1995 at Adirondack 2-1 loss
(GLENS FALLS) If the American Hockey League handed out points for effort, the Worcester IceCats would have something to show for their weekend road games against Binghamton and Adirondack. Only wins and ties count, however, and the IceCats made the trip back to Massachusetts empty-handed following one-goal losses to the Rangers and Red Wings. The losses dropped the IceCats to 3-13-3 on the road and 12-26-8 overall. Chris Osgood, playing the second and final game of a weekend conditioning stint on loan from Detroit, showed why he is an NHL goaltender with 31 saves, including 11 in the third period when the IceCats were pressing for the tying goal. The victory pushed the Wings’ home unbeaten streak to 4-0-2 since a 6-2 loss to Albany on Dec. 26. And it came at the expense of the IceCats, who are last in the Northern Division but had a win and a tie in their first two trips to the Civic Center. Adirondack built a 2-0 lead in the second period on goals by Jason York and Jason Miller. The IceCats cut the lead to one goal when Dave Baseggio scored with 1:17 to play in the second period and spent much of the final period in the Adirondack zone. Osgood was assigned to Adirondack on Friday for a quickie conditioning stint in the AHL. Osgood, who is scheduled to return to Detroit today, lost at Rochester, 5-3, Friday night. Osgood was at his best in the first period when the IceCats had three power plays and in the third period when they carried the play. Adirondack broke the scoreless tie at 3:01 of the second period with a power-play goal by York. A drop pass by Joe Frederick left York with an open shot from the top of the left faceoff circle. Like Osgood, York was assigned to Adirondack for conditioning following the NHL lockout. York was a first-team AHL all-star with Adirondack last season. Jason Miller gave the Red Wings a two-goal lead at 6:55. Standing at the front of the crease, Miller was able to sweep the the puck behind Cowley for his 15th goal of the season. A Worcester defenseman stepped up in an attempt to block a shot by defenseman Aaron Ward. The puck got through to Miller, though, and he put it under Cowley as the goaltender was going down. Baseggio scored Worcester’s only goal at 18:43 of the second period on a slap shot from the top of the circle. Center Jim Bermingham, a former Red Wings player in his second game with the IceCats, won a faceoff in the Adirondack zone back to Baseggio, who was able to get off an uncontested shot. Osgood got a piece of the puck with his stick, but could not control it.
1996 vs Springfield 2-0 loss
The Worcester IceCats fired 31 shots on Falcons goaltender Manny Legace but didn’t beat him once in a ‘Cats 2-0 loss to Springfield. Andre Faust scored at :44 of the middle period on the power play and Jeff Bes had an even strength goal at 10:39 of the third. Eric Fichaud made 29 saves in the loss. [210Sports note: IceCats head coach Jim Roberts was give a game misconduct after the first period when he argued with referee Scott Zelkin for calling Denis Chasse for diving. Roberts was ultimately suspended one game and fined $200.]
2000 at Albany 4-0 loss
(TICKER) Frederic Henry stopped 40 shots for his first shutout of the season and Steve Kelly scored a pair of goals as the Albany River Rats blanked the Worcester IceCats, 4-0. Henry collected 15 in the opening period and improved to 10-12-2. Kelly, who took only three shots in the contest, provided Albany’s first two goals. Pierre Dagenais and Steve Brule both added a goal and two assists for the River Rats, who are unbeaten in two meetings with Worcester (1-0-1). Brent Johnson, who suffered his 11th loss of the season, had 32 saves for the IceCats.
