Game Story


Worcester, MA — The Worcester Railers fell 4-1 to the Kansas City Mavericks in the first-ever meeting between the two teams on Wednesday morning in front of a reported crowd of 4,730.

Tristan Lennox made 28 saves on 31 shots for Worcester, Jack LaFontaine made 19 saves on 20 shots for Kansas City and Cale Morris made 3 saves after LaFontaine left the game with an injury. Former Railers Jacob Hayhurst, Jared Brandt, and Cole Coskey made their returns to Worcester and were all in the lineup for the Mavericks on Wednesday. Justin Nachbaur, David Cotton, Nolan Walker, and Cole Coskey scored for the Mavericks, while Brendan Robbins scored the lone goal for the Railers.

The Mavericks got the only goal in the first period, with Justin Nachbaur scoring at 5:28. Nachbaur tapped in a loose puck behind Tristan Lennox, who made the initial save but lost sight of the puck after a shot from Patrick Curry. Both defenders John Copeland and Artyom Kulakov were in front of the net and appeared to lose sight of the puck as well, allowing Nachbaur to make the play for this third goal of the season.

Brendan Robbins scored the only goal for the Railers midway through the second period, capitalizing on a turnover in the Maverick’s zone, he then shot from the left circle, scoring on the far corner of Jack LaFontaine’s net. The tie would be broken once again with 21 seconds left in the second period with David Cotton scoring on a one-on-one with Tristan Lennox on a rush into the Railers zone, sending the Mavericks into the third period with a 2-1 lead.

Zach White fought Jacob Hayhurst at 18:36 in the second period, seconds after exchanging cross-checks, with Hayhurst taking down White.

At 1:15 into the third period, Nolan Walker extended the lead to 3-1 by netting a top-shelf goal during a rush from the Mavericks’ zone. With 2:50 left in the third period, Tristan Lennox was pulled for the extra attacker, and 32 seconds later, Cole Coskey capitalized on the empty net, securing a 4-1 victory for the Mavericks.

Jack LaFontaine left the game at 8:46 in the third period after being steamrolled by Railers Todd Goehring and Anthony Callin, the initial contact was from Goehring in his right leg followed by what appeared to be Anthony Callin’s knee to his head. Video footage showed LaFontaine holding his head as he skated off the ice, and he did not return to the game.

The three stars of the game were:

  1. Justin Nachbaur (Kansas City) – 1 goal, 1 assist
  2. David Cotton (Kansas City) – 1 goal
  3. Brendan Robbins (Worcester) – 1 goal

The Railers return to the DCU Center to continue their five-game homestand with the first of back-to-back games against the Norfolk Admirals on Friday at 7:05 p.m.

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Box Score


Scoring 1 2 3 T
1 1 2 4
0 1 0 1
Shots 1 2 3 T
12 11 9 32
10 8 5 23
Score Team Time Scored by Assisted by Type
1 – 0 5:28 – 1st J. Nachbaur (3) P. Curry, J. Hayhurst
1 – 1 10:03 – 2nd B. Robbins (5)
2 – 1 19:39 – 2nd D. Cotton (1) J. Jaremko, T. Calvas
3 – 1 1:15 – 3rd N. Walker (7) B. Schoonbaert, J. Nachbaur
4 – 1 17:42 – 3rd C. Coskey (10) M. Andreev EN

Rosters

# Player G A +/- SH PIM
G 1 J. LaFontaine 0 0 0 0 0
G 33 C. Morris 0 0 0 0 0
D 4 R. Jones 0 0 +1 0 2
D 5 N. Knoepke 0 0 +1 0 0
D 7 T. Calvas 0 1 +2 1 0
F 8 K. Jackson 0 0 +1 5 0
F 10 B. Schoonbaert 0 1 +1 1 0
F 13 D. Cotton 1 0 +1 1 0
F 14 J. Hayhurst 0 1 +1 3 5
F 15 J. Jaremko 0 1 +1 0 0
F 17 P. Curry 0 1 +1 5 0
F 20 N. Walker 1 0 +1 1 0
D 24 M. Duquette 0 0 0 0 2
D 26 J. Brandt 0 0 +1 0 0
D 27 J. McLaughlin 0 0 +1 0 0
F 28 C. Borchardt 0 0 0 6 0
F 32 J. Nachbaur 1 1 +1 4 0
F 44 M. Andreev 0 1 0 1 2
F 49 C. Coskey 1 0 +1 4 0
Team:
Totals: 4 7 15 32 11
Player MIN SH SVS GA SV%
1 J. LaFontaine (W) – 20 19 1 –
33 C. Morris – 3 3 0 –
Totals: – 23 22 1 –
# 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 0 0
F 5 Z. White 0 0 -1 0 5
D 10 T. Cosgrove 0 0 -1 2 0
F 11 A. Bakanov 0 0 +1 1 0
F 13 J. Pivonka 0 0 -3 1 0
F 15 B. Robbins 1 0 0 3 0
F 16 A. Calder 0 0 -2 3 0
F 17 K. Howdeshell 0 0 -1 2 0
F 19 B. