The Worcester Railers, coming off a Wednesday night first-period no-show in Maine, did it again Saturday night at the DCU Center against the Trois-Rivières Lions. For the second game in a row, they faced an early 4-0 deficit before ultimately losing 5-2.
Thirteen minutes and fifty-eight seconds.
That’s how much hockey this writer could stomach before I got up and left. For the first time in 30 years of Worcester pro hockey, I couldn’t make it through the first period of a game. Not counting the time I wasted, that 13:58 cost me about $80.
And I want my money back.
So many promises were made this off-season, so many changes were made, and this team is worse now than it almost ever has been. The Railers .400 points percentage is 26 of 29 teams in the ECHL. They are 28th in the league in regulation wins with two, leading only Cincinnati’s one.
Their power play, which is 21st in the league and has just one goal at home this season, is trending downward. The penalty kill is next to last and also getting worse statistically. The Railers have the 19th ranked offense and the 23rd ranked defense. In 15 games, Worcester has scored first in just four of them. They’ve held the lead after the first period only twice.
In other words, business as usual for this franchise.
In addition to my not making it through the opening period on Saturday being a first, Sunday will also see a first as I’ve decided to not bother going to the game. For the first time in 30 years, I’m simply going to do something else with that time.
For the Railers two goals last night, here they are. As for how they were scored, I have no idea. I didn’t watch.
GAME NOTES
Scratches for the Railers were Matt DeMelis, JD Dudek (IR/upper body), and Henrik Tikkanen (3-day IR/unknown). John Muse was the backup goaltender. Andrew Nielsen, who was recently traded for, has not physically reported yet but has been in contact with the team, is expected to join the squad this week when the team gets to Wichita.
On Thursday Railers general manager Nick Tuzzolino pulled the trigger on another trade, sending Ryan Verrier to Orlando in exchange for defenseman Andrew Nielson, who earlier in the day had been sent to the Solar Bears from the Allen Americans in a trade for forward Brian Chambers. Nielson is both an AHL and ECHL veteran, having played 351 games between the two leagues and winning the AHL’s Calder Cup in the 2017-18 season with Toronto Marlies. Nielson is a former Maple Leafs draft pick (2015, R3/#65), and this has all the markings of a “change of scenery” trade. Tuzzolino also released Cole Crowder, who was a solid physical presence in the Worcester line-up but lost that role when he got injured and the Railers picked up Kolby Johnson.
In some scoring changes from last week, in the Railers 8-1 loss to South Carolina the scoring on the secondary assist on Jordan Kaplan’s goal has been switched from Griffin Luce to Connor Welsh. The penalty minute errors in that game have not been fixed.
If you follow me on Twitter/X you’ve seen me mention a “Roy Sommer line change” many times, which is a “too many men on the ice” penalty. Well, this week we had our first “Roy Sommer Special” in a long time when the NHL’s Nashville Predators submitted an incorrect starting lineup in the game against the Seattle Kraken. Sommer made lineup errors at least three times in his tenure in Worcester. Once was on March 30, 2013, when Sommer penciled in Harri Sateri as the starting goaltender. The problem was Thomas Greiss was on a conditioning assignment to the WorSharks from San Jose and was supposed to play. Greiss was in the net for the national anthem but was replaced by Sateri for the opening faceoff when the scorer in the PA booth caught the error, with Greiss sitting on the backup’s stool in the dressing room tunnel until the game’s first whistle. Another time was October 24, 2013, when Sommer had Jimmy Bonneau’s #43 on the lineup card but meant to put Adam Comrie’s #44. Comrie was dressed and on the bench at the beginning of the game but was removed when the error was noticed. Bonneau had already left the DCU Center and couldn’t be reached to return and dress to play. Perhaps the dumbest Sommer lineup error happened on February 26, 2010, when he submitted the wrong shootout lineup, mistaking #27 for being Jamie McGinn’s number as opposed to Nick Petrecki’s. Remember that when Sommer filled out that lineup card the players, with easily visible names and numbers, were seated right in front of him. The stone-handed defender had to shoot instead of McGinn and missed. It was Petrecki’s lone pro career shootout attempt.
The three stars of the game were:
1. TR – 91 Anthony Beauregard
2. WOR – 22 Griffin Luce
3. TR – 78 Tommy Cormier
The 210Sports Player of the Game was no one.
Even Strength Lines
Randl / Kaplan / Repaci
Piercey / Jacobs / Loughran
Kopperud / Callin / Donhauser
Johnson / Bakanov / Hatten
Luce / Welsh
Rons / Klee
Rajaneimi / Dickinson
Our affiliates last night
NY Islanders 3, St Louis 1
Charlotte 3, Bridgeport 2 SO
In the ECHL’s North Division last night
Wheeling 6, Fort Wayne 4
Maine 3, Reading 2
South Carolina 5, Adirondack 2
BOX SCORE
Trois-Rivières 4 0 1 – 5
Worcester 1 1 0 – 2
1st Period-1, Trois-Rivières, Guay 2 (Adams-Moisan), 1:29. 2, Trois-Rivières, Cormier 2 (Sévigny, Cormier), 5:40 (PP). 3, Trois-Rivières, Beauchamp 4 (Jandric, Paquette), 6:54. 4, Trois-Rivières, Beauchamp 5 (Proctor), 13:58. 5, Worcester, Luce 2 (Repaci, Kaplan), 18:26. Penalties-Bakanov Wor (delay of game), 3:42; Hylland Tr (tripping), 19:48.
2nd Period-6, Worcester, Bakanov 2 (Johnson, Hatten), 13:14. Penalties-Hylland Tr (high-sticking), 4:12; Adams-Moisan Tr (roughing), 6:34; Jacobs Wor (unsportsmanlike conduct), 17:49.
3rd Period-7, Trois-Rivières, Guay 3 (Cormier), 18:51 (SH EN). Penalties-Proctor Tr (cross-checking), 9:44; Adams-Moisan Tr (delay of game), 17:43.
Shots on Goal-Trois-Rivières 19-10-8-37. Worcester 11-12-6-29.
Power Play Opportunities-Trois-Rivières 1 / 2; Worcester 0 / 5.
Goalies-Trois-Rivières, Cavallin 3-2-0-0 (29 shots-27 saves). Worcester, Bullion 3-4-0-0 (36 shots-32 saves).
A-4,759
Referees-Dylan Sater (4), Yannick Jobin-Manseau (30).
Linesmen-Maxime Bedard (65), Matthew Heinen (93).
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