Pack Drop Preseason Finale to Sharks

Defenseman Michael Wilson had two goals and an assist, Brandon Mashinter scored a pair of goals, Dwight Helminen had a goal and two assists, and Ryan Vesce had four assists, as the Worcester Sharks handed the Wolf Pack a 10-2 defeat Sunday at the the International Skating Center of Connecticut, in the Wolf Pack's final 2009 AHL preseason contest.

Dan DaSilva and T.J. Trevelyan added a goal and an assist each for the Sharks, who were 4/4 on the power play. Wolf Pack goals were scored by Tomas Zaborsky, Justin Soryal and Dale Weise. Andres Ambuhl had two assists for Hartford.

The Wolf Pack finished the preseason 2-2-0 in four games.

The Sharks stormed the Pack in the first period, scoring five times against Hartford starter Matt Zaba and building a 5-1 lead.

The onslaught started 1:13 into the game, when Will Colbert beat Zaba from the right-wing side of the crease, after breaking two-on-one with Vesce, who was +5 in the game. Logan Couture made it a 2-0 lead on a power play at 10:07, before ex-Wolf Pack Helminen forced Soryal into a turnover and fed Mashinter at the left-wing side of the goal mouth at 13:23, to up the advantage to 3-0.

Zaborsky got the Wolf Pack on the scoreboard on a power play at 16:57, taking a pass from Ambuhl and snapping a shot past the glove of Shark goaltender Ryan Nie. Worcester answered just 41 seconds later, though, as Wilson's slapshot snuck just under the crossbar behind Zaba at 17:38.

The Sharks widened it to a 5-1 margin at 19:33 on a power-play tip-in, as Helminen deflected in a shot from the left point by Nick Petrecki.

It took Worcester only 1:10 of the second period to make it 6-1, as Trevelyan greeted relief goaltender Chad Johnson with a jam-in from the right-wing side of the crease.

Soryal got that back for the Wolf pack at 17:29, walking around a Shark defender just inside the blue line and beating Nie with a deke. The Sharks again got a goal in the final minute of the period, though, as DaSilva scored at 19:03 on a breakaway opportunity.

Worcester started fast again in the third period, as Mashinter netted his second of the game at 1:32. Trevelyan set Mashinter up with a cross-slot pass from right to left. Wilson's second of the contest made it 9-2 at 7:53, and the Sharks hit double-digits on a goal by Tom Morrow at 12:02.

The Wolf Pack power play clicked for a second time in five chances at 13:46 for the final margin, with Weise deflecting in a shot by Dave Urquhart.

Worcester outshot the Pack 40-33 in the game, and Nie made 30 saves to get the win. Zaba took the loss for Hartford with five goals-against on 13 shots, and Johnson allowed five on 27 shots.

The Wolf Pack’s 2009-10 regular-season home schedule kicks off Saturday, October 10 at the XL Center against the Springfield Falcons (7:00). Once again this season, tickets to the home opener are only $10 each.

Worcester Sharks 10 at Hartford Wolf Pack 3
Sep 27, 2009 - International Skating Center

Worcester 5 2 3 - 10
Hartford 1 1 1 - 3

1st Period-1, Worcester, Colbert 1 (Vesce), 1:13. 2, Worcester, Couture 1 (Helminen), 10:07 (pp). 3, Worcester, Mashinter 1 (Helminen), 13:23. 4, Hartford, Zaborsky 1 (Ambuhl), 16:57 (pp). 5, Worcester, Wilson 2 (Zalewski, Liotti), 17:38. 6, Worcester, Helminen 1 (Petrecki, Zalewski), 19:33 (pp). Penalties-Helminen Wor (interference), 5:53; Henley Hfd (cross-checking), 8:42; Wilson Wor (interference), 15:12; Locke Hfd (hooking), 18:57.

2nd Period-7, Worcester, Trevelyan 1 (Vesce), 1:10. 8, Hartford, Soryal 1 (Ambuhl), 17:29. 9, Worcester, DaSilva 1 (Vesce, Nie), 19:02. Penalties-Jones Wor (fighting), 1:32; DiDiomete Hfd (fighting), 1:32; Jones Wor (hooking), 2:55.

3rd Period-10, Worcester, Mashinter 2 (Trevelyan), 1:32. 11, Worcester, Wilson 3 (DaSilva, Vesce), 7:53 (pp). 12, Worcester, Morrow 1 (McCarthy, Wilson), 12:02 (pp). 13, Hartford, Weise 1 (Urquhart, Heikkinen), 13:46 (pp). Penalties-Wilson Wor (holding), 2:19; Sanguinetti Hfd (roughing), 7:03; Couture Hfd (holding), 10:05; DaSilva Wor (interference), 12:23.

Shots on Goal-Worcester 13-14-13-40. Hartford 11-15-7-33.
Power Play Opportunities-Worcester 4 of 4; Hartford 2 of 5.
Goalies-Worcester, Nie 1-1-0 (33 shots-30 saves). Hartford, Zaba 0-2-0 (13 shots-8 saves); Johnson 1-0-0 (27 shots-22 saves).
Referee-Francis Charron (46).
Linesmen-David Spannaus (8), Paul Simeon (66).