2001 vs Hershey 4-1 win
The Worcester IceCats got two first period goals just seven seconds apart from Justin Papineau and never looked back in a 4-1 win over the Bears. Papineau’s first goal came with a five on three ‘Cats advantage at 2:02, with Jame Pollock and Christian Laflamme assisting. At 2:09 Papineau struck again, this time five on four and helped by Darren Rumble. In the second period Marc Brown made it 3-0 at 17:27, with Laflamme and Papineau assisting. Eric Boguniecki made it a four goal lead at 19:06 on a power play goal assisted by Jamie Thompson. Matt Herr spoiled Reinhard Divis’ shutout at 19:33 of the third period with a five on three power play goal. Divis finished with 23 saves.
2002 vs Portland 3-2 win
(ICECATS) The Worcester IceCats picked up a 3-2 win Saturday night over the Portland Pirates. It was the IceCats first win of the season in four tries, with last night being the home opener in Worcester. The two clubs exchanged goals in the first period, with Portland leading the way at 4:34. It was Worcester’s Mark Rycroft that responded to Trent Whitfield’s marker. Rycroft’s third of the season came in the low slot with Sergei Varlamov providing the feed from the corner at 6:30. Colin Forbes gave the Pirates the lead back at 10:41 with his team leading fourth goal. Aris Brimanis, however, found the back of the net for Worcester at 18:15. His slapper from long range negotiated its way through traffic to knot the game at two. It stayed that way until late in the third. With a pair of Pirates off the ice for unrelated infractions, the IceCats bagged the game-winner with only 3:49 remaining on the Centrum Centre scoreboard. John Pohl, who had assisted on the two previous Worcester goals, scored the third of his young professional career. Wheeling from the left wing circle, Pohl snapped a shot that was blocked. He found the deflection and made good for the third time in as many games. Worcester netminder Phil Osaer was solid in net, making 24 saves. Portland tested his abilities with several goalmouth scrambles in the closing minute. Osaer’s victory was his first in the AHL.
2012 at Portland 7-4 loss
(WORSHARKS) Four different players scored for the Sharks, but it wasn’t enough as the Sharks fell 7-4 to the divisional rival Portland Pirates at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee on Friday night. Alex Stalock made 22 saves in goal and Sebastian Stalberg scored his team leading 3rd goal of the season for Worcester. Rookie Freddie Hamilton picked up his first two professional points with a pair of assists in the loss. Each team scored three times in a wild first period that saw three power play goals and a shorthanded marker. The Pirates went ahead 2-0 with a pair of quick strikes with Brett Hextall (1st) grabbing a shorthanded goal at 1:52 and Chris Connor with a breakaway goal past Alex Stalock at 4:19. The Sharks came barreling back with three goals in a 3:06 span beginning at 11:39 with a power play score by Sebastian Stalberg (3rd). Sena Acolatse (1st) tied the score at 2-2 with a terrific rush down the left wing and a backhand try past rookie netminder Mark Visentin at 14:01 with another power play score. Yanni Gourde (2nd) deflected a centering pass by Freddie Hamilton into the net at 14:45 to give Worcester a brief 3-2 advantage. Just 24 seconds later, Oliver Ekman-Larsson (2nd) tied the score at 3-3 after he found a loose rebound in front of the Worcester net and zapped it past Stalock. The Pirates outshot Worcester 12-9 after 20 minutes of play with the score tied at 3-3. The Pirates scored three more goals in the middle frame with Chris Connor (2nd) and Oliver Ekman-Larsson (3rd) each scoring their 2nd goals of the game and captain Alex Bolduc (1st) scoring his first goal of the young season at 9:20. Tim Kennedy (1st) grabbed the only Worcester lamp lighter at 13:42 with a roofer past Visentin assisted by Freddie Hamilton and John McCarthy. The Sharks trailed 6-4 after 40 minutes of play with the Pirates holding a 22-21 shot advantage headed into the third period of play. Andy Miele (2nd) added the only score in the third period at 16:56 as he deflected home a centering feed past Alex Stalock to give the Pirates a 7-4 victory. The Sharks overall record falls to 0-2-0-1 (1pt in 3gp) and 0-2-0-1 (1pt in 3gp) on the road.
