Sharks Dispose Of Anaheim In Pre-Season Play

Sharks Dispose Of Anaheim In Pre-Season Play

“I thought the discipline was very strong for us tonight.”--Kyle McLaren

9/22/07 By Barbara Mason
Bay Area Sport/Raiderdrive.com

There is a lot still up in the air before the San Jose Sharks take the ice on October 4^th for their season opener. “You factor in lots of things, (from) how they’ve played to who’s ready emotionally as well as physically,” said Coach Ron Wilson. While Wilson was referring to the competition that continues in choosing the backup goalie to Evgeni Nabokov, this goes for entire roster. He is looking for on-ice performance in the pre-season as well as the developmental stage of each player and mental readiness. There are those seasoned veterans that have their spot on the roster and then there are those that are skating for a spot on the final roster.

Thomas Griess and Dimitri Patzold both hope for the back-up position at goalie. The winner will earn himself a coveted Shark jersey as well as a seat on the bench for most of the season with the probability that he will not see a lot of action this year. The loser, if you will, returns to Worchester with regular play that could prove to be a very real plus. Who in the long run will really come out the winner, only time will tell?

Nabokov will see three more games in the net before the season get underway to insure that he is in game shape giving Griess and Patzold one more opportunity to perform to the standard that Wilson is looking for.

Friday night was the first game for Evgeni Nabokov in the pre-season as the Sharks took on the Anaheim Ducks at HP Pavilion. Griess and Patzold had tended in their two previous games going into overtime against Los Angeles (Patzold goal tending) in the 5-6 loss and coming out on top 1-0 in their last game against the Ducks (Griess goal tending).

In the first period, it was San Jose first up on the scoreboard when #8 Joe Pavelski scored assisted by #44 Marc Edouard Vlasic and #21 Alexei Semenov for a 1-0 lead.

Anaheim tied it up in the second period on the power play when #54 Bobby Ryan scored assisted by #15 Ryan Getziaf and #25 Chris Pronger for Anaheim’s first goal of the evening and the tie game. San Jose’s #48 Devin Setoguchi put the Sharks back on top 2-1 at 10:31 for his 2^nd goal of the pre-season. He was assisted by #19 Joe Thornton and #29 Ryane Clowe. With 5:40 left in the period the Sharks had a five on three that they were unable to take advantage of and the score remained 2-1. With 7 ticks left on the clock San Jose went on the power play to end the period.

San Jose had their second five on three in the third period which also came up empty.

With 6:11 left in the final period, San Jose had their third five on three. Third time was a charm for the Sharks as goal number three came on that power play which had strengthened to a five on four when #8 Joe Pavelski scored his second goal of the evening assisted by #4 Kyle McLaren and the final score of 3-1. “I thought we played hard as a team. We stuck in there and it was nice to see everybody get involved,” said McLaren after the game. “We held our composure. It’s still the pre-season for us and we are trying to work out some kinks. I thought the discipline was very strong for us tonight.” The three failed five on three’s were of some concern to McLaren, seemingly a continuation of problems that the team had last year. “Those are some of things we were known for last year. On our power play, we didn’t work as hard as we should have.”

Now in his second year, Joe Pavelski has started out strong in the pre-season with two goals in the game. He reflected on his feelings coming into San Jose last year. “You don’t realize the size of this league and the size of this team. This team is one of the biggest in the NHL and being a little on the smaller side, you feel it right away,” said Pavelski. Coming onto the team late and getting a taste of the playoffs has left him hungry for more. “I experienced a lot last year and it should show. I learned something from last year and I’m trying not to take any steps back and keep getting better.”

Coach Ron Wilson had another look at his prospective team last night. “I liked our speed. The people we were looking at tonight had tremendous speed. In our league today that is the number one asset you can have.” He feels that everyone has had an equal opportunity to show what they can do. “The pre-season gives us a great opportunity to see everybody,” he said.

Evgeni Nabokov came up with a remarkable performance defending 19 shots on goal. San Jose finished the game with 36 shots on goal. With Anaheim’s season beginning next week, the Duck’s were bringing on a lot. San Jose answered with discipline and for the most part kept control of the game.

Who looked hot in this game? My vote to goes to the big strong defenseman 6’6” Alexei Semenov, RW Devin Setoguchi who scored the second goal of the game and Center Torrey Mitchell who has received a lot of positive feedback. There still remain four more pre-season games however, before the opener and there is still a lot of time for any of these guys to step up to the plate. They will next take on Vancouver tonight at HP Pavilion. The puck drops at 7:30.

Contact: Bay Area Sports Drive (BASD)