Game Story


Worcester, MA — The Worcester Railers fell 3-1 to the Adirondack Thunder at the DCU Center Wednesday night.

Ken Appleby made 36 saves in net for the Railers; Jake Theut stopped all but one of Worcester’s 33 shots. Reece Newkirk scored in his return to Worcester after being recalled to Bridgeport for over a month. Anthony Repaci and Connor McCarthy were back in the lineup after taking a few days away from the team on family leave. Wayne Letourneau, Erik Middendorf (first pro goal in pro debut), and Shane Harper scored for Adirondack.

After a scoreless first period, the Thunder took a 1-0 lead with Wayne Letourneau’s third goal of the season. Letourneau received a pass in the right circle and promptly fired a snap shot past goaltender Ken Appleby, set up by Patrick Grassoat 5:29 of the second period. Reece Newkirk had scored during the Railers’ first power play early in the second period but was waved off with a premature whistle seconds before he found the back of the net. The Thunder maintained their lead through the second period and into the third.

In the third period, Erik Middendorf scored his first professional goal to extend the Thunder’s lead to 2-0. Middendorf capitalized on a rebound and slipped the puck past Appleby’s left pad at 5:29. Worcester responded with a goal by Reece Newkirk, who cut the deficit to 2-1 with Jared Brandt and Jacob Hayhurst earning assists on the play. The Thunder secured the victory with an empty-net goal by Shane Harper, who scored with just 1:12 remaining in the game. The Railers were outshot 39-33, with a majority of their shots coming late in the third period.

The three stars of Wednesday night’s game were:

  1. Wayne Letourneau (Adirondack) – 1 goal, 1 assist
  2. Reece Newkirk (Worcester) – 1 goal
  3. Jake Theut (Adirondack) – 32 saves, win, 0.970 SV%

Five of the seven north division teams were in action Wednesday night. Both Newfoundland and Maine are on trips, facing south division teams this week. The Maine Mariners topped Orlando 5-1 while the Newfoundland Growlers fell 4-2 to the Florida Everblades. Norfolk held on to beat Trois-Rivieres 2-1 after a two-goal second period. Railers hold a seven-point lead over the Thunder, with the Thunder having two games in hand. The Thunder and Railers face each other another five times this season, so every point matters for the fourth and final playoff spot in the division.

The Railers and the Thunder head to Glens Falls for back-to-back games at the Cool Insuring Arena on Friday and Saturday.

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Box Score


Scoring 1 2 3 T
0 1 2 3
0 0 1 1
Shots 1 2 3 T
11 15 13 39
8 10 15 33
Score Team Time Scored by Assisted by Type
1 – 0 5:29 – 2nd W. Letourneau (3) I. Chukarov, P. Grasso
2 – 0 5:29 – 3rd E. Middendorf (1) B. Fleurent, S. Vidmar
2 – 1 7:32 – 3rd R. Newkirk (16) J. Brandt, J. Hayhurst
3 – 1 18:48 – 3rd S. Harper (20) M. Jennings EN

Rosters

# Player G A +/- SH PIM
G 1 V. Purpura 0 0 0 0 0
G 35 J. Theut 0 0 0 0 0
D 4 M. Slick 0 0 0 0 0
D 7 M. Stief 0 0 +1 1 0
D 8 W. Letourneau 1 0 +2 1 0
F 10 R. Smith 0 0 0 4 0
F 11 S. Harper 1 0 +1 1 4
D 12 R. Orgel 0 0 0 3 0
D 13 I. Chukarov 0 1 +1 0 0
F 14 M. Jennings 0 1 +1 4 0
F 21 P. Grasso 0 1 0 5 0
F 22 S. Vidmar 0 1 +1 2 0
F 23 N. Rivera 0 0 +1 2 0
D 26 K. Hallbauer 0 0 0 4 0
F 27 T. Broughman 0 0 0 4 0
F 29 B. Fleurent 0 1 +1 3 0
F 37 E. Middendorf 1 0 +1 2 0
F 43 G. Jozefek 0 0 0 3 0
F 63 S. Weller 0 0 0 0 0
Team:
Totals: 3 5 10 39 4
Player MIN SH SVS GA SV%
35 J. Theut – 0 0 0 –
Totals: – 0 0 0 –
# Player G A +/- SH PIM
G 35 K. Appleby 0 0 0 0 0
G 39 H. Tikkanen 0 0 0 0 0
D 2 C. McCarthy 0 0 0 0 0
F 7 L. Coughlin 0 0 0 0 0
F 8 B. Butler 0 0 0 0 0
F 11 N. Vesey 0 0 0 0 0
F 12 B. Beaudoin 0 0 0 0 0
F 16 J. Hayhurst 0 0 0 0 0
F 17 A. Callin 0 0 0 0 0
F 18 A. Goodsir 0 0 0 0 0
F 20 C. Ordoobadi 0 0 0 0 0
D 21 C. Breen 0 0 0 0 0
F 23 A. Bakanov 0 0 0 0 0
D 25 P. Beaulieu 0 0 0 0 0
D 26 J. Brandt 0 0 0 0 0
D 27 M. McGurty 0 0 0 0 0
F 37 R. Newkirk 0 0 0 0 0
D 44 J. Victor 0 0 0 0 0
F 81 A. Repaci 0 0 0 0 0
Team:
Totals: 0 0 0 0 0
Player MIN SH SVS GJ SV%
35 K. Appleby – 0 0 0 –
Totals: – 0 0 0 –

Penalties

Time Team Player Mins Infraction


Notes

  • Worcester Scratches: Billy Jerry, Christian Evers, Jack Quinlivan, Max Johnson, Nick Fea, Noah Delmas, and Quinn Ryan.
  • Adirondack Scratches: Brandon Schultz, Bryce Martin, Colin Long, Jeff Taylor, Mareks Mitens, and Yanick Turcotte.
  • Zack Bross was released on Tuesday, which opened up a roster spot for Reece Newkirk who was assigned earlier that day. Max Johnson was placed on injured reserve with an undisclosed injury, which coincidentally opened up Reece Newkirk’s jersey number from earlier in the season. Connor McCarthy returned from Bereavement on Tuesday after missing Sunday’s game. Anthony Repaci returned from Bereavement on Monday, with Trevor Cosgrove getting called up by Bridgeport on that day.
  • Drew Callin, older brother of Anthony, was in attendance for Wednesday night’s game. He had the night off as Springfield returns to action on Friday against Hartford.
  • The jersey raffle of the game was a #3 Boston Basketball Themed Jersey, with no nameplate on the back.
  • Following Wednesday night’s game, the Railers had the following scoring streaks and droughts:
    • Connor McCarthy is without a point in his last eight games.
    • Jacob Hayhurst is on a four-game point streak. (2-2-4)
    • Adam Goodsir snapped a three-game point streak. (0-5-5)
    • Chris Ordoobadi is without a point in his last four games.
    • Conor Breen is without a point in his last fifteen games.
    • Reece Newkirk snapped a three-game scoring in his last three ECHL games.
    • Josh Victor is without a point in his last four ECHL games.

Railers Lines

Forward Lines LW C RW
Forward Line 1 Adam Goodsir #18 Brent Beaudoin #12 Anthony Repaci #81
Forward Line 2 Jacob Hayhurst #16 Reece Newkirk #37 Nick Fea #22
Forward Line 3 Nolan Vesey #11 Liam Coughlin #7 Andrei Bakanov #23
Rotated Forwards – Anthony Callin #17 Chris Ordoobadi #20
Defensive Pairings LD RD
Defense Pair 1 Jared Brandt #26 Myles McGurty #27
Defense Pair 2 Philip Beaulieu #25 Philip Beaulieu #25
Defense Pair 3 Josh Victor #44 Conor Breen #21
Rotated Defensemen – –
Goalie Tandem G
Starting Goaltender Ken Appleby #35
Backup Goaltender Henrik Tikkanen #39

Opponent Lines

Forward Lines LW C RW
Forward Line 1 Matt Jennings #14 Shane Harper #11 Patrick Grasso #21
Forward Line 2 Grant Jozefek #43 Travis Broughman #27 Ryan Smith #10
Forward Line 3 Nick Rivera #23 Sebastian Vidmar #22 Erik Middendorf #37
Rotated Forwards Shawn Weller #63 – Brady Fleurent #29
Defensive Pairings LD RD
Defense Pair 1 Ivan Chukarov #13 Kyle Hallbauer #26
Defense Pair 2 Wayne Letourneau #8 Matt Stief #7
Defense Pair 3 Matt Slick #4 Ryan Orgel #12
Rotated Defensemen – –
Goalie Tandem G
Starting Goaltender Jake Theut #35
Backup Goaltender Vinnie Purpura #1

On-Ice Officials

– –
Referee Trevor Wohlford (38)
Referee –
Linesman Matthew Heinen (93)
Linesman Shane Kanaly (74)


Highlights


Notable Tweets as the Game Happened


Railers Lines


Thunder Lines


Wayne Letourneau goal (1-0 Thunder)


Erik Middendorf goal (2-0 Thunder)


Reece Newkirk goal (2-1 Thunder)


Shane Harper goal (3-1 Thunder)