Game Story

Worcester, MA — The 2019-20 regular season opened up for the Worcester Railers in front of a home crowd of 8,137 on Saturday night.

It’s been a very long six months since fans last saw the Railers and a lot has changed since then. Players have retired, signed elsewhere, or have earned a spot on AHL rosters. All of which, have had a significant impact with many new faces coming to the fold. Saturday night brought just that with many players’ talents going on display for the fans of Worcester to see.

On the offensive front, ten different players picked up points for Worcester. Five of which were returning players, and five were new-to-Worcester for this season. Jordan Samuels-Thomas, Kyle Thomas, JD Dudek, and Nic Pierog each tallied two points. Goaltender Jakub Skarek made his North American debut with 24 saves and just one goal allowed. Kyle Thomas picked up the second Gordie Howe hat-trick in Worcester’s franchise history.

It was also the first matchup between Worcester and Adirondack since the last game of the 2018-19 season. Worcester brought home a 5-4 overtime win with the Thunder advanced to the Kelly Cup Playoffs and were eliminated by the Manchester Monarchs in the first round.

The opening period was all Worcester, with not a ton to say about Adirondack other that you could question if they even showed up. Jordan Samuels-Thomas put the Railers on the board with a shot on a wide-open net at 4:10. Kyle Thomas extended that lead 3:47 later. The Railers had their first 5-on-3 advantage in which Barry Almeida scored 20 seconds in. Worcester outshot Adirondack 13-3 in the period and led 3-0.

There was no question as to if Worcester’s first fight would happen tonight, but a matter of who and when. Those questions would be answered towards the end of the first with Kyle Thomas taking out Adirondack’s Blake Thompson with no more than five hits to the head to get that job done. Each earned their first fighting majors of the season and a couple of minutes added to their intermission breaks.

Continuing off the energy from the first, Ryan Hitchcock (with some help from Nic Pierog) scored his first of the season 19 seconds into the second period. The Adirondack Thunder had their only solid period of the game, registering 16 shots on net and their only goal of the game, scored by Ryan Walker.

JD Dudek scored his first professional goal from the right circle at 5:22 in the third. Dudek would later get another chance on the breakaway later in the period in which he found iron, but bounced out on an incredible opportunity that very much could’ve been his second goal.

Ivan Chukarov briefly left the game with just under four minutes to go. Blocking a slapshot from a Railers forward with his leg, he struggled to get off the ice on one skate. Chukarov went down the tunnel but promptly returned to the ice moments later, where he sat until the buzzer rang.

The three stars of the game were:

  1. Kyle Thomas (Worcester) – 1 goal, 1 assist, 1 fight, +3
  2. Jakub Skarek (Worcester) – 24 saves, win, 0.960 SV%
  3. Jordan Samuels-Thomas (Worcester) – 1 goal, 1 assist, +1

Around the division, Brampton fell to Toledo (4-3) and Newfoundland beat Reading in overtime (2-3). On Friday, Reading beat Newfoundland in the first league game of the season (6-5) and Adirondack struck with a 5-2 win over Maine.

With one game in the books, the Railers have the momentum to get a winning streak going with two-division match-ups next weekend. The season continues next weekend for Worcester with the Mariners coming to town on Friday.

Box Score

Scoring 1 2 3 T
Adirondack Thunder 0 1 0 1
Worcester Railers 3 1 1 5
Shots 1 2 3 T
Adirondack Thunder 3 16 6 25
Worcester Railers 13 9 9 31

 

