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Worcester sweeps three-in-three weekend for 16th win in last 20 games

The Worcester Sharks swept their three-in-three weekend with a 3-0 road victory over the AHL Eastern Conference leading Manchester Monarchs (AHL affiliate of the Los Angeles Kings) at the Verizon Wireless Arena Sunday afternoon for their 16th win in their last 20 games.

Sharks goaltender Aaron Dell made 24 saves for his third shutout of the season in 13 starts while forwards John McCarthy, Willie Coetzee and defenseman Taylor Fedun scored the goals. In addition, Sharks forwards Rylan Schwartz and Chris Crane dished out two assists each.

McCarthy put the Sharks ahead 1-0 just 36-seconds into the game when he buried home a centering feed from linemate Ryan Carpenter for his eight goal of the season. Sharks forward Eriah Hayes, who set the goal up with a strong forecheck and winning a battle behind the net for the puck, had the secondary assist.

Fedun extended the lead to 2-0 at 2:58 of the second period with a nifty backhanded shot from the right hash mark in the slot that beat Monarchs goaltender Jean-Francois Berube for his fourth goal of the season. Schwartz and Crane had the assists on the goal, which was set up by a nice defensive play 200-feet away in the right corner of the Sharks zone by defenseman Gus Young.

In the third period, the Monarchs turned up their intensity but couldn’t get the puck past Grosenick, who made a nifty glove save on Monarchs forward Mike Richards near the midway point of the period. With Berube pulled for the extra attacker, Coetzee sealed a Sharks victory with an empty net goal at 18:17. Crane and Schwartz had the assists on the goal, which was Coetzee’s seventh of the season and third in as many games.

NOTES… Shots on goal were 24-17 in favor of the Monarchs… The Sharks went 0-for-5 on the power play and 4-for-4 on the penalty kill… Dell is now 6-1-1 in his last eight starts and has an overall record of 7-3-2 with a 1.81 goals-against-average and .931 save percentage… Carpenter had a game high three shots on goal… Schwartz fought Monarchs defenseman Andrew Bodnarchuk at 14:54 of the first period… After losing the first six meetings of the season to the Monarchs, the Sharks have won the last four… Sharks defenseman Matt Tennyson was a plus-three… McCarthy (1-1-2), Hayes (0-2-2) and Carpenter (1-2-3) extended their point streaks to two games while Coetzee (3-0-3) extended his point streak to three games and Fedun (1-5-6) extended his to five games… This was the 10th of 12 meetings between the Sharks and Monarchs this season… The Sharks are 4-5-1 against the Monarchs, 12-10-3 on the road and 29-17-6 with 64 points overall… The Sharks are back in action Feb. 27 when they host the St. John’s IceCaps at 7:30 p.m./et.

THREE STARS
1. Aaron Dell – Sharks (24 saves, Shutout Win)
2. Taylor Fedun – Sharks (1-0-1)
3. John McCarthy – Sharks (1-0-1, GWG)

LINES
McCarthy / Carpenter / Hayes
Lerg (C) / Trupp / Parkes
Haley (A) / Oleksuk / Hamilton
Schwartz / Crane / Coetzee

DEFENSE
Taormina (A) / Tennyson
DeMelo / Doherty
Young / Fedun

GOALIES
Dell
Grosenick

SCRATCHES
Abeltshauser
Bonneau
Emanuelsson (inj)
Langlois (inj)

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