Tag: NHL

Sharks Beat Coyotes 4-2, Gregor Scores Gamer

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San Jose Sharks center Noah Gregor (73) scores a third period goal against Arizona Coyotes goaltender Karel Vejmelka (70) for the game winner at SAP Center in San Jose on Sun Mar 20, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE- The San Jose Sharks beat the Arizona Coyotes 4-2 on Sunday, ending their losing streak at three games. Nick Bonino, Timo Meier, Noah Gregor and Rudolfs Balcers scored for the Sharks. James Reimer made 23 saves for the win. Phil Kessel and Lawson Crouse scored for Arizona. Karel Vejmelka made 25 saves in the loss.

After the game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner said: “I thought we came out hard, first five minutes. I thought that we started trying to be a little too fancy, not shooting enough pucks.” He mentioned how the Sharks knew very well that the Coyotes play a similar neutral zone game to their own, then added: “A little hard-headed, we refused to sort of chip pucks, dump pucks. We tried to skate through their wall, just as we’d want teams to do to us.”

Nevertheless, he said that the team “found a way to win, where lots of times this year it’s been the opposite.”

Of Noah Gregor, Of Noah Gregor, who has had terrible puck luck this season, Sharks Captain Logan Couture said:

Mario [Ferraro] told me before the game “Greggy’s scoring tonight. I said “no he’s not.” (laughs) So I was wrong. Great goal, great goal. He used his speed, I though he was excellent all night. I think he was probably our best player. All over the puck, creating chances. You know, he’s had a lot of games like that this year.

The Sharks scored on their first shot of their first shift of the game for a 1-0 lead. Nick Bonino redirected Andrew Colgiano’s shot into Anton Stralman’s skate for the goal. Assists went to Cogliano and Noah Gregor.

That lead lasted until late in the second period when Phil Kessel caught a pass across the slot from Lawson Crouse. Kessel had an open net to tie it up. Assists went to Crouse and Cam Dineen.

It was a sluggish game through the first two periods. The shot count was 15-14 Arizona. The Sharks had two power plays and the Coyotes had one. The Coyotes got three shots in that one power play and the Sharks had just one shot in their two opportunities.

The Coyotes took a lead at 15:09 of the third period. Lawson Crouse scored on the power play with a redirection off the heel of his stick. Assists went to Kessel and Shayne Gostisbehere.

Timo Meier tied it back up less that 30 seconds later. Alexander Barabanov tried for a pass around the boards to Tomas Hertl but it bounced away from Hertl and went right to Meier for the shot. Assists went to Barabanov and Jaycob Megna.

Noah Gregor scored the game winner less than a minute after that. Gregor had the puck behind the net and he saw the goalie move left so he went right for a backhand wrap-around. Logan Couture got the assist.

Rudolfs Balcers scored the insurance goal at 19:10 into an empty net with a shot from a bad angle.

The Sharks led the third in shots 15-10. Each team had a power play in the third, and both power plays had four shots on goal. The Sharks maintained a slight lead in the face-offs, finishing with 51%.

Jonathan Dahlen took a puck to the face late in the game and did not return. Alexander Barabanov was cross-checked and went into the boards head first but he stayed in the game. Andrew Cogliano Crashed into his own net but he also stayed in.

The Sharks next play on Tuesday in Calgary against the Flames at 6:00 PM PT.

San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Barracuda look to get revenge on Heat Tuesday night at SAP Center

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The San Jose Barracuda Sasha Cmelevski scored the Barracuda first goal of their game against the Tucson Roadrunners at Tucson Arena on Sat Mar 19, 2022 ( file photo from nhl.com)

On the Barracuda podcast with Marko:

#1 The SJ Barracuda are getting some offense from The San Jose Barracuda beat the Tucson Roadrunners 5-2 Saturday. Sasha Cmelevski, Lane Pedersen, Nick Cicek, Joachim Blichfeld and Nick Merkley who scored goals against the Arizona Roadrunners on Saturday night in the 5-2 win.

