Worcester holds off Hershey Comeback, Win 3-2

Dmitry Orlov’s first AHL goal isn’t enough to stop the Worcester Sharks.

And so the road trip rolls on…

Tonight, the Bears faced the Worcester Sharks. You may remember the last time these two teams met Brian Willsie almost fought Worcester goaltender, Alex Stalock.

Thankfully for Willsie, Stalock wasn’t playing tonight but that didn’t mean that this game would be any easier.

All was well at first. The Bears were putting some good shots on goal and even got the early lead. It was none other than Dmitry Orlov who gave the Bears the lead, scoring his first career AHL goal. It was a hard shot from the face-off circle that goaltender Tyson Sexsmith couldn’t handle. Orlov has been paired with Sheldon Souray for four games now. Between the pure skill, the physicality, and the hard shots, that pairing has to put some fear in the opposing teams. I definitely would not want to be facing down those guys.

However, the Sharks tied it up in the same period. The Sharks were attacking and the Bears couldn’t clear the zone. After a couple of quick shots, Nolan Schaefer tried his best but couldn’t stop the last shot and Worcester scored.

During the second period, the Bears badly outshot the Sharks 16 to 7. Unfortunately, it was the Sharks who came ahead though. The Sharks killed off a Hershey 5-on-3 power play and then scored in the minutes afterwards. It was a bit of a fluky goal as Brandon Mashinter flung the puck towards the goal and it tipped off Schaefer and into the net.

The third period saw the Bears on the wrong side of a 5-on-3. Boyd Kane and Ashton Rome were whistled for penalties and the Worcester didn’t miss the opportunity. With two Bears in the box, the Sharks scored. There was a glimmer of hope later on when Rome dished out a perfect pass to Maxime Lacroix who backhanded it past Sexsmith. It wouldn’t be enough to push the Bears to victory and they lose 3-2.

Tonight’s Notes:

• During the first period, Mathieu Perreault appeared to get injured during the play that the Sharks scored their first goal on. He went down the tunnel and didn’t play the rest of the period. The good news is that he returned with the team for the second period, but he didn’t seem to be playing quite as well as normal. So hopefully it’s nothing major. I don’t need to tell you that we don’t need any more injuries.
• I’m just going to keep mentioning it because the Bears keep holding it off: Mark French is still just one measly game away from 100 wins as coach. C’mon Bears, sooner rather than later…
• Patrick Wellar was a scratch today after it was announced that the injury he suffered against Norfolk on Sunday was still bothering him. Dylan Yeo took his spot in the line-up.

Lines and Pairings:

Kane – Perreault – Bouchard
Greentree – Willsie – Kugryshev
Lacroix – Joudrey – Rome
de Kastrozza – Carroll – Rechlicz

Souray – Orlov
McNeill – Collins
Yeo – Fahey

Actual three stars of the game:

1. Matt Irwin (WOR)
2. Jon Landry (WOR)
3. Dmitry Orlov (HER)

Sweetest Hockey On Earth’s three stars of the game:

1. Lacroix: one goal, one assist, +2 rating
2. Orlov: scored first AHL goal
3. Rome: one assist, +2 rating