| Worcester Sharks | |
|---|---|
 |
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| City | Worcester, Massachusetts |
| League | American Hockey League (AHL) |
| Conference | Eastern Conference |
| Division | Atlantic Division |
| Founded | 2006 |
| Home arena | DCU Center |
| Colors | Teal, gray, black, 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) Kalamazoo Wings (ECHL) |
| Franchise history | |
| 1996 to 2001 | Kentucky Thoroughblades |
| 2001 to 2006 | Cleveland Barons |
| 2006 to present | Worcester Sharks |
The Worcester Sharks are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). The franchise is located in Worcester, Massachusetts. The Sharks and the city of Worcester hosted the 2009 AHL All-Star Classic.
Contents |
History
On January 6, 2006, the San Jose Sharks announced that they were moving their American Hockey League affiliate, the Cleveland Barons, to Worcester, Massachusetts. The 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 play their home games at the DCU Center in Downtown Worcester. The Sharks qualified for the postseason in their first season, but were knocked out in 6 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. Over the past few years, a rivalry with the Norfolk Admirals has developed. Even though they play each other 3 or 4 times a year, the games are usually very intense and physical usually containing fights, including multiple line brawls, one including a goalie fight between Thomas Greiss and Jonathan Boutin.
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.
This market was previously served by:
- Worcester Warriors (1954-56) - members of the Eastern Hockey League (1954-55) and Atlantic Hockey League (1955-56)
- Worcester IceCats (1994–2005) - affiliated with the St. Louis Blues
Season-by-season results
Regular season
| Season | Games | Won | Lost | OTL | SOL | Points | PCT | PIM | Goals for |
Goals against |
Standing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006–07 | 80 | 41 | 28 | 3 | 8 | 93 | .581 | 1382 | 247 | 244 | 4th, Atlantic |
| 2007–08 | 80 | 32 | 37 | 5 | 6 | 75 | .469 | 1378 | 216 | 258 | 6th, Atlantic |
| 2008–09 | 80 | 42 | 35 | 1 | 2 | 87 | .544 | 1446 | 223 | 223 | 4th, Atlantic |
| 2009–10 | 24 | 13 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 27 | .562 | 403 | 64 | 72 | 3rd, Atlantic |
Playoffs
| Season | 1st round | 2nd round | 3rd round | Finals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006–07 | L, 2–4, Manchester | — | — | — |
| 2007–08 | Out of Playoffs | |||
| 2008–09 | W, 4-2, Hartford | L, 2-4, Providence | — | — |
Player records
- Numbers courtesy of hockeydb.com and theahl.com
- Numbers updated at the end of each completed AHL season.
- As of October 7, 2009
All-time regular season leaders
- Games Played: Lukas Kaspar (2006–09), 216
- Goals: Riley Armstrong (2006–09) / Mike Iggulden (2006-08) 59
- Assists: Tom Cavanagh (2006–09), 92
- Points: Tom Cavanagh (2006-09), 138
- PIM: Brad Staubitz (2006-09), 462
- Wins: Thomas Greiss (2006–09), 74
- Loses: Thomas Greiss (2006–09), 60
- Shutouts: Thomas Greiss (2006-09) / Dimitri Patzold (2006-08) / Taylor Dakers (2007–09), 1
- Lowest GAA (min. 35 games) : Thomas Greiss (2006-09), 2.72
Individual regular season
- Most Goals: Mathieu Darche, 35 (2006–07)
- Most Assists: Ryan Vesce, 47 (2008–09)
- 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: Thomas Greiss, 57 (2008–09)
- Most Minutes Played: Thomas Greiss, 3,346 (2008–09)
- Most Wins: Thomas Greiss, 30 (2008–09)
- Most Losses: Thomas Greiss, 24 (2008-09)
- Most Ties/SOL: Dimitri Patzold, 3 (2006–07, 2007-08)
- Most Shutouts: Dimitri Patzold (2007–08), Thomas Greiss / Taylor Dakers (2008-09) and Alex Stalock (2009-10), 1
- 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
- Games Played: 14 players tied, 12
- Goals: Patrick Traverse (2006-09) / Jamie McGinn (2006-09) / Andrew Desjardins (2008-09), 4
- Assists: Riley Armstrong, 11 (2006-09)
- Points: Riley Armstrong, 14 (2006–09)
Franchise firsts
- 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: April 11, 2009. 7,406 (101.22% capacity) Worcester Sharks 3, Providence Bruins 0.
