Game Story

St. John’s, Newfoundland — The Worcester Railers took to the ice for the second game of their road trip against the Newfoundland Growlers at the Mile One Center on Wednesday. The Railers made strides to turn their luck around, but other factors got in the way as the Growlers picked up their third win in a row, 5-2.

Using the same lineup as last night, Mitch Gillam got the start for Worcester, making 22 saves on 25 shots. Evan Butienhuis came into the game after Gillam left the game due to an injury. Buitenhuis made 6 saves in his relief effort. Alex Vanier was dressed as the extra defenseman once again, who also saw some time skating as a forward during Wednesday’s match-up. Mario Culina was the starter for the Growlers with 15 saves

Railers and Growlers were scoreless after one. both teams had their fair share of power plays, but so shot was substantial enough for either team to score.  Shots were 10-6 Newfoundland after twenty.

Nick Bligh scored his third goal of the season after intercepting the puck from a Growlers defender for an easy tip-in. Bligh’s goal gave the Railers their first lead in five games. Growlers looked to score not once, but twice minutes later on rushes in-front of Mitch Gillam. Fortunately for the Railers, the first one was called off. The Mile One Center. The goal that did end up counting was pushed in from the crease by Josh Kestner. Woody Hudson scored the Railers third power play goal of the season after making contact with a shot from the blue line from Mike Cornell.

Mitch Gillam was helped off the ice with under five minutes left in the second period. Gillam was involved with a collision with a Growlers skater at the net which resulted in Gillam being pushed into the goal post. With Gillam being interfered, the Growlers were able to net the puck with Gillam down. No penalty was called on the play and the goal was not called off. This play would’ve benefited from a video review, but the Mile One Center isn’t one of the very few arenas equipped with video review cameras. Gillam was down for a good five minutes after getting help from both athletic trainers and was walked down the tunnel to be looked at. Evan Buitenhuis finished the period in net6 and played for the remainder of the game. For those looking to see the play, it can be found on the sixth highlight in the new ‘Highlights’ tab of this game report.

Growlers extended their lead after Marcus Power got a break at neutral ice at 14:59 in the third, and another goal on the empty net in the closing minute. Growlers took the third straight game with a score of 5-2. Newfoundland outshot Worcester 33-17.

With the game heading the other way after Gillam’s injury, the Railers will be looking to turn things around with the first of two games against the Maine Mariners this weekend. Be on the lookout for any announcements for an emergency backup goaltender (EBUG) if Gillam’s injury ends up being more serious than it looked on the ice.

The Three Stars of the Game Were:

  1. Brady Ferguson (Newfoundland) – 1 goal, 2 assists
  2. Sean LeBlanc (Newfoundland) – +1 rating, 2 shots
  3. Mitch Gillam (Worcester) – 22 saves

Coming Home: The Railers will leave Newfoundland at 3 AM tomorrow morning and will make their return to Worcester at some point in the afternoon. Railers will welcome the Maine Mariners for the second time this season on Friday, puck drops at 7:05 PM.

Scoring 1 2 3 T
Worcester Railers 0 2 0 2
Newfoundland Growlers 0 3 2 5
Shots 1 2 3 T
Worcester Railers 6 6 5 17
Newfoundland Growlers 10 15 8 33

 

Railers Roster # Name G A +/- SH PIM
G 34 E. Buitenhuis 0 0 0 0 0
G 35 M. Gillam 0 0 0 0 0
D 2 T. Panico 0 1 0 2 0
D 3 A. Vanier 0 0 0 0 0
D 4 R. MacKinnon 0 0 +1 0 2
D 5 K. McKenzie 0 0 -1 1 2
D 6 M. Cornell 0 1 0 1 2
F 7 T. Barnes 0 0 -1 1 0
F 8 N. Sorkin 0 0 -1 3 0
F 9 A. Block 0 0 +1 1 0
F 11 D. Willick 0 0 0 0 0
F 12 J. Holmstrom 0 0 0 0 0
F 18 B. Arneson 0 0 0 0 0
F 19 B. Almeida 0 0 -1 1 2
D 20 D. Quenneville 0 0 -1 0 0
F 22 N. Bligh 1 0 0 2 0
F 23 W. Hudson 1 0 -1 4 0
D 24 T. Mueller 0 0 -1 1 2
Team:
Totals: 2 2 -5 17 10
No Name Min SH SVS GA
35 M. Gillam 37:12 25 22 3
34 E. Buitenhuis 21:19 7 6 1
Empty Net 1 1
Totals: 58:31 33 28 5
Growlers Roster # Name G A +/- SH PIM
G 31 M. Culina 0 0 0 0 0
G 34 M. Garteig 0 0 0 0 0
D 3 K. Cumiskey 0 0 +1 1 0
D 5 K. Rubins 0 0 +2 2 2
D 8 E. Neugold 0 0 0 2 0
F 9 M. Power 1 0 +1 1 0
F 11 D. Plouffe 0 1 +1 1 0
F 12 S. Pooley 0 1 +1 3 0
F 14 J. Piccinich 1 0 0 2 4
F 16 H. Elynuik 0 1 0 3 2
F 22 B. Ferguson 1 2 +2 4 0
D 23 S. LeBlanc 0 0 +2 2 2
F 26 J. Kestner 1 1 +1 6 0
F 27 M. Bradley 0 0 +1 1 0
F 29 G. Estephan 1 0 +2 2 0
F 40 R. Moore 0 1 0 1 2
D 43 J. Melindy 0 0 +1 1 0
D 46 A. Cortese 0 0 0 1 0
Team:
Totals: 5 7 15 33 12
No Name Min SH SVS GA
31 M. Culina 60:00 17 15 2
Totals: 60:00 17 15 2
P T Player M Offense Time
1st H J. Piccinich 2.00 Hooking – minor (55.2) 3:54
1st V B. Almeida 2.00 Slashing – minor (61.2) 4:55
1st V K. McKenzie 2.00 High-sticking – minor (60.2) 9:06
1st H R. Moore 2.00 Cross-Checking Minor (59.2) 9:06
1st V R. MacKinnon 2.00 Slashing – minor (61.2) 12:52
1st V M. Cornell 2.00 High-sticking – minor (60.2) 13:06
1st H H. Elynuik 2.00 High-sticking – minor (60.2) 17:52
1st H S. LeBlanc 2.00 Cross-Checking Minor (59.2) 19:03
2nd H J. Piccinich 2.00 Slashing – minor (61.2) 7:11
2nd V T. Mueller 2.00 Slashing – minor (61.2) 15:34
2nd H K. Rubins 2.00 Tripping – minor (57.2) 17:31

Notes

  • Railers Scratches: Tommy Kelley (14-day IR), Yanick Turcotte (14-day IR), Ivan Korsorenkov (immigration issues), Connor Doherty and Tommy Tsicos.
  • With Gillam injured during Wednesday’s game, the Railers could be in another goaltending predicament if he’s out long-term. Gillam had a few rough collisions during the game and with the last one that took him out of the game, I would not be surprised if he could be missing a few weeks time.
  • Railers are 3-7-0-0 in their first 10 games of the season. In comparison, the Railers opened the 2017-18 season going 5-4-1-0. There’s still a ton of hockey to play, so that rough patch of games shouldn’t be too much of a concern if things begin to turn around for the Railers’ offense.
  • Railers improve to 3 goals this season on the power play.
  • I’ll be pitching these throughout the season, but if you haven’t already followed us on Facebook and Twitter, it would be greatly appreciated! A group of dedicated hockey fans created a Facebook group that is quickly approaching 350 members that we recommend all Railers fans check out.

Railers Lines (Observed by order in which they appeared):

LW C RW
Forward Line 1  B. Almeida #19 “A”  N. Sorkin #8  T. Barnes #7
Forward Line 2  N. Bligh #22  J. Holmstrom #12 “A”  W. Hudson #23
Forward Line 3  A. Block #9 / A. Vanier #3  D. Willick #11  B. Arneson #18

 

LD RD
Defense Line 1  K. McKenzie  M. Cornell #6 “C”
Defense Line 2  T. Panico #2  R. MacKinnon #4
Defense Line 3  T. Mueller #24  D. Quenneville #20 / A. Vanier #3

 

G
Starting Goaltender  Mitch Gillam #35
Backup Goaltender  Evan Buitenhuis #34

Highlights