1994 at Providence 5-2 loss
The Worcester IceCats dug a huge hole that was too deep to climb out of in a 5-2 loss to the P-Bruins. The Baby-Bs gained a 5-0 lead by scoring four goals in the first 10:17 of the second period, with the last two coming just 12 seconds apart. John Carter and Jim Nesich scored in the third period for the ‘Cats, with Carter deflecting a shot past Providence goalie Scott Bailey at 6:42 of the final period and Nesich beating Bailey to his stick side at 9:50 for the 5-2 final. Wayne Cowley took the loss for Worcester.
1995 at Hershey 5-2 loss
The Worcester IceCats and Hershey Bears were whistled for 21 minor penalties by referee Dean Warren that resulted in 15 combined power play chances, and it was the Bears that thrived in the stop-and-go hockey in a 5-2 win over the ‘Cats. Patrice Tardif gave Worcester the lead at 14:23, assisted by Craig Darby and Jamie Rivers. Hershey tied the game at 17:52 on a power play goal by Shawn McCosh, and took the lead 17 seconds into the middle stanza on a goal by Jim Montgomery. Rivers tied it for the IceCats on the power play at 7:59, with Tardif and David Roberts assisting. But Hershey would get the next three when Phil Crowe scored at 16:51, Scott Morrow on the power play at 1:10 of the third, and Jason Bowen at 6:30. Eric Fichaud had 31 saves in the loss.
1996 vs Philadelphia 3-2 win OT
The Worcester IceCats fell behind by two goals but scored the next three to win a fight filled game in overtime 3-2. This game is one of the most talked about games in IceCats history, not because of the score but because there was two fights that took place in the home penalty box. After Terry Virtue was called for a crosschecking penalty for leveling Shawn McCosh in the open ice at 10:27 of the middle period Virtue was escorted to the penalty box while several scrums were going on. Eventually McCosh went after Virtue in the penalty box, where they were joined by Mike Maneluk and John Stevens in doing battle in the sin bin. Penalty box attendant Gary Ostiguy escaped the brawl by climbing the plexiglass and heading to the PA booth. Eventually Maneluk, Virtue, Justin Hocking, and Patrick Traverse were all give game misconducts. Referee Blaine Angus also ejected Philly’s McCosh, Stevens, Bruce Coles, Jeff Staples, and Clayton Norris. For the goals, Philly opened a 2-0 lead on a first period goal by Vinny Prospal (16:35, sh) and a second period strike by Steven King (2:31, pp). Scott Pellerin made it 2-1 at 17:55 on the power play, assisted by Rob Pearson and Radim Bicanek. David Williams tied the game with a third period extra attacker goal at 19:44, assisted by Gary Leeman and Pearson. In overtime Leeman won it at :18 when he and Pearson broke in two on one. Travis Scott ended the game with 33 saves.
2000 vs Portland 4-2 loss
(TICKER) Mike Peluso scored a pair of goals as the Portland Pirates defeated the Worcester Ice Cats, 4-2. Peluso scored at 2:17 in the second period and added a empty-net late in the third stanza. Mark Murphy and Alexei Tezikov also scored for Portland and Corey Hirsch made 43 saves to pick up the win. Tyler Rennette and Jame Pollock tallied for Worcester and Dwayne Roloson made 23 saves but suffered the loss.
2001 vs Portland 4-1 loss
The Worcester IceCats gave up three goals in the middle period and never recovered in a 4-1 loss to the Pirates. After a scoreless opening period Chris Corrinet (5:27), Matt Pettinger (10:51,PP), and Trent Whitfield (16:46,PP) made it 3-0 after two. Ed Campbell got the ‘Cats on the board at 11:10 of the third, with assists going to Mike Van Ryn and Jeff Panzer. Mel Angelstad ended any thought of a comeback with an empty net power play goal at 19:11 for the 4-1 final. Reinhard Divis had 21 saves in the loss.
2006 vs Portland 5-4 SOL
The Worcester Sharks got a late third period goal from Doug Murray to send their franchise home opener to overtime, but stumbled in the shootout and fell 5-4 to the Pirates. Curtis Glencross gave Portland the lead at 13:46 of the first period. Mathieu Darche scored at 1:27 of the second period, assisted by Michal Macho and Joe Pavelski, to tie it. Mike Iggulden then gave the WorSharks the lead at 7:01, scoring on a two on one break with Lukas Kaspar. Tomas Plihal had the secondary assist. Shawn Thornton tied it 2-2 at 9:57. Iggulden gave Worcester a 3-2 lead at 3:52 of the third, with Tom Cavanagh and Mathieu Biron providing the helpers but Portland would grab the lead on goals by Brett Skinner (11:01) and Bjorn Melin (13:46), setting up Murray’s extra attacker power play goal at 19:13 to tie it 4-4. The WorSharks didn’t score in four shootout attempts and dropped the contest 5-4. Dimitri Patzold took the loss making 26 saves.
