Behind a relentless brand of physical play, sparked by a two goal effort for Brandon Mashinter and a pair of multi point games from blue chip prospects Nick Petrecki and Benn Ferriero, the Sharks cruised to a 4-1 victory against Pacific Division rival Anaheim in the opening night of the 2010 YoungStars Tournament in Penticton.

Full recap here.

Quick thoughts:

- Hooray for Brandon Mashinter!

- Screw you, Ducks!

-This Petrecki kid seems pretty good. If our defense is supposed to be lousy this season, why don't we let him play some games?

-Benn with two 'N's still seems wrong to me.

-A guy named "Curt Gogol" got in a fight  for the Sharks. I really really hope he gets to play in the NHL some day, because I love that name.

-It's so hard to know how to feel about these rookie games. Do they really matter? Are they a good indication of how good the real team will be in the future? Has anybody ever done any research into a possible connection between teams winning rookie exhibition games and how good those teams are for the next 2-3 years? Probably not.

- The Sharks goalie was J.P. Anderson, who apparently kicked ass in the Ontario Hockey League this past season. Damn we have a lot of young goalies with potential. I hope we get to see some of them in the NHL some day.

- The next game happens tonight, and you can watch it:

BACK TO WORK
The Sharks return to the ice for their second game in 24 hours, facing the host Vancouver Canucks at 7:30 p.m. on Monday. The game's webcast can be seen live, streamed online at www.sjsharks.com.