Worcester Railers (17-17-3-2) vs Adirondack Thunder (22-11-2-0)

Cool Insuring Arena – Glens Falls, New York

Friday, January 25, 2019 – 7:05 EST – ECHL Game #551

989 Nash Icon | ECHL.TV

Referee: Alex Garon (#9)

Linesmen: Guillaume Brunelle (#73), Matt Wyld (#56)

Match Notes

  • Adirondack leads the season series at 4-0-0-1, while Worcester has the all-time record at 9-6-2-0.
  • Adirondack has four shootout losses against Worcester.
  • Both teams are on a 1 game losing streak and have 5 wins and 4 losses in their last 10 games. Worcester has a shootout loss while Adirondack has an overtime loss in the mix.

Players to Watch

  • Barry Almeida (Worcester) – Almeida continues to quietly produce for the Railers after a less-than-ideal December. He is 1-4-5 since the beginning of January and had two assists last weekend. Be on the lookout as he continues to look for his 100th regular season goal tonight.
  • Mike Szmatula (Adirondack) –  Szmatula leads the Thunder in goals this season at with 15 in 36 games.  He scored the game-winning goal for the Eastern Conference at the All-Star Game on Monday.

Railers Notes

  • Josh Holmstrom, Ivan Kosorenkov, and Matt Schmalz each have a goal and an assist against Adirondack this season.
  • Yanick Turcotte will return to the lineup after being suspended for five games.
  • Railers are ranked 25th on the power play in road games at 12.9 percent.
  • Evan Buitenhuis is tied for third in save percentage this season with .928.
  • Worcester has yet to score shorthanded this season.
  • Cold Streaks: Tommy Panico (14 games), Nick Roberto (7 games), Woody Hudson (7 games), Yanick Turcotte (4 games), Alex Vanier (4 games), Dylan Willick (4 games), Bo Brauer (3 games), Connor Doherty (3 games)

Recent Railers Additions, Subtractions, Transactions

  • Josh Holmstrom was assigned to Worcester on Thursday from Bridgeport.
  • Rob Lemelin was signed as an emergency backup goaltender on Wednesday and was released later that day.

Possible Railers Scratches

  • Malcolm Gould – on injured reserve, has not played this season.
  • Kyle McKenzie – on injured reserve, has not played since November 27.
  • Tommy Panico – Missed last three games with a lower-body injury.
  • Tyler Mueller – left last Saturday’s game with an upper-body injury.
  • Alex Vanier – left last Saturday’s game with a lower-body injury.
  • Nick Roberto – last played on January 12.
  • Additional scratched to be determined closer to puck drop.

Thunder Notes

  • The Thunder have allowed just one shorthanded goal this season which is the least allowed in the league through 40 games.
  • James Henry leads the Thunder against Worcester with 2 goals and 3 assists this season.
  • Adirondack has yet to lose a game in regulation when leading after two periods.
  • The Thunder have yet to win a game when trailing after one period.

Recent Thunder Additions, Subtractions, Transactions

  • Goaltender Dillon Kelley was released from his SPC on Thursday.
  • Goaltender Evan Cormier was assigned to Adirondack by Binghamton on Thursday.

Possible Thunder Scratches

  • Shane Conacher –  last played on December 31.
  • Dennis Kravchenko – last played on December 28.
  • Nikolas Olsson – last played on January 11.
  • Kelly Summers – last played on December 31.
  • Will Smith – last played on January 12.

Head-to-Head

Worcester Adirondack
Goals For  2.33 – 27th  3.13 – 17th
Goals Against  2.85 – 6th  2.90 – 9th
Shots For  31.87 – 13th  34.13 – 3rd
Shots Against  33.38 – 21st  30.35 – 9th
Fighting Majors  26  18
Power Play  11.7% – 27th  20.3% – 6th
Penalty Kill  85.7% – 3rd  80.6% – 22nd
Avg Height / Weight / Age  6′ 0″ / 193 lbs / 24.83 years  6′ 0″ / 192 lbs / 25.27 years

Team Records

Worcester Adirondack
Scoring First  12-5-1-2  15-2-1-0
Leading After 1  5-1-1-2  13-1-1-0
Leading After 2  10-0-0-1  18-0-2-0
Tied After 1  8-9-2-0  9-3-2-1
Tied After 2  7-5-2-1  3-3-1-1
Trailing After 1 4-7-0-0  0-9-0-1
Trailing After 2  0-12-1-0  1-10-0-1
Outshooting Opponents  5-8-1-1  15-7-2-2
Out Shot by Opponents  10-9-2-1  5-6-1-0

On the Island and at the Port

  • The Islanders are off this weekend as the NHL is on its All-Star Break.
  • Sound Tigers play tomorrow against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on the road.

Closing Statements

  • Newfoundland’s Brady Ferguson was suspended for four games after his illegal head check to the head on Tyler Mueller last weekend.
  • Thoughts go out to Newfoundland Growlers’ coach Ryane Clowe, who stepped down from his position due to medical issues that ended his playing career a few years ago.
  • Tonight teams will reverse their jerseys and will begin to wear lighter jerseys at home and darker jerseys on the road for the remainder of the regular season. Teams will reverse the jerseys again at the beginning of the playoffs.
  • For live updates during the game, follow us on Twitter @WooHockeyNews.