2013 vs W-B/Scranton 3-2 loss
(WORSHARKS) Freddie Hamilton and John McCarthy both scored for Worcester, but the Sharks (0-2-0-0, 0pts) couldn’t hold off the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (5-0-0-0, 10pts) explosive third period offense, falling 3-2 at the DCU Center in front of 5,476 in the home opener on Saturday night. Harri Sateri made 20 saves in goal in the loss while Sena Acolatse, Brodie Reid, Rylan Schwartz and Bracken Kearns each added an assist as Worcester dropped to 3-3-1-1 in eight career home openers. Tom Kuhnhackl scored twice for the Penguins while Andrew Ebbett added a goal and an assist for the Penguins in a game that featured five fights and 86 penalty minutes. The game was extremely physical right from the start with the two teams combining for 42 minutes of penalties with the first two minutes. Curt Gogol (1st FM) delivered a tough hit to Reid McNeill (1st FM) against the boards, instigating a fight between the two. 11 seconds later, another brawl broke out against the boards behind the Sharks net after a trip by Tom Kuhnhackl. Bracken Kearns (2nd FM) and Brian Gibbons (1st FM) went toe-to-toe with Paul Thompson getting in the mix as well. The Sharks drew first blood at 9:27 when Freddie Hamilton (1st) netted his first goal of the season with a beautiful snapshot from the right circle over the shoulder of Penguins goaltender Peter Mannino. The Sharks led after twenty minutes as Worcester outshot the Penguins 11-4. Before the puck even dropped in the middle frame a fight broke out between bruisers Jimmy Bonneau (2nd FM) and Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond (3rd FM). Goaltender Harri Sateri and the Sharks penalty kill unit were impressive throughout the period, holding off the Penguins power play on three different occasions. Sateri had a number of notable saves and looked very sharp after being virtually untested in the first. Despite being outshot 10-6, the Sharks maintained their 1-0 lead heading into the final period. The game picked up offensively in the third period as the Penguins outscored the Sharks 3-1 in the final frame. Tom Kuhnhackl (2nd) evened up the score at 1:48 when he snuck one past Sateri. The Sharks regained the lead at 4:02 when Sena Acolatse put the puck right in front of the net for John McCarthy (1st) who masterfully directed it past Mannino. Andrew Ebbett (1st) retied the game at 2-2 on a wrist shot from the top of the left circle at 12:45. At 17:40 Matt Tennyson left the game for holding giving the Penguins another power play. The Penguins stole the victory from Worcester at 19:20 on a goal from Tom Kuhnhackl (3rd), his second of the night after Kuhnackl found a loose puck at the side of the net and fired it past Sateri for the eventual game winner. The Sharks overall record sinks to 0-2-0-0 and 0-1-0-0 at home.
2019 at Adirondack 3-2 Loss
(RAILERS) The Worcester Railers HC (2-1-0-0, 4pts) lost for the first time this season in their first road game in a 3-2 loss to the host the Adirondack Thunder (2-1-0-1, 4pts) on Saturday evening in front of 4,283 fans at the Cool Insuring Arena. The Railers are back in action on Friday, October 25 with a 7pm battle back at the Cool Insuring Arena in Glens Falls, NY vs. the Adirondack Thunder. Tanner Pond scored in his second straight game while Cody Payne scored his first professional goal to give Worcester a 2-0 lead. However, Charlie Curti scored his first two professional goals as the Thunder would go on to score three unanswered goals to prevail 3-2 on their opening night. Former Railer Eamon Mcadam made 33 saves on 35 shots while Evan Buitenhuis made 19 saves on 22 shots in his first start of the season. There was no score two show for after the first period as Evan Buitenhuis stopped all 16 shots he faced. Cody Payne and Michael Sdao would get into a skirmish but would only be assessed double minors for roughing at 8:51. Worcester outshot Adirondack 16-8 through the first 20 minutes of play. The second period was action packed with the Railers getting on the board at 5:45 on the power play thanks to a laser from Tanner Pond (2nd) with the assist going to Mike Cornell and Ivan Chukarov. Worcester would increase their lead to 2-0 with Cody Payne (1st) scoring beating Eamon McAdam low blocker at 11:03. In the final minutes of the middle frame Charlie Curti (1st) would find the back of the net with a wrister from the top of the right circle past the glove side of Evan Buitenhuis at 17:34. The Railers would take a 2-1 lead into the dressing room after 40 minutes of play as Buitenhuis stopped eight of nine shots he faced. Worcester led in shots 32-17 after the second period. Adirondack would tie the game at 2-2 at 8:41 of the third