1954 vs Washington 5-3 win
Goals by period:
Washington: 1-1-1=3
Worcester: 0-2-3=5
Warriors goals
2nd
4:32 Cahoon (JBell, Duffy)
15:40 Titus (JBell, Kelly)
3rd
4:00 Bell (Cahoon)
17:43 Kelly (Titus Greely)
19:11 Greeley (JBell)
Boxscore lists Washington as scoring at 19:10 of the third, which puts only one second between goals.
1994 vs Albany 2-2 tie
The IceCats found themselves in a two goal hole but battled back with a couple goals to secure a 2-2 tie with the Albany River Rats. Geordie Kinnear gave Albany the lead at 9:05 of the opening period, and Sergei Brylin made it a two goal game at 17:07. Worcester would get back within a goal at 18:03 when John Carter connected, assisted by Jim Nesich and Shaun Kane. Blair Atcheynum had a third period goal at 12:37 to tie it, with the assists going to Mark Ouimet and Cal McGowan. Les Kuntar made 29 saves in the game.
1996 at Portland 4-4 tie
The Worcester IceCats came back from a two goal deficit to take a third period lead, only to lose that lead and settle for a 4-4 tie against the Pirates. After a scoreless opening period Portland jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second on goals by Alexander Kharlamov (1:55) and Stewart Malgunas (5:11). Konstantin Shafranov cut that Pirates lead in half at 5:51, assisted by Justin Hocking and Stephane Roy, but Trevor Halverson would score at 9:17 to make it 3-1. The ‘Cats would get back to even on two power play goals by Jamie Rivers, with Terry Virtue assisting on both. The first came at 12:18 with Nick Naumenko getting the primary helper, and the second at 15:38 with Scott Pellerin earning a point. In the third Worcester grabbed a 4-3 lead on an unassisted goal by Chris Kenady at 16:31 when he picked off a clearing pass. But less than a minute later Stefan Ustorf tied it for the Pirates. Travis Scott had 25 saves in earning the point.
2002 at Albany 4-1 loss
(ALBANY) The Worcester IceCats gave up the decisive goal on a two-on-one break early in the third period, then served up a pair of empty-netters in the final minute of a 4-1 loss to the Albany River Rats last night at Pepsi Arena. Jason Lehoux scored twice, including the winner 6:15 into the third, to keep the ‘Cats winless in their last three. Lehoux took a pass from Scott Cameron in the slot, shifted the puck to his forehand and flipped it under the crossbar over goalie Curtis Sanford’s glove to snap a 1-1 tie. Defenseman Matt Walker got caught pinching in at the right point to create the odd-man rush. Worcester failed to capitalize on a two-man advantage for 1:13 early in the first period when Jeff Panzer drew back-to-back penalties on Albany defensemen Mike Matteucci and Ken Sutton. The ‘Cats managed one shot, and had a goal disallowed moments after the power-play expired when referee Dave Hansen ruled Blake Evans knocked in Chad Starling’s shot from the point with a high stick. Justin Papineau, just back from St. Louis, was high sticked in the face in a scramble behind the Worcester net with 5:35 left by Dave Roche and didn’t return. Just over two minutes later, Brad Voth picked up an extra roughing minor in his fight with Roche that led to the only goal of the period. With 15 seconds left in Albany’s power play, Cameron chased down a Sutton dump-in in the left corner, dropped the puck in the left circle to Lehoux, whose quick shot found the inside of the right post at 18:21. Worcester made it a 1-1 game in the second period, 34 seconds into its fourth power play of the night. Sergei Varlamov wheeled around at the right face-off dot and ripped a slap shot over the right shoulder of goalie Ari Ahonen, who had dropped to his knees. Marc Brown found himself all alone in front of Ahonen with 3:08 left, but was denied on his tip attempt by the goalie’s right pad.
