Worcester Outlasts Wolf Pack in Shootout, 5-4

The Worcester Sharks fended off a Wolf Pack comeback at the DCU Center in Worcester on Wednesday night and pulled out a 5-4 shootout win over the Wolf Pack.

The result ran the Wolf Pack's record on the year to 1-3-0-1 for three points.

The Sharks held leads of 2-0 and 3-1, but three straight third-period goals by the Wolf Pack gave the visitors a 4-3 advantage. Former Wolf Pack Cory Larose, however, scored a power-play goal with 3:57 remaining in regulation to tie the game. Larose and Steven Zalewski scored shootout goals for Worcester, and Shark goaltender Thomas Greiss stopped all four Hartford shooters.

Jamie McGinn led the Sharks with a pair of goals, and Mike Morris had two assists. Dane Byers notched a goal and an assist to lead the Wolf Pack.

Worcester opened the scoring with two goals in 22 seconds starting at 8:02 of the first period. McGinn put the Sharks on the board at 8:02, finishing a sharp three-way passing play. Zalewski lifted the puck across the crease to the right-wing side to find a wide-open McGinn for a tap-in. Defenseman Patrick Traverse made it 2-0 in favor of the Sharks at 8:24 on a shot from the top of the circles, assisted by Tom Cavanagh and P.J. Fenton.

The Wolf Pack found themselves with 1:21 of two-man advantage late in the period, and the power-play unit would click to cut the lead in half at 15:16. Byers became the first Wolf Pack multiple-goal-scorer on the season, as he tipped a Corey Potter slapshot from the top of the left-wing circle behind Worcester goaltender Thomas Greiss.

The middle period was scoreless. Hartford defenseman Brian Fahey made the biggest play of the frame at the 11:10 mark, when he swept a loose puck out from behind Wolf Pack goaltender Miika Wiikman, with Wiikman unaware of where the puck was.

The two teams then combined for five goals in the third, three of them by the Wolf Pack. After McGinn scored his second of the game at 0:39 to give Worcester a 3-1 lead, Dale Weise and P.A. Parenteau tallied 17 seconds apart starting at 2:30, to bring the game back into a tie. Weise's goal was his first as a pro. Jordan Owens netted his first of the season to give the Wolf Pack the lead at 8:57, before Larose came up with his late equalizer.

Worcester outshot the Wolf Pack 36-25 in the game. Greiss made 21 stops in the Worcester net and Miika Wiikman stopped 31 shots for Hartford.

The Wolf Pack are back on home ice at the XL Center this Friday night, October 24th, hosting former Wolf Pack coach John Paddock and the Philadelphia Phantoms at 7:00.