Worcester Sharks forward Nikolay Goldobin and Daniil Tarasov each had a two point game with a goal and an assist as the Sharks defeated the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins) 4-2 Friday night at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza to extend their winning streak to seven games.
Forwards Willie Coetzee and Ryan Carpenter also scored for the Sharks, who moved to within one point of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference Calder Cup Playoff standings, while goaltender Aaron Dell made 27 saves in net for his sixth straight win and 14th win of the season.
Goldobin, who was making his AHL debut, put the Sharks ahead 1-0 at 19:48 of the first period with is first career AHL goal off a wraparound goal on the right side from behind the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton net. Tarasov and Sharks defenseman Gus Young were credited with the assists.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton tied the game at 11:15 of the second period off defenseman Danny Syvret’s wrist shot from the top of the center point (just in front of the blue line) that beat Dell glove side for a power play goal, Syrvet’s sixth goal of the season.
Coetzee put the Sharks ahead 2-1 nearly three minutes later at 13:57 when he beat Wilkes-Barre/Scranton goaltender Jeff Zatkoff with a quick shot from the top of the right slot off a faceoff win in the right circle by linemate Travis Oleksuk for his 10th goal of the season.
Though Wilkes-Barre/Scranton outshot the Sharks 14-7 in the third period, it was the Sharks who scored twice as Carpenter extended the lead to 3-1 at 5:33 with his 11th goal of the season off a snap shot from the top of the slot that beat Zatkoff glove side. Sharks forward Daniel Ciampini, who sent an across zone pass to Carpenter after carrying the puck into the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton zone along the left side, and defenseman Matt Taormina picked up the assists on the goal, which held up as the game-winning-goal.
At 9:49, Tarasov added an insurance goal for the Sharks when he settled a bouncing puck on top of the crease and slid a backhander past Zatkoff for a power play goal, his 13th goal of the season. Goldobin and Sharks forward Micheal Haley registered the assists.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton got one past Dell at 11:35 when off a Sharks turnover by Dell’s net, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton forward Dominik Uher crashed the net and snuck the puck past Dell for his 12th goal of the season.
NOTES… Shots on goal were 36-29 in favor of the Sharks… The Sharks went 1-for-5 on the power play and 4-for-5 on the penalty kill… Dell is now 14-5-2 with a 1.89 goals-against-average and .932 save percentage… Carpenter had a team high five shots on goal… Sharks defenseman Joakim Ryan made his professional debut and wore no. 24… Goldobin wore no. 8 in his AHL debut… Sharks defenseman Karl Stollery was called up to San Jose on April 2… Taormina played in his 300th career AHL game and is the only Sharks player to play in all 68 games this season… This was the second and final meeting between the Sharks and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this season… The Sharks went 2-0-0 against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, are 17-13-3 on the road and 39-23-6 with 84 points overall… The Sharks are back in action April 6 as they travel to play a make up game against Bridgeport Sound Tigers at 7 p.m./et.
THREE STARS
1. Daniil Tarasov – Sharks (1-1-2)
2. Nikolay Goldobin – Sharks (1-1-2)
3. Tom Kuhnhackl – Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (0-2-2)
LINES
Lerg (C) / Trupp / Willows
Goldobin / McCarthy / Tarasov
Ciampini / Carpenter / Hayes
Haley (A) / Oleksuk / Coetzee
DEFENSE
Taormina (A) / Tennyson
Young / DeMelo
Ryan / Doherty
GOALIES
Dell
Grosenick
SCRATCHES
Bonneau
Crane
Schwartz
Emanuelsson (inj)
Langlois (inj)
Parkes (inj)
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