Today in Worcester hockey history: January 14

1995 vs Albany 6-3 loss
The IceCats surrendered a River Rats goal just 36 seconds into the game and never fully recovered in a 6-3 loss to Albany. Mark Ouimet, assisted by Cal McGowan and Terry Virtue, had a first period goal at 11:51 to make the score 2-1. Roy Mitchell had an unassisted goal at 17:21 to make it 3-2, but that was as close as Worcester would get. McGowan added his second goal of the game at 14:12 of the third period, assisted by Ross Wilson, for the 6-3 final. Wayne Cowley had 30 saves in the loss.

2000 vs Hartford 3-2 win
(TICKER) Marty Reasoner scored twice in a four-minute span of the second period as the Worcester IceCats edged the Hartford Wolf Pack, 3-2, for their fifth straight win. Reasoner, who is tied for the league lead with 45 points, put Worcester ahead to stay nine minutes into the middle frame and provided the margin of victory with 6:57 left. He also assisted on Tyler Rennette’s goal nine minutes into the first period for the IceCats. Brent Johnson made 25 saves to improve to 15-10-3. P.J. Stock and Brad Smyth scored for Hartford, which has lost four of its last six games.

2004 vs Springfield 3-1 win
(ICECATS) The Worcester IceCats defeated the Springfield Falcons 3-1 on the strength of Mike Glumac’s three-point effort Wednesday night at Worcester’s Centrum Centre. The ‘Cats rookie had a pair of goals, including the game-winner and added an assist. Glumac opened the scoring in the first period at 16:25, as he redirected a point shot from the stick of Trevor Byrne. Glumac then answered Springfield’s only goal of the game in the second. Eight minutes after Goran Bezina tied the game, Worcester’s leading scorer bagged his 14th of the season. It turned out to be the deciding marker. Terry Virtue padded Worcester’s lead in the third, tucking a shot past Jean-Marc Pelletier after faking a wraparound. For Virtue, it was his fourth goal of the season and his 199th regular season point in an IceCats uniform. Curtis Sanford captured the win in net with 29 saves and the IceCats have now earned a point in four straight games

2005 at Manchester 7-4 loss
(MONARCHS) Defenseman Tim Gleason collected the game-winning goal with 13:57 remaining in the third period as the Manchester Monarchs beat the Worcester IceCats, 7-4, before a crowd of 9,634 at the Verizon Wireless Arena on Friday night. The Monarchs closed Friday’s game third period goals from Gleason, defenseman Denis Grebeshkov, right wing George Parros and center Michael Cammalleri. All four players helped the Monarchs match a season high for goals in a period and goals in a game. Grebeshkov broke a 3-3 third period deadlock with his second goal of the season, scored on the power play at 5:43. Gleason followed just 20 seconds later with the game-winner, his sixth goal of the campaign. Cammalleri and left wing Noah Clarke assisted on the Grebeshkov goal. Left wing Jeff Giuliano and right wing Tom Kostopoulos shared assists on the Gleason goal. Center Ryan Ramsay pulled the IceCats to within one goal at 14:21 of the period with center Eric Boguniecki and left wing Peter Sejna assisting, but Parros put the icing on the cake with his third goal of the season, scored from the right circle at 17:23. Cammalleri completed the scoring with his team-leading 24th goal, scored into an empty net with less than a minute to play. Right wing Dan Welch assisted on the Parros marker. Clarke had the only assist on the Cammalleri empty-netter. The Monarchs opened a 3-1 lead early in the second period with the 23rd goal of the season for center Yanick Lehoux, who one-timed his shot by goaltender Curtis Sanford (24 shots, 18 saves) at 1:22. Left wing Dustin Brown and Kostopoulos assisted on the play. The IceCats made it a one-goal game with the sixth goal of the season for rookie center Troy Riddle, jammed past goaltender Mathieu Garon (23 shots, 19 saves) on a rebound at 1:49 of the period. Left wing Erkki Rajamaki and center Jay McClement assisted. McClement also had a part in the next Worcester goal, scored by Ramsay at 5:35 of the period. Riddle notched the second assist on the play as the IceCats and the Monarchs finished the period tied. The Monarchs led 2-1 through one period thanks to goals from right wing Brad Smyth and Clarke. Smyth finished a rush into the Worcester zone with his 11th goal, scored at 2:45. Cammalleri and defenseman Mike Weaver assisted on the play, with Weaver?s neutral zone steal starting the rush. Clarke took over the league lead with his fourth shorthanded goal, scored at 14:56 of the period. Defenseman Joe Rullier and Gleason assisted on Clarke?s 13th overall goal this season. Boguniecki had the only first period goal for the IceCats. He scored his second of the season with assists from Ramsay and defenseman Aaron MacKenzie at 17:25 of the period. Garon (18-7-1) earned the win, his 18th of the season. Sanford took the loss, his ninth (9-9-2) in 22 appearances.

