Whale lose to Sharks 4-3 on late goal
Tonight, the Connecticut Whale visited the Worcester Sharks for the second time this season, in an effort to jump into first-place in the Eastern Conference. Both teams played a physical game, and the score was close all throughout the tilt. A late goal by Worcester would give them the final edge.
It took 5:20 for the game’s first goal to be scored, when Sharks’ forward Tony Lucia popped in a rebound to give his club a 1-0 lead. Lucia’s third goal of the season was assisted by forwards Marek Viedensky and Brandon Mashinter. The shots for the period were 13-10 in favor of Worcester, and only one minor-penalty was called which resulted in a Whale penalty-kill. Andre Deveaux and Sena Acolatse were given fighting majors with two minutes remaining in the period, after the two forwards scrapped.
After a mostly uneventful first period, both teams combined for three goals and 26 penalty-minutes in the second frame. The first goal was scored by Whale rookie Jonathan Audy-Marchessault, who re-directed a Pavel Valentenko shot to score his team leading 11th goal of the season (and 29th point). Kris Newbury also received an assist on the goal that tied the game at 1-1. Then the Sharks responded at 7:10 on a 4-on-4 breakaway score by John McCarthy, his eighth of the year. Mike Connolly was given the lone assist on the goal, and the Sharks had a 2-1 lead.
Connecticut tied the game once again late in the second period, when rookie blueliner Tim Erixon scored his second goal of the season on a Whale power-play. Newbury and Brendan Bell recorded the assists on the goal.
Late in the period, another post-whistle scrum resulted in a fight between Whale defenseman Jared Nightingale, and Sharks’ Mashinter. Minor-penalties were also handed out after the play, which amassed to 16 of the period 26 penalty-minutes. Shots for the period were 8-7 Whale.
The Sharks’ were the first team to score in the third period, as Jack Combs poked a rebound past goaltender Cam Talbot to give Worcester a 3-2 lead. For Combs, it was his fourth goal of the year, and the assists were credited to Mike Moore and Sean Sullivan.
Connecticut responded at 13:32 to tie the game at 3-3, when Andreas Thuresson re-directed an Erixon shot for his eighth goal of the season. Bell also recorded an assist on the goal. Then at 17:04, Mashinter shoved a rebound into Connecticut’s goal to give the Sharks a late 4-3 lead. Ryan Del Monte and Lucia were given the assists on the game-winner.
The Whale made a strong effort to win this game in the final period, beating the Sharks in shots 15-11. They also led in shots-on-goal for the game, 33-31. Unfortunately for the Whale, Sharks rookie netminder Harri Sateri played a stellar game and stopped 30 shots in his teams win.
Final score: Sharks 4, Whale 3
Post-game notes
.Erixon, 20, who returned to the Whale line-up for the first time since being demoted by the New York Rangers earlier this week, scored a goal and assisted once in the Whale loss. He also led the team in shots with six, and was a minus-1 rating. His effort was good enough to earn him third star of the game.
.the Whale received strong offensive efforts from Newbury, Audy-Marchessault and Jordan Owens as well, as each player totaled four shots in the game. Newbury had two assists and Audy-Marchessault a goal.
.along with his goal, Thuresson recorded three shots on net for the Whale, and played one of his better games this season.
.for the second straight game, the Whale started Talbot in goal. The second-year pro stopped 27-of-31 shots in the loss. His season record falls to 8-6.
.the second star of the game, from Worcester, was Lucia who scored once and added an assist plus two shots and a plus-2 rating. The first star was Mashinter, who scored once and assisted once to lead the Sharks to victory.
Next game
The Whale returns to action tomorrow when they host the Springfield Falcons at 5 pm (ET).
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