Game Story

Portland, ME — The Worcester Railers hit the road on Saturday to take on the Maine Mariners at the Cross Insurance Arena in Portland. Saturday’s game was the first time in 1313 days or a little over three-and-a-half years that a Worcester team played in Portland (Sharks vs Pirates, Sharks won 1-0 in overtime). As tempers flared between teams in the late minutes of the third period, the Railers lost 3-1.

Coming off a fresh contract signing with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, Evan Buitenhuis was once again the starter for Worcester. Brandon Halverson started in net for Maine. Both goaltenders had solid nights as Buitenhuis was 31 for 33 and Halverson was 32 for 33.

Barry Almeida put the Railers up at 17:50 with a feed from behind the net from Tyler Barnes. Railers gave up their 12th goal while shorthanded with Scott Savage shooting from the right circle at 19:14. Railers had a single unsuccessful power play opportunity in the first, while Maine was successful on one for two of theirs. The game was tied through twenty, with Maine getting an extra shot over Worcester at 10-9.

Neither team could break the tie in the second period, with each team having a power play opportunity in the period. Worcester had a number of good shots on goal with shots being in favor of Worcester, 18-12 in the middle frame.

Michael McNicholas broke the tie seven minutes into the third with a shot that went five-hole through the pads of Evan Buitenhuis. McNicholas’ goal was his first pro goal.

Tempers flared in the closing ten minutes of the game, resulting in fisticuffs from lines on both teams. A near line brawl broke out as Mike Cornell was cross-checked in the corner by Dawson Leedahl, resulting in Leedahl, Cornell, and Kyle McKenzie in the box. Somehow, Maine came up on top with an extra man on the ice despite instigating the brawl.

Maine secured their second win over Worcester with an empty-net goal off the face-off in their zone. Railers franchise-worst losing streak is now extended to seven games.

The three stars of the game were:

  1. Brandon Halverson (Maine) – Win, 1 goal allowed, 32 saves
  2. Michael McNicholas (Maine) – 1 goal
  3. Scott Savage (Maine) – 1 goal

Home Sweet Home: Railers will begin their season-long five game homestand on Wednesday against the Reading Royals, with a special start time of 10:05 AM.

Box Score

Scoring 1 2 3 T
Worcester Railers 1 0 0 1
Maine Mariners 1 0 2 3
Shots 1 2 3 T
Maine Mariners 9 18 6 33
Worcester Railers 10 12 12 34

 