#2 The Barracuda goaltender Alexei Melnichuk made 32 saves for the win and allowed two goals.

#3 For the first Barracuda goal of the game, Sasha Chmelevski scored the opening goal for San Jose at 6:18 of the first period. He carried the puck into the zone and then cut across to the slot, evading defenders. As he passed through the slot he took the shot and beat Prosvetov on the glove side. 

#4 Lane Pedersen made it 2-0 at 14:45 with a shot from a bad angle along the boards that snuck by Prosvetov. An assist went to Jayden Halbgewachs.

#5 The Barracuda return back to SAP Center in San Jose on Tue Mar 22 to host the Stockton Heat the last time these two teams met the Heat beat the Barracuda by three goals 6-3 on Sat Mar 12th at Stockton Arena.

San Jose Barracuda podcasts with Marko are heard Sundays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NHL podcast with Matt Harrington: NHL Trade deadline some big names up for grabs; plus NHL action from Friday

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Brandon Hagel was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning for Boris Katchouk and Taylor Raddysh from the Chicago Blackhawks on Fri Mar 18, 2022 (photo from nhl.com)

On the NHL podcast with Matt:

#1 Matt how important is it that the Tampa Bay Lightning picked up Brandon Hagel in exchange for forwards Boris Katchouk and Taylor Raddysh from the Chicago Blackhawks?

#2 Matt, talk about the key winning goal by the Buffalo Sabers Tage Thompson that helped get the win over the Calgary Flames in overtime at 3:07 for a narrow 1-0 win. Also big hand for the Sabers goaltender Dustin Tokarski who stopped 24 shots for the shutout.

#3 The Ottawa Senators Josh Norris help end the Senators three game losing streak with a go ahead goal in the third period that handed the Senators a 3-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Friday night. The Sens Aaron Forsberg stopped 28 out 29 shots.

#4 The injuries are piling up for the Vegas Golden Knights the latest have center Jack Eichel doubtful for against the Los Angeles Kings for Saturday. Eichel blocked a shot with his hand and could sit out. His teammates goaltender Robin Lehner, two defencemen Brayden McNabb and Alec Martinez and three forwards Mark Stone, Max Pacioretty, and Reilly Smith are all on the injured list. Inspite of that the Knights snapped a five game losing streak with a win over the Florida Panthers 5-3 on Thursday night.

#5 Matt, just to name a few of the players who are trade deadline as of this morning maybe you could update us, the Vancouver Canucks Brock Boeser, New York Islanders Cal Clutterbuck, Andrew Copp Winnipeg Jets, Jake DeBrusk Boston Bruins, and Marc Andre Fleury Chicago Blackhawks. I’ll let you also add more to whose on the trade block for tonight.

Matt does the NHL podcasts each Saturday night at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sharks Fall 5-3 to Avalanche in Hard Fought Game

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Colorado Avalanche right wing Valeri Nichushkin (13) lights the lamp for the game winner in the third period against San Jose Sharks defenseman Brent Burns (88) at SAP Arena in San Jose on Fri Mar 18, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE– The San Jose Sharks lost to the Colorado Avalanche 5-3 on Friday. Cale Makar, Nazem Kadri, Valeri Nichushkin, and Darren Helm scored for the Avalanche. Pavel Francouz made 25 saves for the win. Jeffrey Viel, Rudolfs Balcers and Erik Karlsson scored for the Sharks. Zach Sawchenko made 24 saves in the loss.

After the game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner said:

“It was a fairly even game for the first two periods. We just got to capitalize on our chances. Same thing as last night. We didn’t have any goal support. But defensively, we did some right things until we started opening it up a little bit at the end. Obviously we gave a few breaks but all in all, you know, it was a hard-fought game. I thought the guys battled hard, especially after a back-to-back, against the best team in the League.”

Sharks forward Rudolfs Balcers talked about how the veteran leaders helped the team rally in the third period, despite being down 4-1: “They’re our leaders. They’ve been around for a while, you know. That’s the guys you rely on every night, and, you know, when you see them go out there and battle until the end, you know, I think it just motivates the whole bench.”

