Friday night was Military Appreciation Night at the DCU Center as the Worcester Railers took on the Maine Mariners, and after another slow start the Railers have all but surrendered any playoff hopes after suffering an embarrassing 6-2 loss to their ECHL North Division rivals.
In a pregame gathering that contained some members who would probably rather remain anonymous, there was much discussion about what the issues are with the Railers this season, and it was decided that there were really just two problems that need to be overcome: they can’t score, and they can’t stop opponents from scoring.
Or, you know, literally everything about winning hockey games.
Worcester was down 4-0 early in the second period before starting goaltender Thomas Gale was pulled for newly acquired netminder William Lavallière, and it was almost a full period later before the Railers found the twine behind Mariners netminder Luke Cavallin.
The Railers’ best chance of the period came with just over five minutes left in the opening frame when Matt DeMelis was called for offside with Worcester about to head on a four-on-two break. Unfortunately, the video stream is dead at that point, so a review isn’t possible, but the only player who could have been offside was DeMelis himself, and as the player in control of the puck can’t be offside, well, you see the problem. The opening goal would have been big there, but seconds later, it would belong to Maine.
Whenever ECHL commissioner Ryan Crelin is in a building, the officiating becomes much worse than it usually is, and while referees Sam Heidemann and Austin Rook played virtually no role in Worcester’s loss, to say they had worse games than usual would be an understatement. Early in the second period, Referee Rook was ready to call Riley Piercey for a cross-check on Xander Lamppa, which Piercey rightly deserved for the completely unnecessary penalty. After the whistle, Piercey kept up his silliness and attacked Lamppa. It should have been a minor for cross-checking and probably a double minor for roughing, but referees Heidemann and Rook decided to out-silly Piercey and hit Piercey with a fighting major and an aggressor game misconduct, but completely missed the cross-checking minor. If that game misconduct isn’t rescinded, Piercey will likely get at least Saturday night off.
Maine scored once on the major power play to chase Gale from the game, but because Railers head coach Nick Tuzzolino never replaced Piercey in the penalty box, Worcester was forced to continue to play with four skaters until the next whistle after the penalty had expired 41 seconds later. Had the Railers sent a player onto the ice from the bench before the next stoppage, they would have been penalized two minutes for an illegal substitution.
Down 5-0 in the third, Lincoln Hatten scored, assisted by DeMelis and MacAuley Carson, ending the shutout bid.
Three and a half minutes later, the Anthonys combined to make it 5-2, with Callin scoring from Repaci.
But it was far too little and far too late.
GAME NOTES
Scratches for the Railers were Gabe Blanchard (14-day IR/Upper body), Drew Callin (14-day IR/Lower body), Dalton Duhart (travel), Connor Federkow (14-day IR/Lower body), Michael Ferrandino, Riley Ginnell (14-day IR/Lower body), Anthony Hora (14-day IR/Lower body), Tristan Lennox, and Anton Rubtsov. William Lavallière was the backup goaltender and entered the game about six minutes into the second period.
Lots of questions around the concourse about the availability of goaltender Tristan Lennox. Something is going on as Lennox hasn’t played since February 28, and hasn’t dressed as a backup since. Whether it be injury or something else, as they are with most players, especially Islanders property players, the Railers are silent on the issue. While listed as #31 on the roster, newcomer William Lavallière was wearing Lennox’s #30 Military Appreciation jersey.
When it comes to special events, Mike Myers and the Railers usually do a top-notch job, and Friday night’s Military Appreciation Night was no exception. The jerseys were incredible, and the tributes to military members during stoppages in the game were perfect. But as good as all of that was, nothing of that compares to 103-year-old World War Two veteran Caster Salemi dropping the ceremonial opening puck. As he walked down the carpet, those at the DCU Center, before he was even introduced, jumped to their feet as the players on both benches loudly tapped their sticks.
While the Railers were relatively quiet as the ECHL trade deadline came and went, they received forward Dalton Duhart from the Indy Fuel to complete the future considerations deal that sent forward TJ Walsh to Indy. Worcester also announced the signings of forward Anton Rubtsov, defenseman Max Ruoho, and goaltender William Lavallière. To make space, Railers GM Nick Tuzzolino released Khristian Acosta and AJ Schlepp. Bridgeport also recalled goaltender Parker Gahagen because they seem to be cornering the market on goalies sitting in the stands.
