Sharks Bite the Bruins in Shutout
Feb 24, 2012; Buffalo, NY, USA; Boston Bruins right wing Jordan Caron (38) during play against the Buffalo Sabres at the First Niagara Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-US PRESSWIRE
Yesterday afternoon the Providence Bruins hosted the Worcester Sharks at the Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence, Rhode Island where they fell 4-3 in a shootout.
The game opened up with pressure being felt from both sides and it didn’t take long for them to get warmed up to each other as the Atlantic Division rivals dropped the gloves twice in the opening minutes of the game, the first right off the face off. There were plenty of opportunities traded back and forth between the two teams, but it would be the Sharks that struck first at 11:11 with Yanni Gourde beating goaltender Michael Hutchinson. Typically, an opposing team scoring means the Bruins kick it into high gear and go into overdrive, which is exactly what they did. At 16:05 Chris Bourque would find Jamie Tardif in front of the net to score the tying goal with Ryan Spooner picking up the other assist on the play, ending the first twenty minutes, tied at one a piece.
That determination carried over to the second period as Ryan Spooner skated up the right side of the ice and managed to put the puck top shelf past Alex Stalock giving the Bruins a 2-1 lead. Shortly after defenseman Garnet Exelby took a shot from the top left face-off circle and made the lead 3-1. The Bruins dominated the shot clock, holding the Sharks to a mere three shots to their 13 in the second frame, the final tally being 24-11 in favor of the Bruins.
It would be the Sharks who came back fighting to begin the third period as they matched their shot total in the second period within the opening minute of play. It would be Bracken Kearns‘ effort that would pay off first, who scored twice against the Bruins in their last meeting, who pulled his team within one goal on the power play. While Maxime Sauve attempted a one-on-one shot, he got it poked away and it would be Brandon Mashinter who got on the board next, evening the score. Despite valiant efforts from both teams, neither could find the back of the net for the rest of the period or overtime session and sent the game into a shootout for the second time of the weekend. In the sixth round Sharks Brandon Mashinter would be the man of the night as he found the back of the net once more and sealed the victory for Worcester.
The Bruins next game is Friday, November 16 at the Dunkin Donuts Arena against the Manchester Monarchs at 7:05PM ET.
Game Notes…
Goaltending…
Providence: Hutchinson 29 saves out of 32 shots faced.
Worcester: Stalock 34 saves out of 37 shots faced.
Power Plays…
Providence: 1/6
Worcester: 2/7
Three Stars of the Game…
1. Brandon Mashinter 1G, 1SG (Worcester)
2. Ryan Spooner 1G, 1A (Providence)
3. Matt Irwin 2A (Worcester)