Worcester Sharks

The Worcester Sharks were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that played from 2006 to 2015. Affiliated with the National Hockey League's San Jose Sharks and located in Worcester, Massachusetts, the Sharks played their home games at the DCU Center.

Worcester Sharks
CityWorcester, Massachusetts
LeagueAmerican Hockey League (AHL)
ConferenceEastern Conference
DivisionAtlantic Division
Founded1996
Operated2006–2015
Home arenaDCU Center
ColorsPacific teal, Black, White, Burnt Orange
                   
Owner(s)San Jose Sports & Entertainment Enterprises (Hasso Plattner, Governor)
MediaWorcester Telegram & Gazette
WTAG AM 580 & FM 94.9
Charter TV3
AffiliatesSan Jose Sharks
(2006–2015)
Franchise history
1996–2001Kentucky Thoroughblades
2001–2006Cleveland Barons
2006–2015Worcester Sharks
2015–presentSan Jose Barracuda

History

On November 9, 2004, the St. Louis Blues announced the sale of the Worcester IceCats to the owners of their ECHL affiliate, the Peoria Rivermen.[1] The new owners moved the franchise to Peoria, Illinois, for the 2005–06 season. Shocked by the loss of the IceCats, the people of Worcester bargained with several National Hockey League (NHL) franchises, trying to bring hockey back to the city. On January 6, 2006, the San Jose Sharks announced they were moving their AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Barons, to Worcester, Massachusetts, and the Worcester Sharks played their first home game on October 14, 2006, in front of a sold-out 7,230 fans in a shootout loss to the Portland Pirates. The Sharks qualified for the playoffs in their inaugural season, but were eliminated in six games by the Manchester Monarchs in the first round.

The Sharks' main rivals were the Providence Bruins, the genesis of which dates back to IceCats' days.

The Sharks were well represented in the 2010 Winter Olympics held in Vancouver, with former Sharks Joe Pavelski (played for the United States), Douglas Murray (represented Sweden) along with the goaltending tandem from the franchise's first two years with Thomas Greiss and Dimitri Patzold played for Germany.

On November 1, 2009, head coach Roy Sommer became only the fourth coach in AHL history to record 400 wins. On January 14, 2011, Sommer was behind the Sharks bench for his 1,000th regular-season game as an AHL head coach, becoming just the fourth man in AHL history to reach that milestone. On February 11, 2012, Sommer became the fourth coach in AHL history to record 500 wins with a 3–2 shootout win over the Hershey Bears.

Relocation to San Jose

On January 26, 2015, it was reported that the Sharks would move to San Jose and share SAP Center at San Jose with their parent club, the San Jose Sharks. These reports were confirmed with the Sharks' official announcement on January 29.[2] On April 2, 2015, the team was announced as the San Jose Barracuda.

Worcester did not initially receive an ECHL team to replace the relocated AHL team, unlike the other markets with relocated AHL teams in 2015, such as Manchester, New Hampshire, Norfolk, Virginia, and Glens Falls, New York. On February 8, 2016, the ECHL announced Worcester would be home to an expansion team, set to begin play for the 2017–18 season. The team is owned by Cliff Rucker, with Toby O'Brien serving as president and general manager. The team name was revealed on April 3 to be the Worcester Railers.[3]

This market was previously served by:

Broadcasters
Radio
  • Eric Lindquist - Play-by-Play
Television
  • Eric Lindquist - Play-by-Play
  • Kevin Shea - Color Commentary

Season-by-season results
Calder Cup Champions Conference Champions Division Champions League Leader

Records as of April 21, 2015.[4]

Regular Season Playoffs
Season Games Won Lost OTL SOL Points PCT Goals
for		 Goals
against		 Standing Year 1st
round		 2nd
round		 3rd
round		 Finals
2006–078041283893.5812472444th, Atlantic2007L, 2–4, MCH———
2007–088032375675.4692162586th, Atlantic2008Out of playoffs
2008–098042351287.5442232234th, Atlantic2009W, 4–2, HFDL, 2–4, PRO——
2009–1080492533104.6502752391st, Atlantic2010W, 4–1, LOWL, 2–4, MCH——
2010–118036314985.5312102454th, Atlantic2011Out of playoffs
2011–127631334874.4871992185th, Atlantic2012Out of playoffs
2012–137631344773.4801912284th, Atlantic2013Out of playoffs
2013–147636344278.5131892264th, Atlantic2014Out of playoffs
2014–157641294291.5792241983rd, Atlantic2015L, 1-3, HER———
Totals7043392863247760.537197420794 Playoff Appearances

Players

Team captains

All-Star Classic representatives

Notable alumni

List of Worcester Sharks alumni who played in the National Hockey League:

Player records

All-time regular season leaders

Individual regular season
  • Most Goals: Mathieu Darche, 35 (2006–07)
  • Most Assists: Danny Groulx, 52 (2009–10)
  • Most Points: Mathieu Darche, 80 (2006–07)
  • Most Penalty Minutes: Matt Pelech, 238 (2012–13)
  • Most Power-Play Goals: Mathieu Darche, 16 (2006–07)
  • Most Shorthanded Goals: Ryan Vesce, 3 (2008–09)
  • Most Appearances: Alex Stalock, 61 (2009–10)
  • Most Minutes Played: Alex Stalock, 3,534 (2009–10)
  • Most Wins: Alex Stalock, 39 (2009–10)
  • Most Losses: Thomas Greiss, 24 (2008–09)
  • Most Shutouts: Alex Stalock, 4 (2009–10) Aaron Dell, 4 (2014-15)
  • Lowest GAA (min. 25 games): Aaron Dell, 2.06 (2014–15)
  • Highest Save Percentage (min. 25 games): Aaron Dell, .927 (2014–15)

All-time playoff leaders

Franchise firsts

Franchise lasts
  • Last Game: May 1, 2015. Worcester Sharks 4, Hershey Bears 10 [Game 4, Round 1 of Playoffs]
  • Last Win: April 29, 2015. Worcester Sharks 4, Hershey Bears 1 [Game 3, Round 1 of Playoffs]
  • Franchise Last Goal: May 1, 2015. Worcester Sharks 4, Hershey Bears 10 [Game 4, Round 1 of Playoffs] Goal scored by Matt Taormina assisted by Oleksuk, Langlois.
  • Franchise Last Shutout: April 7, 2015 by Aaron Dell. Worcester Sharks 1, Portland Pirates 0
  • Franchise Last Hat Trick: February 27, 2015 by Evan Trupp. Saint John's IceCaps 3, Worcester Sharks 6
  • Franchise Last Home Game: April 25, 2015 Hershey Bears 3, Worcester Sharks 1 [Game 2, Round 1 of Playoffs] Attendance:4,045

Franchise scoring leaders

These are the top-ten point-scorers in franchise history. Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games Played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points;

PlayerPosGPGAPts
John McCarthyLW2776388151
Dan DaSilvaRW2396084144
Tom CavanaghC2024692138
Steven ZalewskiC2104187128
Lukas KasparLW2164679125
Mike IgguldenC1515964123
Graham MinkRW1325563118
Riley ArmstrongRW2085953112
Brandon MashinterLW2365454108
Benn FerrieroC1214459103

Head coaches

References
  1. "Worcester IceCats sold to Rivermen owners". oursportscentral.com. 2004-11-09. Retrieved 2010-02-03.
  2. "Sharks Moving AHL Franchise to SAP Center". San Jose Sharks. January 29, 2015. Retrieved January 29, 2015.
  3. "Introducing the Worcester Railers professional hockey team". Worcester Magazine. April 3, 2016.
  4. Hockeydb.com, Worcester Sharks season statistics and records.
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