Playing the first game of a home three-in-three weekend, the Worcester Sharks had three new faces (Tyler Gron, Yanni Gourde, Lane Scheidl) in the lineup as they defeated the Hartford Wolf Pack (AHL affiliate of the New York Rangers) 3-1 Friday night at the DCU Center.
Gron, who was called up from the ECHL along with Gourde earlier in the week, Brodie Reid and Daniil Tarasov scored for the Sharks while rookie goaltender Troy Grosenick made 21 saves for his seventh win of the season.
A quick moving first period saw the Wolf Pack take a 1-0 lead at 7:23 when forward Ryan Bourque beat Grosenick with a quick snap shot from just in front of the face-off dot inside the left circle for a power play goal, his sixth goal of the season.
Gron, who registered 24 points (14-10-24) in 18 games with the San Francisco Bulls, tied the game at 10:16 of the second period when he found a loose puck at the left side of the goal crease and fired the puck past Wolf Pack goaltender Duv Grumet-Morris for a power play goal, his first career AHL goal. Tarasov was credited with the lone assist.
Reid scored what held up as the game-winning-goal at 13:39 of the third period when he beat Grumet-Morris with a quick wrist shot from on top of the face-off circles for his fourth goal of the season.
“I didn’t have a lot of time,” said Reid of his goal, which was assisted by Gourde, in a post game interview with Bill Ballou of Telegram.com. “I could see their weak-side D-man closing in on me, and I had to get it off quickly. Nine times out of 10, I’ll use the wrist shot anyway.”
Tarasov sealed a 3-1 Sharks win with an empty-net goal, his 10th goal of the season, at 19:25.
NOTES… Final shots were 33-22 in favor of the Sharks… The Sharks went 1-for-3 on the power play and 2-for-3 on the penalty kill… Grosenick is now 7-5-0 with a 2.23 goals-against-average and .917 save percentage… Sharks forwards Reid and James Livingston each had a game high four shots on goal… Scheidl played in his first game of the season after missing the first 32 games due to off season knee surgery… Prior to the game, the Sharks signed goaltender Scott Barchand to an ATO due to Harri Sateri being ill… The Sharks have won two straight games against the Wolf Pack for the first time since Oc.t and Dec. 2011 (via Ballou)… Sharks forwards Sebastian Stalberg and Riley Brace were reassigned and loaned (respectively) to San Francisco earlier in the week… This was the third of four meetings between the Sharks and Wolf Pack this season… The Sharks are 2-0-1-0 against the Wolf Pack, 7-7-0-1 at the DCU Center and 15-15-2-1 with 33 points overall… The Sharks’ three-in-three weekend continues Saturday as they host the Norfolk Admirals at 7pm/et.
THREE STARS
1. Brodie Reid – Sharks (1-0-1, GWG)
2. Troy Grosenick – Sharks (21 saves, Win)
3. Tyler Gron – Sharks (1-0-1)
LINES
Tarasov / Hamilton (A) / Gron
Gourde / Oleksuk / DaSilva
Scheidl / Viedensky / Livingston
Bonneau (A) / Schwartz / Reid
DEFENSE
Petrecki / Doherty
Davison (C) / DeMelo
Acolatse / Abeltshauser
GOALIES
Grosenick
Barchand
SCRATCHES
Gogol
Sateri (ill)
Comrie (inj)
Pelech (inj)
Hayes (sjs)
Kearns (sjs)
Tennyson (sjs)
Brace (sf)
Stalberg (sf)
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