Another slip for Sharks.

Byline: Bill Ballou

WORCESTER - Hockey is supposed to be painful to play, not to watch, but that's what it's like for Worcester Sharks fans these days.

The Sharks were beaten by the Portland Pirates last night, 5-3, their sixth straight loss overall and fifth straight at the DCU Center. The six consecutive defeats is a franchise record and two shy of the city pro hockey record of eight, set by the Worcester IceCats in 1994-95.

The record for most consecutive losses on home ice is six, set by the 1996-97 IceCats, who won the division title that year. No Sharks team had lost more than three straight at the DCU Center before this.

What was especially painful about last night's loss was how it happened, and against whom. The Sharks came out on fire, jumped ahead, 2-0, and had a 3-1 lead early in the second period. When Ryan Vesce scored at 5:18 of the first period, it marked the first time Worcester had scored first in seven games and the first time it had led in more than 370 minutes.

The win was just the second for Portland in 11 road games. On Sunday, the Sharks lost at home to a Providence team that had won just once previously on the road.

While Frazer McLaren is up with San Jose, Jamie McGinn and Logan Couture returned from the NHL, and Mike Moore was back from a hamstring injury, so the Sharks had no lineup excuses for this one.

Dan DaSilva and Benn Ferriero scored the other Worcester goals, Ferriero getting his first in the AHL. Mark Mancari had two for Portland, Tyler Ennis was 1-2-3, Jeff Cowan and Derek Whitmore had a goal each, and Nathan Gerbe added two assists.

The Sharks led, 3-2, heading into the third period, but the Pirates outshot them, 14-3, and Worcester didn't have its first shot on goal until the period was more than half over.

"We played two pretty good periods," Sharks coach Roy Sommer said, "then Portland just stormed us. They were the more desperate team. We were playing not to lose."

It was 2-0 going into the second when the Pirates scored a gimme goal on the power play at 45 seconds. Goalie Alex Stalock played the puck behind the net, but fanned on it, and the puck rolled over the trapezoid line. If he had touched it then, it would have been a delay-of-game penalty. Gerbe got the puck and fed it to Ennis for an open-netter.

Ferriero tapped in a backhand pass from Couture at 1:41, and Worcester seemed back in control, but that feeling gradually slipped away.

The Pirates' tying goal was an example of how things are going for the Sharks right now. Kyle Wanvig was in front of the door to the Portland bench, waiting to get off the ice, when the Sharks passed the puck out of their own zone, right to him.

He stayed on the ice and set in motion the goal that tied the game. The Pirates were not to be denied after that.