2001 vs Providence 4-2 win
The Worcester IceCats scored three third period goals to upend the Providence Bruins 4-2. Cameron Mann gave the Baby-Bs the first period lead with a power play goal at 6:39. Jame Pollock answered back at 11:39 with an IceCats power play goal assisted by Darren Rumble and Pascal Rheaume. It stayed 1-1 until 2:01 of the third period when Rheaume connected on the power play assisted by Rumble. Mann tied it for the Baby-Bs at 2:47 with another power play goal. Eric Boguniecki got the eventual game winner at 9:00, assisted by Mark Rycroft and Rheaume. Justin Papineau grabbed an insurance marker at 18:18, from Shawn Mamane and Jason Lawmaster, for the 4-2 final. John Grahame had 38 saves in a losing effort for Providence, while Dwayne Roloson made 21 for the win.
2005 vs Hartford 4-1 win
(ICECATS) The Worcester IceCats beat the Hartford Wolf Pack in convincing fashion, 4-1, last night before 5,619 fans at the DCU Center. It was Worcester’s fourth straight home victory and seventh in their last eight. Mike Glumac broke a scoreless deadlock 14:54 into the second period on Worcester’s fourth power play. It took the ‘Cats just 13 seconds to score on the man-advantage, with Glumac tipping home a Mike Mottau wrist shot taken from the point. Jon DiSalvatore was also credited with a helper on Glumac’s 11th goal of the season. Jay McClement’s unassisted goal at 6:48 of the third period opened a 2-0 lead for the ‘Cats. McClement beat Jason LaBarbera stick-side on a 2-on-1, using Troy Riddle as the decoy. Hartford split Worcester’s two-goal lead at 11:50 when Bryce Lampman tallied a power play goal right off a face-off in the IceCats zone. The ‘Cats regained the two-goal advantage on D.J. King’s breakway goal at 15:45. Aris Brimanis spotted King and sent the rookie in all alone on LaBarbera. Peter Sejna added an empty net marker with a little under four minutes to play. Worcester goaltender Jason Bacashihua made 28 saves to improve his record to 13-6 and 9-2 at home. LaBarbera finished with 21 saves in the Wolf Pack net.
2007 at Lowell 3-2 win
(DEVILS) Two third period goals carried the Worcester Sharks (20-16-1-6) to a 3-2 victory over the Lowell Devils (19-20-3-1) Sunday evening at the Tsongas Arena. The Devils and Sharks skated to a scoreless first period. The clubs only managed a combined 15 shots on goal amid strong defensive play. Worcester and Lowell have had a low-scoring series this season, with just 33 combined goals in the first six games. Frank Doyle got the start in net for the Devils, and Dmitri Patzold manned the crease for the Sharks. Lowell drew first blood in the second stanza. Stephen Gionta scored for the second straight game at 13:03, redirecting a shot from Mike Mottau past Patzold to make it 1-0. The Sharks bounced right back, however, tying the game just 38 seconds later. Graham Mink tied it up with his 10th of the season. Four of his tallies this year have come in the last three meetings with the Devils. Lowell outshot the Sharks 17-9 in the period. In the third, Worcester jumped in front by a pair. Riley Armstrong (13th) and Josh Prudden (2nd) lit the lamp at 1:41 and 9:23, respectively, of the final frame, as the Sharks piled up 21 shots on goal in the period. Andy Greene, in his first game back from New Jersey, put the Devils within a goal in the final minutes, but it’s as close as Lowell could get. Worcester outshot the Devils 39-35 in the game.
