1995 vs Springfield 2-2 tie
The Worcester IceCats jumped out to a two goal lead but couldn’t hold on and had to settle for a 2-2 tie with the Falcons. Denis Chalifoux, with assists by Blair Atcheynum and Terry Virtue, opened the scoring at 17:02 of the first period. Mark Ouimet made it 2-0 at 2:28 of the second, with assists going to Shawn Heaphy and Ross Wilson. But Worcester couldn’t hold on as Bob Wren scored at 10:23 of the middle period and Ravil Gusmanov added goal at 12:12 of the third for the tie. Stephane Beauregard had 37 saves for Springfield and Wayne Cowley made 32 for the IceCats.
1996 at Syracuse 5-0 loss
The Worcester IceCats fired 31 shots at Crunch netminder Sergei Tkachenko but didn’t beat him once in a 5-0 loss to Syracuse. The goal scorers for the Crunch were Evgeny Namestnikov (10:46 of 1st), Rick Girard (6:30 of 2nd), Bogdan Savenko (8:30), Rod Stevens (:30 of third), and John McIntyre (10:33). Mike Buzak made 30 saves in the loss. The IceCats game notes say “Nothing went right”.
1997 at Providence 3-1 win
The Worcester IceCats controlled most of the game and used 31 Jamie McLennan saves to defeat the Bruins 3-1. Bob Lachance opened the scoring with a 50-foot bomb at 8:14 of the first period, assisted by Justin Hocking. After a scoreless second frame Terry Virtue made it 2-0 with a 45-foot slap shot on almost the same exact line as Lachance’s goal. Assists on the goal at 7:35 went to Libor Zabransky and Konstantin Shafranov. Bob Beers got one back for the Baby-Bs at 12:36, but seventeen second later Kevin Hilton made it 3-1 when he was crosschecked by Bruins defenseman Mark Cornforth and the rebound of Lachance’s shot hit him and bounced in. Jamal Mayers had the secondary assist.
1998 at Portland 3-3 tie
The Worcester IceCats needed a third period game tying goal from Terry Virtue and some big saves from goaltender Brent Johnson to escape Portland with a point in a 3-3 tie with the Pirates. Portland got on the board first with a power play goal by Kent Hulst at 4:59 of the opening period. Terry Hollinger tied it with a power play goal for the ‘cats, assisted by Chris Kenady, at 12:31. Rick Kowalsky gave the Pirates their lead back at 18:30. In the second period Nick Naumenko tied it with a 40-foot bomb off a feed from Michal Handzus at 2:09. Lubos Bartecko also assisted on the play. The biggest play in the frame came at 15:15 when Brent Johnson stopped Benoit Gratton’s penalty shot to keep the game tied. In the third period Kowalsky scored again, at 7:32, to make it 3-2 Portland. Virtue would then tie it at 13:06 after Shayne Toporowski entered the Pirates zone and fought off two defenders. Virtue grabbed the loose puck, skated toward the net, and scored. Johnson ended the game with 26 saves.
1999 vs Philadelphia 3-3 tie
The Worcester IceCats scored first in all three regulation periods, and each time that goal was followed by one by the Phantoms in a 3-3 tie between the clubs. Jochen Hecht gave the ‘Cats a first period lead, from Stephane Roy and Rory Fitzpatrick, at 6:13. Paul Healey then tied the game for Philadelphia at 8:40. In the second period Hecht would once again give his team the lead, this time on the power play with Andrej Podkonicky getting the assist at 5:39. Peter White would later tie it for the Phantoms at 13:53. In the third period it was Shayne Toporowski’s turn to give the ‘Cats the lead, with Fitzpatrick and Podkonicky getting the helpers. Brian Wesenberg would tie it for Philadelphia at 17:12. Neither squad scored on their single shot in the overtime. Dan Murphy earned the tie with 27 saves.
2001 vs Cincinnati 4-0 win
The Worcester IceCats got 25 saves from Dwayne Roloson for his fourth shutout of the year in a 4-0 blanking of the Mighty Ducks. Pascal Rheaume opened the scoring for the ‘Cats with a power play goals assisted by Eric Boguniecki and Vladimir Chebaturkin. Dan Trebil made it 2-0 with a power play strike at 10:17. Marty Reasoner and Rheaume had the helpers on the play. In the second period Jaroslav Obsut scored at 13:15, with Rheaume and Boguniecki picking up points on the play, and Rheaume capped the scoring at 19:41, with Boguniecki and Reasoner assisting. In the third period Boguniecki avoided an automatic one game suspension for instigating when he went after Cincy’s Bob Wren with 5:01 remaining in the game.
