Sharks fall 4-1 to Avalanche in Rookie Showcase

Sep 17, 2016

Westminster, CO – The San Jose Sharks rookies outshot the Colorado Avalanche rookies 36 to 23, but a strong goaltending performance by both Spencer Martin and Chase Marchand proved too much as the Avs topped the Sharks, 4-1, Saturday afternoon at Ice Centre Promenade in Westminster, Colo.

A chippy first period produced several open ice hits and post-whistle skirmishes, but the Avalanche broke through for the only goal of the period. Chris Bigras beat Mantas Armalis over the left shoulder on the power play from the point at 9:34.

The San Jose Sharks went on the man advantage seven times in the game, including three times in both the second and third periods but couldn’t capitalize. Just 35 seconds into the second, A.J. Greer jammed home a loose puck for Colorado to give the Avalanche a 2-0 lead.

Jeremy Roy made things interesting for San Jose in the final frame when he poked a loose puck past Marchand to make it 2-1 at 13:52, but J.T. Compher put the game away when he was able to sneak a forehand move past Armalis at 15:50 of the third. Avalanche defenseman Nikita Zadorov added an empty-netter at 16:48 to seal the victory, 4-1.

Spencer Martin earned the win by stopping all 12 shots he faced in 31 minutes and 16 seconds of work, while Chase Marchand also played well, stopping 23 of 24 shots faced in 28 minutes and 44 seconds.
Mantas Armalis took the loss despite making multiple breakaway denials. Armalis allowed three goals on 23 shots.

Notes: Final shots were 36-23 in favor of San Jose… Spencer Martin (1-0) and Chase Marchand combined to make 23 saves for Colorado… Mantas Armalis (0-1) made 19 saves for San Jose… San Jose went 0-for-7 on the power play while Colorado went 1-for-2… Timo Meier, Rourke Chartier, Adam Helewka, Jonathon Martin, Eric Roy, Michael Brodzinski, Tyler Nother, and Mark Shoemaker were the scratches.

Coming up…
On Monday, the Sharks’ rookies will play the Anaheim Ducks’ rookies at 2:00 p.m.