ECHL Worcester Railers HC

Worcester Railers Weekly Update - Week 24

Published on April 3, 2023 under ECHL (ECHL)
Worcester Railers HC News Release


WORCESTER, Mass. - The Worcester Railers Hockey Club (@RailersHC), proud ECHL (@ECHL) affiliate of the New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) recorded a mark of 1-1-1-0 for the twenty-fourth week of the season. Worcester faced off against the Trois-Rivières Lions once and the Adirondack Thunder twice. The Railers lost at home on Wednesday to the Lions 5-4 in overtime, won 5-4 in OT against Adirondack on Friday, then lost 3-1 to the Thunder on Saturday.

LAST WEEK'S GAMES

Wednesday, March 29 vs. Trois-Rivières Lions | 5-4 OTL

HighlightsFull RecapBox Score

Wednesday night the Railers survived a flat first period in which they trailed by just 2-1. They scored twice in the second period and were up by 3-2 with a little more than five minutes to go in the third period then surrendered two goals in less than two minutes to fall behind. Butler rescued the point, then the Railers had a two-minute power play early in OT but could not convert. Ryan Francis got the winner for the Lions at 4:49 with a wrist shot from the right wing that broke through Tikkanen and went in. The Railers got goals from rookie defenseman Artem Kulakov, Steve Jandric, Anthony Repaci and Butler. Jandric also had an assist. Nicolas Guay scored twice for Trois-Rivieres. Matthew Barron, Anthony Beauregard and Francis had the others. The Lions victory was backstopped by goaltender Etienne Montpetit making his first professional appearance.

Friday, March 31 vs. Adirondack Thunder | 5-4 OTW

HighlightsFull RecapBox Score

After Jacob Hayhurst gave Worcester an early lead in the first period the Thunder got three goals in about 2 1/2 minutes to go ahead by 3-1. The comeback started quickly as Repaci scored at 15:07 and 16:22. The Thunder retook the lead as Shane Harper scored from the left dot, leaving the score 4-3 after one. It was also 4-3 after two as the Thunder used Mike Robinson in net with Purpura out. Worcester finally tied it on a messy goal at 10:17 of the third period, although it looked beautiful on the scoreboard. Reece Newkirk forced the puck over the goal line from the crease, where he had been pushed in by a pair of Thunder defensemen. The Railers went on the power play late in the third period and could not score in 1:19 with the man advantage. That carried over into OT and Repaci finished off the comeback.

Saturday, April 1 vs. Adirondack Thunder | 3-1 L

HighlightsFull RecapBox Score

Worcester's shots on goal margin included a 22-3 margin in the second period when there were times it seemed as though the Railers were playing with a two-man advantage. The outcome might have been different if Worcester had played a better first period. The Thunder scored twice to take 2-0 lead as Sebastian Vidmar registered a power play goal at 5:04, then Matt Jennings converted a breakaway at 18:55, beating Henrik Tikkanen with a backhander. The Railers only goal came in that second period. It was also on a power play as Nolan Vesey snapped a 14-game goal drought at 12:44 by firing a 20-footer past Thunder goaltender Isaac Poulter, who was great. The final Adirondack goal was an empty netter by Travis Broughman with 10 seconds left in the third period.

THIS WEEK'S GAMES

Wednesday, April 5 vs. Maine Mariners | 7:05 p.m. EST

Saturday, April 8 vs. Adirondack Thunder | 7:05 p.m. EST

INDIVIDUAL NOTES:

Anthony Repaci leads the team in goals at 24.

Repaci scored his third career hat trick and his second of the season in Friday's 5-4 overtime win over the Lions.

Steve Jandric had a goal and an assist for Worcester, his first points back with the team since his last game before signing a PTO with the Springfield Thunderbirds on November 16th against Reading.

Nolan Vesey recorded a point in all three games this week for Worcester.

Rookie Anthony Callin scored three points on the weekend for the Railers (0-3-3).

TEAM NOTES:

Worcester is now 33-31-4-0 on the season.

The Railers currently hold the final playoff spot in the North Division at 33-31-4-0 (70 pts).

Worcester outshot their opponents in all three games this week by a total of 116-87.

The Railers won just their second game all year long when trailing after two periods on Friday night in overtime against the Thunder (2-28-1).

Worcester plays its two remaining home games this week.

The Railers scored a power play goal in all three games this week, going 4/12 across the contests.

Check out the Worcester Railers HC Statistics

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