2017 vs Manchester 4-3 win
(RAILERS) Rookie Frankie DiChiara broke a 3-3 tie at 12:12 of the third period to lift the Worcester Railers HC (1-0-0-0, 2pts) over the Manchester Monarchs (0-1-0-0, 0pts) by the score of 4-3 in front 12,135 fans at the DCU Center on Saturday evening. Wade Murphy scored the first goal in franchise history for the Railers while captain Ashton Rome, Patrick McNally, and Frankie DiChiara also found the back of the net while Eamon McAdam made 33 saves in net for the win. Yanick Turcotte picked up 14 penalty minutes which included a pair of fighting majors as the Railers added two power play goals. The crowd of 12,135 was the largest ever to open up a season of pro hockey in 21 years. Wade Murphy (1st) scored the first goal in franchise history on a breakaway score at 10:13 of the first period to give the Railers a 1-0 lead. Worcester led 1-0 after 20 minutes and led 11-9 in shots on goal. Captain Ashton Rome (1st) made it 2-0 at 5:43 of the second period with a ripper from 30 feet past goaltender Evan Cowley. But the Monarchs scored three straight in under six minutes with a flurry of goals to give Manchester a 3-2 lead midway through the frame. Defenseman Patrick McNally (1st) scored a highlight reel goal with an end to end rush on the power play at 16:06 to tie the score at 3-3. Goaltender Eamon McAdam made 17 saves in the second period for the Railers to keep the score evened up. Frankie DiChiara (1st) scored the only goal of the third period after he fired a loose puck from the right slot at 12:12 after Patrick McNally kept the puck in at the blue line on the power play. Worcester outshot Manchester 14-8 in the final frame and held on for an exciting 4-3 victory.
2018 at Reading 6-4 loss
(RAILERS) The Worcester Railers HC (1-1-0-0, 2pts) battled back from a 6-1 deficit but eventually dropped a 6-4 decision to the host Reading Royals (1-0-1-0, 3pts) in front of 2,268 fans at the Santander Arena on Sunday evening. Barry Almeida (2nd), David Quenneville (1st), Dylan Willick (1st), and Josh Holmstrom (2nd) all scored for the Railers but the Royals scored four power play goals to lead the way for a weekend split. The game was a feisty affair that saw 18 penalties whistled which included three sets of fighting major penalties. After a nice entry into the offensive zone by Tyler Barnes, Barry Almeida (2nd) scored in his second straight game after he tipped in a nice pass from David Quenneville past goaltender Branden Komm at 6:38 to put Worcester ahead 1-0. Shane Walsh (1st) finished off a 2-on-1 rush at 9:26 with a quick shot through the pads of Mitch Gillam to tie the score at 1-1. Jeff Kubiak (1st FM) dropped the mitts with Dan Milan (1st FM) in a long scrap at 9:52 as the physical play picked up midway through the opening frame. Josh MacDonald (1st) put the Royals ahead 2-1 after a quick cross the top of the crease pass by Chris McCarthy at 14:33 on the power play. Shots were 11-9 in favor of Worcester, but the Royals took a 2-1 lead into the first intermission. A wild second period saw six total goals, two fights, 34 penalty minutes, and four power play goals as the Railers were down 6-2 through 40 minutes of play. Steven Swaveley (1st), Tyler Brown (1st), Shane Walsh (2nd), and Jack Riley (1st) all scored for the Royals to make it 6-1 before the 13 minute mark of the middle frame before David Quenneville (1st) scored his first professional goal with a wicked one timer shot from the left-wing circle on a 5-on-3 power play at 16:21 to cut the Royals lead to five goals. Connor Doherty (1st FM) dropped the mitts with Frankie DiChiara (1st FM) at 2:02 in a wicked fight that saw Doherty go to the locker room for repairs and Yanick Turcotte (1st FM) dropped Charlie Vasaturo (1st) in a quick one-sided fight at 11:02. Evan Buitenhuis replaced Mitch Gillam in net after the Royals went ahead 6-1 and the shots were 21-19 in favor of Reading through 40 minutes of play. Dylan Willick (1st) struck at 8:40 of the third period after he slid in a loose rebound after a Connor Doherty shot to cut the Royals lead to 6-3. Tyler Barnes was stopped on a penalty shot by Branden Komm just 28 seconds later, but Josh Holmstrom (2nd) fired home a loose puck from 45 feet at 10:14 to cut the deficit to 6-4. But that was as close as the Railers would get and Evan Buitenhuis was perfect in relief as he made nine saves as the Railers fell 6-4 on the road.
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