MLN Newswire - www.mlntherawfeed.com- WORCESTER — Despite sending a barrage of shots on net, Houston goaltender Nolan Schaefer was the difference maker as the Aeros topped the Sharks, 2-1, on Wednesday evening at the DCU Center.

For the first 59 minutes, it looked like it would be the first game in franchise history to end as a 1-0 final, but Houston's Danny Irmen scored an empty-netter at 19:09 to make it 2-0. Mike Moore then came right back with his third of the season only seven seconds later to make it 2-1, but it wasn't enough as Schaefer held serve the final 44 seconds.

Sharks netminder Taylor Dakers was also strong, finishing with 19 saves on 20 shots as a tough-luck loser.

The Aeroes turned an early 5-on-3 into a 1-0 lead at 7:37 of the first period. Four seconds after Moore was whistled for tripping, Brendan Buckley took a double-minor for high sticking. It only took 18 seconds of the two-man advantage for Tomas Mojzis to beat Dakers for his sixth goal of the year, assisted by Jesse Schultz and Corey Locke. It marked the second-straight game that the Sharks have allowed a 5-on-3 goal.

Worcester dodged a bullet later in the period as a Schultz shot beat Dakers glove side, but hit off the post. Ryan Hamilton also missed an empty net to keep the game at 1-0.
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The Sharks came out firing in the second period, but could not beat Schaefer on any of their 22 shots. One of the many close calls came when Ryan Vesce made a deflection past the Houston netminder, but the puck hit iron. Not long after, Andrew Desjardins took a feed from Claude Lemieux in the left wing circle. After skating in between the faceoff circles, his backhand shot hit the crossbar and stayed out.

A scrum involving Derek Joslin and Schaefer broke out at 18:05 of the second, with Schaefer earning an extra minor. On the ensuing 5-on-3, Schaefer came up big with a right pad stop on Vesce, who took a feed from Lukas Kaspar and was stoned on the doorstep with less than a minute remaining in the period.

Late in the third period, the Sharks had yet another shot deflect off a crossbar followed by a golden chance from Lemieux, but Schaefer continued to be the story of the night.

NOTES: Three Stars: (3) Mojzis (goal) (2) Dakers (19 saves, 1 GA) (1) Schaefer (40 saves, 1 GA) ...Attendance for the contest was 2,894...Dakers saved 19 of 20 shots for the Sharks, while Schaefer stopped 40 of 41 for Houston ...Worcester went 0/4 on the power play; Houston went 1/7 ... Final shots were 41-21Worcester ... The Sharks fall to 2-7 when outshooting their opponent by 20 or more ... Claude Lemieux was back in the lineup after a one-game absence. He missed Monday's game after having to clear waivers at the NHL level ... Houston's goaltender Nolan Schaefer, who suited up for the Sharks in the franchise's inaugural season (2006-07), saw his first-ever action against Worcester. He was on Houston last season when the Sharks faced the Aeroes twice, but served as the backup both times ... The loss for Dakers was his first home defeat of the season.

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