2007 at Portland 3-2 loss
(WORSHARKS) The Worcester Sharks fell to the Portland Pirates 3-2 in Portland on Friday night to snap the Sharks season high four game winning streak. The Pirates got on the board first just :58 seconds into the first period as Brendan Mikkelson scored a goal from the blue line through heavy traffic in front of Sharks goaltender Thomas Greiss. Less than a minute later, Tomas Plihal shuffled in a loose rebound after a heavy shot from Lukas Kaspar in front to tie the game at 1-1. The Pirates would regain the lead with 93 seconds left in the first period as Michal Birner deflected a shot in front of the net past Greiss. The Sharks would trail by two goals as Geoff Platt scored his 12th goal of the season, his third in as many games vs. the Sharks as he jumped onto a juicy rebound in the left wing circle. The Sharks trailed 3-1 after 40 minutes of play. In the third period, Riley Armstrong scored his 6th goal of the season after a wrap around attempt from behind the net to beat goaltender Gerald Coleman. The Sharks would pull Greiss with less than two minutes to go but could not find the back of the net after several great chances. The Sharks and Pirates will meet again on Saturday in Portland in meeting six of ten between the two Atlantic Division rivals. The Sharks are 1-3-1-0 through five games vs. the Pirates as the battle for the Unum Cup. Notes: The Sharks went 0/5 on the power play, Portland 0/4. Lukas Kaspar extended his point streak to four games with an assist on the goal by Plihal. Mike Iggulden had six shots on goal to lead both teams. Portland out shot the Sharks 27-26.
2008 at Portland 3-2 loss
(WORSHARKS) The Portland Pirates scored three unanswered goals to defeat the Sharks 3-2 in a snowy Portland on Sunday afternoon. Sharks’ rookie Matt Fornataro would strike at 10:32 of the first period with his first goal in a Sharks uniform shuffling a loose rebound past Jhonas Enroth after a shot by Patrick Traverse from the right point. Portland netminder Jhonas Enroth made two excellent saves in the first period, the first on Matt Jones on a rebound attempt, the second on Steven Zalewski after he was set up with a great pass from Lukas Kaspar. The Sharks took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission, out shooting the Pirates 14-7. The Sharks would take a 2-0 lead after veteran defenseman Patrick Traverse fired a rocket from on top of the left wing circle top shelf on a 4on3 power play with assists from Ryan Vesce and Cory Larose. Worcester would have several chances to make it 3-0 but Enroth was strong in net. The Pirates would get on the board at 16:55 as Colin Murphy would find room between the pads of Taylor Dakers after a rush up the middle to cut the lead in half, 2-1. Lukas Kaspar would have a breakaway on a power play, but Enroth would rob Lukas with a nice glove save. The Pirates out shot the Sharks 16-15 in the 2nd period as Worcester took a one goal lead into the third period. Former Shark Mathieu Darche would jam home a rebound to open the third period just 70 seconds in to tie the game at 2-2. Eight minutes later, Marek Zagrapan would deflect a shot past Dakers to give the Pirates a 3-2 lead. The Sharks would pull Taylor Dakers in the final minute but could not tie the game. The loss drops Worcester’s record to 16-14-0-0, while the win improves the Pirates to 17-9-1-2.
2011 vs Springfield 6-3 loss
(WORSHARKS) Tommy Wingels extended his point streak to seven games with a third period goal as the Sharks fell 6-3 to the Springfield Falcons at DCU Center on Wednesday night. Antero Niittymaki made 21 saves in his third start on a conditioning assignment from the San Jose Sharks for Worcester and Jack Combs extended his point streak to four games (3-3-6) with an assist for the Sharks. Ryan Garlock and Tomas Kubalik each scored two goals for the Falcons in the victory. Worcester fired a season low four shots on goal in the opening period and trailed 2-0 after one. Ryan Garlock (2nd) sent a quick low shot from ten feet through a screen and past Antero Niittymaki at 6:16 to give Springfield a 1-0 lead. The Falcons struck again at 14:47 on the power play as prolific AHL goal scorer Alexandre Giroux sent a one timer from on top of the right circle through traffic and deflected by Tomas Kubalik (4th) and past Niittymaki. The Sharks trailed 2-0 after twenty minutes and were outshot 10-4. Springfield would score three more times in the middle period and charge out to a 5-1 lead. Ryan Garlock (3rd) finished off an odd man rush with a shorthanded goal just 49 seconds into the second period. John McCarthy (6th) got Worcester on the board at 3:15 with a laser snap shot from on top of the right circle and past the glove of Manny Legace to cut the score to 3-1. Tomas Kubalik (5th) at 10:03 and Maksim Mayorov (1st) at 12:28 finished off odd man rushes as the Falcons buzzed out to a 5-1 advantage. Brandon Mashinter (3rd FM) and Mike Thomas (2nd FM) dropped the mitts at 12:31 as the physical play picked up in the middle frame. Worcester trailed 5-1 after 40 minutes of play. Brodie Reid (4th) got Worcester back into the game briefly after he finished a rush down the right side past Springfield goaltender Allen York at 2:01 to cut the Falcons lead to 5-2. Just 12 seconds later, Cam Atkinson (15th) slapped a puck top shelf past the glove of Niittymaki at 2:13 for a 6-2 Springfield edge. Curt Gogol (10th FM) fought 6-foot-5 Tim Spencer (3rd FM) at 18:08 after the Falcons tough guy slashed Ryan Del Monte. With Worcester on the power play, Tommy Wingels (12th) extended his point streak to seven games with a deflection of a Sena Acolatse shot from the point for the third and final Worcester goal.