2007 at Portland 5-4 SOL
The Worcester Sharks went into the third period tied but needed two goals in the period to make it to overtime before losing the game in the shootout 5-4. Graham Mink gave the WorSharks the lead at 11:12 of the opening period, assisted by Mathieu Darche and Brad Staubitz. Early in the second period Portland got the next two on goals by Matt Keith (2:48) and Brett Skinner (4:56). Tomas Plihal knotted the game 2-2 when a wicked wrist shot from about 20-feet out after taking a nice feed from Steve Bernier. Brennen Evans had the secondary helper. Once again the pirates would grab twogoals in a row, with Zenon Konopka (8:31) and Brian Salcido (10:20) giving the Pirates a 4-2 lead. Lokas Kaspar scored at 12:31 of the third period to make it 4-3 when he banged home the rebound of Josh Prudden’s bid. Dan Spang picked up a point on the play. It took three or four whacks at the puck but Steve Bernier finally tied it at 17:24 when he continued to fight for a loose puck after a Tomas Plihal shot. Through overtime and to the shootout the teams went, where Portland’s Matt Keith had the only goal to give the Pirates the 5-4 win. Nolan Schaefer made 33 saves in the loss.

2009 at Philadelphia 7-1 loss
(WORSHARKS) You know the feeling when the odds are against you. That’s what the Sharks had to face on Wednesday night. Worcester, playing its second-ever game at the Wachovia Spectrum, which will be torn down following the season, was handed a quick 4-0 first period deficit before falling by a 7-1 final. The loss drops Worcester’s all-time record against Philadelphia to 0-3-0-0. The Phantoms were coming off a tough five-game road trip eager to skate on home ice where it entered the game 9-5-1-1 compared to 11-13-0-0 on the road. Former NHL All-Star Daniel Briere played in his first game of a conditioning assignment, scoring a shorthanded goal and adding an assist in his first AHL game in eight years. Jared Ross had a hat trick and an assist while five other Phantoms had multiple point nights. Thomas Griess’ bid for a fifth straight win ended quickly. He allowed four goals on nine first period shots and finished the night with 16 saves on 23 shots. Greiss had only allowed five goals in his previous four games. The loss came in a game in which the Sharks outshot their opponent for a 14th straight game. One bright spot came from Lukas Kaspar and Ryan Vesce, who continue to impress as they combined on the Sharks’ lone goal at 13:31 of the second period. In the process, Vesce upped his point streak to a Sharks’ season-high eight games, while Kaspar is up to six straight. After Philadelphia took a 6-0 second period lead, tempers boiled over when James McEwan, making his AHL debut, dropped the gloves against Matt Clackson at 8:33 of the period. Off the ensuing faceoff, Frazer McLaren and Garrett Klotz squared off. Mike Moore and Clackson also had a fight in the first. The second period included three Phantoms goals, by Ross, Briere, and Jonathan Matsumoto, to up their lead to 7-1 heading into the second intermission. Briere quickly made his presence felt with an assist on Philadelphia’s second goal at the 13:17 mark of the first period. Patrick Maroon scored, jamming the puck into the net after Greiss made the initial save on Ross. Only 1:28 later, Ross lit the lamp for the first time to hand Worcester a 3-0 deficit. Ross added his second goal with 14 seconds remaining in the opening frame to put the Sharks into a 4-0 hole heading into the first intermission. A familiar name, Sean Curry, gave the Phantoms the 1-0 lead at 5:47 of the first period with a hard slap shot from 50 feet. Curry is in his first season with Philadelphia and is best remembered by Sharks fans from his time with the Providence Bruins.

2011 at Springfield 3-1 win
(WORSHARKS) The Sharks battled back from an 1-0 third period deficit and scored three goals in a 2:40 span late in the third period in a 3-1 victory over the Falcons on Friday evening at the Mass Mutual Center. Coach Roy Sommer became just the 4th coach in AHL history to coach 1,000 games, joining AHL Hall of Famers Frank Mathers (1,256), Fred “Bun” Cook (1,171) and John Paddock (1,125) in his 461st career victory. Cam MacIntyre, Jonathan Cheechoo, and Dan DaSilva scored goals for Worcester to break a 1:33:03 scoreless streak and Alex Stalock made 21 saves in the win. Neither team scored in a physical first period that saw plenty of post whistle scrums and a good tilt between Chris Lawrence and Dane Byers at 17:54. Worcester outshot Springfield 15-6 through 20 minutes of play. After Joe Loprieno and Steven Goertzen dropped the mitts at 3:15, Tom Sestito (7th) scored on a wrap-around attempt past Alex Stalock at 3:21 on the power play to put the Falcons ahead 1-0. Stalock made several stellar saves in the 2nd period, stopping Trevor Frischmon on a 2-on-1 shorthanded rush and Tom Sestito on a one-timer on a Falcons power play to keep the Sharks within one goal. Gustaf Wesslau had 27 saves after two periods of the play as the Sharks trailed 1-0 after 40 minutes.
Falcons captain Ben Guite was whistled for a major penalty for boarding at 9:38 to give the Sharks a five minute power play. After Dane Byers was stopped on a shorthanded breakaway rush, Alex Stalock sent a 90 foot pass to the left side for Jonathan Cheechoo to lead Worcester on the break out. Cheechoo and rookie Cam MacIntyre exchanged passes before MacIntyre (2nd) struck on the power play to tie the score at 1-1 at 12:17. The goal broke a 133:03 scoreless drought for the Sharks. Jonathan Cheechoo (14th) struck at 14:22 firing in a rebound past Wesslau for the Sharks second power play score. Just 35 seconds later, Dan DaSilva (7th) backhanded the puck around the Springfield netminder after a faceoff win by Ryan Del Monte in the Falcons zone. The Falcons pressed late but the Sharks held on for a stunning come-from-behind 3-1 victory over the Falcons. The Sharks record improves to 19-14-2-5 with 45 points and to 10-7-1-3 on the road as Worcester hits the midway point of the season.

2020 at Maine 3-2 Loss
(RAILERS) The Worcester Railers HC (15-21-2-0, 32pts) began their five-game road stretch falling 3-2 to the Maine Mariners (18-17-0-1, 37pts) in front of 1,359 fans at the Cross Insurance Arena Tuesday evening. The Railers are back in action on Saturday in Glens Falls, NY vs. the Adirondack Thunder at 7pm. Arnaud Durandeau and Drew Callin each scored goals for Worcester while Evan Buitenhuis made 43 saves in net for the loss. Yanick Turcotte picked up his second fighting major of the season which was a marathon lasting 62 seconds with Morgan Adams-Moisan. The Railers received just five power-plays while Maine received eight. Maine scored all of their goals on power-plays from Ted Hart, Morgan Adams-Moisan, and Terrence Wallin while Connor Lacouvee made 36 saves in net for the win. On his 21st birthday Arnaud Durandeau (3rd) would break the ice at 9:50 of the first period after redirecting a point shot from Justin Murray with Ryan MacKinnon also collecting an assist to give the Railers a 1-0 lead. At 7:55 of the period Yanick Turcotte (2ndFM) squared off with Morgan Adams Moisan (3rdFM) for 62 seconds as the two would serve five-minute majors for fighting. Worcester led 1-0 through 20 minutes of play and outshot Maine 20-18. Maine would tie the game at 1-1 at 16:47 in the second stanza when Ted Hart (7th) trailing the play found the puck in the high slot and buried it by Evan Buitnehuis for a power-play score. Just 24 seconds later Drew Callin (8th) from the inner left circle was able to corral the puck and send it by Connor Lacouvee to give the Railers a 2-1 advantage. Feisty play broke out in the final minutes of the stanza as Ben Thomson (1stFM) squared off with Brandon Crawley (2nd) at 18:39. Just 16 seconds later after Drew Callin received a dirty hit by Mikael Robidoux, Kyle Thomas (2ndFM) and received a fighting major as well as a 10 minute game misconduct for the aggressor while Robidoux only received two minutes for charging. Worcester led 2-1 after 40 minutes of play and held the shot edge 31-29. The Mariners tied the game at 2-2 on their seventh power-play of the game which came off the stick of Morgan Adams-Moisan (3rd) at 12:34. Then on the power-play again just 79 seconds later Terrence Wallin (17th) gave Maine their first lead of the game 3-2. Four penalties were called in the final stanza as the Railers only got one power-play vs. the Mariners three and a pair of goals from the Mariners gave the home team the 3-2 win. Notes: Three Stars: 3rd star: Evan Buitenhuis (43 saves) 2nd star: Connor Lacouvee (36 saves, Win) 1st star: Morgan Adams-Moisan (1-0-1, FM) …. final shots were 45-38 in favor of Maine…Connor Lacouvee (11-9-1) made 36 saves on 38 shots Maine… Evan Buitenhuis (9-12-1) made 42 saves on 45 shots for Worcester while Ian Milosz served as the backup…. Worcester went 0-for-5 on the power play while Maine went 3-for-8…. Kyle McKenzie (inj,), Jordan Samuels-Thomas (inj), JD Dudek (IR), Tanner Pond (IR), Connor Doherty, and Cody Payne did not dress for Worcester…. Mike Cornell, David Quenneville, Linus Soderstrom, Jakub Skarek are all currently on recall with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers…. Nic Pierog’s team long six game point streak came to an end…. Arnaud Durandeau (3-2-5) extended his point streak to three games…. 20 shots in the first period for Worcester was the most shots for in a period this season…. The Railers are 11-11-1 under David Cunniff…. The three fighting majors from the Raielrs was the most in a single game this season…. Yanick Turcotte, Ben Thomson, and Kyle Thomas all received fighting majors…. The Railers are 6-7-4-3 all-time vs. the Mariners…. The Railers are 1-4-2-2 all-time at the Cross Insurance Arena.

2022 vs Reading 6-3 loss
Railers fans saw an interesting hockey game and some history Friday night. What they did not see was a victory by the home team as Worcester was beaten by the Reading Royals, 6-3, the last goal going into an empty net. The history involved penalty shots. Each team had one, and made one, in the second period. It was the first time in franchise history there was more than one penalty shot in a game, let alone a period. There is more history on the horizon and on a larger scale. The Railers have now played 27 games this season and have not won two in a row. The Worcester pro record in that category is 30 games, done by the IceCats in 1997-98. The Sharks went 29 games between two-in-a-row in 2012-13. Cole Coskey made the Railers penalty shot at 5:43 of the second period. Thomas Ebbing, who had two goals, beat Ken Appleby at 16:09 that period. Coskey was 1-2-3 and is 2-3-5 in four games since being sent to Worcester by the Bridgeport Islanders. He was scoreless in his first Railers game, so is 2-3-5 in the last three. “He is a stud,” coach David Cuniff said. “He’s here to find his game. That’s what this is all about, our affiliation with the Islanders. He’s really getting relied on and he’s produced for us. That kid can be a monster. We’ll create a monster and he’ll be gone after two good games.” Brent Beaudoin and Charlie Spetz had the other Worcester goals. Beaudoin was 1-1-2 for the second straight game. Ebbing’s penalty shot was a debatable call for sure. He was slashed on a breakaway and the rule says that if a player is fouled from behind, but is able to recover and have a reasonable scoring opportunity, there is a penalty but no penalty shot. Ebbing did get off a good shot, which Appleby stopped. The definition of “reasonable” is hard to nail down and Wohlford decided in Reading’s favor. Anthony Gagnon gave Reading a 1-0 lead at 11:50 of the first period. Spetz tied it at 1-1 at 17:42 with probably the Railers’ longest goal of the year, not counting empty netters. He took a pass from Coskey and drilled home a slap shot from the very top paint of the blue line. The wild second period followed with Coskey giving Worcester an early lead on his penalty shot. The Railers sagged, however, right after that and the Royals scored at 6:13 (Brad Morrison), 9:46 (Kenny Hausinger) and 16:09 (penalty shot). Morrison’s goal came just 30 seconds after Coskey’s and seemed to kill the Railers. Worcester got a shot of late energy, though, when Beaudoin scored at 18:11 on what looked like an innocent 40-foot wrist shot from the left boards. Ebbing scored at 9:56 of the third, then Brayden Low hit the empty net with nine seconds to go. The game marked yet another pro debut in a Railers uniform. Defenseman Austin Osmanski took a turn on defense after being assigned by Springfield. Osmanski is 6-foot-4, 204 pounds and most recently played for Western University in Canada. He is a native of East Aurora, N.Y. but is not the most reknown personality from that town. President Millard Fillmore, whose in-laws were from Whitinsville, spent most of his life in East Aurora. Osmanski was one of seven defensemen in the Railers lineup. Worcester was without captain Jordan Lavallee-Smotherman once again. He remains on the Commissioner’s Exempt List. MAKING TRACKS_ Reading provides the opposition again on Saturday night. The puck gets dropped at 7:05. … Ross Olsson was back in the lineup after missing a game due to suspension. …All-time, the Railers are 4 for 9 on penalty shots including 3 for their last 4. The scorers have been Chris Langkow, Jordan Samuels-Thomas and Drew Callin. Opponents are 4 for 8, and also 3 of their last 4. … Reading goalie Kirill Ustimenko has won his last seven starts versus Worcester and is 8-2-1 lifetime against the Railers.