2008 at Springfield 3-2 win OT
(WORSHARKS) In one of their most spirited efforts of the season, the Worcester Sharks battled back from a 2-0 first period deficit, and won a thrilling 3-2 overtime game on Monday evening at the Mass Mutual Center in Springfield. The Sharks tied the score via a Derek Joslin goal at 19:12 of the third period and won it at 1:13 of overtime on Tom Cavanagh’s second overtime game winner of the season. Goaltender Taylor Dakers had a tremendous game in relief, making 19 saves on 19 shots over 50:48 for his fourth win of the season. Springfield took the 1-0 advantage at 9:34 of the first period when Ryan O’Marra skated up the ice on the left wing and took a wrist shot from just inside the blue line. It knuckled toward Patzold and fluttered past him on his stick side. Stephane Goulet and Rick Berry were credited with assists on the play. Off the ensuing faceoff, the Falcons made it 2-0 at 9:46. Ben Simon found himself right outside of the crease and beat Patzold, while also knocking him out of the game, as he was pulled in favor of Dakers. Troy Brodie picked up the first assist with Berry recording his second helper of the game. On its second-consecutive power play, Worcester had a golden opportunity to cut the lead to one when Riley Armstrong took a shot from the left wing side and the rebound bounced right to Lukas Kaspar inside the right faceoff circle. Kaspar tried to pick the right side of the net, but Springfield goaltender Jeff Deslauriers moved quickly from his right to left to make the impressive save. Patzold made four saves in 9:46 of action, while Dakers played the final 10:14 of the first period, with no shots coming his way. It looked like the Falcons would take a 3-0 lead at 8:57 of the second period. After Dakers made a tremendous save, he was sprawled on the ice and couldn’t get back for the next Springfield shot. Patrick Traverse was there, though, to knock the puck away that was ticketed for the back of the net. Armstrong took the puck coast to coast and unleashed a hard slap shot from just inside the blue line to cut Springfield’s lead to 2-1. It found the left side of the net for his tenth goal of the season at 9:03. At 6:17 of the third period, Kaspar had a breakaway opportunity as Graham Mink stepped out of the penalty box to join the play. Kaspar left the puck for Mink, but he wasn’t ready for it, so the opportunity to tie the score went by the boards without a shot attempt. After failing to score over the first 19 minutes of the third period, the Sharks pulled Dakers with one minute remaining in regulation, looking for their first extra attacker goal of the season. That they would get as Tom Walsh made a pass from just inside the near blue line to Joslin in the right faceoff circle. Joslin whistled the puck to top the left corner of the net for his sixth of the season. Kaspar picked up the other assist on the play. The Sharks rode the momentum into the extra session as Mink fired a shot from just inside the blue line at 1:13. Cavanagh tipped the puck by Deslauriers for the thrilling 3-2 win. It was his second overtime game-winner of the season. Joslin tallied the other helper.
2011 at Portland 5-2 loss
(WORSHARKS) The Sharks led 1-0 and 2-1 but the Pirates scored the only three goals in the third period as Worcester fell 5-2 at the Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland on Friday night. T.J Trevelyan and Frazer McLaren scored for the Sharks and Carter Hutton made 30 saves in the loss at Portland. Jody Pederson, Cory Quirk, and Jay Leach added assists for the Sharks as the Pirates got goals from five different skaters. Carter Hutton made some good saves early in net for Worcester to set the stage for the Sharks first goal of the game at 4:38. T.J. Trevelyan (10th) scored in his second straight game as he rushed down the right wing and snapped a shot from the right circle and past the glove hand of David Leggio to put the Sharks ahead 1-0. The Pirates tied the score at 8:28 as Derek Whitmore (16th) found a loose puck on top of the Sharks crease and fired the puck through a screen and through the pads of Carter Hutton. Frazer McLaren (1st) struck just 28 seconds later as he took a great feed into the offensive zone by Cory Quirk and snapped a quick shot over the shoulder of Leggio to give the Sharks a 2-1 advantage. Worcester led 2-1 after twenty minutes of play. Former Shark Dennis McCauley (8th) deflected a centering feed into the crease by Mark Mancari past Carter Hutton to tie the score at 2-2 for the only score in a tight checking middle period. The Pirates scored three more goals in the third period to close out the Sharks by the score of 5-2. Brian Roloff (2nd) put the Pirates ahead for good at 2:55 to give Portland a 3-2 lead. The Sharks could not score on a full five minute major power play after Tim Conboy was whistled for a major penalty for checking to the head at 6:56 as he hit Cory Quirk in the neutral zone. Frazer McLaren fought Conboy after the questionable hit. Portland then received goals by Igor Gongalsky (3rd) and an empty netter by Mark Mancari (20th) to take the three goal victory. The Sharks record falls to 20-17-2-5 with 47 points and to 10-10-1-3 away from the DCU Center.