One of those leaders, Logan Couture, seemed to score the first goal of the game at 6:07 of the first. Unfortunately, the Avalanche challenged the goal for offside. Upon review, the officials saw that Couture did cross the line a hair before the puck.

The first goal, then, went to the Avalanche on a power play at 10:08. Nazem Kadri tipped Mikko Rantanen’s pass from about eight feet above the blue paint. a second assist went to Cale Makar.

Darren Helm made it 2-0 at 14:14, when he picked up a puck that Erik Karlsson lost control of in the Sharks’ zone. Helm slipped by Karlsson and lifted the puck over Sawchenko. An assist went to Andre Burakovsky, who poked the puck off of Karlsson’s stick.

Jacob Middleton fought Kurtis MacDermid after the first goal. J.T. Compher and Marc-Edouard Vlasic had matching roughing minors in the final seconds of the period.

Those matching minors put the teams four-on-four to start the second period. Cale Makar scored 34 seconds in. He took a shot from above the circle, then gathered up his own rebound just above the goal line to score. Assists went to Nathan MacKinnon and Devon Toews.

Valeri Nichushkin made it 4-0 at 15:29. Initially, he redirected pass from Cale Makar, but Sawchenko stopped that. The goalie left a rebound and Nchushkin was still there to lift the puck in. Assists went to Makar and MacKinnon.

Jeffrey Viel got the Sharks on the board at 19:19, tipping a shot from Marc-Edouard Vlasic. A secondary assist went to Nicolas Meloche.

Rudolfs Balcers scored 13:02 into the third period. He knocked the puck loose with a hit along the boards and then took it to the net for a look-away shot, aided by Vlasic who was there to make it a two-on-one and sell the look. Assists went to Alexander Barabanov and Tomas Hertl.

With 3:21 remaining, the Sharks pulled Sawchenko for an extra skater. Erik Karlsson made it 4-3 with a goal at 18:35. Logan Couture knocked down a high clearing attempt and then passed it to Karlsson. Karlsson seemed to fumble the pass a bit, then gathered it for a wrist shot into the far corner.

Valeri Nichushkin scored into the empty net when he and Nathan MacKinnon went two-on-one against Brent Burns.

The Avalanche out-shot the Sharks 29-28, with the shot count close in each period. On the power play, the Sharks had five opportunities and six shots. They also gave up five short-handed shots. The Sharks had one penalty to kill, and gave up one shot, one goal and had one short-handed shot. In the face-off circle, the Sharks won 54% of the draws.

James Reimer was backing up Sawchenko Friday, and Adin Hill is injured.

The Sharks next play on Sunday against the Arizona Coyotes, in San Jose at 4:00 PM PT.

Sharks Lose 3-0 to Kings; First LA win over San Jose this year

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San Jose Sharks right wing Timo Meier (28) and Los Angeles Kings defenseman Sean Durzi (50) battle for the puck in the first period at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Thu Mar 17, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

LOS ANGELES- The San Jose Sharks were shutout 3-0 by the Los Angeles Kings Thursday. Anze Kopitar, Phillip Danault and Adrian Kempe scored for the Kings. Cal Petersen made 29 saves for the win. James Reimer made 24 saves in the loss.

On Wednesday, Tomas Hertl signed an eight-year contract extension with the Sharks. The contract is worth just over eight million per year, which will make him the second-highest paid player on the team next season.

In a press release from the Sharks, Assistant General Manager Joe Will said:

“By agreeing to this contract, Tomas is cementing his path with the Sharks, following in the footsteps of some incredible players who have worn the Sharks crest. He has shown that he wants to play in San Jose for years to come and it shows his dedication to the organization and community since he joined the team in 2012. We are thrilled to have Tomas for another eight years.”

