P.J. Fenton signed with the Worcester Sharks of the American Hockey League yesterday. The Sharks, the San Jose Sharks’ AHL affiliate, announced the signing last night.

Fenton, a native of Springfield, was drafted by San Jose in the fifth round of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft after scoring nine goals and assisting on eight others as a freshman in 2004-05.

This season, he tied his career high with nine goals and set a new mark in assists with 19. After assisting on a goal against New Hampshire in the Hockey East playoffs, he moved into ninth place on UMass’s all-time scoring list with 95 points. He served as an assistant captain for UMass in each of the last two seasons.

Fenton will be playing with Merrimack’s Matt Jones who also recently signed with San Jose after a strong sophomore season with the Warriors.

Worcester is not enjoying a very strong 2007-08 season. The Sharks have seven games remaining in their season at 27-34-5-6.

Fenton’s father, Paul, played eight seasons in the NHL with the Winnipeg Jets and the Los Angeles Kings.

Other Hockey East signings

Maine freshman Andrew Sweetland forwent his final three seasons of eligibility and signed with the Florida Panthers. The Black Bears also lost goaltender Ben Bishop, a junior, who signed with the Saint Louis Blues. Maine’s Travis Ramsey (Manitoba) and Rob Bellamy (Philadelphia) also signed with AHL teams.

Boston University seniors Brian Ewing (Springfield), Pete MacArthur (Bridgeport), Ryan Weston (Albany) and Brian McGuirk (Syracuse) all signed with AHL franchises.

Providence defenseman Trevor Ludwig signed with the Iowa Stars, the AHL affiliate of the Dallas Stars. Dallas drafted Ludwig in the sixth round of the 2004 draft. Friar junior Cody Wild left school a year early and signed with the Springfield Falcons; he was drafted by the Edmonton Oilers in the fifth round of the 2006 NHL draft.