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Sharks snap 2-game skid Cheechoo regains some of his scoring touch 12/9/06 - by Mike Lee
Jonathan Cheechoo scored two goals and Joe Thornton chipped in
three assists to help the Sharks break their two-game losing streak on Saturday
night, beating the Nashville Predators 3-1 at HP Pavilion. Evgeni Nabokov
stopped 20 of 21 shots to earn his eighth win of the season, also cutting his
goals against average to a palty 2.04 goals per game.
It was this time a
year ago when Cheechoo was teamed up with Thornton after the blockbuster trade
that brought the MVP to San Jose. Cheechoo would go on to win the Rocket
Richard Trophy after winning the league goal scoring title.
Cheechoo and
Thornton flashed a little of the magic that they enjoyed last season. They
conveted on a 2-on-1 break in the opening period, then cashed in on a 5-on-3
power play late in the game.
"It's been a while since I got a shot like
that off," Cheechoo said of his first goal. "It's nice to get one of those
chances again. They were both great passes. He makes those passes look
easy."
Curtis Brown opened the game's scoring by slipping a shot past
Chris Mason 4:44 into the game after Cheechoo set him up with a lead pass on
the left post. Brown went crashing over the Predators goaltender after the puck
crossed the goal line.
Josef Vasicek cut the Sharks lead to 2-1 late in
the 2nd period with his 2nd goal of the season.
With a tight game still on the line, Cheechoo would convert late
in the 3rd period after Vasicek and Scott Hartnell would draw penalties less
than a minute apart. Referee Francois St. Laurent injured his knee and was
forced to miss most of the period. His partner Paul Devorski caught both
Predators infractions to setup the deciding two-man advantage.
"Cheech
worked a lot harder tonight, and it showed," Sharks head coach Ron Wilson said.
"If you compete harder in your own end, you'll be rewarded."
"I thought
we executed a very good game plan," Nashville coach Barry Trotz said. "They
only had 15 shots with 6 minutes to go. ... We played a solid game, but not
good enough to beat the Sharks in their own rink."
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
NSH |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
SJ |
2 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
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1st period - 1, SJ, Brown 5 (Cheechoo,
Thornton), 4:44. 2, SJ, Cheechoo 9 (Thornton, Pavelski), 16:37. |
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2nd period -
3, NSH, Vasicek 2 (Erat, Hartnell), 14:09. |
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3rd period - 4, SJ, Cheechoo 10 (Thornton,
Marleau),
16:29. |
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1st period - Bench, NSH (too many men),
0:37; Pavelski, SJ (hooking), 14:22; Bench, SJ (too many men), 19:59. |
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2nd period - Vasicek, NSH (hooking), 2:36;
Thornton, SJ (hooking), 10:26; Erat, NSH (holding), 11:11; Hannan, SJ
(holding), 14:32. |
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3rd period - Bernier, SJ (goatender
interference), 4:59; Erat, NSH (hooking), 11:35; Vasicak, NSH (hooking), 15:15;
Hartnell, NSH (delay of game), 16:13. |
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Shots |
Saves |
NSH - Mason |
26 |
23 |
SJ - Nabokov |
21 |
20 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
NSH |
10 |
5 |
6 |
21 |
SJ |
8 |
5 |
13 |
26 |
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Referees: Paul Devorski, Francois StLaurent.
Linesmen:
Brad Lazarowich, Thor Nelson. |
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