Game Story

Glens Falls, NY — Closing out their regular season, the Worcester Railers defeated the Adirondack Thunder 5-4 in overtime.

Making 32 saves in net, Mitch Gillam played in his first full game since March 23rd. Ivan Chukarov had his biggest pro game to date with two goals (1st and 2nd), with additional goals by Tommy Kelley (7th), Ryan Hitchcock (17th), and Matt Gaudreau (12th).

Making 32 saves in net, Mitch Gillam played in his first full game since March 23rd. Ivan Chukarov had his biggest pro game to date with two goals (1st and 2nd), with additional goals by Tommy Kelley (7th), Ryan Hitchcock (17th), and Matt Gaudreau with the game-winning goal in the overtime period (12th).

The game started out as so many of recent games have – opponents getting on the board, but as last night’s game went, the boys were able to come from behind and pick up the win. John Edwardh scored on the power play at 10:29 with four seconds left on the penalty clock as Ivan Chukarov sat for a hooking penalty. Adirondack led 1-0 after one, they also outshot Worcester 13-7.

Ivan Chukarov made up for his penalty that resulted in an Adirondack goal with not just one, but two goals in the second period. He scored his first, which was his first pro goal at 2:35 and his second at 7:26. John Edwardh scored his second of the night while shorthanded at 8:39, followed by Tommy Kelley earning his seventh of the season to give Worcester the 3-2 lead heading into the third.

James Henry and Matt Salahny scored within a minute and a half of each other to tie and regain a lead at 4-3. With 1:48 remaining in regulation, Mitch Gillam was pulled for the extra attacker. Ryan Hitchcock tied the game back up at 3 with 1:20 left in regulation to force overtime, shots were 35-22 Adirondack.

Matt Gaudreau closed out the Railers’ season at 2:08 in the overtime period. That is Worcester’s seventh straight win over Adirondack that will continue into the 2019-20 season.

The Three Stars of the Game were:

  1. John Edwardh (Adirondack) – 2 goals, +1
  2. Ivan Chukarov (Worcester) – 2 goals, +3
  3. Matt Gaudreau (Worcester) – game-winning goal, +1

With the game going into overtime, Adirondack clinched home advantage for the first round of the Kelly Cup Finals. This doesn’t mean anything for Worcester fans, but as I mentioned earlier on Twitter this morning, Adirondack was tied with Manchester heading into today’s game.

Railers fans can look forward to the ECHL schedule being released as the team now looks forward to the 2019-20 season. The schedule has been released in the middle of May for the last two seasons, on the third Tuesday of May. If the league releases the schedule on the same presence, it should be either May 14 or May 21. For those looking forward to the equipment sale, details should be coming in the near future.

Box Score

Scoring 1 2 3 OT T
Worcester Railers 0 3 1 1 5
Adirondack Thunder 1 1 2 0 4
Shots 1 2 3 OT T
Worcester Railers 7 10 5 2 24
Adirondack Thunder 13 13 9 1 36

 