That is great news for the Sharks, but it did not show in the game Thursday. They took a season high six penalties in the game and lost to Los Angeles for the first time this season. It was also the first time the Sharks have been shutout in Los Angeles since 2011. Tomas Hertl, however, did lead the team in shots with six.

The first period was scoreless with just one penalty called to the Sharks. The Kings out-shot the Sharks 10-6, but the Sharks won 71% of the face-offs.

Anze Kopitar started the scoring at 6:57 of the second period with a power play goal. Just above the circle, he caught a pass from Sean Durzi and put the puck past Reimer on the stick side with a hard wrist shot. It was Kopitar’s first goal in eleven games.

Phillip Danault made it 2-0 at 16:27. Durzi took the intial shot from the blue line and Reimer stopped that up high. The rebound went off to his left and Danault was there to take the shot before Reimer could reset. Assists went to Durzi and Trevor Moore.

To start the Sharks’ sixth penalty kill of the night, five minutes into the third, Tomas Hertl broke away for a short-handed shot. While he was doing that, Danault slashed him and was called for it. The slash actually wrapped around Hertl’s arm and stick, and could have easily been called a penalty shot. The officials did not agree, but did call the slash, neutralizing the Kings power play.

The Kings made it 3-0 with an empty net goal at 17:03 from Adrian Kempe.

Despite all of the penalties, the Sharks out-shot the Kings 29-27. The teams were dead even in the face-off circle. Their power play had three opportunities and six shots. Their penalty kill gave up nine shots and goal.

The Sharks next play on Friday, back in San Jose, against the Colorado Avalanche at 7:30 PM PT.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa: Competitive game Sharks get edged against a good team in the Panthers

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The Florida Panthers Nick Vatrano’s overtime shot finds the back of the net as the San Jose Sharks goaltender James Reimer is caught off guard at the SAP Center in San Jose on Tue Mar 15, 2022 (AP News photo)

On the Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 Mary Lisa please talk a little about Nick Vatrano no doubt the number one star for the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night at SAP Center. Vatrano scored a tying goal in third period and at 1:11 in the overtime stanza scored the game winner for the Panthers 3-2 win.

#2 Vatrano was skillful as well as fast beating goaltender James Reimer to the net to get a top slot goal. It was a tough chance for Reimer to try to defend the puck.

#3 The Sharks had the lead for two periods before Vantrano’s one man come back to extend the Panthers for their seventh win after getting behind after two periods.

#4 Vatrano said that the Panthers have been coming back and winning games all season long and Tuesday night’s overtime is just another example of the success they have had.

#5 The Sharks will play the Los Angeles Kings for the third time in their last four games and the Sharks have beat them all three times this season on Thursday night at the Crypto.com Arena in downtown LA a 7:00 pm PDT puck drop.

Join Mary Lisa for the SJ Sharks podcasts each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sharks Fall 3-2 in OT to Panthers, Reimer Returns

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Florida Panthers center Frank Vatrano (77) jumps into the arms of his teammates at the SAP Center in San Jose after scoring a goal in overtime to win a narrow contest against the San Jose Sharks on Tue Mar 15, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE- The San Jose Sharks fell to the Florida Panthers 3-2 in overtime on Tuesday. Frank Vatrano scored twice, including the game winner, and Jonathan Huberdeau scored once for Florida. Spencer Knight made 24 saves for the win.

Logan Couture and Nicolas Meloche scored for San Jose and James Reimer made 31 saves in the loss. Joe Thornton, in his first return to the Shark Tank, had 10:03 of ice time for Florida.

The Sharks took the lead at 8:19 of the first period, on the power play. Tomas Hertl moved the puck up from below the goal line and Logan Couture redirected it in. Assists went to Hertl and Timo Meier. During the penalty kill, Florida’s Gustav Forsling blocked a shot with his ankle. He stayed down for a bit, made it to his feet, but had to be helped off the ice after the goal. He was out for the rest of the period but came back for the second.

Jonathan Huberdeau tied the game with a short-handed goal at 11:21. He intercepted a pass to nobody in the defensive zone, carried the puck to the other end, two-on-one. He didn’t have a pass so he took the the shot. It was the ninth short-handed goal of the season for Florida.

Nicolas Meloche got the lead back for the Sharks at 13:58. Marc-Edouard Vlasic caught up with a puck on its way out, whipped it back to Hertl, who passed it right on to Meloche. Meloche had some speed as he was moving into the zone and his shot zipped by Knight on the glove side.

Tomas Hertl had a chance to make it 3-1 near the end of the second period but it went off of the near post. That had to sting as he was in pretty close to miss that one.

The Panthers tied it again at 3:29 of the third with a goal from Frank Vatrano. Noel Acciari intercepted a clearing attempt by Logan Couture and centered the puck for Vatrano to rifle past Reimer.

The Panthers put the puck in the net at 8:52 but the Sharks challenged it for goaltender interference. Mason Marchment carried the puck in and took the shot but in the process he knocked both Eetu Luostarinen and Marc-Edouard Vlasic into Reimer. The goal was called back.

For the second time this season, the Panthers beat the Sharks in overtime. Frank Vatrano scored at 1:11 with a slapshot from high in the slot. An assists went to Gustav Forsling and Sam Reinhart.

The Sharks out-shot the Panthers 11-7 in the first and 12-9 in the scoreless second. In the third, the Panthers out-shot the Sharks by wide margin, 16-3. The Panthers spent a lot of time in the penalty box in the first two periods. The Sharks had to kill two penalties in the game, while the Panthers had to kill five, including some five-on-three time. The teams played four-on-four twice in the second period.

In all, the Sharks power play got eleven shots and one goal. The Panthers power play got four shots, but their penalty kill got two shots and a goal. The Sharks prevailed in face-offs, winning 55% of the draws, though they were better in the first two periods, winning 61% and 75%.

The Sharks next play on Thursday in Los Angeles against the Kings at 7:00 PM PT.

Sharks Blank Kings 5-0, Hill Back in Net

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San Jose Sharks defenseman Jacob Middleton (21), goaltender Adin Hill (33), left wing Jeffrey Viel (63) and defenseman Brent Burns (88) celebrate a shutout victory over the Los Angeles Kings at SAP Center in San Jose on Sat Mar 12, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE– The San Jose Sharks shutout the Los Angeles Kings 5-0 Saturday night in San Jose. Five goals again? The Kings must be having nightmares about the Sharks and five-goal games. This time, those five were not all scored by Timo Meier. Meier did score one, as did Matt Nieto and Jonathan Dahlen. Tomas Hertl scored two. Adin Hill made 29 saves for the shutout win, his first start in six weeks. Cal Petersen made 22 saves for the Kings.

After the game, Sharks goaltender Adin Hill said: “It felt pretty good. I mean, the guys did a hell of a job in front of me tonight and kept chances to a minimum and boxed guys out and made my job simple.”

Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner talked about the difference it makes to have “full time” players back in the lineup:

“It’s nice, we’re just rolling our bench, we get contributions from every line, and, you know, can spread ice time out. And we’re staying out of the penalty box, that’s a big difference. Tommy Hertl and [Couture] and those guys aren’t playing those heavy heavy minutes and that makes a big difference for their offense.”

Timo Meier scored at 9:19, on the power play. Brent Burns made a pass from below the goal line, through the traffic in front of the net, to Meier up in the slot. Assists went to Burns and Nick Bonino.

Matt Nieto made it 2-0 at 11:55. Bonino got to the puck behind the net, then made a reverse pass off the back of the net to Nieto by the post. Petersen was caught off guard by the change of direction and Nieto was able to put the puck over his pad for his fifth of the season.

Jonathan Dahlen scored at 19:11. Timo Meier stole the puck along the boards and centered it quickly for Dahlen in the slot.

Each team had a power play in the first period. The Sharks scored with their first shot on the power play. Their penalty kill allowed three shots to the Kings. The shot count for the period was 15-11 Kings.

Hertl scored his first goal of the night on the power play at 8:05 of the second. Timo Meier took a shot from above the circle, it went off the post, then bounced off of Logan Couture and back across the blue paint to the other side of the net. Hertl was there to put it away. Assists went to Couture and Meier.

The Sharks had a goal waved off for goaltender interference at 14:38. The initial shot came from Scott Reedy but it wasn’t clear who last touched the puck as it bounced around in a pile of bodies at the crease.

The Sharks had the only power play in the second period, and again scored on their first shot. The shot count for the period was 12-8.

Hertl scored his second at 15:04 of the third period. Alexander Barabanov played the puck off the skate of Rudolfs Balcers so that it went through the blue paint to where Hertl was on hand to put it over the line. Assists went to Balcers and Barabanov.

In the third period there were three penalties called, two that resulted in four-on-four play and one that came with just three seconds left. The shot count for the period was 6-4 Kings. In the face-off circle, the Sharks dominated the first period with 63% of the wins, but they dropped down to 31% and 33% in the second and third periods for a game total of 45%.

The Sharks will host the Florida Panthers on Tuesday at 7:30 PM PT.

NHL podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Pavelski extends contract with Stars through 22-23 season; Leafs going with Mrazek for Heritage game Sunday; plus more

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Nashville Predators goaltender Juuse Saros, left, deflects a shot in front of Dallas Stars’ Joe Pavelski (16) during Tue Mar 8, 2022 game in Dallas. Pavelski signed a one year extension on Fri Mar 11, 2022 with the Stars. (AP News photo)

On the NHL podcast with Marko:

#1 Marko, you might remember this guy Joe Pavelski of the Dallas Stars he signed on Friday an extension for the 2022-23 season with the Dallas Stars for $5.5. million. Pavelski leads the Stars in scoring and could have become a unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.

#2 Pavelski an ex Shark said that he and his family loved Dallas since day one and are committed to stay and in Dallas and hopefully finish his career there. Will the Stars keep Pavelski as long as they can?

#3 The Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Petr Mrazek will be in net for the Leafs this Sunday at the 2022 Tim Horton Heritage Classic. The Leafs other goalie Jack Campbell is out for at least two weeks with a rib injury and the Leafs used back up goalie Erik Kallgren filled in for Mrazek.

#4 How badly does it hurt the Detroit Red Wings losing forward Robby Fabbri for the rest of the season due to a right knee injury. Wings head coach Jeff Blashill said they are trying to get a second opinion but it’s really looking like Fabbri is out for the season.

#5 The Calgary Flames forward Johnny Gaudreau is in the last and final year of this six year contract and general manager Brad Treliving said the Flames are doing everything they can to sign Gaudreau before the March 21st trade deadline.

Marko filled in for Matt Harrington for the NHL podcast heard each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa: Hertl’s OT goal inspires Sharks as they host Kings tonight at SAP

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San Jose Sharks center Tomas Hertl (48) takes a shot against the Los Angeles Kings center Adrian Kempe (9) during the third period at Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles Thu Mar 10, 2022 (AP News photo)

On the Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 Mary Lisa, talk about how Tomas Hertl’s overtime goal on Thursday night can that influence and inspire this team going forward?

#2 Mary Lisa, talk about the power play the Sharks got goals each from Brent Burns and Nick Bonino and Alexander Barbanov also had a goal and assist. The win snapped the Sharks three game losing streak.

#3 Talk about goaltender Zachary Sawchenko who through his first five games was 0-1-1 but in this one picked up a win and stopped 33 shots.

#4 Former San Jose Sharks head coach Todd McLellan said after the Kings were hit for six minor penalties “Six minors, when’s the last time we took six minors? Four in the offensive zone,”

#5 Sharks and Kings complete this home at home series at the SAP Center in San Jose tonight at 6:30 pm PST. The Sharks would like to get a two game sweep out of this one can they do it?

Mary Lisa filled in for Len Shapiro for the Sharks podcasts heard each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com