2012 at Providence 5-4 win
(WORSHARKS) The Worcester Sharks (14-10-1-2, 31pts)defeated the Providence Bruins (14-10-0-2, 30pts) 5-4 in a game that featured 134 penalty minutes on Friday evening in front of 7,572 fans at the Dunkin Donuts Center. After a three day holiday break, the Sharks return to action on Wednesday night at 7pm in Manchester to battle the Monarchs. Jon Matsumoto (5th) scored with 10.5 seconds remaining for the game winner and James Sheppard scored his 4th goal in three games and added an assist in the Sharks 9th straight one goal game (5-3-0-1). Alex Stalock was superb with 32 saves in his 10th win of the season and Matt Tennyson extended his point streak to four games (2-3-5) with his 3rd goal of the season in the victory. The two teams traded chances in the first period, but no one found the back of the net. Towards the end of the period, the chippy play started to pick up. At 17:18 of the first period, a major scrum ensued in the Sharks zone, with Bobby Robins receiving a penalty for contact to the head of Worcester’s Matt Tennyson. At the end of the period, Providence’s Christian Hanson (2nd FM) and Worcester’s James Livingston (2nd FM) dropped the gloves in a quick bout that was a stalemate. The Sharks outshot the Bruins 13-12 in the period, despite going 0-for-4 on the power play. The Sharks were able to strike first, capitalizing on their fifth power play chance of the game, on a blast from the point by Matt Tennyson (3rd), giving the Sharks a 1-0 lead at 4:39. Heavyweights Frazer McLaren (6th FM) and Bobby Robins (16th FM) were both ejected from the game, dropping the gloves during a television timeout, in a long fight with both players connecting on several bombs. The Bruins got the equalizer from Chris Bourque (3rd) on a 5-on-3 power player, when a shot that Alex Stalock appeared to make the save of the year on, was reviewed by the referees and ruled a goal at 10:31. Through two periods of play, the teams combined for 122 penalty minutes. The two teams came out firing in the third period. It only took the Bruins 34 seconds to take the lead, with Chris Bourque (4th) burying his second goal of the game, on a nice feed from Carter Camper, giving the Bruins a 2-1 lead. However, it didn’t take long for the Sharks to respond. Less than two minutes later, James Sheppard (7th) evened the game on a backhand shot that he roofed over the shoulder of Providence goalie Niklas Svedberg. The Sharks struck again less than a minute later, when Bracken Kearns (8th) tipped a shot from the point past Svedberg, giving the Sharks a 3-2 lead at 3:02. After the Bruins responded with two quick goals of their own by Craig Cunningham (4th) at 6:46 and Jamie Tardif (14th) at 8:16, the Sharks capitalized on a power play when Denny Urban found John McCarthy (4th) with a great slap pass, who redirected the puck past Svedberg, evening the game 4-4 at 13:12. Jon Matsumoto (5th) played the role of hero for Worcester, tucking a shot under the crossbar with only 10.5 seconds remaining, after a great shift by Matsumoto, Sheppard, and Brodie Reid, lifting the Sharks to a 5-4 win. The Sharks overall record improves to 14-10-1-2 (31pts in 27gp) 9-5-0-1 (19pts in 15gp) on the road this season.
