1998 vs Adirondack 3-1 loss
The Worcester IceCats fired 40 shots on Red Wings netminder Norm Maracle but could only beat him once in a 3-1 loss to Adirondack. The Red Wings would have the only goal of the first 40 minutes, with Barry Potomski scoring on the power play at 7:27 of the opening period. Adirondack would make it a two goal lead 17 seconds into the third on a goal by Shane Hnidy. The ‘Cats would finally break through with a Terry Yake power play goal at 5:27, with Derek Bekar and Reed Low picking up assists. Darryl Laplante would ice the game for the Red Wings with an unassisted empty net goal at 19:54 for the 3-1 final. Brent Johnson had 25 saves in the loss.
2002 at Manitoba 6-4 loss
The Worcester IceCats played well enough in their Saturday night contest against the Moose to keep it close, but eventually fell 6-4. Herbert Vasiljevs made it 1-0 Manitoba at 5:04 on the power play, and Darrel Hay made it a two goal lead at 8:18. John Pohl cut that lead in half at 10:22 with a goal in his pro debut when he wheeled the net and fired a hard backhander into the far corner. Despite being outshot by a huge margin the IceCats tied it on a five on three power play goal by Mark Rycroft at 4:09 of the middle period when he tipped a slap shot from Jame Pollock into the net. Steve Kariya got the lead back for the Moose at 6:49, but Aris Brimanis would tie it again at 7:50 when he one-timed a Marc Brown pass. Jame Pollock was stopped on a partial breakaway but managed to get the puck to Brown. The next three goals belonged to the Moose, with Kariya connecting on a breakaway at 9:23, Randy Ready scoring at 12:52, and Nolan Baumgartner lighting the lamp at at 15:03. Rycroft added his second of the game at 6:22 for the 6-4 final. Curtis Sanford was in goal for the ‘Cats.
2012 at Norfolk 4-2 loss
(WORSHARKS) Rookies Travis Oleksuk and Sebastian Stalberg scored for the Sharks in the second period, but it wasn’t enough as the Sharks fell 4-2 to the defending Calder Cup champion Norfolk Admirals at the Norfolk Scope Arena on in the regular season opener on Friday night. Alex Stalock made 21 saves in goal in the loss and James Sheppard added two assists as Worcester dropped to 4-2-0-1 in seven career season openers (all on the road). The Admirals stormed out to a 2-0 lead in the first period with the majority of the action in the Worcester zone. John Mitchell (1st) converted a 2-on-1 rush into the Sharks zone after a nice feed by Devante Smith-Pelley at 2:07 to give Norfolk a 1-0 lead. After a 15 minute delay due to broken glass midway through the first period, the Admirals went ahead 2-0 after a quick shot from the left circle by Peter Holland (1st) past Alex Stalock at 12:47. The Admirals held a 10-5 shot advantage through 20 minutes of play. Worcester came out buzzing in the second period and tied the score at 2-2 after two quick strikes by rookies Travis Oleksuk and Sebastian Stalberg. The Sharks got on the board at 15:41 after a Matt Irwin blast from the left point was deflected home by Travis Oleksuk (1st) and past Admirals netminder Frederik Anderson to cut the Sharks deficit in half. Minutes later, Stalberg (2nd) sent a laser shot from 50 feet just inside the crossbar at 18:33 assisted by James Sheppard and Alex Stalock to tie the score at 2-2. Worcester outshot Norfolk 11-6 in the middle frame. Matt Pelech (1st FM) and Troy Bodie (1st FM) dropped the mitts and had a long heavy weight battle at 2:36 of the third period for the first scrap of the young season. After Bodie (1st) served his major, he deflected home the eventual game winning goal after a nice effort by Admirals tough guy Jay Rosehill down the right side and eventual centering feed to Bodie at 10:41. Kyle Palmieri (1st) slammed the door shut on Worcester with an empty net goal with seconds to go as the Sharks dropped the season opener 4-2. The Sharks overall record falls to 0-1-0-0 and 0-1-0-0 on the road.