2012 vs Providence 3-2 win OT
(WORSHARKS) Worcester Sharks captain Mike Moore scored the overtime game winning goal at 2:45 on the power play in front of the 2nd largest crowd in Sharks history (8,840) in a thrilling 3-2 win over the Providence Bruins at the DCU Center in Worcester on Saturday night. Antero Niittymaki made 26 saves in net for Worcester and Marek Viedensky scored in his second straight game and added an overtime assist in the victory. The Sharks close out the 3-in-3 weekend with a 1pm start at the DCU Center on Sunday vs. the first place St. John’s IceCaps. A fast and furious pace was the name of the game in the first period with each team buzzing up and down the ice. After Jimmy Bonneau (15th FM) landed several rights and lefts on Lane MacDermid (11th FM) in a long fight at 18:04, the Sharks offense came to life. Jack Combs (7th) deflected a centering pass from Sean Sullivan past Michael Hutchinson at 19:18 to give Worcester a 1-0 lead. Chad Costello, making his Sharks debut, grabbed the secondary assist, leading the Sharks rush into to Bruins zone after great work by Brandon Mashinter deep in his own end. Worcester led 1-0 after 20 minutes despite being outshot 11-10. The Bruins charged out to a 2-1 lead in the second period before Sharks rookie Marek Viedensky tied the score back for the Sharks. Bobby Robbins (2nd) clanged the puck off the post from the right circle and then off the back of Antero Niittymaki to tie the score at 1-1 at 4:27. Providence went ahead with a power play strike at 11:38 after Josh Hennessy’s (13th) wrap around attempt was roofed past Niittymaki to put Worcester down by one. The Sharks would tie the game after a great individual effort by Marek Viedensky (4th) at 15:50 past Michael Hutchinson which was assisted by Brandon Mashinter. Worcester held a 20-17 shot advantage through 40 minutes of play. Neither team scored in the third period with Worcester holding a 14-9 shot advantage as the two teams headed to overtime. Both teams were whistled for early penalties in the overtime period which led to several chances with 3-on-3 play. The Sharks would win it with a great entry into the Bruins zone by Marek Viedensky and a feed to the left side to Sean Sullivan. Sean then sent the puck towards the net which was jammed in by Mike Moore (2nd) past a fallen Michael Hutchinson at 2:45 for the game winner. Worcester’s record improves to 20-12-3-4 (47pts in 39gp) and 11-7-0-1 at the DCU Center.
2014 at Portland 6-3 win
(WORSHARKS) The Worcester Sharks (19-15-3-1, 42pts) hit the midway point of the 2013-14 season with an impressive 6-3 victory over the Portland Pirates (15-16-1-6, 37pts) in front of 1,623 fans at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee in on Tuesday evening. Dan DaSilva (3-1-4), Yanni Gourde (0-4-4), Travis Oleksuk (1-2-3), and Matt Tennyson (1-2-3) all had big games offensively for Worcester while Harri Sateri was solid in goal with 25 saves as the Sharks extended their point streak to six games (5-0-1-0) with the victory. Worcester fired a season high 47 shots on goal which included seven shots from defenseman Sena Acolatse who also added a goal and an assist in the win over the Pirates. The Sharks grabbed a 1-0 advantage at 11:17 of the opening period as Dan DaSilva (5th) fired a centering feed from Yanni Gourde past rookie netminder Louis Domingue. Portland would tie the score with 1:57 left as rookie Lucas Lessio (13th) broke behind the Worcester defense and sent a back hander past Harri Sateri. Worcester outshot Portland 16-6 through 20 minutes but the score was tied 1-1. A high scoring second period saw three lead changes with each team finding the back of the net on two occasions. Portland came out charging and took a 2-1 lead at 7:08 as Brendon Yip (3rd) fired a rebound past Harri Sateri. Worcester answered back and tied the score at 9:04 as defenseman Matt Tennyson (3rd) fired home a rebound past Domingue. The Pirates retook the lead at 14:13 with a Brandon Gormley (3rd) power play marker followed by Travis Oleksuk’s (6th) game changing strike at 19:56 with a deflection off a Matt Tennyson point shot as the two teams headed into the 2nd intermission tied at 3-3. Worcester controlled the third period scoring three more times and outshooting Portland 18-3. Dan DaSilva (6th) scored the eventual game winner at 2:54 and followed it up with the hat trick score at 6:38 with a wicked shot off a faceoff win in the Pirates zone for his 7th goal of the season. Sena Acolatse (3rd) finished the scoring at 16:06 with a blast from the point as the Sharks took home the 6-3 win in Lewiston. The Sharks overall record improves to 19-15-30-1, 42pts and 10-8-3-0, 23pts on the road.