2002 AHL All-star game: Canada 13, PlanetUSA 11 (Mile One Stadium, St. John’s, NL)
Eric Boguniecki had three assists, was +1, and had four shots for PlanetUSA. Justin Papineau had a goal and two assist, was (-1), and had three shots on goal for Canada.
2004 vs Philadelphia 2-1 win
(ICECATS) Brent Johnson weathered a third period shot barrage by the Philadelphia Phantoms to propel the Worcester IceCats to a 2-1 victory Saturday night at Worcester’s Centrum Centre. The ‘Cats gained a 2-0 lead in the second period on goals by Johnny Pohl and Igor Valeev. Pohl now has points in six of his last seven games, while Valeev netted his first marker of the season. Worcester’s power play goal-scoring streak was extended to three games with Pohl’s lamp lighter, just 26 seconds into the middle stanza. Johnson was tested early in the first period, then saw only four shots through the second period. He was called upon again early in the third and responded with spectacular save after spectacular save. He was beaten just once, by Mark Murphy. In all Johnson made 27 saves, including 15 in the third period. With the win, the IceCats remain in second place with 59 points in the Atlantic Division. They are now eight points behind the division-leading Hartford Wolf Pack.
2005 AHL All-Star game: PlanetUSA 5, Canada 4 SO (Verizon Wireless Arena, Manchester, NH)
Dennis Wideman was “E” and had two shots on goal for Canada.
2010 at Manchester 5-2 win
(WORSHARKS) Dan DaSilva scored his first professional hat trick and Alex Stalock made 33 saves in net as the Sharks defeated the Manchester Monarchs 5-2 at the Verizon Wireless Arena on Valentine’s Day. Frazer McLaren and T.J. Trevelyan added goals while Dwight Helminen had three assists and Andrew Desjardins had two assists in the Sharks 33rd win of the season on Sunday. Dan DaSilva (9th) got the Sharks on the board just :23 seconds into the first period on the game’s first shot on goal. Dwight Helminen found DaSilva in the right circle and Dan snapped a quick shot top shelf past Jonathan Bernier to give Worcester a 1-0 lead. Frazer McLaren (3rd) banged home a loose rebound in front after an initial shot from the left point by Nick Petrecki at 12:31. Alex Stalock was superb in net making several great saves in the opening period as the Sharks went to the dressing room up 2-0. The Sharks extended their lead to 3-0 with 2:14 remaining in the second period after a face off deep in the Monarch zone. After Andrew Desjardins hit the post, he gathered the puck and skated behind the net before centering to a wide open Dan DaSilva (10th). Dan fired the puck past a fallen Bernier for his second goal of the game. Stalock was sharp, making 25 saves through forty minutes of play. Manchester came out flying in the third period, connecting for two goals in the first six minutes. Alec Martinez (4th) kept in a clearing attempt and sent a laser off the post and in from a tough angle along the left wing wall on top of the circle to get Manchester on the board. With the Sharks on their third power play, Jon Rheault (3rd) fired in a rebound after an initial stop on a Monarchs’ 3-on-2 rush at 5:56. After Stalock stood on his head to hold the lead, T.J. Trevelyan (11th) wrapped a puck around Bernier and in at 13:35 to stop the bleeding. Dan DaSilva (11th) finished off the game with an empty net goal for his first professional hat trick at 18:24 for the three goal victory over the Monarchs. Worcester’s record climbs to 33-16-2-2 (70 points) and remain in first place in the Atlantic Division.
2014 at Manchester 5-1 loss
(WORSHARKS) The Worcester Sharks (23-20-3-1, 50pts) kicked off the unofficial second half of the AHL regular season schedule with a 5-1 loss to the first place Manchester Monarchs (32-14-2-5, 71pts) in front of 4,595 fans at the Verizon Wireless Arena on Friday evening. Freddie Hamilton scored his team leading 14th goal for the Sharks while Troy Grosenick earned third star honors with 38 saves. Tyler Toffoli scored three goals for Manchester and Linden Vey added four assists as the Monarchs outshot Worcester 43-24. Manchester dominated the first period and grabbed a 1-0 lead by outshooting Worcester 18-6. Jordan Weal (12th) finished off a nice rush on the power play with a laser back hander past Troy Grosenick at 8:25 for the only score in the opening frame. Troy Grosenick was the best player on the ice for Worcester as he made several great saves which included a breakaway try by Tyler Toffoli late in the period. Freddie Hamilton (14th) fired home a power play score past goaltender Martin Jones with a rebound strike just 1:33 into the second period to tie the score at 1-1. Tyler Toffoli (11th) finished off a 3-on-2 rush sending home a cross the crease pass at 11:18 and Tanner Pearson (17th) struck with a 5-on-3 power play goal at 14:17 as he banked the puck off the stick of Matt Tennyson to put Manchester ahead 3-1. Manchester outshot Worcester 10-5 in the second period. In the third period, Tyler Toffoli added his 12th at 11:03 and recorded the hat trick at 14:34 to put Manchester ahead 5-1. The Monarchs outshot the Sharks 15-13 in the third period. The Sharks overall record falls to 23-20-3-1, 50pts and 11-11-3-0, 25pts on the road.
