Worcester Loses Weekend Finale 4-1 to Nailers
ECHL Worcester Railers HC

Worcester Loses Weekend Finale 4-1 to Nailers

Published on March 29, 2026 under ECHL (ECHL)
Worcester Railers HC News Release


Worcester Railers forward Matt DeMelis (left) vs. the Wheeling Nailers
Worcester Railers forward Matt DeMelis (left) vs. the Wheeling Nailers
(Worcester Railers HC)

WHEELING, WV - The Worcester Railers HC (27-29-5-2, 61 pts) fell for a third time on the weekend against the Wheeling Nailers (42-16-3-3, 90 pts) on Sunday, March 29th, with a final score of 4-1 at WesBanco Arena, in front of a crowd of 2,077. The Railers will return home from their road trip and drop the puck against the Reading Royals at 7:05 p.m. EDT on Thursday, April 2nd, at the DCU Center.

Matt Quercia (2-0-2) kicked off scoring for the evening and clinched the first tally for the Nailers at 6:47 in the first. The Nailers bookended the period with another goal at 18:38 from Brayden Edwards (1-0-1). Quercia lit the lamp for a second time as the sole goal scored in the middle frame (3-0). Michael Suda (1-0-1) broke Wheeling's scoring streak with a shot from the blue line for the Railers' first tally of the night (3-1). An empty net goal from Brent Johnson (1-0-1) in the corner of his own zone capped off scoring for both sides for a 4-1 final in favor of the Nailers.

The Nailers got the ball rolling early in the evening with a goal from Matt Quercia (14th) at 6:47 in the first. Quercia's goal came from a shot that snuck under the right arm of Railers' netminder Thomas Gale and brushed the near post. Brayden Edwards (10th) extended Wheeling's unanswered lead to 2-0 as he straddled the blue for puck possession and kept the puck in play. Edwards navigated the zone amidst attacking defenders and tucked the puck behind Gale on the far side of the net as Gale attempted a kick save. No penalties were called in the period, while Wheeling outshot Worcester 8-5.

Tensions ran high as the second period kicked off. The penalty count ran high with Cole Donhauser and Adam Samuelsson for Worcester alongside Brent Johnson and Ryan Mahshie for Wheeling. Donhauser and Johnson first came to blows just shy of the fifteen-minute mark. Samuelsson and Mahshie continued the physical affair before being ushered to the locker rooms by officials for sparking a second altercation. While Donhauser and Johnson skated towards the tunnels with a five-minute fighting major, Samuelsson and Mahshie added on a ten-minute misconduct alongside their own majors. Wheeling lit the lamp a third time, a second tally contributed by Quercia (15th) at 17:22. Shots on goal favored Worcester with 14-9 alongside four penalty calls, while Wheeling collected three for themselves.

The Railers got on the board as the final period turned to its latter half. Michael Suda (4th) erased Wheeling's unanswered three-goal streak with a drive from the edge of the zone that evaded Wheeling goaltender Taylor Gauthier's outstretched mitt (3-1). Johnson closed out the period with a final empty net goal for Wheeling at 18:34 from deep within his own corner, which cemented the final score on the board at 4-1. Worcester led once more in shots for the period with 19-5 and 38-22 across the evening. Penalties for the third were 3 for the Railers and 5 for the Nailers.

NOTES: Three stars: 3rd Star: Taylor Gauthier (32 saves, 1GA, .970 SV%), 2nd Star: Brayden Edwards (1-0-1, +1, 3 shots), 1st Star: Matt Quercia (2-0-2, +1, 2 shots)... Final shots were 38-22 in favor of Worcester... Maxim Pavlenko (15-9-0-0) made 5 saves on 5 shots for Wheeling, and Taylor Gauthier (18-7-2-3) made 32 saves on 33 shots in relief, while Thomas Gale (2-6-0) made 18 saves on 21 shots for Worcester... Worcester went 0-for-5 on power plays while Wheeling went 0-for-2... Anthony Hora, Riley Ginnell, Ryan Miotto, Max Ruoho, Ross Mitton, Dalton Duhart, Xavier Jean-Louis, Connor Federkow, Gabe Blanchard, and Tristan Lennox did not dress for Worcester...

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Images from this story

Worcester Railers forward Matt DeMelis (left) vs. the Wheeling Nailers
Worcester Railers forward Matt DeMelis (left) vs. the Wheeling Nailers
   



ECHL Stories from March 29, 2026


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