2015 at Portland 3-2 win
(WORSHARKS) The Worcester Sharks (21-14-3-2, 47pts) picked up a franchise record 8th straight win after a come from behind 3-2 victory over the Portland Pirates (22-17-3-0, 47pts) in front of 1,844 fans at the Cross Insurance Arena on Wednesday evening. Jeremy Langlois scored a natural hat trick in the third period after Worcester trailed 2-0 through 40 minutes. JP Anderson made 16 saves while Jimmy Bonneau served as the backup goaltender as Troy Grosenick fell ill right before game time. Evan Trupp added three assists and Bryan Lerg had two helpers as Worcester also set a franchise record with a nine game point streak (8-0-0-1). Henrik Samuelsson (7th) crashed the net and tipped in a centering pass past JP Anderson at 11:58 for the only score of the first period as Portland had a 1-0 lead through 20 minutes. Each team had six shots on goal. Portland took a 2-0 lead after Jordan Martinook (10th) deflected a Dylan Reese shot past JP Anderson at 16:17 of the second period. Worcester outshot Portland 8-2 in the middle frame but trailed 2-0 after 40 minutes of play. Jeremy Langlois (12th, and 13th) scored at 7:06 and 12:07 of the third period to tie the score at 2-2. Langlois (14th) recorded the natural hat trick with a tremendous rush and score down the right side as he cut through two defenders and sent a shot through the pads of Louis Domingue at 18:10 to give Worcester the 3-2 advantage. JP Anderson made 10 saves in the third period, including a pair of great stops in the final 45 seconds as the Sharks held on for the 3-2 win. The Sharks overall record improves to 21-14-3-2, 47pts, and 8-8-1-1, 18pts on the road this season.
2018 vs Wheeling 4-2 loss
(RAILERS) The Worcester Railers HC (15-19-3-2, 35pts) dropped a 4-2 decision to the visiting Wheeling Nailers (23-16-3-0, 49pts) in front of 2,552 fans at the DCU Center on Sunday afternoon. Woody Hudson scored his team leading 14th goal of the season and Brian Bowen scored his 2nd while Yanick Turcotte picked up his ECHL leading 13th fighting major in the home loss. Eamon McAdam made 28 saves as the Railers dropped to 0-3-0-0 on their season long 11 game homestand. Wheeling picked up their 6th win in their last seven games as Jake Taylor, Cody Wydo, and Troy Josephs all had a goal and an assist for the Nailers. Wheeling grabbed the only goal in the opening frame with a lucky bounce on the power play as Troy Josephs (6th) found a loose puck in the right circle and fired past Eamon McAdam at 12:59. McAdam made several nice stops in the opening frame as Wheeling outshot Worcester 13-11. Worcester tied the score 1-1 just nine seconds into the second period as Nick Saracino skated down the leftwing side and sent a shot from a tough angle and goaltender Adam Morrison left a juicy rebound for Woody Hudson (14th). Yanick Turcotte (13th FM) and Jeremy Beirnes (13th FM) fought for the third time this season with another good scrap at center ice at 5:13. Wheeling would strike twice more on the power play as Reid Gardiner (21st) at 13:14 and Jeff Taylor (4th) at 15:03 each found the back of the net to end the second period. Wheeling led 3-1 after 40 minutes and outshot Worcester 22-17 through 40 minutes of play. Brian Bowen (2nd) tipped a Matt Lane shot on the power play at 12:44 to cut the Nailers lead to 3-2. Worcester had a few chances late but Cody Wydo (15th) put the game away with an empty net goal at 19:43 as the Nailers took home the 4-2 victory.
