Game Story

Worcester, MA — Continuing a stretch of four games in five games, the Worcester Railers fought a tough battle against the Adirondack Thunder on Thursday night. The Railers hosted “College Night” with a special start time of 8 PM, students from across Central Massachusetts were in attendance for the game. Continuing off the momentum from Wednesday’s shootout win, the Railers picked up their first win over the Thunder this season, 2-1.

Evan Buitenhuis was the starter for Worcester. Picking up his second win in his fourth straight start, Buitenhuis made 36 saves on 37 shots. Former Railer Alex Sakellaropoulos was the backup goaltender for Adirondack.

Neither team scored during the first period. Each team had power-play opportunities in the period, neither of which resulted in anything than a couple of shots.

It was Woody Hudson broke the scoreless tie in the second period, making contact with a shot from Mike Cornell.

Matt Gaudreau left in the second period in what appeared to be a shoulder injury. He sat out the last few minutes of the period but returned for the third.

Adirondack scored in the closing 90 minutes of regulation with an extra attacker. The goal went to video review, where it was ruled a good goal. The game was headed into overtime for the third straight game.

Worcester saw the second shootout in two days as these teams couldn’t get it settled in 65 minutes. Nick Bligh was the hero for Worcester, deking Goaltender Cam Johnson in the third round for the only goal of the shootout.

Railers now have a point-streak at 3 games and are 5-8-0-1 on the season.

The Three Stars of the Game Were:

  1. Evan Buitenhuis (WOR
  2. Nick Bligh (WOR)
  3. Connor Riley (ADK)

But Wait, There’s More: With two games with odd times this week, the Railers will play in two more “school day” games this season – on November 27 and January 30. All other games will be played during normal hours. Railers will continue their longest homestand on Saturday against the Orlando Solar Bears at 7:05. New England Patriots’ Matthew Slater will be in attendance and signing autographs during the game.

Box Score

Scoring 1 2 3 SO OT T
Adirondack Thunder 0 0 1 0 0 1
Worcester Railers 0 1 0 0 1 2
Shots 1 2 3 SO OT T
Adirondack Thunder 11 9 16 1 0 37
Worcester Railers 8 10 4 3 1 26

 

Thunder Roster # Name G A +/- SH PIM
G 1 A. Sakellaropoulos 0 0 0 0 0
G 35 C. Johnson 0 0 0 0 0
D 6 M. Cleland 0 0 -1 0 0
D 7 J. Linhart 0 0 0 2 0
D 8 B. Thompson 0 0 0 2 0
F 9 J. Edwardh 0 0 -1 0 0
F 10 C. Bradshaw 0 0 -1 4 0
F 15 J. Henry 0 0 +1 5 0
F 16 P. MacArthur 0 1 +1 2 2
F 19 S. Conacher 0 0 0 7 0
F 22 B. Ward 0 0 +1 6 2
F 24 D. Kravchenko 0 0 0 1 0
D 25 K. Lough 0 1 0 0 2
D 27 K. Summers 0 0 0 0 2
D 37 D. Bergin 0 0 +1 3 0
F 44 C. Riley 1 0 +1 1 2
F 51 J. Reichert 0 0 -1 1 0
F 91 M. Szmatula 0 0 0 3 0
Team:
Totals: 1 2 1 37 10
No Name Min SH SVS GA SOG-S
35 C. Johnson (SOL) 64:53 25 24 1 1-3
Totals: 64:53 25 24 1
Railers Roster # Name G A +/- SH PIM
G 31 C. Millen 0 0 0 0 0
G 34 E. Buitenhuis 0 0 0 0 0
D 2 T. Panico 0 0 -1 1 0
D 4 R. MacKinnon 0 0 0 0 0
D 5 K. McKenzie 0 0 +1 1 0
D 6 M. Cornell 0 1 +1 1 0
F 7 T. Barnes 0 0 0 1 0
F 8 N. Sorkin 0 0 0 2 0
F 10 I. Kosorenkov 0 0 0 2 0
F 11 D. Willick 0 0 -1 1 0
F 12 J. Holmstrom 0 0 -1 1 0
F 19 B. Almeida 0 0 0 4 2
D 20 D. Quenneville 0 0 0 4 0
F 21 M. Gaudreau 0 1 0 2 2
F 22 N. Bligh 0 0 0 0 0
F 23 W. Hudson 1 0 +1 1 0
D 24 T. Mueller 0 0 -1 2 0
F 27 R. Hitchcock 0 0 +1 2 0
Team: 1 1
Totals: 2 2 0 26 4
No Name Min SH SVS GA SOG-S
34 E. Buitenhuis (W) 65:00 37 36 1 0-3
Totals: 65:00 37 36 1
P T Player M Offense Time
1st V P. MacArthur 2.00 Slashing – minor (61.2) 4:01
1st H B. Almeida 2.00 Hooking – minor (55.2) 10:04
2nd V K. Lough 2.00 Holding – minor (54.2) 3:40
2nd V C. Riley 2.00 High-sticking – minor (60.2) 9:25
2nd V K. Summers 2.00 Cross-Checking Minor (59.2) 10:54
2nd H M. Gaudreau 2.00 Slashing – minor (61.2) 10:54
OT V B. Ward 2.00 Hooking – minor (55.2) 0:59
Royals Shooter Goal?
Round 1  Brian Ward  ✘
Round 2  James Henry  ✘
Round 3  Dennis Kravchenko  ✘
Railers Shooter Goal?
Round 1  Ivan Kosorenkov  ✘
Round 2  Ryan Hitchcock  ✘
Round 3  Nick Bligh  ✔

Notes

  • Railers Scratches:  Mitch Gillam, Tommy Kelley, Yanick Turcotte, Malcolm Gould, Austin Block, Connor Doherty, Alex Vanier.
  • The ECHL announced the 2019 inductees for the ECHL Hall of Fame on Thursday. The among the inductees are former ECHL commissioner Brian McKenna and Jim Bermingham. Jim Bermingham is a former Worcester IceCat who played with the club during the 1994-95 and 1995-96 seasons. He was 3-4-7 in 14 games. He had a significant impact at the ECHL level, amassing over a point-per-game with 588 points in exactly 500 games played.
  • Railers held a promotion in which college students had the opportunity to win $500. They also held the biggest T-Shirt toss in Worcester hockey history during the first period.
  • Local US Army recruits were sworn-in during the second intermission. I am told that the actual swearing in for many of the recruits were sworn-in about a month ago, and will head to boot camp exactly two months from today.

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

LW C RW
Forward Line 1  B. Almeida #19 “A”  M. Gaudreau #21  R. Hitchcock #27
Forward Line 2  N. Sorkin #8  J. Holmstrom #12 “A”  T. Barnes #7
Forward Line 3  I. Korsenkov #10  D. Willick #11  N. Bligh #22 / W. Hudson #23
LD RD
Defense Line 1  K. McKenzie #6  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  Charlie Millen #31

Highlights