period thanks to Charlie Curti (2nd) who fired one past Buitenhuis in the high slot. The Thunder would take their first lead of the game when Kelly Summers (1st) was able to sneak one past Buitenhuis at 16:15 giving the home team a 3-2 lead. The Railers pulled Buitenhuis in the final two minutes of the period and had several good chances but McAdam came up multiple big saves as the Thunder won 3-2. Notes: Three Stars: 3rd star: Kelly Summers (1-0-1) 2nd star: Eamon McAdam (33 saves, Win) 1st star: Charlie Curti (2-0-2) …. final shots were 35-22 in favor of Worcester…Eamon McAdam (2-0-1) made 33 saves on 35 shots … Evan Buitenhuis (0-1-0) made 19 saves on 22 shots for Worcester while Jakub Skarek served as the backup…. Jake Bolton made his Railers debut finishing with two shots….. Worcester went 1-for-2 on the power play while Adirondack went 0-for-4…. Tanner Pond (2-1-3) extended his point streak to three games…..Anthony Florentino (inj), Henrik Samuelsson (inj), Chris Rygus, Ross Olsson, and Drew Callin did not dress for Worcester….. Barry Almeida wore the C while Mike Cornell and Jordan Samuels-Thomas wore A’s for the Railers….Worcester dressed three rookies and four veterans…Nic Pierog led all skaters with 6 shots….. Kyle Thomas finished +1….Worcester is now 16-7-2-0 all-time vs. the Thunder and 9-4-1-0 at the Cool Insuring Arena.
2024 vs Reading 2-1 loss
(RAILERS) Reading spoiled the Railers’ opening night with a 2-1 victory Saturday before 5,927 fans. It was Worcester’s first ever opening game defeat on home ice and improved the Royals to 2-0-0 this season. Connor Welsh gave the Railers an early lead by scoring at 19:08 of the first period but Reading goaltender Keith Petruzzelli stopped everything the rest of the way. Logan Britt scored for the Royals to make it 1-1 at 8:23 of the second period then set up Tyler Gratton for the game winner at 12:59 of the third. The Railers outshot the Reading, 26-16, but could get just the one shot past Petruzzelli. Worcester had early momentum and had the puck in the opposition zone much of the time but that did not matter. “Territorial advantage is a false sense of security,” coach Bob Deraney said. “Just because you’re winning the territorial game does not mean you’re winning the game. We got a false sense of confidence that got us away from what was making us successful.” The middle period was the killer for the Railers as they had a 15-5 edge in shots on goal but a 1-0 deficit on shots in goal. For the night, Worcester had a 26-16 shots advantage. The bottom line was that the puck did not make it over the goal line often enough because Worcester didn’t shoot often enough. “Never pass up a shot when you have the right conditions,” Deraney said, “and there were plenty of times when we had net presence and screens. Shoot it. Don’t make one more pass.” Welsh gave his team the lead just after the Railers had killed a penalty. Jordan Kaplan controlled the puck deep in the Worcester end and scaled the puck towards the neutral zone. Matt DeMelis corralled it and skated in on Petruzzelli with Welsh alongside. DeMelis dished a spinning backhand pass to Welsh and he scored on a short backhander under the goalie’s pads. Britt tied it on a high 45-foot wrist shot from the left side. The puck went through traffic and into the far corner past Railers goaltender Michael Bullion. The winning goal came when Britt, a rookie defenseman, won a puck battle in the right corner and found Gratton alone in front. He scored on a 15-foot wrist shot. For an opening night there were not a lot of firsts for Worcester. DeMelis and Justin Gill played their first professional games. Bullion is the first native of Alaska to play for the Railers. He is the first right-handed glove to play goal for the Railers and just the fourth in Worcester hockey history. The others are Alex Westlund of the IceCats and Nolan Schaefer and J.P. Anderson of the Sharks. MAKING TRACKS – Before the game the Railers remembered the late Matty Gaudreau, killed while bicycling in New Jersey in the summer. Video clips of Gaudreau scoring goals for Worcester were shown and adding to the melancholy was the play-by-play of the late Eric Lindquist. The crowd honored Gaudreau with a moment of silence before the opening faceoff. … Welsh was one of six Railers who were also in the opening night lineup last season. … Anthony Repaci is the first two-season captain in Railers history, the fifth in Worcester pro history. The others are Jason Widmer and Eddy Campbell of the IceCats, Ryan Vesce and Mike Moore of the Sharks. …It was a two-referee game including veteran Will Kelly and Chazz Knoche, doing his first Worcester match. … The Royals and Railers play again at 3:05 Sunday afternoon.