2013 at Hershey 3-2 win
(WORSHARKS) Freddie Hamilton extended his point streak to five games (6-3-9) with a pair of goals and an assist to lead the Worcester Sharks (12-10-1-1, 26pts) past the Hershey Bears (11-10-2-3 27pts) by the count of 3-2 in front of 8,744 fans at the Giant Center on Saturday evening. Matt Tennyson added a first period power play marker and an assist while Troy Grosenick was terrific making 29 saves in the victory as the Sharks improve to 2-0-0-0 in the 3-in-3 weekend. Hershey came out with a good jump to start the game as goaltender Troy Grosenick was sharp early on for the Sharks and made ten first period saves. Freddie Hamilton (8th) extended his point streak to five games with a terrific rush that started at the red line as he carried the puck into the Bears zone and behind the Bears net and sent a wrap-around shot past netminder David Leggio at 15:16 for an unassisted strike to put Worcester ahead 1-0. After a charging penalty to the Bears’ Joel Rechlicz, Matt Tennyson (2nd) fired home a power play marker from the right circle past Leggio at 16:59 assisted by Bracken Kearns and Freddie Hamilton to give the Sharks a 2-0 advantage through 20 minutes. Four consecutive minor penalties during a 2:29 span early in the second period gave Hershey several power play chances including a lengthy 5-on-3 advantage. Julien Brouillete (5th) ripped a shot from the right slot over the shoulder of Troy Grosenick at 8:04 to cut the Sharks lead to 2-1. Hershey outshot Worcester 11-9 in the middle frame as the Sharks took a 2-1 advantage into the second intermission. After Eriah Hayes had an apparent goal waved off early in the third period the Sharks would strike once again on the power play with a two man advantage at 12:12. Goaltender David Leggio made a slew of great saves but could not stop Freddie Hamilton (9th) with a point blank rebound try to put the Sharks up 3-1. The Bears would battle back as Nicolas Deschamps (7th) deflected home a Matt Watkins pass on the rush in front of the Sharks cage at 15:49 to get the Bears back within a single goal. Hershey would pull the goaltender and have a later power play but Troy Grosenick and the Sharks defense shut the door the rest of the way as the Sharks held on for a 3-2 victory. The Sharks overall record improves to 12-10-1-1, 26pts and 7-4-1-0, 15pts on the road this season.
2014 “Magic Bus” postponement
(210Sports note: This article appeared in the Worcester Telegram on 12/22/14. We originally linked to that article, but it has since been removed)
(TELEGRAM/BILL BALLOU) Christmas did not come early for the Sharks, but Christmas break did. Their game at Bridgeport, scheduled for 3 Sunday afternoon, was postponed due to travel issues for the host Sound Tigers. The Sharks found out when they got to the DCU Center about 10 a.m. that the game might be called, then found out for sure about an hour later. No makeup date has been set. “Our organization will have no comment,” said Worcester general manager Joe Will, who was scheduled to make the bus ride down to Bridgeport with the team. “Anything about it will have to come from the league.” However, members of the Sharks organization don’t believe the Sound Tigers’ story, which was that their bus broke down on the way back from Norfolk and there was no way they could make it to Bridgeport in time for a 3 p.m. game. Sources said that Worcester coach Roy Sommer got a phone message from Sound Tigers coach Brent Thompson to the effect of – we’ve got a 15-hour bus ride back from Norfolk and there’s no way we’re playing this game. Some Sharks players got phone calls around 10 a.m. from acquaintances on Bridgeport saying that the team bus was in a Denny’s parking lot in New Jersey and not moving, and that they had been on the bus all night. Even if the bus was at a Denny’s just over the border in southern New Jersey at 10 a.m., it is only 180 miles to Bridgeport, all on interstates. AHL spokesman Jason Chaimovitch said that his recollection is that there have been a couple of postponements through the years because of transportation problems, adding, “I don’t recall any because of bus issues. We’ve had problems where teams had to fly somewhere the day of a game, and situations where teams have gotten to the arena late, but I can’t think of any bus issues causing a postponement.” Another reason the Sharks are suspicious of the Sound Tigers story is that Bridgeport had tried to change the 3 p.m. start to a 7 p.m. start several weeks ago. When the Sound Tigers asked the Worcester organization about it, the Sharks said it could not be done because the