SJ Sharks vs. Colorado Avalanche - 12/30/05

I brought Dan to this game for his birthday. Yeah, it's been almost 3 months since his birthday, but he's an Avalanche fan and this was the first time they played this season in San Jose.

The Sharks have been struggling after winning their first 6 games with Joe Thornton in the lineup, so I was leary as to which team would show up for this game. It didn't start well as Jim Fahey was called for hooking 2 minutes into the game and Joe Sakic scored on the ensuing power play to put the Avs up 1-0. Although the Sharks had some good chances, the score stayed the same for most of the first period. With 1 minute left, the Avs were called for a penalty and Joe Thornton converted on the power play with 6 seconds left to tie the game.

The Sharks kept the pressure on to start the second period as Joe Thornton scored again 3 minutes in to put the Sharks up 2-1. Alex Tanguay answered back a few minutes later for the Avs to tie the game at 2. However, the Sharks dominated the period by outshooting the Avs 12-5 and Scott Thornton got into the action by scoring an unassisted goal with 6 minutes remaining in the second to put the Sharks up 3-2.

The third period was more of the same as the Avs looked very sluggish and the Sharks took advantage of the opportunity. Patrick Marleau scored a power play goal 2 minutes into the period and Jonathan Cheechoo scored a few minutes later to put the Sharks up 5-2. The Avs best shot was to the face of Joe Thornton who lost 3 teeth, but didn't miss a shift (there was no penalty called despite Joe's protest with blood running down his mouth). It didn't matter as the Sharks cruised through the third period, outshooting the Avs 14-5 and winning the game 5-2. Let's hope these Sharks show up more often.

Of note: Nils Ekman had 4 assists, tying a Sharks record. Joe Thornton tied the Sharks record for points in a month with 21 (5 goals, 16 assists).

Score: W 5-2
1st Period
Avs - Joe Sakic(PP) (Brett Clark, Milan Hejduk)
SJ - Joe Thornton(PP) (Nils Ekman, Christian Ehrhoff)
2nd Period
SJ - Joe Thornton (Nils Ekman, Kyle McLaren)
Avs - Alex Tanguay (Ian Laperriere, Brett McLean)
SJ - Scott Thornton (unassisted)
3rd Period
SJ - Patrick Marleau(PP) (Nils Ekman, Jonathan Cheechoo)
SJ - Jonathan Cheechoo (Nils Ekman, Joe Thornton)

SJ SOG: 43
Avs SOG: 22
Winning Goalie: Vesa Toskala
Losing Goalie: David Aebischer

Tickets: Section 220 Row 4