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		Sharks end skid with 4-1 victory By Pearl Allison Lo March 23, 2010

	The San Jose Sharks snapped a 6-game losing streak with a victory over the Minnesota Wild, 4-1 Tuesday. Rob Blake had 3 assists and Ryane Clowe had 2. The Sharks are now one point ahead in the division over the Phoenix Coyotes, who's 9-game torrid run was cut short by San Jose's other foe, the Chicago Blackhawks. San Jose's Joe Pavelski started off with a goal at 5:12 of the first period. He was aided by Marleau and Manny Malhotra. This was followed by a goal from teammate Dany Heatley at 8:35 of the second period, who was helped by Blake and Marc Edouard-Vlasic. Minnesota then scored their goal on the power play at 12:44. Guillaume Latendresse was assisted by Andrew Ebbett and Brent Burns. Latendresse leads the Wild with 27 goals. The Sharks' Torrey Mitchell made it 3-1, when he scored his second goal of the season 17 seconds into the third period. He was aided by Clowe and Blake. Teammate Joe Thornton added the final goal on an empty netter at 19:18, with Clowe and Blake providing the assists again. It was a low shot on goal total for both teams, as San Jose had 17 and the Wild had 19. Minnesota's goalie Niklas Backstrom returned from a 7-day injury hiatus. The Sharks were 0 for 5 on the power play, while Minnesota was 1 for 4. Game notes: It was Vlasic's first point since January 28, after returning from injury on Sunday. Teammate Jed Ortmeyer also returned from injury Tuesday and played for 4:46. San Jose signed 2005 draft pick Tony Lucia and University of Massachusetts-Lowell graduate defenseman Nick Shaus. 98.5 KFOX, which airs the Sharks' games on the radio, will continue to do so for at least a couple more years, as a multi-year extension was signed. Sharks practice for today is still unknown. This weekend, Joshua Caballero, Emmanuel Bryant and Etinosa Obasaki from the Oakland Bears who play at Oakland Ice Center operated by Sharks Ice, will participate in the Willie O'Ree Skills Weekend in Buffalo, New York. Youth will participate in clinics, drills, get insider insight on NHL operation, play a hockey game and attend an NHL game. San Jose looks for revenge Thursday at 7:30pm when the two teams face each other again.