league’s annual Christmas break was due to start right after the game and many players had made travel plans that could not be changed. Schedules are drawn up in the summer and teams are involved in the process. The league won’t force a team to play a game on a date it doesn’t want to, and the distance between Norfolk and Bridgeport was the same when the schedule was initially drawn up as it was on Sunday. “If they didn’t want to play that home game, they didn’t have to,” Chaimovitch said of the scheduling, adding, “I believe there was discussion for a later start but our schedule always had the game at 3. Bridgeport had sent out a release that the time had been changed, so internally they may have thought it was going to happen.” Michael Fornabaio of the Connecticut Post reported Sunday that the Sound Tigers bus broke down in the mid-Atlantic region for about four hours, having overheated, and a replacement bus was sent. Thus, the Sound Tigers were in New Jersey at 10 a.m. and the Sharks would have been open to a delayed start for the game as opposed to a postponement. Thompson told Fornabaio that playing the game with his players having arrived at the rink around game time after all the travel problems would have put them at risk. However, without the four-hour delay, the Sound Tigers would have gotten to the rink at around 11 a.m. for a 3 p.m. game. That’s a significant enough difference to call off the game? The Sharks were also not inclined to be sympathetic in this case because of a scheduling issue they had with Bridgeport after that city was buried in snow in February, 2013. Worcester had a Sunday afternoon game scheduled on Feb. 10 and was on the bus headed for Bridgeport when it found out the game had been called off and had to turn around. The Sharks found out not from the Sound Tigers, but from defenseman Matt Irwin, who was supposed to meet the team there after having been sent down from San Jose. The league will likely start looking at a new date for Sunday’s game today. It may also start looking at Worcester’s suggestion that Bridgeport invented a reason to not play. “I would hope that’s not the case,” Chaimovitch said. “If it is, we’ll find out about it, and that’s an entirely different issue.” At least the Sharks found out before they got to Bridgeport. That way, they didn’t have start their Christmas break on the Road Alone.
2018 vs Adirondack 5-3 loss
(RAILERS) The Worcester Railers HC(12-13-3-1, 28pts) fought back twice but eventually fell 5-3 to the visiting Adirondack Thunder (14-9-2-2, 32pts) in front of 3,057 fansat the DCU Center on Friday evening. Tyler Barnes, Matt Schmalz, and Ivan Kosorenkov all scored for Worcester while Mitch Gillam made 32 saves in net in the loss. Michael Sdao broke a 3-3 tie late in the third period for the eventual game winner for the Thunder while Alex Sakellaropoulos made 29 saves in net in the win. The game featured 70 total penalty minutes as the Railers fell to 7-5-3-1 on home ice this season. A feisty first period saw a lot of booming checks and each team finding the back of the cage once. Jacob Reichart (2nd) had a rebound go off his chest from on top of the crease that ended up behind Mitch Gillam at 13:35. Woody Hudson picked up his second fighting major of the season with a good scrap with Alexandre Carrier at 17:37 as the physical play continued. Worcester would tie the score at 19:37 as Tyler Barnes (8th) batted home a loose rebound from on top of the crease to close out the period assisted by Josh Holmstrom and Nick Sorkin. A wild second period saw four total goals and a line brawl at 15:52 that involved nearly every player on the ice except the goaltenders. Dylan Walchuk (1st) and Matias Cleland (1) scored within a five-minute spell early in the second period to put the Thunder ahead 3-1 at 8:30. Matt Schmalz (3rd) scored his first as a member of the Railers with a nice one-timer at 10:03 followed by Ivan Kosorenkov just 34 seconds later to tie the score at 3-3. A wild brawl broke out at 15:52 that saw 36 penalty minutes handed out which included a fighting major to Yanick Turcotte. Just over two minutes later Alex Adams picked up his first fight as a Railer as he dropped the mitts with Matt Tessier at 18:18. Shots were 28-22 in favor of Worcester through 40 minutes of play in a 3-3 game. Michael Sdao (2nd) broke a 3-3 tie with a shot from 43 feet through a screen at 16:54 of the third period for the eventual game winner and Peter MacArthur (7th) added an empty netter at 19:07 to put the game away. Worcester was outshot 15-4 in the third period to drop the game 5-3 on home ice.
