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Sharks stun Bruins with come from behind win

Brandon Mashinter had the game tying goal in regulation and the game winning goal in the shootout while Alex Stalock stopped 34-of-37 shots for his sixth consecutive win as the Worcester Sharks erased a two goal deficit in the third period to defeat the Providence Bruins 4-3 in the shootout Sunday afternoon at the Dunkin Donuts Center.

Bracken Kearns scored a power play goal for his team leading sixth goal of the season, rookie Yanni Gourde scored his third goal of the season and Matt Irwin had two assists as the Sharks earned four points in their second consecutive three-in-three weekend.

The game got off to a chippy start as Sharks forward James Livingston and Bruins defenseman Kevan Miller were both assessed two roughing minors each at 2:11 of the first period. Just 56-seconds later, Sharks defenseman Matt Pelech dropped the gloves for the third time this season and pounded Bruins toughman Bobby Robbins into the ice in a one sided scrap.

Gourde put the Sharks up 1-0 at 11:11 after he intercepted Matt Bartowski’s pass from behind the net and ripped the puck past Bruins goaltender Michael Hutchinson blocker side from seven feet on top of the crease.

On their first power play of the game, the Bruins answered back at 16:05 as alternate captain Jamie Tardif corralled a centering pass in front from linemate Ryan Spooner and slapped the puck past Stalock for his third goal of the season.

Just 66-seconds into the second period, Spooner put the Bruins up 2-1 with his second goal of the season off a backhanded shot he lifted over Stalock’s shoulder after taking the puck away from Sharks defenseman Danny Groulx, who lost the puck while skating backwards in his own zone.

Bruins alternate captain Garnet Exelby extended the Bruins lead to 3-1 with his second goal of the season at 6:18 off a blast from the left face-off circle that got through traffic in front and beat Stalock low. For the period, the Sharks were outshot 13-3.

With the Sharks on a power play in the third period, Kearns pulled the Sharks to within a goal at 6:26 as he got positioning in front and deflected a Matt Tennyson shot from the point past Hutchinson for his fifth power play goal of the season. Irwin was credited with the secondary assist.

At 11:22 and on another power play, Mashinter tied the game with his first goal of the season as he was able to get in front of Hutchinson and tipped in a blast of a shot by Irwin from the right point. James Sheppard, who won the face-off to set up the tying goal, was credited with the secondary assist.

After a scoreless overtime session that saw the Sharks out shoot the Bruins 6-2, the game headed to the shootout, where the Sharks got goals from captain John McCarthy, Jon Matsumoto and Mashinter. Bruins forward Kyle MacKinnon had a chance to extend the shootout to a seventh round after Mashinter’s goal but Stalock turned away his shot for the Sharks win.

NOTES: Shots were 37-33 in favor of the Bruins… The Sharks went 2-for-5 on the power play and 2-for-3 on the penalty kill… Stalock is now 6-2-2-0 with a 2.38 goals-against-average and .916 save percentage… This was the second of 12 meetings between the teams this season… Brodie Reid (inj), Nick Petrecki (inj), Mikael Tam (inj), Jimmy Bonneau (scr), Daniil Tarasov (scr) and Marek Viedensky (scr) did not dress for the Sharks… With the one fight, the Sharks now have 15 through 13 games… The Sharks are now 2-0-0-0 against the Bruins this season, 2-3-0-1 on the road and 6-5-1-1 overall.

Three Stars
1. Brandon Mashinter (1-0-1, GWG in SO)
2. Ryan Spooner – Bruins (1-1-2)
3. Matt Irwin – Sharks (0-2-2)

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