Speaking of Bridgeport, the New York Islanders finally announced what everyone already knew: the AHL Islanders’ move to Hamilton, Ontario, is official. Technically, the move can’t be made until the AHL Board of Governors approves it, but at this point, it’s a mere formality. That means the New England region, which had eight teams in the 2006-07 season, is now down to just three: Providence (Boston), Springfield (St. Louis), and Hartford (NY Rangers). The move comes as the Railers’ affiliation with the Islanders is set to end. The relationship between the organizations went over a cliff after the Railers inaugural 2017-18 campaign when the Islanders hired noted minor-league hockey destroyer Lou Lamoriello as president of hockey operations. While it’s not 100% that the Railers will be looking for a new affiliate, this writer would certainly bet on it. Unless the Islanders’ organization guarantees better support for the Railers, I can’t see any way this relationship will continue.
Friday night’s attendance was a sellout, with 5,720 at the DCU Center. According to Railers Senior Director of Ticket Sales Connor Haynes, that’s the highest Friday night attendance in franchise history. His saying that saved this writer from looking it up. We were both curious how far back in Worcester hockey history you would need to go to have a Friday night game better attended, and as it turns out, it’s just over 13 years, as the WorSharks lost a 5-3 contest to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins 5-3 on Friday, March 15, 2013, in front of 5,865 fans. On that night, Avery Bradley of the Boston Celtics made an appearance and signed autographs for Worcester fans. For Friday’s Military Appreciation Night, Haynes confirmed that while veterans and active-duty military personnel could receive free tickets, all those tickets were paid for by sponsors.
In some college hockey news, the Holy Cross Men’s team’s season came to an end last Saturday night after being swept by the Bentley Falcons in the Atlantic Hockey semifinal round. The Crusaders lost 3-2 in overtime Friday night, with the Falcons scoring an extra attacker goal with under a minute to go in regulation, and then Owen Goodbrand scored at 16:32 of the extra session. On Saturday night, Bentley netminder Lukas Swedin made 23 saves in blanking Holy Cross 4-0. The Anna Maria College Men’s ice hockey team was defeated 4-1 by the University of Wisconsin-Stout in the first round of the NCAA Division III Tournament last Saturday night at the Fanetti Community Center in Menomonie, Wisconsin. Lucas de la Salle had the lone goal for the Amcats, who finished the season with an overall record of 20-6-2.
The three stars of the game were
1. MNE – #9 Brooklyn Kalmikov
2. MNE – #23 Max Andreev
3. WOR – #11 Lincoln Hatten
The 210Sports Player of the Game is no one.
Even Strength Lines
Repaci / A.Callin / McDonnell
Carson / DeMelis / Piercey
Donhauser / Miotto / Mitton
Dukovac / Dorrington / Hatten
Suda / Pulkkinen
McDonald / Ruoho
Samuelsson / Jean-Louis
Press Releases
RAILERS: Railers fall 6-2 to Maine to open weekend
MARINERS: Mariners roll through Railers in Worcester
Our affiliates last night
No games scheduled
In the ECHL’s North Division last night
Norfolk 9, Greensboro 4
Adirondack 4, Reading 3 SO
Wheeling 4, Trois-Rivières 3 SO
BOX SCORE
Maine 2 3 1 – 6
Worcester 0 0 2 – 2
1st Period-1, Maine, Bellamy 4 15:18. 2, Maine, Venuto 14 (Cronin, Hudson), 18:27. Penalties-Jordan Mne (cross-checking), 1:21; Hatten Wor (tripping), 4:11.
2nd Period-3, Maine, Kalmikov 16 1:26. 4, Maine, Kalmikov 17 (Andreev, Gallatin), 6:33 (PP). 5, Maine, Jordan 13 (Bellamy), 19:23 (SH). Penalties-Piercey Wor (fighting – major, game misconduct – aggressor), 5:23; Andreev Mne (holding), 18:16.
3rd Period-6, Worcester, Hatten 13 (DeMelis, Carson), 3:32. 7, Worcester, Callin 16 (Repaci), 7:04. 8, Maine, Andreev 13 (Kalmikov, Chabrier), 9:40. Penalties-McDonnell Wor (high-sticking), 15:46; Jordan Mne (fighting – major), 16:59; Donhauser Wor (fighting – major), 16:59; Hatten Wor (roughing, misconduct), 17:37; Carson Wor (cross-checking), 17:48.
Shots on Goal-Maine 12-15-12-39. Worcester 7-5-14-26.
Power Play Opportunities-Maine 1 / 6; Worcester 0 / 2.
Goalies-Maine, Cavallin 14-7-3-1 (26 shots-24 saves). Worcester, Gale 1-5-0-0 (19 shots-15 saves); Lavallière 3-1-0-0 (20 shots-18 saves).
A-5,720
Referees-Sam Heidemann (22), Austin Rook (11).
Linesmen-Michael Tarquinio (45), Noah Merrow (57).
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