Comments | PermalinkThis release from the Worcester (Mass.) Sharks of the American Hockey League on Tuesday night about an amazing rookie year from goalie Alex Stalock. Stalock is 36-15 with a 2.59 goals-against average and .908 save percentage, as Worcester leads the Eastern Conference of the AHL at 44-21.
WORCESTER, Mass-- Sharks netminder Alex Stalock set an AHL rookie record, collecting his 36th victory of the season and the Sharks set a franchise-record with their 44th victory of the season as they defeated the Syracuse Crunch, 3-1, at the DCU Center, Tuesday night.
The line of Andrew Desjardins, Dan DaSilva, and John McCarthy continued its torrid streak as Desjardins had two goals, DaSilva had two assists, and McCarthy had an assist and was a plus-2 on the night. Stalock, making his first start in over a week, surpassed Corey Hirsch for wins in a rookie season. Hirsch won 35 games while with the Binghamton Rangers during the 1992-93 season.
Worcester wasted no time jumping on the Crunch in the first period. Just 56 seconds into the period, Desjardins (17) streaked down the left wing, cut from backhand to forehand, and tucked one neatly past Dan Taylor. McCarthy and DaSilva assisted on Desjardins’ team-leading eighth first-goal of the game this season. The Sharks controlled much of the action for the remaining 19 minutes, but could not put one past Taylor and the teams went into the first intermission with Worcester ahead, 1-0. The Sharks outshot the Crunch, 11-6.
The Sharks seemed to have a grasp on the game and earned a power play 4:19 into the period, but the Crunch collected their 14th shorthanded goal of the year when Greg Moore (17) broke in two-on-one, and beat Alex Stalock low, blocker-side. The tying goal, which came at the 4:37 mark, was assisted by Brendan Bell. Desjardins nearly had his second of the game later in the period, but his wrist shot went wide of an open net. Worcester outshot Syracuse, 13-6.
For the second time in the game, the Sharks scored on the opening shift of a period as Desjardins (18) scored 11 seconds into the third period off a feed from DaSilva. Mike Moore picked up the other assist. The Sharks added insurance at the 9:05 mark when T.J. Trevelyan (25) knocked home a rebound off a Steven Zalewski drive.
Win the win, Worcester’s record improves to (44-21-2-3, 91 points) and they now lead the Atlantic Division by five points over Portland. The Sharks magic number to clinch a playoff spot is three points.
Notes: Three Stars: (3) J. McCarthy (0-1-1, +2), (2) D. DaSilva (0-2-2), (1) A. Desjardins (2-0-2)… Alex Stalock made 24 saves for Worcester…Dan Taylor made 35 saves for Syracuse…Final shots were 38-25 in favor of the Sharks… John McCarthy has a SEVEN game point streak (4-4-8)…Andrew Desjardins has a SEVEN game point streak (5-6-11)…McCarthy’s +32 rating is good for third amongst AHL rookies…Worcester went 0-5 on the power play while Syracuse went 0-3…In three of Worcester’s last nine regulation periods, they have scored within the first 60 seconds… the Sharks have won six of their last seven games.
Worcester now heads on the road for a seven-game, six-city trip, including three games this weekend. Friday night, the Sharks head to Hershey for a rematch with the AHL-leading Bears. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m.
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