Hockey News

Bruins Legend Milt Schmidt Passes Away

“Mr. Bruin” Milt Schmidt passed away at age 98 earlier this week.  Schmidt was the only person in Bruin’s franchise history to serve as player, captain, coach and general manager. He is credited with bringing 4 Stanley Cups to Boston and discovering Bobby Orr, ultimately bringing him to Boston. Schmidt was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1961, and had his #15 retired by the Bruins in 1980.

ECHL Hockey Returning to Reno?

Word popped up last week that Reno, Nevada’s City Council has approved an agreement to bring ECHL Hockey to Reno. A group known as the Reno Puck Club brought a plan to bring hockey to Reno, with the team playing out of the Reno Events Center. A 6-1 vote by the City Council approved the plan and to negotiate with the Reno Puck Club. A hockey team would begin play in the ECHL starting in October 2018, if approved by the ECHL.

Read More at FoxReno.com

Worcester Hockey Alumni Participate in Outdoor Classic Alumni Games

We don’t see many IceCats players playing in the NHL now (in fact, there’s only two still playing in the NHL). So any time we get to see these guys return to the ice, it’s certainly a rare occurrence.

This weekend, the NHL hosted two outdoor classic events: the Centennial Classic and the Winter Classic. Six former IceCats players and one former Sharks player participated in the events.

The only Worcester Hockey Alumni that played in the Centennial Classic (for the Maple Leafs) was:

11 Gary Leeman

Worcester Hockey Alumni that played on the Blackhawks were:

22   Jamal Mayers
37   Adam Burish

Worcester Hockey Alumni that played on the St. Louis Blues were:
5   Barrett Jackman
6   Jamie Rivers
27   Bryce Salvador
27   Terry Yake

Railers HC News

Worcester Sports Center is now the Worcester Ice Center

The Worcester Railers HC quietly renamed the Worcester Twin Rinks Project (also known as the Worcester Sports Center) this past week. A Facebook Page was created and a logo was unveiled with a resemblance to the Worcester Railers logo. It features 7 mountains that represent the seven hills of Worcester and a Railroad track representing the Railers hockey club.

The Worcester Ice Center Facebook Page can be found here.

Railers Unveil Raptor Truck

The Worcester Railers HC unveiled a new vehicle, a Ford Raptor with Railers Graphics.

One on One: Cliff Rucker

T&G’s Bill Ballou sat down with Railers owner Cliff Rucker and talked about how he first got the idea of bringing an ECHL team to Worcester and how he plans to continue on making an impact on the community in Worcester.

Read more at Telegram.com

Current Member Count: 1086

Worcester Sharks Alumni News

Remembering Tom Cavanaugh

Former Worcester Sharks forward Tom Cavanaugh passed away 6 years ago today. Cavanagh was the Worcester Sharks’ all-time assists leader with 87 assists in 202 games, and at the time of his death he was the all-time scoring leader with 138 points (now ranked third). Tom was one of the first big names the Sharks brought to Worcester (Riley Armstrong would be the another one). He was a likable teammate, friend, and a part of Worcester’s Hockey Family. Cavanagh was enthusiastic to play in Worcester and is shown in some posts he made for the old SharksAHL.com website:

Sharks Archives: Tom Cavanagh Blog 5/29/2006

Sharks Archives: Tom Cavanagh Blog 6/6/2006

Cavanagh tragically took his own life on January 6, 2011. He was 28 years old. Cavanagh suffered from schizophrenia and mental illness required him to be institutionalized four times in his final months.

Following Cavanaugh’s death, many from both Worcester and the San Jose Sharks paid tributes to Tom:

Jason Demers: “It was impossible not to like him. He was always such a happy guy. That’s why this came as such a shock to everyone.”

Roy Sommer: “When we were trying to convince San Jose to call him up, I told them that his will exceeded his skill. That’s Tommy Cavanagh in a nutshell. He was an ugly skater. He had some hip problems. His shot wouldn’t break a pane of glass. But he found a way because he was a determined kid. He was just a winner.”

Mike Moore: “Sometimes with hockey players, we don’t have a lot of other interests. But you liked hanging out with him because he had a way of starting conversations among the team on anything like current events, politics or history.”

Ryan Clowe: “He might have beaten the odds a little bit just to play up here. He wasn’t a flashy player. But you could tell he really cared about the game and would do anything.”

A full story can be read at MercuryNews.com

The Cavanagh Family created the Thomas G. Cavanagh Memorial Fund months to help those suffering from mental illness as Tom did. Information about the fund can be found here.

If you are depressed, thinking of suicide, or needlessly suffering from mental illness, there is help out there. And there are always friends who care about you. Please reach out and get help.

#TC9

Gill Named ECHL Goaltender of the Month

After an outstanding month of December, it is no surprise that Riley Gill has been named Goaltender of the Month. Gill went went 7-2-0 with three shutouts, a 1.70 goals-against average and a save percentage of .950 in nine appearances during the month. It is the fourth time in his career that he has received the monthly honor, the second most in ECHL history.

Gourde, Taormina, Grosnick named for AHL All-Star Classic

The AHL announced the players that were picked to play in this year’s All-Star classic. Three Worcester Sharks alumni have been named to the event. Yanni Gourde and Matt Taormina (Syracuse Crunch) have been selected as part of the North Division. Troy Grosenick (San Jose Barracuda) has been selected as part of the Pacific Divsion.

The 2017 AHL All-Star Classic will be held at the PPL Center in Allentown, Pa., more information on the players participating in the event can be found on TheAHL.com

Sivak and Costello named starters for ECHL All-Star Classic

The ECHL also announced the players that were picked to play in this year’s All-Star classic. Former Worcester Sharks forwards Peter Sivak (Alaska Aces) and Chad Costello (Allen Americans) have been named starters for the event. More information on the rosters can be found at ECHL.com.

Tyler Kennedy Retires

After nearly a decade of playing in the NHL, forward Tyler Kennedy has announced his retirement on Wednesday. With a pro career lasting 9 seasons, Kennedy played with the Pittsburgh Penguins, San Jose Sharks, New York Islanders, and the New Jersey Devils. He played in over 500 games in the NHL and scored over 200 points. Kennedy won the Stanley Cup with the penguins in 2009. Kennedy played in Worcester on a conditioning assignment during the 2014-15 season, before being called back up to the big league.

In an interview with CTV News: “I originally had a dream of playing in the NHL and winning the Stanley Cup.”, Kennedy said. “Playing for such a long time in over 500 games, I’ve accomplished a lot with what I’ve been given and I think I really did the best that I could and I thought that I had a great career.”

Transactions

Bobby Farnham was recalled to the Montreal Canadiens (NHL) from the St. John’s IceCaps on January 2nd.

Michal Handzus signed a contract extension with HC Banska Bystrica (Slovakia) on January 3rd.

Taylor Fedun was recalled to the Buffalo Sabres (NHL) from the Rochester Americans (AHL) on January 3rd.

Taylor Doherty signed a PTO with the Providence Bruins on January 3rd.

Yanni Gourde was reassigned to the Syracuse Crunch (AHL) from the Tampa Bay Lightning (NHL) on January 4th.

Daniel Ciampini was recalled to the Ontario Reign (AHL) from the Manchester Monarchs (ECHL) on January 4th.

Matt Nieto was placed on waivers by the San Jose Sharks on January 4th. He was claimed by the Colorado Avalanche on January 5th.