2022 vs Trois-Rivieres 4-3 loss
(RAILERS) Worcester was beaten by Trois-Rivieres, 4-3, in what was one of those you-can’t-leave-your-seat games that was compelling from start to finish. The Railers fell behind early, mounted a comeback and finally succumbed on Cedric Montminy’s second goal of the game with 3:28 left in the third period, a rebound just after Worcester had a killed a penalty. “We did some good things,” Railers coach Dave Cunniff said. “We played faster, we moved the puck up quicker, but I don’t think we had everybody going and at this level you can’t have that and win.” Bobby Butler, back in uniform for what everybody hopes is long term, had limited ice time and registered two assists in those cameos. He is 1-4-5 in two games since coming out of retirement. “Everything will be day to day with him,” Cunniff said. “His body’s going to determine what he wants to do. I want to have Bobby for the long run, not the short run, so we’re going to try to be smart with him but they he’s playing it’s not going to be easy.” Ross Olsson, Nolan Vesey and John Furgele had the Railers goals. Two were on the power play, a unit that has been working well for Worcester lately. The Railers were 2 for 5 in this game and are 4 for 9 in their last two. Shawn St. Amant and Justin Ducharme had the other goals for the Lions. This was their first victory of 2022 but that comes with an asterisk. It was their first game of the calendar year thanks to Covid issues. Overall, the Lions are 11-2-1 in their last 14 games and are 9-4-0 on the road. “They’re big, they’re fast and they’re skilled,” Cunniff said of the opposition. “If you don’t bump them on the forecheck, their defense jumps into the play and it’s a long night because then it’s a track meet and that’s their game.” St. Amant gave the visitors an early lead when he sniped a wrist shot past Ken Appleby from the left circle at 4:21 of the first period. Olsson responded with a power play goal at 13:05, redirecting a terrific pass from Will Cullen from just outside the crease. The Lions came back less than three minutes later, though, as Montminy knocked home a rebound from in close. Trois-Rivieres made it 3-1 when Ducharme put home a rebound and the Railers were reeling. They came back nicely, however, with Vesey scoring from the left side at 7:38 and Furgele blasting a slap shot past Tristan Berube at 9:58, a shot that changed direction along the way for another power play goal. Both teams went up and down the ice after that, the game occasionally resembling a long overtime period. There were great saves by the goalies — Appleby finished with 39, Berube with 34 — some missed chances and a few pucks that hit metal. The Railers and their parent teams are beginning to get healthier and this Worcester roster — if it can stay healthy and get even a little more help from above — looks like it can compete. MAKING TRACKS_ Worcester added a pair of rookies in the last few days, forwards Ethan Price and Danny Katic, both out of the Canadian college ranks. Neither played Friday night. … The Railers’ first 3-in-3 home weekend continues with a game here Saturday night versus Adirondack. … Lavallee-Smotherman’s stay on the Commissioner’s Exempt List ended and he was back in action and had an assist. He is 3-3-6 in his last four games. Jacob Hayhurst had an assist and is 1-6-7 in his last four games. … Chris Ordoobadi, Connor McCarthy and Karl Boudrias are all on the Commissioner’s Exempt List. That makes it 16 different Worcester players who have been on the list so far this season. … Gotta like those Trois-Rivieres road uniforms. … This is what it was like back in the 1950s and ‘60s — every player on the Lions’ roster was from Canada, all but one from the province of Quebec. Forward Cameron Hillis is from Oshawa, Ontario. … Not a coincidence, no doubt, but there was a lot of Meat Loaf on the sound system even though baseball was his prefered sport. … Olsson battled Danick Malouin in the second period and knocked Malouin’s helmet off. Malouin, 30, has spent the last seven seasons in the scrappy LNAH in Quebec.