2013 at Springfield 4-3 loss
(WORSHARKS) Eriah Hayes, Brodie Reid, and James Livingston scored for Worcester, but it wasn’t enough as the Sharks (0-1-0-0) fell 4-3 to the Springfield Falcons (2-0-0-0) at the Mass Mutual Center in the regular season opener on Saturday night. Harri Sateri made 15 saves in goal in the loss while Daniil Tarasov and Bracken Kearns each added two assists as Worcester dropped to 4-3-0-1 in eight career season openers (all on the road). Jake Hansen scored twice for the Falcons and Tim Erixon added three assists for Springfield in the win. The Falcons grabbed a 2-0 lead in the opening period with a pair of deflections that found their way past starting netminder Harri Sateri. Lukas Sedlak (1st) scored his 1st professional goal at 3:05 on the game’s first shot with a nice deflection from the left circle after a quick snap shot by Tim Erixon from the left point to give the Falcons a 1-0 lead. Jake Hansen (1st) redirected another Erixon shot past Sateri at 15:07 to put the Sharks down 2-0. Jimmy Bonneau (1st FM) dropped the mitts with Dalton Smith (1st FM) in a good scrap at 17:16 as the Sharks enforcer tried to get his team going. Brodie Reid almost got the Sharks on the board late on the power play but his point blank try was denied by goaltender Jeremy Smith with 3.7 seconds remaining. The Sharks trailed 2-0 after twenty minutes as the Falcons outshot Worcester 9-7. A wild second period saw four total goals and 50 combined penalty minutes between the two clubs. Rookie Eriah Hayes (1st) scored Worcester’s 1st goal of the season banging home a loose rebound after a nice rush and shot down the left wing by Daniil Tarasov. Moments later, a wild scrum broke out that saw Bracken Kearns (1st FM) and Rob Davison (1st FM) engage in two separate scraps with Will Weber (1st FM) and Darryl Boyce (1st FM) at 3:43. Davison and Boyce were given the gate for their secondary fighting majors. The Falcons went ahead 4-1 as Jonathan Marchessault (1st) struck with a 5-on-3 power play at 14:39 followed by a shorthanded rebound score by Jake Hansen (2nd) at 16:16. Worcester trimmed the lead to 4-2 with a Brodie Reid (1st) power play strike from the right circle at 17:41 as the Sharks trailed by two after 40 minutes of play. James Livingston (1st) got the Sharks within a strike at 5:22 of the third period with a nice finish in front of the Springfield net after a nice fore-check by Bracken Kearns and John McCarthy. Worcester outshot the Falcons 9-4 in the third period but could not find the back of the net again as the Falcons held on for the 4-3 win. The Sharks overall record falls to 0-1-0-0 and 0-1-0-0 on the road.
2019 vs Adirondack 5-1 Win
(RAILERS) The Worcester Railers HC (1-0-0-0, 2pts) opened up their third season of ECHL action with a commanding 5-1 victory over the visiting Adirondack Thunder (1-1-0-0,2pts) in front of 8,137 fans at the DCU Center on Saturday evening. The Railers are back in action on Friday, October 18 with a 7pm battle on home ice vs. the Maine Mariners with a Halloween Celebration on a 2-3-4 Friday night. Worcester came out strong with three first period goals and Kyle Thomas recorded a Gordie Howe Hattrick while 19-year-old Jakub Skarek made 24 saves on 25 shots in net in his first professional start in North America for the Railers. Jordan Samuels-Thomas (1-1-2), Barry Almeida, Ryan Hitchcock, and JD Dudek (1-1-2) also scored for Worcester in the victory. Michael McNiven made 26 saves in net for the Thunder and Ryan Walker scored the only goal for Adirondack. Worcester charged out to a 3-0 first period lead as Jordan Samuels-Thomas (1st) slammed home a rebound after an initial shot by Tanner Pond at 4:10. Kyle Thomas (1st) gave Worcester a 2-0 lead with a one timer from the right slot past netminder Michael McNiven assisted buy Bo Brauer and Connor Doherty at 7:57. Barry Almeida (1st) would then strike with a goal on a two man advantage at 11:34 to put the Railers ahead by three. Kyle Thomas (1stFM) would win a one-sided fight at 17:36 with a series of rights vs. Brent Thompson as everything went Worcester’s way in the opening frame. The Railers outshot the Thunder 13-3 through 20 minutes of play. Ryan Hitchcock (1st) jammed home a loose rebound just 19 seconds in the second period with Nic Pierog and Matt Schmalz. The Thunder finally got on the board after a turnover in the Worcester zone as Ryan Walker (1st) deflected home a score from inside the crease to cut the Railers lead to 4-1. Rookie goaltender Jakub Skarek was sharp in the middle frame with 15 saves as Worcester took a three-goal lead into the second intermission with Worcester holding a 22-19 shot advantage. JD Dudek (1st) scored his first professional goal ay 5:22 of the third period and Jakub Skarek shut the door the rest of the way with six more saves as Worcester controlled the rest of the game for a commanding 5-1 victory. Notes: Three Stars: 3rd star: Jordan Samuels-Thomas (1-1-2) 2nd star: Jakub Skarek (24 saves, Win) 1st star: Kyle Thomas (1-1-2, fight) …. final shots were 31-25 in favor of Worcester…Michael McNiven (0-1-0) made 26 saves on 31 shots Adirondack… Jakub Skarek (1-0-0) made 24 saves on 25 shots for Worcester while Evan Buitenhuis served as the backup…. Worcester went 1-for-4 on the power play while Adirondack went 0-for-6…. Anthony Florentino (inj), Henrik Samuelsson (inj), Chris Rygus, and Cody Payne did not dress for Worcester….. Barry Almeida fired a game high five shots on goal…. Tanner Pond, Bo Brauer, Connor Doherty, Nic Pierog (2), Matt Schmalz, Jordan Samuels-Thomas, and JD Dudek all added assists for Worcester….defenseman Justin Murray made his professional debut for the Railers and finished +2……Barry Almeida wore the C while Mike Cornell and Connor Doherty wore A’s for the Railers….Worcester dressed four rookies and four veterans…Kyle Thomas finished +3….10 different Railers recorded a point…..Terry Virtue, Shaun Heaphy, Bill Ballou, and George Brown dropped the ceremonial first pucks of the game in honor of the 25 year anniversary of the first pro hockey game played in Worcester…..the Railers will paly the Thunder six times in the first 10 games this season….Worcester is now 16-6-2-0 all-time vs. the Thunder.
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