Today in Worcester hockey history: January 27

1995 at Portland 5-3 win
(PORTLAND) The Worcester IceCats have been flirting with success for several weeks. Last night they found it against the best team in the American Hockey League as the IceCats beat the Portland Pirates, 5-3, before a sellout crowd of 6,796 at the Cumberland County Civic Center. An all-around solid effort gave the IceCats their second win over the Pirates. Portland leads the series, 6-2-1. Goaltender Chris Gordon turned away 31 shots, and Cal McGowan scored two goals. The first period mirrored Wednesday’s 3-3 tie at the Centrum. The Pirates scored on their first shot of the game, but the IceCats scored late to tie. Pirate Jeff Nelson won a faceoff in the left-wing circle and passed back to Sergei Gonchar, who sent a quick wrist shot through traffic toward the net. Andrew Brunette tipped the puck past Gordon at 2:24. The Pirates gained their first power play at 16:25 of the first period after a tussle between Pirate Jim Mathieson and IceCat Terry Virtue. They should have declined. Portland pressured the Worcester zone, and Jensen wound up for a big slap shot at the right point. But Jensen’s stick snapped in two pieces, leaving the puck for IceCat Mark Ouimet. As Jensen gave chase, Ouimet streaked into the Portland zone and beat goaltender Jim Carey for a short-handed goal at 17:55. It was Ouimet’s first short-handed goal, and only the seventh for the IceCats this season. McGowan took advantage of a Portland defensive mistake to give the IceCats a 2-1 lead at 9:29 of the second period. He lifted a loose puck over Carey’s shoulder for his seventh goal of the season. Portland tied the score with a power-play goal at 16:17. Brunette got his second of the night when he poked the puck behind Gordon, who had turned to face Martin Gendron at the right post. But Worcester answered quickly for a 3-2 lead when new Cat Jim Bermingham capitalized on another Portland defensive mistake to beat Carey at 17:38 of the second. The Pirates came out in force in the final period, but Gordon (12 saves) held them off and Worcester struck first. Sean Heaphy broke in alone on Carey to give the IceCats a 4-2 lead at 17:15. Portland cut the lead to 4-3 with a power-play goal at 19:41 when Brunette completed his hat trick. But McGowan scored into an empty net with eight seconds left to secure the win.

1996 vs Providence 4-2 win
The Worcester IceCats got three second period goals as they defeated the Providence Bruins 4-2. After a scoreless opening period Craig Darby got the ‘Cats on the board just 12 seconds into the middle period, assisted by Jamie Rivers. Cam Stewart would tie the game with a shorthanded goal at 5:40. Jarrett Deuling gave Worcester the lead back with a goal at 9:18, with Derek Armstrong and Terry Virtue picking up assists. Virtue made it a 3-1 lead at 12:27, with Patrice Tardif picking up the lone helpers. In the third period Ken Sutton made it a three goal lead at 4:00 with Jason Strudwick and Darby assisting. Ted Crowley added a power play goal at 19:15 for the 4-2 final. Mike Buzak made 35 saves in the game and was the #1 star. Buzak also stopped a second period Mitch Lamoureux penalty shot.

1999 at Providence 5-4 loss
Despite a Jamal Mayers hat trick the Worcester IceCats fell to the Providence Bruins 5-4 at the Civic Center. In the first period Cameron Mann opened the scoring with a backhander that was just under the crossbar. Less than five minutes later, the Bruins struck again when Eric Nickulas banged a rebound in to light the lamp. Mayers broke through for the IceCats with an unassisted goal at 6:52 of the second period to make it 2-1. Less than three minutes after Mayers scored, Nickulas scored again on the backhand. At 14:31, the Bruins went up 4-1 when Laaksonen beat Brent Johnson short side. Mayers second goal of the contest came just 28 seconds into the third period when he banged home the rebound of Tyson Nash’s shot. Mayers then made it a one goal game at 6:50 after gathering the puck after a wild goal mouth scramble. Marty Reasoner the scored at 9:21 to tie the game, with Jeremiah McCarthy providing the helper. On the power play Landon Wilson then scored the eventual game winner for Providence.

