The Worcester Railers (24-22-5-4) still just points away out of a playoff position at the end of February. They still sit in sixth place, four points out of the last playoff spot that is held by the Maine Mariners with 61 points, five points out of third place with 62 points that is held by Manchester.

Worcester was 2-2-1-1 in divisional matches and 5-4-2-1 throughout the month with just three games being played at the DCU Center. The Railers had their season-long seven-game road trip that included new stops against Tulsa and Allen, resulting in a 3-2-1-1 record to close out the month.

Here are my thoughts and notes throughout the month of February.

The Good:

  • Tyler Barnes set a Worcester goal record with an eight-game goal streak and a franchise-record of points in thirteen straight games.
  • Ryan Hitchcock averaged over a point per game in the month of February (1.08), and is averaging over a point per game on the season (1.07).
  • Evan Buitenhuis picked up his first career shutout on February 16 against Tulsa. Boots’ shutout is the first shutout for Worcester this season.
  • Bo Brauer has played a number of games as a defenseman, filling in during injuries, suspensions, and illnesses and has looked pretty good out there.
  • Tyler Barnes has tied Barry Almeida’s franchise record for goals in a season with 22. Barnes will inevitably score another goal and will be another record set by him this season. It appears Almeida will also pass that record at some point, just six goals out with 21 games left in the season.
  • The Railers shipped the under-performing Woody Hudson to the Indy Fuel in exchange for Robert Powers. Hudson has five points in four games with his new team and Powers has two points in five games for Worcester.
  • Worcester scored their first shorthanded goals of the season, both came on February 2nd against Newfoundland. (Matt Gaudreau, Ryan Hitchcock)
  • The DCU Center saw an average of 4,938 fans in three home games during the month. Worcester is ranked thirteenth with a season average of 4,154 and ten home games remaining in the season.

The Bad:

  • Tommy Panico led Worcester with the only positive +/- rating of the month of +1.
  • Worcester lost both games against Maine in the month of February.
  • The Saga of Malcolm Gould came to an end after playing in just two games, resulting in a trade to Newfoundland.
  • Railers will need more regulation wins in the month of March. The first tiebreaker in the event of a tie for points at the end of the season is decided by wins, excluding shootout and overtime wins.

The Ugly:

  • Worcester lost in back-to-back blowout games against Tulsa on Feb 17, and against Manchester on Feb 20.
  • Mike Cornell was suspended after receiving a major penalty and game misconduct for cross-checking on Feb 17.
  • The Railers’ defense can’t catch a break with Illness, Injuries, and suspensions plaguing the blue line.
  • Injuries: Connor Doherty, Kyle McKenzie, Matt Schmalz, Tommy Panico, Alex Vanier

Scoring Leaders for February:

  1. Ryan Hitchcock (6-7-13), 12 games
  2. Tyler Barnes (8-4-12), 12 games
  3. Barry Almeida (4-7-11), 12 games
  4. Matt Gaudreau (3-7-10), 12 games
  5. Nick Sorkin (2-8-10), 12 games

Trends and Numbers:

  • When scoring first: 16-7-1-3
  • Leading after 20 minutes: 9-1-1-4
  • Leading after 40 minutes: 14-0-1-2
  • Tied after 20 minutes: 9-9-3-0
  • Tied after 40 minutes: 8-6-2-2
  • Trailing after 20 minutes: 6-12-1-0
  • Trailing after 40 minutes: 2-16-2-0
  • Out Shooting Opponent: 10-9-2-3
  • Out Shot by Opponent: 12-13-3-1
  • Wearing Specialty Jerseys: 2-2-1-0 (9-2-1-0 all-time)

Here’s the playoff picture for the North Division, courtesy of @mmjl87 on twitter: