Sharks send G Patzold on conditioning assignment

Nov 19, 2007 - 11:16 PM SAN JOSE, California (Ticker) -- Dimitri Patzold finally will get a chance to shake off the rust.

Patzold, who had made just a pair of relief appearances for the San Jose Sharks this season, on Monday was assigned to Worcester of the American Hockey League for conditioning purposes.

A fourth-round pick in 2001, Patzold has 24 minutes of NHL action on his resume, making his debut in relief of starting goaltender Evgeni Nabokov against Colorado on October 7 and also replacing the former Calder Trophy winner on October 26 vs. Detroit.

The 24-year-old native of Kazakhstan allowed one goal on 11 total shots in the two appearances.

To replace Patzold, the Sharks recalled netminder Thomas Greiss from Worcester.

Selected in the third round of the 2004 draft, the 21-year-old Greiss has posted a 6-4-0 record with a 3.15 goals-against average in 10 games with Worcester this season. The 6-1, 200-pound German, who represented his country at the 2006 Winter Olympics, went 2-0-0 with the Sharks during the preseason.