2023 vs Maine 3-1 loss
(RAILERS) It seems as though every Railers game this season has involved the hottest team in the ECHL. In the glorious early days of the year, Worcester was that team. Since then things have gone in the other direction. The Railers ran into Idaho from the west, then played Reading when the Royals were hot, Newfoundland which is always hot, and now the Maine Mariners who are as close to invincible as it gets in this league. They beat the Railers, 3-1, Saturday night before a big crowd of 6,045 on Bobby Butler Bobblehead Night. Maine has earned 21 points of a possible 22 in its last 11 games, the one defect being a shootout loss to Worcester in Portland. The Mariners are a remarkable 15-3-1 on the road this season. Worcester and Maine almost always play interesting games and this was no exception. It was a great goaltending duel between two goalies with NHL experience, the Railers’ Ken Appleby and Michael DiPietro of the Mariners. Between them, the two men combined to stop 77 of the 81 shots on goal. Appleby had 42 saves, DiPietro 35. Appleby kept his team in the game in the first 40 minutes when the Railers were outshot by 38-13. DiPietro was sensational in the third period when Worcester had a 23-7 advantage in shots. The Railers had to play from behind for most of the night. Alex Kile put Maine ahead at 15:54 of the first period, Nate Kallen made it 2-0 at 3:34 of the second and Grant Gabriele gave the Mariners a 3-0 lead at 3:20 of the third. Reece Newkirk scored the Worcester goal at 10:06 of the third, an event that commenced an eventful closing section of the game. Newkirk went directly to the penalty box after the goal, having engaged in some roughing with Tyler Hinam. As the clock wound down, Newkirk and former Railer Connor Doherty began sparring and that eventually erupted into something more serious at the final buzzer. Both wound up with double minors for roughing. For many of the games during their current skid, it has been more the “when” of the goals allowed than the raw numbers for Worcester. Such was the case Saturday night. The Railers put together a dominant power play at 13:24 of the first period when Maine’s Gabriel Chicoine was called for a high stick. Worcester had several great chances, the best right near the end when Collin Adams could not hit a mostly vacant net from the bottom of the right circle. That momentum dissolved almost immediately when Kile popped a short one home just 30 seconds after the Mariners regained full strength. It was 1-0 after 20 minutes but Railers defenseman Christian Evers was in the box when the second period opened. Worcester wound up having to kill a triple penalty as Zack Bross was exiled at 0:49, then Myles McGurty at 1:20. The Railers killed those penalties remarkably well, but Kallen sucked the life out of that achievement by connecting on a rebound just five seconds after McGurty’s penalty expired. Worcester, in fourth place, finishes this three-in-three weekend Sunday afternoon with a game against Trois-Rivieres which is in fifth place. It will be just the fourth time in 19 games the Railers played a team that wasn’t in first or second place. MAKING TRACKS – The crowd was the third-largest of the season. The Railers are 8-3-1 all-time before home crowds bigger than 7,000 but just 3-6-0 when attendance is between 6,000 and 7,000. … Jordan Kaplan, who was on his fourth ECHL team this season when he joined the Railers, has gone to Europe so was suspended by the team. That is standard procedure in such cases. … The Railers and Mariners do not play again until March 5, then play six games in a span of 30 days. … Butler did not score but had an assist on his night. He and Doherty had an all-Central Mass. ceremonial puck drop. Butler is from Marlboro, Doherty from Holden.
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