2023 at Newfoundland 6-4 loss
(RAILERS) The Worcester Railers HC (19-15-2-0 41 pts) fell to the Newfoundland Growlers (25-9-1-0 51 pts) 6-4 on Saturday night, in front of a crowd of 4,706 at the Mary Brown’s Centre. The Railers are home January 20th against the Newfoundland Growlers for a 7:05 EST puck drop. Nolan Vesey (1-0-1) scored the first goal of the game for Worcester early in the first period. Nick Fea (1-0-1) scored his second goal as a Railer giving Worcester a two-goal lead thirteen minutes into the game. The Growlers scored three goals in a row late in the second from Matt Sredl (1-0-1), Zach O’Brien (1-0-1) and Pavel Gogolev (1-0-1). Christian Evers (1-1-2) scored the first goal of the third period, tying the game at 3. Quinn Ryan (1-2-3) scored giving the Railers a 4-3 lead. Pavel Gogolev (2-0-2) tied it back up two minutes later. Keenan Suthers (1-0-1) took the lead back for the Growlers late in the third period. Todd Skirving (1-0-1) scored on an empty net to wrap up the game at 6-4. Worcester got on the scoreboard first again tonight. This time it was Nolan Vesey (11th) who got the opening tally. Zack Bross found Vesey in the neutral zone, Vesey skated the puck across the blue line and fired a wrist shot at Luke Cavallin that set off the buzzer. The Railers made it a two-goal game when Collin Adams found Nick Fea (2nd) wide open in front of Cavallin, who tapped the puck into the net for an easy score. That was the last score of the first period, with Worcester leading 2-0. The Railers were getting outshot 18-7 through the first. Three minutes into the second period the Railers hopped on their third consecutive powerplay after Simon Kubicek was whistled for slashing. The Growlers had a good chance to score a shorthanded goal, but Brent Moran made a spectacular sliding pad save to keep the Growlers scoreless. On the counterattack, Quinn Ryan took a stick to the face which cut him open on the ice. Play paused as the ice crew had to clean up the blood on the ice while Quinn Ryan went to the locker room to be cleaned up. He ultimately returned to the game. With eight minutes left in the second period, the Growlers got on the board for the first time when Matt Sredl (2nd) fired one past Brent Moran. Shortly later Zach O’Brien (16th) scored the tying goal of the game for the Growlers. The Growlers took the lead when Pavel Gogolev (13th) scored giving the Growlers their first lead of the game. The three goals for Newfoundland came 3:16 apart to help end the second period 3-2 Growlers. Newfoundland outshot Worcester 17-10 in the second and were outshooting the Railers 27-16 through two. Worcester entered the third period down by one. The Railers tied the game thanks to a Christian Evers (1st) slap shot soaring past Cavallin. This was also Evers’ first professional goal. Quinn Ryan (11th) took the lead back for Worcester after receiving a pass from his longtime friend Nick Fea and firing a wrist shot into the back of the goal. Pavel Gogolev (14th) didn’t allow the Railers to have the lead for too long as he tied the game back up two minutes after Ryan scored. The Growlers extended their lead when Keenan Suthers (8th) scored. Brent Moran was pulled from the net to get an extra skater, but this opened up a chance for Todd Skirving (15th) to score on the empty net and give the game its final score of 6-4. Worcester was outshot 13-7 in the third, and 40-23 on the game. Notes: 3rd Star: Keenan Suthers (1-0-1 3 shots). 2nd Star: Quinn Ryan (1-2-3 4 shots). 1st Star: Pavel Gogolev (2-0-2 5 shots). Final shots were in favor of Newfoundland 29-23. Luke Cavallin had 23 saves on 19 shots for the Growlers. Brent Moran made 39 saves on 34 shots for Worcester while Henrik Tikkanen served as the backup. Worcester went 0-for-4 on the power play while Newfoundland went 0-for-1. Bobby Butler (DNP), Reese Newkirk (DNP), Anthony Repaci (DNP), Liam Coughlin (DNP), Jack Quinlivan (IR), Phil Beaulieu (IR), and Blake Christensen (IR) did not dress for Worcester. Jake Schultz led the team in shots with 6. The Railers are now 11-21-2-2 all-time vs the Newfoundland Growlers and 4-13-1-1 at the Mary Brown’s Center against Newfoundland.

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