Railers Roster # Name G A +/- SH PIM
G 35 M. Gillam 0 0 0 0 0
G 39 R. Hubbard 0 0 0 0 0
D 4 R. MacKinnon 0 1 +1 1 0
D 6 M. Cornell 0 0 -1 1 4
F 7 T. Barnes 0 0 0 0 0
F 8 N. Sorkin 0 2 +1 2 0
F 9 R. Olsson 0 1 0 2 4
F 11 D. Willick 0 0 0 0 0
F 12 J. Holmstrom 0 1 -1 0 2
D 13 I. Chukarov 2 0 +3 3 2
F 18 D. Callin 0 1 +1 2 0
F 19 B. Almeida 0 1 +2 2 2
D 20 D. Quenneville 0 0 0 1 0
F 21 M. Gaudreau 1 0 +1 3 0
D 24 T. Mueller 0 1 +1 0 0
F 27 R. Hitchcock 1 1 +2 4 0
D 28 C. Doherty 0 0 -1 1 0
F 37 T. Kelley 1 0 -1 2 0
Team:
Totals: 5 9 8 24 14
No Name Min SH SVS GA
35 M. Gillam (W) 61:36 36 32 4
Totals: 61:36 36 32 4
Thunder Roster # Name G A +/- SH PIM
G 1 A. Sakellaropoulos 0 0 0 0 0
G 40 L. Thompson 0 0 0 0 0
F 2 M. Salhany 1 0 -1 2 0
D 4 M. Sdao 0 1 +1 2 0
D 6 M. Cleland 0 1 0 2 0
D 8 B. Thompson 0 0 -3 1 0
F 9 J. Edwardh 2 0 +1 6 0
F 10 C. Bradshaw 0 0 -1 2 2
F 15 J. Henry 1 0 -3 6 0
F 17 A. Carrier 0 0 0 0 4
F 19 S. Conacher 0 0 -1 5 2
F 21 D. Walchuk 0 0 0 0 0
F 22 B. Ward 0 1 -1 3 2
D 23 T. Parran 0 0 -3 1 0
F 25 R. Walker 0 0 +1 0 0
D 27 K. Summers 0 2 +2 3 0
D 37 D. Bergin 0 1 0 2 0
F 51 J. Reichert 0 0 0 1 0
Team:
Totals: 4 6 -8 36 10
No Name Min SH SVS GA
1 A. Sakellaropoulos (L) 62:05 24 19 5
Totals: 62:05 24 19 5
P T Player M Offense Time
1st H B. Ward 2.00 Tripping – minor (57.2) 2:50
1st V I. Chukarov 2.00 Hooking – minor (55.2) 8:33
1st V B. Almeida 2.00 Slashing – minor (61.2) 11:51
1st V R. Olsson 4.00 Double Minor – Roughing 14:05
1st H A. Carrier 4.00 Double Minor – Roughing 14:05
2nd V M. Cornell 2.00 Tripping – minor (57.2) 6:23
2nd H S. Conacher 2.00 Interference – minor (56.2) 7:22
2nd V J. Holmstrom 2.00 Slashing – minor (61.2) 10:35
2nd H C. Bradshaw 2.00 Boarding – minor (41.2) 17:12
3rd V M. Cornell 2.00 High-sticking – minor (60.2) 15:17

Notes

  • Railers Injuries: Evan Buitenhuis, Kyle McKenzie, Tommy Panico, Alex Vanier, Blake Wojtala
  • Railers Scratches: Drew Callin, Matt Gaudreau, Robert Powers, Yanick Turcotte (suspended)
  • Thunder Injuries: Sean Federow, Dennis Kravchenko
  • Thunder Scratches: Jake Linhart, Pete McArthur, Nikolas Olsson, Conor Riley, Matt Szmatula, Andrew Tessier
  • As we were tipped off earlier in the week but were reluctant to let the news out, Tyler Barnes is expected to retire at the end of this season. Sources close to the team confirmed this with Woo Hockey during warm-ups and we’ll wait to see what comes of this during the off-season. Barnes’ family made a post in our Worcester Railers Fan Group, for those looking to see it, you can do so by clicking the link a few bullet points down. We believe that players should be given the option to announce their retirement if given the chance. On behalf of Worcester fans who follow this site and our ever-growing hockey family, we thank Barnes for an incredible season, breaking numerous Worcester Railers and Worcester pro hockey records in his only season here.
  • With Tyler Barnes, Mike Cornell, Nick Sorkin, and Josh Holmstrom each over the 260 game limit to be considered Veterans, there’s a good chance that all four wouldn’t return anyways. The ECHL has a limit for 4 veteran skaters (non-goalies) for their rosters. We will have more information on contract situations for Worcester, Bridgeport, and New York Islanders contracts later in the off-season.
  • I had the chance to sit at the glass along with a few fellow Railers fans for the second and third periods, and I can confirm what a tough crowd Adirondack is as a visiting fan, let alone a visiting team. Foghorns, Cowbells, and all, I hope next season our fans make the DCU Center a tough crowd to play as a visiting team. For those who do not know, the team has a dedicated section for hecklers and trash talkers, Section N, which is typically packed with all kinds of fans. A group of accommodating Thunder fans made room for us to take the game in.
  • 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  B. Almeida #19 “A”  R. Hitchcock #27  J. Holmstrom #12 “A”
Forward Line 2  M. Gaudreau #21  N. Sorkin #8  T. Barnes #7
Forward Line 3  D. Callin #18 / R. Olsson #9  D. Willick #11  T. Kelley #37
LD RD
Defense Line 1  M. Cornell #6 “C”  C. Doherty #28
Defense Line 2  D. Quenneville #20  T. Mueller #24
Defense Line 3  R. MacKinnon #4  I. Chukarov #13
G
Starting Goaltender  Mitch Gillam #35
Backup Goaltender  Ryan Hubbard #39

Highlights