Thunder Roster # Name G A +/- SH PIM
G 30 M. McNiven 0 0 0 0 0
G 34 E. McAdam 0 0 0 0 0
F 2 M. Salhany 0 1 0 2 0
D 3 C. Curti 0 0 -2 0 2
D 4 M. Sdao 0 0 -2 0 0
D 6 T. Parran 0 0 -1 1 0
D 8 B. Thompson 0 0 0 0 5
F 9 A. Waked 0 0 -1 1 0
F 10 H. Verbeek 0 0 -2 3 0
F 12 N. Popugaev 0 0 -1 1 0
F 16 F. Girard 0 1 0 5 0
C 18 C. Pierro-Zabotel 0 0 0 2 0
D 21 C. Sissons 0 0 0 0 0
F 22 A. Nazarian 0 0 0 2 0
F 23 R. Payne 0 0 -2 4 0
F 25 R. Walker 1 0 0 2 0
D 27 K. Summers 0 0 -2 2 2
F 44 C. Riley 0 0 -2 0 2
Team: 2
Totals: 1 2 -15 25 13
No Name Min SH SVS GA
30 M. McNiven (L) 60:00 31 26 5
Totals: 60:00 31 26 5
Railers Roster # Name G A +/- SH PIM
G 34 E. Buitenhuis 0 0 0 0 0
G 35 J. Skarek 0 0 0 0 0
D 3 J. Murray 0 0 +2 2 0
D 5 K. McKenzie 0 0 0 0 0
D 6 M. Cornell 0 0 +1 2 0
F 9 R. Olsson 0 0 +1 1 4
D 13 I. Chukarov 0 0 +1 1 0
F 14 J. Dudek 1 1 0 1 2
F 15 B. Brauer 0 1 +2 0 0
F 17 M. Schmalz 0 1 +1 3 0
F 19 B. Almeida 1 0 -1 5 0
F 22 T. Pond 0 1 +1 4 0
F 24 K. Thomas 1 1 +3 2 5
F 27 R. Hitchcock 1 0 +1 2 0
D 28 C. Doherty 0 1 0 0 6
F 37 J. Samuels-Thomas 1 1 +1 4 0
F 61 N. Pierog 0 2 +2 2 0
F 72 D. Callin 0 0 0 2 0
Team:
Totals: 5 9 15 31 17
No Name Min SH SVS GA
35 J. Skarek (W) 60:00 25 24 1
Totals: 60:00 25 24 1
P T Player M Offense Time
1st V K. Summers 2.00 High-sticking – minor (60.2) 2:08
1st H J. Dudek 2.00 Slashing – minor (61.2) 4:46
1st V C. Curti 2.00 Delay of Game (63.2) 9:57
1st V C. Riley 2.00 Tripping – minor (57.2) 11:14
1st H R. Olsson 2.00 Interference – minor (56.2) 13:24
1st V Served by A. Nazarian 2.00 Bench minor – Too many men (74.2) 15:41
1st V B. Thompson 5.00 Fighting – Major (46.14) 17:51
1st H K. Thomas 5.00 Fighting – Major (46.14) 17:51
2nd H C. Doherty 2.00 Tripping – minor (57.2) 5:58
2nd H C. Doherty 2.00 Hooking – minor (55.2) 10:27
3rd H R. Olsson 2.00 Bench minor – Too many men (74.2) 2:39
3rd H C. Doherty 2.00 Slashing – minor (61.2) 6:33

Notes

  • Railers Scratches: Anthony Florentino, Henrik Samuelsson, Cody Payne, Chris Rygus
  • Thunder Scratches: Zach Borsoi, Jake Linhart, James Henry, Alexandre Carrier, Shane Conacher, Craig Martin, and Gabriel Verpaelst (suspended).
  • IceCats and Sharks announcer George Brown was brought back for opening night with Adam Webster filling the in-arena host duties.
  • T&G’s Bill Ballou, announcer George Brown, and former IceCats Terry Virtue & Shawn Heaphy dropped the puck prior to the game.
  • Bo Brauer filled in on defense just as he did for much of his time here last season.
  • The Railers announced their Captains for the 2019-20 season on Friday:
    • Barry Almeida – C
    • Mike Cornell – A
    • Connor Doherty – A (home games)
    • Jordan Samuels-Thomas – A (away games)
  • A number of number changes were made in the last week, all thanks to the releases of several PTO contracts, and players being assigned from Bridgeport:
    • Ryan Hitchcock: #27 (2018-19) -> #20 (TC) -> #27 (2019-20)
    • Drew Callin: #17 (2018-19) -> #27 (TC) -> #72 (2019-20)
    • Tanner Pond: #18 (TC) -> #22 (2019-20)
    • Jordan Samuels-Thomas: #12 (TC) -> #37 (2019-20)
  • One of the new promotions this season is free Chick-Fil-A when the Railers score four (or more) goals in a single game. Fans who kept their ticket stubs can score a free sandwich the day after or on Mondays following a game that took place on Saturday.
  • Railers alum Nick Saracino was named the captain of the Wheeling Nailers on Friday.
  • 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  K. Thomas #24  R. Hitchcock #27  N. Pierog #61
Forward Line 2  B. Almeida #19 “C”  T. Pond #22  M. Schmalz #17
Forward Line 3  J. Samuels-Thomas #37  J. Dudek #14  D. Callin #72 / R. Olsson #9
LD RD
Defense Line 1  M. Cornell #6 “A”  J. Murray #3
Defense Line 2  I. Chukarov #13  K. McKenzie #5
Defense Line 3  B. Brauer #15  C. Doherty #28 “A”
G
Starting Goaltender  Jakub Skarek #35
Backup Goaltender  Evan Buitenhuis #34

Highlights

Highlights will be posted upon completion of the game.