2001 vs Philadelphia 6-5 win OT
The Worcester IceCats and Philadelphia Phantoms combined for six first period goal, and then exchanged leads over the final 40 minutes of regulation before heading to overtime where the ‘Cats ended up on top in a 6-5 final. Mike Peluso opened the wild opening stanza with a power play goal at 1:39, assisted by Marty Reasoner and Darren Rumble. Tomas Divisek returned the favor at 5:28 to make it 1-1. Darren Clark then had the next two goals for the IceCats, the first at 6:26 assisted by Mark Rycroft and the second was an unassisted shorthanded tally at 10:32. That chased Philly netminder Brian Regan from the game. The Phantoms would come roaring back to tie it in the frame on goals by Derek Plante (13:02) and Brad Tiley (19:42). Curtis Sanford replaced Worcester goaltender Cody Rudkowsky to start the second period, but that didn’t work out so well when Michel Picard scored at 2:40 to give the Phantoms the lead. It stayed 4-3 until 10:04 of the third when Reasoner tied it for the ‘Cats assisted by Rumble and Dale Clarke. Peluso then got Worcester the lead at 11:12 on a major power play, assisted by Pascal Rheaume and Clarke. But 12 seconds later Mark Greig had an unassisted shorthanded goal to send the game to overtime. The ‘Cats had all three shots in the extra session, the third by Reasoner lit the lamp for the 6-5 win. Clarke and Justin Papineau had the assists on the goal.

2007 vs Providence 5-2 loss
(WORSHARKS) In front of a capacity crowd of 7,230 at the DCU Center, the Worcester Sharks fell to division rival Providence by a margin of 5-2 on Friday night. A 5-0 advantage would hold into the third period, until Worcester finally solved Providence goaltending. Patrick Traverse found Mike Iggulden out in front of the net, and the Sharks’ second-leading goal scorer tallied his 16th of the year to narrow the deficit to 5-1. Iggulden would strike again on an assist from Brady Leisenring with just over a minute remaining in regulation to produce the final score of 5-2 in favor of the Bruins.

2010 vs Manitoba 3-1 win
(WORSHARKS) Worcester returned home to the friendly confines of the DCU Center and defeated the Manitoba Moose, 3-1, in the first-ever meeting between the two teams. It was the fourth consecutive victory for the Sharks. Benn Ferriero scored the game-winner and Alex Stalock was impressive in net, making 29 stops. Early in the first period, Manitoba looked like it would take advantage of a few Sharks turnovers in the neutral zone, but Stalock made three tremendous stops on Moose breakaway opportunities to keep the game scoreless. Stalock hung on just long enough and the Sharks got on the board first at the 17:05 mark. Brandon Mashinter (13) found the back of the net from the right wing off a feed from Kevin Henderson. Frazer McLaren also assisted on the tally. It turned out to be the only goal for either side in the period. Worcester outshot Manitoba, 9-6. Ferriero (11) doubled Worcester’s advantage 1:45 into the second period of play. After receiving a pass from Steven Zalewski, Ferreiro wristed one from the high slot, blocker-side, past former Boston College teammate Cory Schneider. Schneider and Stalock traded saves the rest of the period and the teams headed for the locker rooms with Worcester ahead, 2-0. The Moose held the advantage in the shot department, outshooting the Sharks, 15-14. Manitoba, hungry for a win, ratcheted up the pressure in the third period. After a long, sustained offensive zone attack, Guillaume Desbiens found Nikita Kashirski (2) all alone in front of the net and he went top-shelf past Stalock to make the score, 2-1. Mike Pettinger picked up the other assist. At 18:11 of the third period, Mike Moore was called for hooking on a streaking Sergei Shirokov, and the Moose quickly pulled Schneider to make it a six-on-four advantage. Yet, it was the Sharks who would put the game out of reach at the 19:58 mark. Zalewski cleared the puck out of the Sharks zone and it trickled the length of the ice into the open net and made the final, 3-1 Worcester. Shots were even at nine apiece for the final period.