2019 at Brampton 7-3 Win
(RAILERS) The Worcester Railers HC (9-17-1-0, 19pts) set a season high with seven goals in a triumphant 7-3 victory over the Brampton Beast (17-11-1-0, 35pts) on Saturday evening in front of 2,246 fans at the CAA Centre. The Railers head on a four-day holiday break and will be back in action Friday Dec. 27th in Glens Fall vs. the Adirondack Thunder at 7pm. Shane Walsh (3-0-3) recorded the Railers second hat trick of the season while Evan Buitenhuis made 33 saves in net for his fifth win of the year. Yanick Turcotte scored his first goal of the season while Nic Pierog, Drew Callin, and Barry Almeida added the other tallies. Brampton received goals from David Pacan, Cameron Bakker, and Erik Bradford while Evan Fitzpatrick made 28 saves in net. The Railers scored three unanswered goals in the first period started by Yanick Turcotte (1st) just 41 seconds into the first period as he redirected a shot from the point courtesy of Jack Stander to give Worcetsr a 1-0 lead. At 6:54 Nic Pierog (9th) tipped a rebound past the glove of Evan Fitzpatrick to increase the Railers lead to 2-0. After following up his initial shot Shane Walsh (5th) was able to beat out the defenseman to the puck and from the inner right circle snapped one past the glove of Fitzpatrick just 38 seconds after the Pierog strike to give Worcester a 3-0 lead. Brampton grabbed two goals of their own in the first period, one on the power-play at 9:09 and then an even strength tally at 11:42 to cut the deficit to one. The Railers took a 3-2 lead into the dressing room after 20 minutes of play and outshot the Beast 17-12. The only goal of the second period was the second of the game from Shane Walsh (6th) who drove down the left-wing side and zipped one by the glove of Evan Fitzpatrick at 12:28 to give the Railers a 4-2 lead. The Railers were outshot in the stanza 18-7 but took a 4-2 lead into the locker room through 40 minutes of play. After a great individual effort from Dante Salituro splitting the two defenders leading the rush Shane Walsh (7th) would cap off a hat trick smacking one home just a minute into the third period to give Worcester a 5-2 lead. At 4:15 of the period Yanick Turcotte received a 10-minute misconduct, two minutes for roughing, and two minutes for an instigator as goaltender Evan Fitzpatrick received just two minutes for roughing. On the five-minute power-play the Beast scored just one goal coming from Erik Bradford (8th) at 7:59. Late in the stanza Worcester added goals from Drew Callin at 15:54 and Barry Almeida at 18:13 to capture a big 7-3 win heading into the holiday break. Notes: Three Stars: 3rd star…. David Pacan (1-1-2) 2nd star: Evan Buitenhuis (33 saves, Win) 1st star: Shane Walsh (3-0-3, +3, 6 shots) ….final shots were 36-35 Brampton …. Evan Fitzpatrick (2-4-2) made 28 saves on 35 shots in net for Brampton.… Evan Buitenhuis (5-9-0) made 33 saves on 36 shots for Worcester while Ian Milosz served as the backup…. Worcester went 1-for-3 on the power play while Brampton went 2-for-4…. Bo Brauer, , Anthony Florentino, Jordan Samuels-Thomas (inj) and Tanner Pond (inj) did not dress for Worcester…. Mike Cornell, David Quenneville, Jakub Skarek, and Linus Soderstrom are currently on recall with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers…. Jordan Samuels-Thomas joined David Cunniff behind the bench…. Shane Walsh registered his 100thECHL point with his second goal of the game and since missing eight games with an injury he has six goals and one assist in six games…. Shane Walsh’s hat trick was just the second Railers hat trick in regulation and the first on the road…. Dante Salituro (0-3-3) added three assists for his second multi-point game of the season…. Barry Almeida (1-2-3) recorded his sixth multi-point game of the season…. Yanick Turcotte had a game high 19 penalty minutes and is now third in the league with 88 penalty minutes…. The Railers had 10 players with a plus rating…. 10 assists in the game was a season high…. 17 shots in the first period from Worcester was the most in the first frame this season…. The three goal first period tied a first period high dating back to October 12th…. Worcester is now 9-10-1-2 all-time vs. the Beast and 4-6-0-2 at the CAA Centre.
