The Worcester Railers began a six-game, 11-day road trip Friday night at the Norfolk Scope in the first of two against the Admirals this weekend and used multiple point nights from Anthony Repaci, Andrei Bakanov, and Brent Beaudoin to defeat Norfolk 5-3.
The Admirals put the puck into the net behind Railers goaltender Brent Moran twice in the opening period, but neither time did they gain one on the scoreboard as both were waved off by the officials. The first time Josh McDougall was ruled to have interfered with Moran at 12:41 when referees Jake Jackson and JR Stragar went to video review, and the second time Moran had knocked the net off its pegs–something that happens far too often at The Scope–well before the bouncing puck found the back of the net at 7:42.
When the Railers finally got one behind Admirals netminder Tomas Vomacka it counted when Quin Ryan made it 1-0.
It took until the final horn for the stat folks in Norfolk to get the scoring right on that goal as they somehow missed Repachi’s primary assist on the play.
About a quarter of the way through the second period Repaci would make it 2-0 with a breakaway goal.
They had the scoring on that goal wrong too, assigning Beaudoin’s assist to Trevor Cosgrove.
Newcomer Jake Pappalardo made it 3-0 at 10:01 on a breakaway goal of his own after Bakanov got caught with his head down.
And, yes, they had the scoring wrong on that goal too.
The Pappalardo tally chased Vomacka from the game and in came Cale Morris. That move worked for a little while, but the Railers continued to pressure. Connor McCarthy’s bomb at 2:29 of the third made it a 4-0 game.
The scoring on that goal is still incorrect as Cosgrove is owed a helper on the play for his shot that went wide and hit Repaci.
Despite being at the bottom of the ECHL’s North Division standings Norfolk still plays hard for 60 minutes, and Todd Burgess got his team on the board at 4:06 to make it 4-1. An argument could be made that it was also goaltender interference, but the Railers didn’t seem to argue the point much and it was not reviewed. Oh, and yes, the scoring is wrong on that goal too.
With Billy Jerry in the box for a roughing minor, a penalty that is mentioned only because a half-dozen players should have joined him, Bakanov gave Worcester its four-goal lead back with a shorthanded goal.
And for the first time in the game, they got the scoring right.
As happens a bit too often Worcester fell asleep later in the third period, and Tanner Schachle (14:04) and Griffin Lunn (14:47) both connected to make it a 5-3 game, but that was as close as Norfolk would get.
The two teams meet again Saturday night with a 6pm puck drop.
GAME NOTES
Scratches for the Railers were Collin Adams (IR/upper body), Paul Boutoussov, Jared Brandt (IR/lower), Conor Breen, Zack Bross (IR/unknown), Liam Coughlin (IR/unknown), Christain Evers (IR/unknown), Timothy Faulkner, Jack Quinlivan (IR/unknown), and Nolan Vesey (IR/unknown). Ken Appleby was the backup goaltender. In total, Worcester has 29 players on its roster, with a usual cap of 22. We don’t keep track of such things, but having 29 guys listed has to be a record of some sort.
In last week’s transactions, on Monday Jimmy Lambert was recalled to Bridgeport and Reece Newkirk was reassigned by the NY Islanders from Worcester to Bridgeport. Monday was also the first time Railers General Manager Jordan Smotherman made any trades, sending the oft-mentioned “future considerations” to Wheeling for Max Johnson and then throwing some cash at the Orlando Solar Bears for Chris Ordoobadi. On Tuesday defenseman Artur Terchiyev was released as Smotherman needed the roster spot for Josh Victor that he acquired for cash considerations from the Florida Everblades, and on Wednesday Henrik Tikkanen was recalled by Bridgeport. Thursday saw Philip Beaulieu being activated from injured reserve, as was Ken Appleby on Friday. Also during the week, Jacob Hayhurst was recalled to Springfield and then sent back to Worcester.
It seems Conor Breen escaped any punishment for his match penalty last Saturday called by referee Trevor Wohlford for checking Yvan Mongo in the head. Like all match penalties in pro hockey, Breen was automatically suspended until the video was reviewed by the ECHL. Since no suspension was announced by ECHL Player Safety Department, they must have either ruled it a legal hit or determined the infraction didn’t reach the level of a match penalty. Seeing as this is the same group of people that thought Anthony Del Gaizo’s sucker punch on Reece Newkirk wasn’t a suspendable offense, there should be no surprise Breen got off scot-free.
In some good news, Steven Jandric’s PTO with the Springfield Thunderbirds is over. In some bad news, he signed a standard player’s contract with the team and doesn’t appear to be headed back to Worcester anytime soon. Jandric’s PTO run in Springfield set some records for Railers on try-out contracts, with his 28 games, two goals, six assists, and eight points all setting single-season records. Adding his brief stint with Providence last season Janric’s career numbers are (3-6-9) in 30 games, all Railers records. The only mark he doesn’t own is penalty minutes, with Nolan Vesey racking up 17 PIM in a three-game stint with Springfield last season.
There are a couple of fundraisers worth mentioning, the first being the Worcester Railers Booster Club is holding a 50/50 raffle online during the Railers road trip to help raise funds to take care of the player’s apartments. If you’re a Massachusetts resident over the age of 18 you can purchase your tickets on the group’s 50/50 webpage. If you’re interested in making a donation to the club, you can visit their donation page.
The second fundraiser is a cool one as the Worcester Fire Department’s hockey team is selling hockey jerseys to raise funds for their charitable activities. You can check out their selection right here. This writer has a black jersey, and the quality is amazingly good. The red and green can have a name added to the back, but not on the black as it has a flag in place of a nameplate. You can order jerseys through March 6th.
The three stars of the game were:
1. WOR – 81 Anthony Repaci
2. WOR – 2 Connor McCarthy
3. WOR – 19 Quin Ryan
The 210Sports Player of the Game was Brent Beaudoin.
Even Strength Lines
Repaci / Beaudoin / Ryan
Hayhurst / Johnson / Butler
Bakanov / Jerry / Pappalardo
Fea / X / Ordoobadi
Cosgrove / McCarthy
Victor / McGurty
Beaulieu / Delmas
Our affiliates last night
NY Islanders 5, Pittsburgh 4
Bridgeport 6, Hartford 3
Providence 6, Springfield 2
In the ECHL’s North Division
Maine 5, Trois-Rivieres 0
Adirondack 4, Atlanta 2
North Division Standings
Team points (points percentage) games in hand vs Worcester
Newfoundland 69 (.734) 2
Maine 59 (.656) 4
Reading 57 (.620) 3
Worcester 53 (.541)
Adirondack 42 (.457) 3
Trois-Rivieres 36 (.383) 2
Norfolk 25 (.255) 0
BOX SCORE
Worcester 1 2 2 – 5
Norfolk 0 0 3 – 3
1st Period-1, Worcester, Ryan 13 (Beaulieu, Repaci), 16:03. Penalties-Johnson Wor (slashing), 8:36; Butler Wor (tripping), 10:55.
2nd Period-2, Worcester, Repaci 14 (Beaudoin), 4:27. 3, Worcester, Pappalardo 1 (Cosgrove, Bakanov), 10:01. Penalties-Williams Nor (tripping), 10:35; Hayhurst Wor (cross-checking), 16:16; Timofeyev Nor (diving/embellishment), 16:16.
3rd Period-4, Worcester, McCarthy 2 (Repaci), 2:29. 5, Norfolk, Burgess 6 4:06. 6, Worcester, Bakanov 2 (Beaudoin), 10:39 (SH). 7, Norfolk, Schachle 6 (Roy), 14:04. 8, Norfolk, Lunn 8 (Roy, Bowen), 14:47. Penalties-Jerry Wor (roughing), 8:57; Schachle Nor (cross-checking), 11:36; Victor Wor (roughing), 19:09; Blachman Nor (roughing, misconduct), 19:09.
Shots on Goal-Worcester 11-11-11-33. Norfolk 13-7-16-36.
Power Play Opportunities-Worcester 0 / 2; Norfolk 0 / 3.
Goalies-Worcester, Moran 3-3-0-0 (36 shots-33 saves). Norfolk, Vomacka 3-13-0-1 (16 shots-13 saves); Morris 5-10-0-0 (17 shots-15 saves).
A-3,951
Referees-Jake Jackson (16), JR Stragar (2).
Linesmen-Evan Knox (83), Joseph Johnson (78).
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