Franchise scoring leaders
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 |
| 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 |
| Patrick Traverse | D | 197 | 20 | 69 | 89 |
| Mathieu Darche | C | 76 | 35 | 45 | 80 |
| Ryan Vesce* | C | 67 | 24 | 47 | 71 |
| Derek Joslin* | D | 146 | 21 | 43 | 64 |
| Dan Spang | D | 125 | 12 | 44 | 56 |
Head coaches
Roy Sommer, 2006-Present
Team captains
Graham Mink, 2007-2008- Ryan Vesce, 2008-Present
- Note: Head Coach Roy Sommer never named a captain in the franchises' first year. Instead he would alternate 3 players to be Assistant Captains.
Broadcasters
- Radio
- Eric Lindquist - Play-by-Play
- Television
- Eric Lindquist - Play-by-Play
- Kevin Shea - Color Commentary
Current roster
- Numbers courtesy of the Worcester Sharks on theahl.com
- As of November 29, 2009.
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Player | Pos. | Catches | Date of birth | Place of birth | Junior/College team | |
| 31 | |
Tyson Sexsmith | G | L | March 19, 1989 | Calgary, Alberta | Vancouver Giants |
| 32 | |
Alex Stalock | G | L | July 28, 1987 | Saint Paul, Minnesota | University of Minnesota-Duluth |
|
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|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Player | Pos. | Shoots | Date of birth | Place of birth | Junior/College team | |
| 3 | |
Joe Loprieno | D | R | October 8, 1986 | Bloomington, Illinois | Merrimack College |
| 4 | |
Danny Groulx | D | L | June 23, 1981 | LaSalle, Quebec | Victoriaville Tigres |
| 5 | |
Jason Demers § | D | R | June 9, 1988 | Dorval, Quebec | Moncton Wildcats/Victoriaville Tigres |
| 8 | |
Michael Moore | D | L | December 12, 1984 | Calgary, Alberta | Princeton University |
| 18 | |
Will Colbert ¶ | D | L | February 6, 1985 | Arnprior, Ontario | St. Francis Xavier University |
| 19 | |
Michael Wilson | D | L | May 8, 1987 | North Vancouver, British Columbia | Swift Current Broncos |
| 26 | |
Joe Callahan | D | R | December 20, 1982 | Brockton, Massachusetts | Yale University |
| 27 | |
Nick Petrecki | D | L | July 11, 1989 | Schenectady, New York | Boston College |
| 33 | |
Louis Liotti | D | R | May 25, 1985 | Westbury, New York | Northeastern University |
§ - assigned by the San Jose Sharks (NHL)
¢ - currently on conditioning assignment from the San Jose Sharks
¶ - recalled from the Kalamazoo Wings (ECHL)
# - 25 game Professional Tryout Contract (PTO)
Δ - Amateur Tryout Contract (ATO)
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Staff member | |||||
| Head coach | Roy Sommer | |||||
| Assistant coach | David Cunniff | |||||
| Head athletic trainer | Matthew White | |||||
| Equipment manager | Vinny Ferraiuolo | |||||
| Assistant Equipment manager | Tim Wegner | |||||
| Strength and conditioning assistant | Jaime Rodriguez | |||||
| Team Physician | William J. Morgan, M.D. | |||||
| Team Physician | William B. Balcom, M.D. | |||||
| Team Physician | Gary Peters, M.D. | |||||
Occasionally, former NHLer and Sharks scout Bryan Marchment joins the coaching staff for games in Worcester.
NHL alumni
- Logan Couture
- Mathieu Darche
- Jason Demers
- Thomas Greiss
- Jamie McGinn
- Torrey Mitchell
- Dimitri Patzold
- Joe Pavelski
- Tomas Plihal
- Devin Setoguchi
- Brad Staubitz
Notables who have played for the Sharks
- Riley Armstrong
- Steve Bernier
- Matt Carle
- Benn Ferriero
- Josh Gorges
- Lukas Kaspar
- Cory Larose
- Claude Lemieux
- Kyle McLaren
- Douglas Murray
- Sandis Ozolinsh
- Patrick Traverse
- Marc-Édouard Vlasic
- Ty Wishart
External links
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This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
