The Worcester Railers, playing under the guise of their alter-ego Monkey Wrenches, finished off their three-in-three weekend Sunday afternoon at the DCU Center against the Adirondack Thunder, and after a scoreless regulation, Drew Callin scored the only goal of the game in overtime to give the Railers a 1-0 win and four of a possible six points for the weekend.
After a great game that the 4,931 in attendance saw, we should only be talking about the amazing play of goaltenders Parker Gahagen and Jeremy Brodeur, who combined to make 53 saves on 54 shots, with many of them being high-quality bids. It’s an absolute shame that their great efforts had to take place alongside one of the worst officiated games that the DCU Center has seen in a very long time.
And in the ECHL, that’s saying something.
It was almost as if referees Simon Cholette and Andrew Bell were officiating two different games at the same time, as their wildly uneven penalty call levels had Railers getting continuously mugged at one end of the ice, and then when they did something in their defensive end, both refs’ arms would go up instantly.
As this writer tweeted:
And then a little later on:
How truly bad were referees Cholette and Bell? After the Railers won in overtime, Nick Tuzzolino got ejected for voicing his displeasure from the bench with their antics, and the linesmen stood in front of the referees at the announcer’s booth as Lincoln Hatten absolutely blasted them–if you read lips, it was obviously not family-friendly–from inside the center-ice circle.
When the team that wins the games is that furious at the referees, that’s an issue. The ECHL will, as usual, not comment on it nor do anything about their referees’ performance.
For the overtime goal, just moments after Tag Bertuzzi tripped Michael Suda to send the Thunder off on an odd man rush–obviously there was no call from stripes–Callin returned the favor by taking down Bertuzzi, which led to the game-winner.
Worcester is off until Saturday when they play the first of two against the Lions in Trois-Rivières. Both games have a 3pm puck drop.
GAME NOTES
Scratches for the Railers were Anthony Callin, Michael Ferrandino (14-day IR/Unknown), Connor Federkow, Riley Ginnell (3-day IR), Anthony Hora (14-day IR/Lower body), Tristan Lennox, and Ross Mitton (14-day IR/Upper body). Thomas Gale was the backup goaltender.
When he stepped onto the ice, AJ Schlepp became the 805th different player to wear a pro Worcester jersey, and by being 6 feet 8 inches tall becomes the tallest skater in the city’s pro hockey history. He ties goaltender Hugo Ollas, also 6 feet 8 inches, for the tallest player ever. The difference between the two is that Ollas was around for 22 games, while Schlepp is almost certainly to be sent on his way early next week and likely never be heard from in these parts again.
And speaking of Schlepp, in his pregame interview Friday, Railers Head Coach and GM Nick Tuzzolino said the 26-year-old FPHL enforcer was brought in because occasionally a team needs a sheriff. I’m sure the thought was that Schlepp would be like Matt Dillon, but who he ended up being was Rosco P. Coltrane. Schlepp played four shifts, touched the puck twice–we’ll give him props for the nice tip that Jeremy Brodeur had to fight off–but then instigated a second-period fight with Daniel Amesbury, who showed no interest in fighting, and caused the Railers to be shorthanded in a scoreless game. And, perhaps worst of all, it was a boring fight that really had no purpose. It was such a waste of time that we won’t even bother showing any of the videos posted.
In news that comes from former Worcester Telegram and current Railers and Worcester Guardian scribe Bill Ballou, referee Alexandre Gagne was doing well after being struck in the side of the head with the puck Saturday night. Gagne was sent to the hospital and, after several tests, was released after being diagnosed with a concussion. His girlfriend was with him on the trip, so the plan was that she would drive them back home to Canada. Hopefully, Gagne makes a swift and complete recovery, and we thank Ballou for the information.
In some Worcester hockey alumni news, Vegas’ Tomas Hertl notched his 600th NHL point Friday night. The 600 points (275-325-600) ranks fourth for former Worcester players in NHL points, trailing Joe Pavelski (476-592-1068), Claude Lemieux (379-407-786), and Logan Couture (323-378-701). Lemieux’s second-place standing comes with an asterisk, as almost all his NHL points came from games before he played for the WorSharks.
Recently, Olympic hero Jack Hughes was on Pat McAfee’s show and talked about his gold medal-winning goal. It’s a great little story and worth hearing.
The three stars of the game were
1. WOR – #77 Drew Callin
2. WOR – #35 Parker Gahagen
3. ADK – #35 Jeremy Brodeur
The 210Sports Player of the Game is Anthony Repaci.
Even Strength Lines
Repaci / DeMelis / D,Callin
Donhauser / Miotto / Hatten
Piercey / Carson / Veremyev
Schlepp / Dorrington / Acosta
Pulkkinen / Samuelsson
McDonald / Blanchard
Suda / Odelius
Press Releases
RAILERS: Monkey Wrenches thwart Thunder in 1-0 overtime win
THUNDER: None at posting time
Our affiliates last night
NY Islanders 5, Florida 4
Providence 3, Bridgeport 2
In the ECHL’s North Division last night
Fort Wayne 3, Wheeling 2 OT
Maine 3, Trois-Rivières 2
Atlanta 3, Greensboro 2
BOX SCORE
Adirondack 0 0 0 0 – 0
Worcester 0 0 0 1 – 1
1st Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Pulkkinen Wor (cross-checking), 3:27; McDonald Wor (holding), 14:03.
2nd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Amesbury Adk (fighting – major), 2:53; Schlepp Wor (instigating, fighting – major), 2:53; Hanzel Adk (slashing), 4:11; served by Repaci Wor (bench – unsportsmanlike conduct), 7:35; Acosta Wor (hooking), 7:35.
3rd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-No Penalties
1st OT Period-1, Worcester, Callin 20 (Repaci), 4:27. Penalties- Wor (game misconduct – abuse of officials), 4:27.
Shots on Goal-Adirondack 6-9-9-1-25. Worcester 8-11-7-3-29.
Power Play Opportunities-Adirondack 0 / 5; Worcester 0 / 1.
Goalies-Adirondack, Brodeur 19-7-3-0 (29 shots-28 saves). Worcester, Gahagen 14-6-4-0 (25 shots-25 saves).
A-4,931
Referees-Simon Cholette (54), Andrew Bell (24).
Linesmen-Michael Tarquinio (45), Shane Kanaly (74).
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