise First Goal: October 6, 2006. Worcester Sharks 4, Portland Pirates 3 [SO]. Goal scored by Mathieu Darche
- Franchise First Shutout: January 11, 2008 by Dimitri Patzold. Worcester Sharks 3, Providence Bruins 0.
- Franchise First Hat Trick: December 22, 2006 by Mathieu Darche. Worcester Sharks 6, Manchester Monarchs 4.
- Franchise Largest Crowd: February 24, 2012. 10,170 Providence Bruins 5, Worcester Sharks 3.
Franchise scoring leaders [edit]
These are the top-ten point-scorers in franchise history. Figures are updated after each completed AHL regular season. Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games Played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; * = current Sharks player
| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts |
| Tom Cavanagh | C | 202 | 46 | 92 | 138 |
| Steven Zalewski | C | 210 | 41 | 87 | 128 |
| Lukas Kaspar | LW | 216 | 46 | 79 | 125 |
| Mike Iggulden | C | 151 | 59 | 64 | 123 |
| Graham Mink | RW | 132 | 55 | 63 | 118 |
| Riley Armstrong | RW | 208 | 59 | 53 | 112 |
| Dan DaSilva | RW | 178 | 43 | 64 | 107 |
| Brandon Mashinter* | LW | 230 | 52 | 51 | 104 |
| Benn Ferriero | C | 121 | 44 | 59 | 103 |
| Ryan Vesce | LW | 102 | 38 | 63 | 101 |
Head coaches [edit]
- Roy Sommer, 2006–present
References [edit]
- ^ http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3099733&l_id=&t_id=
- ^ "Worcester Sharks 2012-13 Team Roster". Worcester Sharks. Retrieved 2013-4-7.
- ^ "Worcester Sharks - Team Roster". American Hockey League. Retrieved 2013-4-7.
External links [edit]
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
