Worcester falls 2-1 in Providence

Wrapping up their third consecutive three-in-three weekend, the Worcester Sharks were defeated 2-1 by their Atlantic Division rival the Providence Bruins (AHL affiliate of the Boston Bruins) Sunday afternoon the Dunkin’ Donuts Center.

Forward Dan DaSilva tied Mike Iggulden and Riley Armstrong for the franchise lead of 59 goals with his 16th goal of the season and goaltender Harri Sateri made 28 saves in net for the Sharks, who now trail the Bruins by 11 points for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with 12 games remaining in the regular season.

After a scoreless first period that was highlighted by Sharks captain Rob Davison fighting ex Sharks captain (and current Bruins captain) Mike Moore and Sharks forward John McCarthy fighting Bruins forward Anthony Camara, the Bruins took a 1-0 lead at 18:00 of the second period when forward Justin Florek deflected in linemate Ryan Spooner’s shot from on top of the right circle for his 16th goal of the season.

The Bruins extended their lead to 2-0 at 13:10 of the third period when defenseman Zach Trotman fired a one-timer from the center point that got through traffic in front and beat Sateri for a power play goal, his sixth goal of the season.  The goal came seconds after Bruins rookie goaltender Malcolm Subban denied Sharks forward Bracken Kearns on a shorthanded breakaway.

DaSilva answered back for the Sharks 54-seconds later when he buried home a rebound after Subban kicked out a rebound off of Kearns’ shot from the left side.  Sharks rookie forward Rylan Schwartz was credited with the secondary assist on the goal, which was DaSilva’s 140th point with the Sharks.

Despite cutting the Bruins lead in half, the Sharks couldn’t get the tying goal past Subban as they struggled to get the puck out of their own zone in the final two minutes of the period and couldn’t get Sateri off the ice for the extra attacker until there was less than a minute left in the game.

NOTES… Final shots on goal were 39-30 in favor of the Sharks… The Sharks went 0-for-3 on the power play and 2-for-3 on the penalty kill… Sateri is now 17-21-1 with a 2.89 goals-against-average and .893 save percentage… Sharks defenseman Kyle Bigos engaged in his first career AHL fight when he dropped the gloves against Bruins forward Rob Flick at 10:32 of the second period… Prior to the start of the game, the Sharks loaned forward Lane Scheidl to the Ontario Reign of the ECHL… DaSilva extended his point streak to seven games (4-5-9)… McCarthy didn’t return to the game following his fight with Camara… Sharks head coach Roy Sommer tied the AHL record for most regular season games coached with his 1,256 game… Sharks forwards Kearns, Freddie Hamilton, Daniil Tarasov and rookie defenseman Konrad Abeltshauser each had a team high four shots on goal… This was the 10th of 12 meetings between the Sharks and Bruins this season… The Sharks are 3-6-0-1 against the Bruins, 15-16-3-0 on the road and 31-29-3-1 with 66 points overall… The Sharks are back in action Wednesday night (March 26) as they travel to play their Atlantic Division rival the Portland Pirates.

THREE STARS
1.  Zach Trotman – Bruins (1-0-1, GWG)
2.  Seth Griffith – Bruins (0-2-2)
3.  Malcolm Subban – Bruins (38 saves, win)

LINES
McCarthy / Kearns (A) / DaSilva
Tarasov / Oleksuk / Hamilton (A)
Schwartz / Higgs / Schmidt
Pereira / Viedensky/ Hayes

DEFENSE
Davison (C) / DeMelo
Doherty / Abeltshauser
Bigos / Pelech

GOALIES
Sateri
Grosenick

SCRATCHES
Bonneau
Comrie
Rau
Reid
Acolatse (inj)
Scheidl (ont)