Game Story


Worcester, MA — The Worcester Railers had a strong start on Saturday evening and secured a 5-2 victory against the Adirondack Thunder. They secured the win by scoring two empty-net goals in the final minute of the third period.

Henrik Tikkanen, who played 38 games for the Railers last season, made his season debut and delivered a remarkable performance with 32 saves in his return to Worcester. On the other side, Tyler Brennan made his professional debut for the Adirondack Thunder and managed 24 saves.

Riley Piercey, Zsombor Garat, and Joey Cipollone all had their first taste of professional hockey, and Jacob Pivonka made his ECHL debut after playing a few games with Bridgeport last season. Ashton Calder, Christian Krygier, Anthony Repaci, and Jake Pivonka each contributed with both a goal and an assist. Quinn Ryan scored Worcester’s first goal, with Blade Jenkins and Zsombor Garat providing assists. Adirondack’s goals came close to tying the game with a pair of goals from Ryan Smith and Patrick Grasso, but the Railers held off the Thunder before sealing the win with those two empty-net goals.

The Railers had an impressive start, scoring two quick goals just 28 seconds apart to take an early 2-0 lead. Shortly afterward, they added another goal to make it 3-0. Quinn Ryan seized a breakaway opportunity and scored the first goal by beating Tyler Brennan over the shoulder. At 3:34, Ashton Calder extended the lead with a goal, taking advantage of an open net opportunity created by Anthony Repaci. There was some confusion at 8:21 when Christian Krygier was credited with a goal, even though it was accidentally scored by Thunder defenseman Will MacKinnon. Ryan Smith broke Adirondack’s drought by bouncing the puck over Henrik Tikkanen’s pads at 17:08 in the period.

Patrick Grasso narrowed the gap for the Thunder at 13:39 in the second period. He seized an opportunity when he retrieved a blocked shot by Matt Steif, setting up a successful breakaway, outsmarting Henrik Tikkanen on the left side. The Railers were at a disadvantage for eight of the 20 minutes of the second period, with the Adirondack Thunder having four power play opportunities in the period, but to the Railers’ luck they couldn’t convert on any of them.

In the third period, the Railers secured their 5-2 victory with two empty-net goals after Tyler Brennan was called off the ice for the extra attacker. Jacob Pivonka scored the first empty-net goal after picking up a loose puck from the initial cross-ice miss from Brendan Robbins at 19:18. Then, with just 10 seconds left in the game, Anthony Repaci scored the second empty-net goal, assisted by Christian Krygier.

The three stars of the game were:

  1. Henrik Tikkanen (Worcester) – win, 32 saves, 0.941 SV%
  2. Quinn Ryan (Worcester) – 1 goal
  3. Anthony Callin (Worcester) – +1

The Railers will cap off their opening weekend with a match against the Trois-Rivières Lions, marking the first of fourteen meetings, on Sunday at 3 PM at the DCU Center.

—

Stay in the loop and never miss an update on Worcester Railers hockey by following Woo Hockey on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. You can also get involved and connect with other fans of the team in the Worcester Railers Fan Club Facebook group, where you can share your thoughts on the team and discuss all things hockey.

Box Score


Scoring 1 2 3 T
1 1 0 2
3 0 2 5
Shots 1 2 3 T
11 10 13 34
7 13 9 29
Score Team Time Scored by Assisted by Type
0 – 1 3:06 – 1st Q. Ryan (1) J. Pivonka
0 – 2 3:34 – 1st A. Calder (1) B. Jenkins, A. Repaci
0 – 3 8:21 – 1st C. Krygier (1) A. Calder, Z. Garat
1 – 3 17:08 – 1st R. Smith (1)
2 – 3 13:39 – 2nd P. Grasso (1) M. Stief SH
2 – 4 19:18 – 3rd J. Pivonka (1) B. Robbins EN
2 – 5 19:50 – 3rd A. Repaci (1) C. Krygier EN

Rosters

# Player G A +/- SH PIM
G 34 T. Brennan 0 0 0 0 0
G 35 J. Brodeur 0 0 0 0 0
D 2 B. Less 0 0 0 2 0
D 5 W. MacKinnon 0 0 -2 0 0
F 10 R. Smith 1 0 -1 6 0
D 12 R. Orgel 0 0 0 0 2
F 17 Y. Turcotte 0 0 -1 0 0
F 19 J. Jeffers 0 0 -1 0 0
F 21 P. Grasso 1 0 -1 6 0
F 22 A. Willis 0 0 0 0 0
D 24 M. Stief 0 1 0 1 0
D 26 C. Felix 0 0 -2 0 0
F 27 T. Broughman 0 0 -3 8 0
F 28 T. Friedmann 0 0 0 4 2
F 43 G. Jozefek 0 0 -4 1 0
F 48 E. Middendorf 0 0 0 1 0
F 71 Y. Hirano 0 0 0 1 0
D 72 T. Thompson 0 0 -1 3 0
F 92 J. Isley 0 0 -2 1 2
Team:
Totals: 2 1 -18 34 6
Player MIN SH SVS GA SV%
34 T. Brennan (L) – 27 24 3 –
Empty Net – 2 2 –
Totals: – 29 24 5 –
# Player G A +/- SH PIM
G 30 T. Lennox 0 0 0 0 0
G 39 H. Tikkanen 0 0 0 0 0
D 3 R. Verrier 0 0 +1 2 2
D 4 J. Schultz 0 0 +2 0 0
F 5 Z. White 0 0 -1 3 0
D 8 C. Krygier 1 1 +2 1 2
F 9 Q. Ryan 1 0 0 3 0
D 10 T. Cosgrove 0 0 0 1 0
F 12 J. Cipollone 0 0 +2 3 0
F 13 J. Pivonka 1 1 +2 2 4
F 15 B. Robbins 0 1 +1 0 0
F 16 A. Calder 1 1 +2 2 0
F 17 K. Howdeshell 0 0 0 3 0
F 19 B. Jenkins 0 1 0 2 0
D 20 Z. Garat 0 1 +2 1 0
D 26 C. Welsh 0 0 0 0 0
F 29 R. Piercey 0 0 +1 1 2
F 44 A. Callin 0 0 +1 1 0
F 81 A. Repaci 1 1 0 4 0
Team:
Totals: 5 7 15 29 10
Player MIN SH SVS GJ SV%
39 H. Tikkanen (W) – 34 32 2 –
Totals: – 34 32 2 –

