| Worcester Sharks | |
 | |
| City: | Worcester, Massachusetts |
|---|---|
| League: | American Hockey League |
| Conference: | Eastern Conference |
| Division: | Atlantic Division |
| Founded: | 2006 |
| Home Arena: | DCU Center |
| Colors: | Teal, gray, black, white
|
| Owner(s): | San Jose Sports & Entertainment Enterprises (Greg Jamison, President & CEO) |
| General Manager: | Wayne Thomas |
| Head Coach: | Roy Sommer |
| Media: | Worcester Telegram & Gazette WTAG Radio 580-Worcester WCTR-Worcester Channel 3 |
| Affiliates: | San Jose Sharks (NHL) Stockton Thunder (ECHL) |
| Franchise history | |
| 1996–2001: | Kentucky Thoroughblades |
| 2001–2006: | Cleveland Barons |
| 2006–present: | Worcester Sharks |
| Championships | |
| Division Championships: | 1 (2009–10) |
The Worcester Sharks are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. The franchise is located in Worcester, Massachusetts. The Sharks and the city of Worcester hosted the 2009 AHL All-Star Classic.
Official Worcester Sharks Website: http://www.sharksahl.com/
History[]
On January 6, 2006, the San Jose Sharks announced that they were moving their American Hockey League affiliate, theCleveland Barons, to Worcester, Massachusetts. The 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 play their home games at the DCU Center in Downtown Worcester. The Sharks qualified for the postseason in their first season, but were knocked out in 6 games by the Manchester Monarchs in the first round. The Sharks' main rival is the Providence Bruins, which dates all the way back to early IceCats' days. Over the past few years, a rivalry with the Norfolk Admirals has developed. Even though they play each other 3 or 4 times a year, the games are usually very intense and physical usually containing fights, including multiple line brawls, one including a goalie fight between Thomas Greiss and Jonathan Boutin. The Sharks were well represented in the 2010 Winter Olympics held in Vancouver, with former Sharks Joe Pavelski (USA), Douglas Murray (Sweden) along with the goaltending tandem from the franchise's first 2 years with Thomas Greiss and Dimitri Patzold playing for Germany. On Saturday April 10, 2010 the Sharks clinched their first division championship with a 3-0 win over Providence in front of a sell out crowd.
On Sunday November 1, 2009, Head Coach Roy Sommer became only the fourth coach in AHL history to record 400 wins. Currently, Sommer is the longest tenured coach in the AHL. Then, on January 14, 2011, Sommer was behind the Sharks bench for his 1,000th regular-season game as an American Hockey League head coach, becoming just the fourth man in AHL history to reach that milestone. On February 11, 2012 Roy became the fourth coach in AHL history to record 500 wins with a 3-2 shootout win over Hershey at Giant Center.
This market was previously served by:
- Worcester Warriors (1954-56) - members of the Eastern Hockey League (1954–55) and Atlantic Hockey League (1955–56)
- Worcester IceCats (1994–2005) - affiliated with the St. Louis Blues
Season-by-Season Results[]
Regular season[]
| Season | Games | Won | Lost | OTL | SOL | Points | Goals For |
Goals Against |
Standing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006–07 | 80 | 41 | 28 | 3 | 8 | 93 | 247 | 244 | 4th, Atlantic |
| 2007–08 | 80 | 32 | 37 | 5 | 6 | 75 | 216 | 258 | 6th, Atlantic |
| 2008–09 | 80 | 42 | 35 | 1 | 2 | 87 | 223 | 223 | 4th, Atlantic |
| 2009–10 | 80 | 49 | 25 | 3 | 3 | 104 | 275 | 239 | 1st, Atlantic |
| 2010–11 | 80 | 36 | 31 | 4 | 9 | 85 | 210 | 245 | 4th, Atlantic |
| 2011–12 | 76 | 31 | 33 | 4 | 8 | 74 | 199 | 218 | 5th, Atlantic |
Playoffs[]
| Season | 1st Round | 2nd Round | 3rd Round | Finals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006–07 | L, 2–4, Manchester | — | — | — |
| 2007–08 | Did Not Qualify | |||
| 2008–09 | W, 4-2, Hartford | L, 2-4, Providence | — | — |
| 2009–10 | W, 4-1, Lowell | L, 2–4, Manchester | — | — |
| 2010–11 | Did Not Qualify | |||
| 2011–12 | Did Not Qualify | |||