Pirates Become Shark Bait, Lose 5-1
11-14-2012: Mark Louis landing a few punches against the Sharks Photo Courtesy of Ron Morin/ Ron’s Sports Photography
Tonight’s meeting between the Worcester Sharks and Portland Pirates was anything but uneventful as the gloves were found on the ice more than on the players they belonged to. As if that wasn’t enough to get the 3,320 fans cheering in the stands, the Sharks went on to beat the Pirates 5-1 in their home arena at the DCU.
Much like the previous meetings between these two teams, the Worcester Sharks were first to get on the board at 13:14 after Rob Klinkhammer and Yanni Gourde would go to the box just ten seconds before. While five minutes remained in the period, the Pirates were unable to put a puck past Sharks’ net minder Alex Stalock and went into the first intermission trailing 1-0.
Ever heard of the saying “I went to a fight and a hockey game broke out,” well, that’s exactly what happened in the second period as there were five fights in 1:06 span. Chris Brown and Curt Gogol starting things off and Mathieu Brodeur and Brandon Mashinter finishing it with Worcester ending up on a power play as each penalty box was full. Once again the Sharks would strike and beat the Pirates while they were down as Danny Groulx capitalized on a 5-on-3 opportunity instilling a 2-goal lead over the Pirates.
As the excitement died down throughout the period so did the scoring until the remaining 4 minutes where Yanni Gourde and Curt Gogol would score again for the Sharks, sending them into the final frame with a 4-0 lead.
With the Pirates trying to make their way off the proverbial plank the chaos began with yet another boxing match after Brendan Shinnimin was checked into the boards hard by Acolatse with Louis responding. Yanni Gourde would then go on to score his second goal of the night for Worcester giving them a 5-goal advantage.
David Rundblad was the only player on the Pirates bench who was able to sneak a shot past Stalock in the final frame, but it was a too little too late as the buzzer sounded 6:15 later, ending the brawling once and for all.
The Pirates next game is Sunday, November 25 at 3PM as they take on the Manchester Monarchs for their third of the VIP Series.
Game Notes…
Goaltending…
Portland: Mark Visentin 24 saves out of 29 shots
Worcester: Alex Stalock 37 saves out of 38 shots faced
Power Play Opportunities…
Portland: 0/5 Worcester: 2/6
Three Stars of the Game…
1. WOR –Yanni Gourde
2. WOR – Alex Stalock
3. WOR – Brodie Reid
*All statistical information can be found at AHL.com or on the Official Game Sheet