2025 vs Adirondack 5-3 loss
(RAILERS) Worcester’s 5-3 loss to Adirondack Sunday afternoon made the Railers 0-2-0 for the season. Easier said than done, perhaps, but one thing the Railers can do to improve the goals against is avoid turnovers. Sunday, they fell behind by 2-0 and battled back to forge a 3-3 tie heading into the third period. Worcester first deadlocked the score at 2-2, then surrendered the go-ahead goal to allow the Thunder to retake the lead. It was 3-3 going into the third. Another turnover turned into the game-winning goal for Adirondack. Railers players have to want to play in the defensive zone, coach Nick Tuzzolino said, and so far that has not been the case. “Guys need to play it the way we want them to play it,” he added. “They can’t go on their own page. They have to stop and start. They have to be physical. “D-Zone’s not a pretty job, but when you don’t do it you give up a lot of goals….it’s a full six-man thing, whether it’s goaltending, defensemen or forwards. It’s a commitment to play defense, to kill penalties, and the last two nights we have had no commitment to play defense.” Worcester got its goals from Matt Stief, Cole Donhauser and Anthony Callin. Henrik Tikkanen stopped 24 shots in net. The Thunder scorers were Brannon McManus with two, Dylan Wendt, Justin Taylor and Brian Carrabes into the empty net. The Railers got off to a muddy start. As a result, Adirondack had a 2-0 lead before the game was 10 minutes old. Wendt put a wrist shot home from about 30 feet at 2:51, then Taylor had a gimme from just outside the crease at 11:21 with the Thunder on a power play. It stayed 2-0 heading into the second period and Worcester made it a tie game before that period was half over. Lincoln Hatten gave the offense some energy when he worked a breakaway at 3:30, although he did not convert. The Railers then went on a power play at 3:41 and Stief took only six seconds to make it 2-1. He was set up when Drew Callin made a clean faceoff win. Stief scored from the right point as Anthony Callin also got an assist on the play. Donhauser tied it at 8:04 off a faceoff win by Ryan Miotto. A dreadful giveaway allowed McManus to score unassisted and make it 3-2 at 14:41 but Worcester answered that goal just eight seconds later when Anthony Callin scored from in close after being set up by Matt DeMelis. It took Callin two games to score his first goal this season. It took him 16 to score his first goal last year. McManus scored unassisted on another turnover three minutes into the third period and the Railers could not answer that one. “We had a game plan going into the third and didn’t touch it for nine minutes,” Tuzzolino said. Stief was the eighth different player to score the season’s first goal in the Railers’ eight seasons, the second defenseman. Nick Albano is the other. In order, first goals have been scored by Wade Murphy, Barry Almeida, Jordan Samuels-Thomas, Albano, Brent Beaudoin, Quin Ryan and Stief. MAKING TRACKS – Michael Ferrandino made his Railers debut. … Tikkanen became the only Railers goalie to play in four different seasons. The Worcester pro record is five seasons. Curtis Sanford and Cody Rudkowsky did that for the IceCats. … The Railers have played more games against Adirondack, 90, than any other ECHL opponent.That includes six playoff games. In the regular season, Worcester leads the series 46-32-6. … Railers play two games at Norfolk next weekend. They are back home on the 31st for a two-game series versus Reading.
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