2015 at St. John’s 3-1 win
(WORSHARKS) The Worcester Sharks (26-17-3-2, 57pts) picked up a 3-1 win over the host St. John’s IceCaps (22-23-5-2, 51pts) in front of 5,692 fans at the Mile One Centre on Saturday evening. The Sharks are now 3-1-0-0 on their five game road trip. Gus Young, Trevor Parkes, and Bryan Lerg scored for Worcester while Aaron Dell made 24 saves in net for the Sharks in his sixth straight start between the pipes. The Sharks improved to 10-3-1-0 all time in St. John’s after scoring three times on goaltender Connor Hellebuyck on Saturday night. A fast paced first period saw the Sharks grab a 1-0 lead through 20 minutes of play. Rookie defenseman Gus Young (2nd) sent a one timer bullet from on top of the right circle that beat goaltender Connor Hellebuyck up high at 12:32 on the power play assisted by Konrad Abeltshauser and Micheal Haley. Shots were 9-8 in favor of St. Johns headed into the first intermission. Newcomer Trevor Parkes (1st) made Connor Hellebuyck pay for a miscue in the IceCaps zone after the rookie netminder played the puck on a possible icing call against the Sharks. Parkes intercepted a clearing attempt, skated behind the net, and then sent a wrap-around into the cage at 12:13 to give Worcester a 2-0 lead. The Sharks took a 3-0 lead with another power play goal as an Evan Trupp shot from the left circle broke off the IceCaps netminder and fell close to the goal line which led to an easy tap in for Captain Bryan Lerg (8th) at 13:40. Worcester led 3-0 after 40 minutes and held a 21-14 shot advantage after two periods of play. St. John’s would score the only goal in the third period as Austen Brassard (3rd) fired home a juicy rebound past Aaron Dell at 8:38 of the third period. But Dell would shut the door the rest of the way with ten more saves in the final frame as the Sharks held on for the 3-1 road victory. The Sharks overall record improves to 26-17-3-2, 57pts, and 12-10-2-2, 28pts on the road this season.
2025 at Allen 5-3 Win
(RAILERS) The Worcester Railers HC (21-20-2-4 48pts) beat the Allen Americans (13-26-7-1, 34pts), on Friday night by a final score of 5-3 in front of a crowd of 4,994 at the Credit Union of Texas Event Center. The Railers are back on the ice next at the Credit Union of Texas Event Center taking on the Allen Americans on Saturday, February 15th at 7:10 CST. Worcester got the scoring started tonight in Allen Texas by jumping out to a 3-0 first period lead. The Worcester goals came from Anthony Callin (2-0-2), Matt DeMelis (1-1-2), and Jordan Kaplan (1-0-1). Allen was able to cut into the Worcester lead in the second period with two goals of their own from former Railer Artyom Kulakov (1-2-3) followed by Liam Gorman (2-0-2) making it a 3-2 game heading into the final 20 minutes of regulation. Anthony Callin scored his second of the night to give Worcester a 4-2 lead. Gorman followed behind Callin to make it 4-3. Worcester finished the scoring off with an empty net goal from Griffin Loughran (1-1-2) leading to a 5-3 Worcester win. The Railers came ready to play as they scored three first period goals, while keeping Allen off the board. Anthony Callin (14th) lit the lamp first tonight as he scored an unassisted goal 8:59 into the first period to give the Railers a 1-0 lead. Matt DeMelis (4th) netted the second Worcester goal 10:03 into the first. Jordan Kaplan (14th) finished off the first period with a goal of his own giving Worcester the 3-0 lead going into the second period. Shots favored Worcester 14-8 in the first. Allen grabbed their first goal of the night off the stick of Artyom Kulakov (5th) 4:43 into the second period. Liam Gorman (4th) then cut the Worcester lead to one as he got one by Hugo Ollas. Gorman’s goal was the final of the second period making it a 3-2 game heading into the third. Shots favored Worcester 13-12 in the second period. Anthony Callin (15th) got the third period scoring started with his second goal of the night extending the Worcester lead to 4-2 just 48 seconds into the third period. The Americans did not give up there as Liam Gorman (5th) scored his second goal of the night to make it a one goal game with 3:18 remaining in regulation. Griffin Loughran put the nail in the coffin with his empty net goal, closing out the 5-3 Worcester win. Shots