Game Story

Worcester, MA — The Worcester Railers hosted the Newfoundland Growlers for the fourth of eight games this season on Friday night. It was the first of two games between the two teams this weekend.

Mitch Gillam got the start in net for Worcester. Former Railers netminder Eamon McAdam stood across the ice in net for Newfoundland. Ryan Hitchcock (2nd), Ryan MacKinnon (3rd), and Matt Schmalz (6th) scored for Worcester.

The game got off slow for both teams with it unfolding as the first period went on. Both teams had power plays issued halfway through the period, with both ending without goals. Ryan Hitchcock netted his second of the season with a quick pass from Tyler Barnes from behind the net which went five-hole between the pads of Eamon McAdam with 2:14 left in the first period. The only lead of the opening period would be cut short 19 seconds later with the Newfoundland Growlers capitalizing scrambling to take control of the puck in the Railers zone.

Ryan MacKinnon left the game in the first period after suffering a mouth injury. He was seen holding his mouth as he headed towards the tunnel for repairs. MacKinnon didn’t return for the start of the second period but shortly after the period began.

Growlers and Railers remained tied through forty minutes. Railers had over a minute and a half of a 5-on-3 advantage in which they failed to generate a shot on goal on McAdam and the Growlers. Tommy Kelley picked up his first penalty of the season for hooking at the end of the period, which carried over to the third period and was eventually killed off.

Griffen Molino gave Newfoundland their first lead of the night on a penalty shot which was awarded in controversial fashion. Kevin Hart and Molino collided in a rush towards the crease and inadvertently taking out Mitch Gillam in the process. Gillam was brought down for a few minutes and attended to by the team’s athletic trainer. Molino scored on his penalty shot as Gillam dove out of his net to break the puck away.

Matt Schmalz scored the game-winning goal at 3:54 in the overtime period. Schmalz extended his point streak to four games with the goal.

Railers (17-16-3-2) are back to over .500 for the first time in 2019. They’ll remain in seventh as Brampton also won their game tonight.

The Three Stars of the Game were:

  1. Ryan MacKinnon (Worcester) – goal
  2. Matt Schmalz (Worcester) – goal
  3. Griffen Molino (Newfoundland) – penalty shot goal

Don’t Take Another Step: This weekend’s second game takes place tomorrow with the same teams, at the same place, at the same time, with most of the same players. Be There!

Box Score

Scoring 1 2 3 OT T
Newfoundland Growlers 1 0 1 0 2
Worcester Railers 1 0 1 1 3
Shots 1 2 3 OT T
Newfoundland Growlers 11 7 13 2 33
Worcester Railers 5 7 6 2 20

 

Growlers Roster # Name G A +/- SH PIM
G 34 M. Garteig 0 0 0 0 0
G 35 E. McAdam 0 0 0 0 0
D 2 A. Pardy 0 0 0 5 2
D 5 K. Rubins 0 0 0 2 0
D 8 E. Neugold 0 0 +1 5 0
F 9 M. Power 1 0 +1 2 0
F 10 Z. O’Brien 0 1 +1 2 0
F 11 D. Plouffe 0 0 0 0 0
F 12 S. Pooley 0 0 0 2 0
F 14 J. Piccinich 0 0 -1 1 0
F 16 H. Elynuik 0 0 +1 4 0
F 17 G. Molino 1 0 0 1 2
F 22 B. Ferguson 0 0 -3 1 0
D 24 A. Gudbranson 0 0 -1 2 0
F 26 J. Kestner 0 0 0 0 0
F 29 G. Estephan 0 0 -3 2 2
D 43 J. Melindy 0 0 -1 3 0
D 48 G. Johnston 0 0 -2 1 0
Team:
Totals: 2 1 -7 33 6
No Name Min SH SVS GA
35 E. McAdam (L) 63:43 20 17 3
Totals: 63:43 20 17 3
Railers Roster # Name G A +/- SH PIM
G 34 E. Buitenhuis 0 0 0 0 0
G 35 M. Gillam 0 1 0 0 0
D 3 A. Vanier 0 0 0 0 0
D 4 R. MacKinnon 1 0 +2 4 0
F 7 T. Barnes 0 1 +2 1 0
F 8 N. Sorkin 0 0 0 0 0
F 10 I. Kosorenkov 0 0 0 1 0
F 11 D. Willick 0 0 -1 0 0
F 15 B. Brauer 0 0 0 1 0
F 17 M. Schmalz 1 0 +1 1 0
F 19 B. Almeida 0 2 +2 3 0
D 20 D. Quenneville 0 0 0 1 2
F 23 W. Hudson 0 0 -1 1 2
D 24 T. Mueller 0 1 +1 0 0
F 27 R. Hitchcock 1 0 +2 4 0
D 28 C. Doherty 0 0 0 0 0
F 37 T. Kelley 0 1 +1 2 2
D 55 K. Hart 0 0 0 1 0
Team:
Totals: 3 6 9 20 6
No Name Min SH SVS GA
35 M. Gillam (W) 62:23 33 31 2
Totals: 62:23 33 31 2
P T Player M Offense Time
1st H W. Hudson 2.00 Boarding – minor (41.2) 8:00
1st V G. Molino 2.00 Slashing – minor (61.2) 10:18
2nd V G. Estephan 2.00 Hooking – minor (55.2) 5:00
2nd V A. Pardy 2.00 Delay of Game (63.2) 5:28
2nd H T. Kelley 2.00 Hooking – minor (55.2) 19:20
3rd H D. Quenneville 2.00 Tripping – minor (57.2) 11:33

Notes

  • Railers Injuries: Malcolm Gould, Kyle McKenzie
  • Railers Scratches: Nick Roberto, Tommy Panico, Yanick Turcotte (suspended)
  • Announced prior to puck drop, Barry Almeida is the team’s latest in-term Captain. Almeida is the fifth Captain in the team’s history with previous Captains Josh Holmstrom and Mike Cornell on recall with Bridgeport.
  • Nick Sorkin was named as the second alternate captain for tonight’s game and is the tenth in the team’s history.
  • Defenseman Kevin Hart was signed to an SPC late in the afternoon. Hart previously played under head coach Jamie Russell for three of his four seasons at Providence College and one year for the Elmira Jackals. Hart took last season off after playing two seasons with the Dundee Stars of the EIHL.
  • For up-to-date news on all things Worcester Hockey, Like us on Facebook at Woo Hockey – Worcester Hockey News, Follow us on Twitter @WooHockeyNews, and join our Facebook Group – Worcester Railers Fan Club.

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

LW C RW
Forward Line 1  I. Kosorenkov #10  D. Willick #11  N. Sorkin #8 “A”
Forward Line 2  B. Almeida #19 “C”  R. Hitchcock #27  T. Barnes #7 “A”
Forward Line 3  B. Brauer #15  T. Kelley #37  N. Schmalz #17 / W. Hudson #23
LD RD
Defense Line 1  D. Quenneville #20  C. Doherty #28
Defense Line 2  T. Mueller #24  R. MacKinnon #4
Defense Line 3  K. Hart #55  A. Vanier #3
G
Starting Goaltender  Mitch Gillam #35
Backup Goaltender  Evan Buitenhuis #34

Highlights

Highlights will be posted upon completion of the game.