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Petshark: Talking Stick

Entries with the tag: Worcester+Sharks

The Worcester Sharks and the Stockton Thunder play today

by petshark on 04/04/12 at 12:30 PM ET
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The Sharks play the Kings tomorrow. I don’t know about all Sharks fans but I’ll just hold my breath until then. It would be nice to have Douglas Murray back in but, as he said, we don’t want him rushing back and having to leave the game again.

Sharks fans are still not showing universal, not even majority approval of Niemi’s performance lately. That bad first goal in Dallas was vexing but I thought Niemi redeemed himself in advance. It was nothing short of miraculous that the Sharks managed to score first after being pinned so long in their own zone to start the game. Was it not as bad as it looked? I must be biased and prone to panic. But I credit Niemi with some of that non-scoring by Dallas. Later, his timely save that preceded Thornton’s back-breaking goal was not beautiful and but it did the job. No complaints here. If the team’s confidence continues to grow, so will Niemi’s.

Filed in: , San Jose Sharks | Petshark: Talking Stick | Permalink
Tags: Antti+Niemi, Kelly+Cup, Matt+Tennyson, Stockton+Thunder, Worcester+Sharks,

New signings and other tween day bits

by petshark on 04/02/12 at 02:15 PM ET
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Saturday’s Stars @ Sharks game was certainly the most suspenseful 3 goal lead I can remember watching, but my memory is slipping lately. It was a shame to end it with a crummy, unproductive 5 on 3 power play, but the rest of the game was well-managed. The Stars didn’t bring their best to the game but everyone will have another go at it tomorrow. Fingers and toes crossed and all that.

This morning’s lines, for what tween-game-day lines are worth, were the same as in Saturday’s game. The Joes skated with Marleau, Havlat with Couture and Clowe. Your bottom six, hard to precisely label with numbers were: Wingels-Desjardins-Winnik and Galiardi-Moore-Mitchell.

On defense we saw White with Braun, Demers with Burns and Boyle with Vlasic. Murray, though chipper as all get out, was skating with Vandermeer so he is by no means a shoe-in to play tomorrow, not yet. The fifth line wore orange today. They were Ferriero, Winchester and Handzus.

Filed in: , San Jose Sharks | Petshark: Talking Stick | Permalink
Tags: Joe+Thornton, lost+teeth, Matt+Tennyson, Sebastian+Stalberg, superstition, Travis+Oleksuk, Worcester+Sharks,

Groundhog Day rescheduled

by petshark on 03/11/12 at 06:00 PM ET
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Back in March of 2010, the Sharks were trying to snap their worst losing streak in 13 years. They had lost five in a row and were preparing to face the Oilers. They lost that game.

“We’re not going to wake up tomorrow morning and say ‘Oh, we’re going to play better’....We need to get that belief back.” -Rob Blake, March 22, 2010 (archived article, Merc News)

They won the next four. Since then, they have repeated that losing streak once, including the loss to the Oilers and four wins after. What are the odds they can do it a third time? If I keep mentioning this pattern it’s because I cannot get over it, cannot believe it is happening again. At least it is almost over.

I try to think positively, remember to enjoy the trip, appreciate the scenery instead of obsessing about the destination. It is difficult. Tomorrow’s game is damn distracting.

Filed in: , San Jose Sharks | Petshark: Talking Stick | Permalink
Tags: Adirondack+Phantoms, groundhog+day, superstition, Worcester+Sharks,

Looking for wins

by petshark on 02/19/12 at 08:00 PM ET
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There are bounces and there are mistakes and there are travel delays and three games in four days and freak accidents and injuries… and the Sharks lose again. I’m all out of anger and sorrow. Despair starts to set in. I walk away from the game, start doing the laundry and the dishes. I can’t really walk away, I keep poking my head around the corner to peek at the tv, I keep hoping. It doesn’t work out.

Later, Ryane Clowe said “We’re looking for wins…” (Sharks Talk) That made me start humming “in all the wrong places….” When I start humming country songs, I know I’m in a bad place, is that stale beer I smell? I moved on to a better tune, that old standby from Monty Python.

Filed in: , San Jose Sharks | Petshark: Talking Stick | Permalink
Tags: Adirondack+Phantoms, Logan+Couture, Monty+Python, Ryane+Clowe, Stockton+Thunder, Trenton+Titans, Worcester+Sharks,

Sharks recall McCarthy, send others to Worcester

by petshark on 01/20/12 at 09:40 PM ET
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Niittymaki’s back in Worcester for conditioning. McLaren’s on waivers, probably going to the Woo. Wingels joins Clowe on the injured list. What does it all mean?

Nitty: maybe when he played in that first conditioning stint, he discovered he wasn’t 100% yet? Maybe now he is? Or… what, the Sharks wanted him elsewhere when the Tampa Bay scouts came to town? Why? They weren’t going to see him anyway, and they’ve seen him before. Seems most likely a function of reconditioning, plain and simple. No reason to “showcase” him in the AHL.

McLaren: maybe the team thought he did pretty well game before last, so he was back against the Sens. I guess they rethought that after seeing him against the Sens. I don’t know, didn’t seem like he did anything too dreadful. He took a penalty, who didn’t? I think he spent less time in the box than Pavs did. I think anything sub-par from him would hardly stand out in the mess that was that game.

Filed in: , San Jose Sharks | Petshark: Talking Stick | Permalink
Tags: Antero+Niittymaki, Frazer+McLaren, John+McCarthy, Tommy+Wingels, Worcester+Sharks,

Look on the bright side of loss

by petshark on 11/13/11 at 05:00 PM ET
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I did harp on how important the third period would be in last night’s Coyotes @ Sharks game. I’d like to start with how obvious it was that the Sharks took the third period very seriously, worked hard and had their heads in the game, even if the first and the second periods slipped through the cracks.

I’d like to, but I have to settle for giving the team the benefit of the doubt and supposing they were trying really hard to get their act together, in some subtle way I just couldn’t see. They were more frantic but no more effective. After all, Thornton was bleeding from his face. He must have been trying to do something.

The Sharks again outshot their opponent, in the second 2 periods by 11-5 and 13-7. So they were doing something.

Filed in: , San Jose Sharks | Petshark: Talking Stick | Permalink
Tags: Dan+Boyle, Mike+Smith, Minnesota+Wild, Phoenix+Coyotes, Ryane+Clowe, Todd+McLellan, Worcester+Sharks,