2018 vs Quad City 5-2 win
(RAILERS) The Worcester Railers HC (17-19-3-2, 39pts) picked up their second straight win with a 5-2 victory over the visiting Quad City Mallards (11-24-3-1, 26pts) in front of 4,439 fans at the DCU Center on Saturday evening. Brock Beukeboom recorded three points (1-2-3) which included his first professional goal, Matty Gaudreau (1-1-2) struck again on the power play, Nick Saracino (1-1-2), Chris Langkow (1-1-2), and Matt Lane also found the back of the net as the Railers improved to 2-3-0-0 on their eleven game homestand. Eamon McAdam made 26 saves in net for his second straight win and 10th overall while the Railers scored two power play goals in their second straight game. Railers rookie Connor Doherty picked up his first pro fighting major in the opening minute vs. Jake Bolton to set the tone in the opening frame and got the crowd buzzing. The Railers scored a power play goal in their season high fifth straight game as Matty Gaudreau (8th) fired the puck from the left circle with Chris Langkow providing a screen from on top of the crease at 17:56 to give the Railers a 1-0 lead. Quad City would tie the score at 1-1 in the closing seconds after a faceoff win to the left of Eamon McAdam and a deflected shot from the point that was cleaned up at the side of the net by Triston Grant (5th) at 19:47. Shots were 12-8 Railers through 20 minutes of play. Nick Saracino (4th) gave the Railers a 2-1 lead at 6:21 of the second period with a great deflection of a Brock Beukeboom shot that flared past goaltender Ivan Kulbakov. Worcester would go ahead by two goals at 18:58 as Brock Beukeboom (1st) scored his first professional goal on the power play with a shot from five feet on top of the right circle that just broke through the Mallards netminder and just trickled over the goal line. The Railers led 3-1 after 40 minutes and held a 23-19 shot advantage through two periods of play. Chris Langkow (10th) extended the Railers lead to 4-1 at 3:48 of the third period after Matty Gaudreau stole the puck on the forecheck and found Langkow alone in the slot. Yanick Turcotte (15th FM) dropped Travis Armstrong in a one-sided fight at 4:08 as the physical play continued. Brayden Low (8th) struck on the power play at 11:15 to cut the Railers lead to 4-2. But Matt Lane (5th) answered right back just 46 seconds later to cap the score and give the Railers a 5-2 victory for the second straight game over the Mallards.

2019 at Manchester 5-2 loss
(RAILERS) The Worcester Railers HC (19-18-3-2, 43pts) closed out a 3-in-3 weekend with a 5-2 loss to the host Manchester Monarchs (22-18-1-1, 46pts) in front of 2,052 fans at the SNHU Arena on Sunday afternoon. Nick Sorkin and Tyler Barnes scored for Worcester while Mitch Gillam made 20 saves in net for the Railers before he was replaced by Evan Buitenhuis midway through the hockey game. Tony Cameranesi scored twice and added an assist for the Monarchs and goaltender Cole Kehler made 33 saves in net for the win as Worcester fell to 7-11-0-1 on the road this season. With the loss, Worcester now trails the Brampton Beast by three points for the final playoff spot in the North Division. Nick Sorkin (9th) gave the Railers a 1-0 lead at 3:09 as he zipped a quick shot from the right slot assisted by Josh Holmstrom and Matty Gaudreau. But Manchester would counter with a pair of goals as Joe Sullivan (6th) tied it at 4:56 and Tony Cameranesi (11th) gave Manchester the 2-1 advantage at 8:06. Manchester outshot Worcester 17-12 in the opening frame as Mitch Gillam was a busy netminder through 20 minutes of play. Manchester struck three more times in the second period as David Kolomatis (8th) wristed a shot from the center point on the power play at 1:21 and Tony Cameranesi (12th) went bar down at 12:05 which would end the afternoon for goaltender Mitch Gillam. Sam Kurker (6th) gave Manchester the 5-1 edge with a power play score to give the Monarchs a four-goal lead through 40 minutes. Tyler Barnes (12th) gave the Railers a pulse at 5:13 of the third period with a wicked shot from the center slot that went off the crossbar and in assisted by Tommy Panico and Tommy Kelley to get the Railers within three goals. But that would be all the scoring in the hockey game as Worcester outshot Manchester 10-6 in the third period as the Railers fell 5-2.