Railers Roster # Name G A +/- SH PIM
G 31 J. San Antonio 0 0 0 0 0
G 34 E. Buitenhuis 0 0 0 0 0
D 2 T. Panico 0 0 0 0 0
D 4 R. MacKinnon 0 0 +1 4 2
D 5 K. McKenzie 0 0 0 1 2
D 6 M. Cornell 0 0 0 3 4
F 7 T. Barnes 0 1 0 0 0
F 8 N. Sorkin 0 0 +1 1 0
F 9 A. Block 0 0 0 2 0
F 10 I. Kosorenkov 0 0 0 4 2
F 11 D. Willick 0 0 0 0 0
F 12 J. Holmstrom 0 0 -1 3 0
F 18 B. Arneson 0 0 0 1 0
F 19 B. Almeida 1 0 0 5 0
D 20 D. Quenneville 0 0 -1 2 4
F 22 N. Bligh 0 0 0 1 0
F 23 W. Hudson 0 0 0 3 2
D 24 T. Mueller 0 0 -1 3 0
Team:
Totals: 1 1 -1 33 16
No Name Min SH SVS GA
34 E. Buitenhuis 58:55 33 31 2
Empty Net 1 1
Totals: 58:55 34 31 3
Mariners Roster # Name G A +/- SH PIM
G 30 C. Nell 0 0 0 0 0
G 35 B. Halverson 0 0 0 0 0
D 4 S. Savage 1 0 0 4 0
D 8 R. Culkin 1 0 +1 5 0
F 9 D. Melanson 0 1 0 0 0
F 11 J. Salvaggio 0 0 -1 4 0
F 12 D. Tschantz 0 0 0 0 0
F 13 M. McNicholas 1 0 0 3 0
D 14 B. Martin 0 0 0 1 0
F 16 M. Adams-Moisan 0 1 +1 3 0
F 17 H. Verbeek 0 0 +1 2 0
F 18 R. Ferrill 0 0 0 2 4
F 19 D. Leedahl 0 0 -1 1 8
F 20 T. Wallin 0 1 +1 2 2
F 26 S. St-Amant 0 0 +1 1 0
D 27 Z. Tolkinen 0 0 -1 4 0
D 29 G. Cecere 0 0 0 1 0
D 41 S. Day 0 2 0 1 0
Team:
Totals: 3 5 2 34 14
No Name Min SH SVS GA
35 B. Halverson 60:00 33 32 1
Totals: 60:00 33 32 1
P T Player M Offense Time
1st H R. Ferrill 2.00 Slashing – minor (61.2) 2:46
1st V D. Quenneville 2.00 Interference – minor (56.2) 13:58
1st V W. Hudson 2.00 Interference – minor (56.2) 18:55
2nd H T. Wallin 2.00 Slashing – minor (61.2) 5:47
2nd V R. MacKinnon 2.00 Roughing – minor (51.2) 15:38
3rd V D. Quenneville 2.00 Slashing – minor (61.2) 8:10
3rd H D. Leedahl 2.00 Tripping – minor (57.2) 10:14
3rd V I. Kosorenkov 2.00 Tripping – minor (57.2) 14:31
3rd V M. Cornell 4.00 Double Minor – Roughing 14:46
3rd V K. McKenzie 2.00 Cross-Checking Minor (59.2) 14:46
3rd H D. Leedahl 2.00 Cross-Checking Minor (59.2) 14:46
3rd H D. Leedahl 4.00 Double Minor – Roughing 14:46
3rd H R. Ferrill 2.00 Delay of Game (63.2) 17:34

Notes

  • Railers Scratches: Tommy Kelley, Yanick Turcotte, Mitch Gillam, Malcolm Gould, Connor Doherty, and Alex Vanier.
  • Railers wore their home Blue jerseys as Maine wore their Marvel Specialty jerseys. The specialty jerseys were a white jersey with a Captain America crest with blue and red trim.
  • The Bridgeport Sound Tigers announced the signing of Railers goaltender Evan Buitenhuis on Saturday. Buitenhuis, who’s been solid in net so far this season, is the third goaltender under contract with the Sound Tigers (Jeremy Smith, Mitch Gillam are the others). His signing comes days after the Railers lost Mitch Gillam to injury, which could indicate that Gillam will be out longer than expected and this tells us it is nothing more than a precautionary measure in case any goaltender playing in Bridgeport or New York gets injured while Gillam is recovering. Good news for Railers fans is that we won’t be losing him on a PTO to other AHL teams and will only play for Worcester or Bridgeport.
  • SPHL transactions list Charlie Millen being loaned to Worcester. Expect a transaction releasing Jason San Antonio tomorrow morning and another with the Railers adding Charlie Millen.
  • Railers announced the signing of forward Malcolm Gould on Saturday. Gould makes his return to the Railers roster after being released prior to the start of training camp in September. Gould joins the Railers after a strong performance with the Dundee Stars of the EIHL last season, where he put up 14 goals and 24 assists for 38 points in 55 games.
  • Gould reportedly did not join the Railers due to a jaw injury that he sustained during training over the summer. Railers chose to release him and picked him back up once he recovered. Something I did not know was that teams must wait three weeks before picking up players they released over the summer.
  • Tommy Tsicos was released by the Railers on Saturday.

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

LW C RW
Forward Line 1  B. Almeida #19 “A”  N. Sorkin #8  W. Hudson #23
Forward Line 2  N. Bligh #22  J. Holmstrom #12 “A”  T. Barnes #7
Forward Line 3  A. Block #9 / B. Arneson #18  D. Willick #11  N. Bligh #22
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
G
Starting Goaltender  Evan Buitenhuis #34
Backup Goaltender  Jason San Antonio #31

Highlights

https://twitter.com/RailersHC/status/1061418833787797505