favored Allen 16-7 in the third and 36-34 in regulation. Notes: Three Stars: 3rd Star: Artyom Kulakov (1-2-3, +3, 3 shots), 2nd Star: Liam Gorman (2-0-2, +2, 4 shots), 1st Star: Anthony Callin (2-0-2, +1, 7 shots)… Final shots favored Allen 36-34… Luke Richardson (4-5-0-0) made 29 saves on 33 shots for Allen… Hugo Ollas (7-8-1-2) made 33 saves on 36 shots for Worcester, while Michael Bullion served as the backup… Worcester went 0-for-2 on the power play while Allen went 0-for-2… Matthew Boudens (IR), Anthony Repaci (DNP), and Kolby Johnson (SUSP) did not dress for Worcester… Anthony Callin led the Railers in shots with 7… The Railers are now 2-1-0-0 all-time vs. the Americans and 2-0-0-0 at the Credit Union of Texas Event Center against Allen.
2026 vs Trois-Rivieres 3-2 OT loss
(RAILERS) The Railers lost to the Trois-Rivieres Lions Saturday night by a 3-2 final in overtime. Worcester lost a goal to a review that was a questionable call, then shortly thereafter surrendered a goal that cut their lead to 2-1 on a terrible turnover. Still, the Railers had that 2-1 lead with less than two minutes to go in the third period. The Lions tied it with their goalie pulled then won it in overtime for Worcester’s third OT loss in the last four games. The night turned on the overturned goal, which happened at 16:50 of the second period. The puck went in the Trois-Rivieres net off Matt DeMelis, who had scored an unchallenged goal earlier in the period to make it 2-0. He was adjacent to the left post and a pass deflected off his skate and into his mid-section, then into the net. It was immediately called a goal, then referees Sam Heidemann and Julien Lapointe headed over to the scorers table to look at it. The Supreme Court does not take as long to make decisions. This review took at least five minutes, so long that both teams left their benches to loosen up. It took so long that it seemed impossible that the tape was conclusive enough to overturn it. Finally, the call came — no goal. “It hit me in the chest and I’m not sure what happened after that,” DeMelis said, “so it was kind of hard for me to tell.” In order for the goal to be disallowed, DeMelis would have had to intentionally direct it. He may have moved as part of the process, but a Lions defenseman may have been the cause of that. “I didn’t think I did (direct it),” he said, “but they must have seen something. I didn’t get to see the replay, so it’s hard to tell, but I didn’t think I did.” So, it was 2-0, not 3-0, and a 3-0 deficit is tough to overcome in 20 minutes. Except that it became a one-goal deficit when Jake Gravelle put a rebound home at 19:06. Worcester had taken the lead via goals from Cam Berg at 14:18 of the first period and DeMelis at 9:39 of the second. Berg scored on the power play as he deflected a shot by Michael Suda. DeMelis scored from in close when a shot by Gabe Blanchard landed at his feet and he slid a backhand shot home. Worcester was outshot, 12-6, in the third period and Riley Kidney tied it at 18:20. Mathias Laferriere got the winner at 5:24 of overtime. Both teams took 27 shots. Tristan Lennox stopped 24 of them for Worcester. Hunter Jones stopped 25. The Railers have not won in four straight games but the three overtime losses have earned them three points. That keeps them in the playoff mix although it has not been pretty. They are not scoring enough to win consistently. MAKING TRACKS – Trois-Rivieres has roster issues and used just 16 skaters, two short of the limit. … These video reviews are game-killers. Berg’s goal also had to be looked at as a possible high stick. Just because the technology is there doesn’t mean it has to be used. Your car may be able to do 120 on the interstate, but that’s not such a good idea. Attendance for Pink in the Rink Night was 5,374. … The teams finish the weekend series with a game here at 3:05 Sunday afternoon. It will be WooSox Day including appearances by that team’s mascots. One of the Boston Red Sox’ World Series trophies will be on display as well. … Friday night’s game total of four PIM is tied for the fewest in Railers home ice history. It has happened four other times. The Railers have been involved in three games with just two total PIM, all on the road.
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