2023 vs Reading 7-6 win OT
(RAILERS) In case anyone feels like going on a nice winter’s drive, the Railers and Reading Royals will be doing this again Saturday night in Pennsylvania. The two North Division rivals played one of this season’s most dynamic matches — heck, one of the most memorable pro games played in the DCU Center over 25 seasons — and Worcester came out on top in overtime, 7-6. That math is correct. Thirteen goals, seven of them by the Railers, the last by Collin Adams 53 seconds into overtime. It was Adams’ third OT goal of the season and the quickest overtime goal in franchise history. “When he gets his legs going, he’s impossible to stop,” said coach Jordan Smotherman, “and he knows how to score goals.” Defenseman Trevor Cosgrove assisted on the winner. “I would not want to be a defenseman trying to stop him when he gets going,” Cosgrove said of his teammate. Cosgrove, by the way, had a remarkable and unpredictably so, night. The rookie hit the ice with two assists in 13 ECHL games for the season, nary a point in nine AHL games. He finished this one with a pair of goals and three assists for five points, which is possibly a single-game record for a Worcester defenseman on any team. Cosgrove missed a third goal by inches in the third period and would have been the first Worcester defenseman in 25 years to record a hat trick. “I played exactly the same way I always try to,” Cosgrove said, “except that I got a couple of bounces and the puck wound up in the back of the net.” Cosgrove and Liam Coughlin both had a pair of goals for the Railers. Coughlin’s big night snapped a scoring slump for him and provided his first points after an 11-game drought. The other Worcester goals were scored by Nick Fea and Blake Christensen. Thirteen of the Railers’ 17 skaters recorded at least one point. The winning goaltender was Brent Moran, with Henrik Tikkanen up in Bridgeport. It was Moran’s first ECHL victory in his third Railers start. With the win, Worcester snapped a dreadful nine-game losing streak to the Royals. This could easily have been Number 10, as the Railers had to come back from a pair of two-goal deficits and once again gave up a tying goal with Reading having pulled its goaltender. It came with 16 seconds left in regulation and was scored by Charlie Gerard. The Royals got single goals from Gerard, Will MacKinnon, Garrett McFadden, Brendan Hoffman and two from Max Newton. Newton, the late-season Railer last year, has unbelievable numbers at the DCU Center. Including two games here last year for Worcester, he is 7-6-13 in five career games in the building. Reading had a 2-1 lead after 20 minutes, and a 3-1 lead after 20:37. Worcester tied it on Christensen’s goal at 11:36 of the second but McFadden scored at 19:51 and Newton 25 seconds into the third period to make it 5-3. The Railers got the next three goals. Cosgrove scored at 5:13 and 5:43 then almost again at 8:43. Coughlin got the go-ahead goal by deflecting Reece Newkirk’s shot at 14:29, then Gerard’s goal sent things into overtime. Adams got the winner, but Cosgrove got the play going. “Heading into the third period,” Smotherman said, “(assistant coach) Jimmy Sharrow told Cosgrove, ‘Hey, we really need you now” and the young defensman took that to heart, and the puck to the net. MAKING TRACKS – It was merely the eighth time in Worcester hockey history a city team has allowed six goals in a game and won. The Railers have done it twice, the first time a 7-6 triumph over Maine on Dec. 8, 2021. … Worcester’s next home game is Friday night as the South Carolina Stingrays come to the city for a 3-in-3 weekend. The Stringrays are in second place in the South Division. … The Railers have won two in a row for the first time since Dec. 17-18. … The Railers’ emergency backup goaltender was ex-college netminder Austin Cain. … Reading’s Dominic Cormier was called for the rare “closing the hand” penalty in the first period, making it three straight games here that call has been made. … Rookie Andrei Bakanov, 20, was loaned by Springfield for his second stint with the Railers. Neither Zach Bross nor Nolan Vesey were in the lineup for Worcester. … Hoffman’s goal was the sixth shorthanded goal allowed by the Railers this season against three scored. … Attendance was 3,208. … Adams is one shy of the Worcester pro hockey record for most overtime goals in a season. Ryan Vesce had four for the Sharks in 2008-09.

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