2022 at Trois-Rivières 2-1 loss
(RAILERS) The Worcester Railers HC (18-8-1-0 37 points) faced the Trois-Rivieres Lions (11-11-0-0 22 points) Wednesday night at the Colisee Videotron arena in front of 2,252 people. The Worcester Railers fell short 2-1 against the Lions. The Railers play their last game before the break on Friday, December 23rd against the Adirondack Thunder at 7:00 p.m. from the Cool Insuring Arena in Glens Falls, NY. Collin Adams (1-0-1) scored the first goal of the game for the Railers off his own rebound assisted by Bobby Butler (0-1-1). Ryan Francis (1-0-1) scored the first goal for the Lions in the second period thanks to an assist from Lions captain Cedric Montminy (0-1-1). The Lions scored again minutes later when Nicolas Guay (0-1-1) took a shot at Tikkanen, and it rebounded to William Leblanc (1-0-1) right in front of the net who scored and won the game for Trois-Rivières, 2-1. Before the puck dropped, Blade Jenkins and Ken Appleby both were called up to the Bridgeport Islanders earlier in the week. Henrik Tikkanen (9-5-0) started his second game in a row, and quickly made a big save directly in front of his net early into the game. Reece Newkirk and Quinn Ryan both had good opportunities to score but Lions goaltender Philippe Desrosiers stopped both attempts. Collin Adams (11th) scored the first goal of the game. Adams and Bobby Butler were on a two-on-two break when Butler passed the puck to Adams who skated past the Lions defender and fired a shot at Desrosiers. Desrosiers saved the first shot off his blocker, but it ended up right on the tape of Adams, he sent a second shot that went past Desrosiers for the first score of the game. Not too long after, the Railers were on the penalty kill after a tripping call sent Nolan Vesey to the box. The Railers killed that penalty successfully thanks to some incredible saves by Tikkanen. Tikkanen got run into on the powerplay and lost his stick and proceeded to make a set of saves without it. Anthony Beauregard got called for hooking, putting Worcester on the powerplay. Worcester was not able to find the back of the net on the powerplay despite some great looks at the net. The Railers led 1-0 at the end of the first period while outshooting the Lions 13-11. Three minutes into the second period Reese Newkirk was able to draw a penalty, putting The Railers on their second powerplay. The Railers were unable to get a shot into the back of the net but that wasn’t for lack of opportunity. They had a handful of opportunities including a shot by Jimmy Lambert that went off the pipe. A few minutes later, Trois-Rivières had their own bad luck with the iron as one of their shots went off the post after they beat Tikkanen on the far side. Nine minutes into the period, Ryan Francis (4th) received a pass from Cedric Montminy in the attacking zone and caught the Railers off guard. He then fired it past Tikkanen to give Trois-Rivières their first goal of the game and make it 1-1. The Lions scored again when Nicolas Guay took a shot at Tikkanen, and it rebounded to William Leblanc (5th) right in front of the net. Jared Brandt was heavily guarding Leblanc but after a nice spin move, Leblanc found himself open enough to send a shot at Tikkanen which ended up in the back of the net to make it 2-1 Trois-Rivières at the end of the second period. Worcester was outshot in the second period 6-9 and was outshot in the game 20-19. The Railers started the third period down 2-1, looking for their first third-period comeback this season. Was a quiet third period with not much happening as both teams traded shots, Worcester looking for that one shot to sneak past Desrosiers. With just under three minutes, Worcester would get on the Power-play when Brett Stapley was called for a slash with 2:39 to go in regulation. While on the penalty kill the Lions got called for another slashing penalty to make it a five-on-three. The Railers won the faceoff, so Tikkanen went to the bench making it a six-on-three. The Lions had a successful clear at the same time Stapley came out of the penalty box, but Stapley got whistled for another penalty with twenty-two seconds left in the game. The Railers could not capitalize on the power play and fell to the Lions 2-1. Notes: 3rd star: Henrik Tikkanen (28 saves, 2GA, .933 SV%), 2nd star: Ryan Francis (1-0-1, +1, 5 shots), 1st star: Philippe Desrosiers (37 saves, 1 GA, .974 SV%) Henrik Tikkanen was in goal for the Railers, he was backed up by Bret Moran. Philippe Desrosiers was in net for the Lions, and he was backed up by Francis Marotte.
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