SAN JOSE, Calif. — Dimitri Patzold won the San Jose Sharks’ backup goaliejob Sunday when the club sent Thomas Greiss to the minors.

Greiss had better statistics than Patzold during the exhibition season,which the Sharks finished 5-0-2 with a 2-1 win over Calgary on Saturday night.The 21-year-old Greiss went 2-0 with a 1.45 goals-against average, while the24-year-old Patzold had a 2.88 GAA and a meager .813 save percentage.

But the Sharks want their younger goalie to play regularly, so Greiss willstart for the club’s AHL affiliate in Worcester, while Patzold sits behindEvgeni Nabokov, who allowed just four goals in his three preseason games.

The Sharks had a vacancy behind Nabokov, their starter since 2000, aftertrading Vesa Toskala to Toronto during the summer.

San Jose also assigned right wing Graham Mink and left wing Lukas Kaspar toWorcester, trimming their roster to 26 players. The Sharks plan to cut down to23 before Thursday’s season opener at Edmonton.

Young forwards Devin Setoguchi and Torrey Mitchell are in the running fortheir first NHL roster spots after strong training camp efforts, but coach RonWilson wouldn’t say Saturday night when the club will make its final cuts.

Setoguchi, a former first-round pick who stayed in juniors last season, ledthe Sharks with five preseason goals. Mitchell, who had two preseason goals butwas injured Tuesday night in Calgary, spent last season in college with Vermontbefore joining Worcester late in the spring.

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