Penalties

Time Team Player Mins Infraction
12:17 – 1st T. Friedmann 2 Tripping – minor (57.2)
3:51 – 2nd J. Pivonka 2 Elbowing – minor (45.2)
9:45 – 2nd R. Piercey 2 Tripping – minor (57.2)
12:35 – 2nd R. Orgel 2 High-sticking – minor (60.2)
14:23 – 2nd J. Pivonka 2 Slashing – minor (61.2)
18:32 – 2nd R. Verrier 2 Tripping – minor (57.2)
11:44 – 3rd C. Krygier 2 Holding – minor (54.2)
11:47 – 3rd J. Isley 2 Slashing – minor (61.2)


Notes

  • Railers Scratches: Adam Goodsir, Andrei Bakanov, Artyom Kulakov, Jack Quinlivan, and John Copeland.
  • Thunder Scratches: Bryce Martin, Devon Becker, Ryan Wheeler, Shawn Weller, Vinnie Purpura, and Zach Walker.
  • The Thunder were without head coach Pete McArthur for this game, he was reportedly injured during a practice earlier in the week.
  • The Railers are now 6-0 in home openers and 5-1 in their first games of the season.
  • Anthony Repaci was announced as the team’s captain on Saturday, with Blade Jenkins and Jake Schultz being named alternates.
  • Following Saturday night’s game, the Railers had the following streaks:
    • Anthony Repaci is on a five-game point streak, dating back to April 5, 2023. (4-4-8)
    • Blade Jenkins is on a three-game point streak, dating back to December 31, 2022. (0-3-3)
    • Quinn Ryan is on a five-game point streak, dating back to February 11, 2023. (4-2-6)

Railers Lines

Forward Lines LW C RW
Forward Line 1 Ashton Calder #16 Blade Jenkins #19 “A” Anthony Repaci #81 “C”
Forward Line 2 Zach White #5 Brendan Robbins #15 Keeghan Howdeshell #17
Forward Line 3 Riley Piercey #29 Quinn Ryan #9 Jake Pivonka #13
Rotated Forwards – Joey Cipollone #12 Anthony Callin #44
Defensive Pairings LD RD
Defense Pair 1 Christian Krygier #8 Zsombor Garat #20
Defense Pair 2 Ryan Verrier #3 Jake Schultz #4 “A”
Defense Pair 3 Connor Welsh #26 Trevor Cosgrove #10
Rotated Defensemen – –
Goalie Tandem G
Starting Goaltender Henrik Tikkanen #39
Backup Goaltender Tristan Lennox #30

Opponent Lines

Forward Lines LW C RW
Forward Line 1 Yushiroh Hirano #71 T.J. Friedmann #28 Patrick Grasso #21
Forward Line 2 Grant Jozefek #43 Travis Broughman #27 Jace Isley #92
Forward Line 3 Erik Middendorf #48 Ryan Smith #10 Andy Willis #22
Rotated Forwards Yanick Turcotte #17 – Jack Jeffers #19
Defensive Pairings LD RD
Defense Pair 1 Will MacKinnon #5 Colin Felix #26
Defense Pair 2 Matt Stief #24 Ryan Orgel #12
Defense Pair 3 Tristan Thompson #72 Brendan Less #2
Rotated Defensemen – –
Goalie Tandem G
Starting Goaltender Tyler Brennan #34
Backup Goaltender Jeremy Brodeur #35

On-Ice Officials

– –
Referee Steven Sailor (5)
Referee –
Linesman Antoine Bujold-Roux (72)
Linesman Sam Schildkraut (46)




Notable Tweets as the Game Happened

[The Railers did not tweet out their lines prior to puck drop, so this post does not exist. ]

Railers Lines


Thunder Lines


Quinn Ryan Goal (1-0 Railers)


Ashton Calder Goal (2-0 Railers)


Christian Krygier Goal (3-0 Railers)


Ryan Smith Goal (3-1 Railers)


Patrick Grasso Goal (3-2 Railers)


Jake Pivonka Goal (4-2 Railers)

Anthony Repaci Goal (5-2 Railers)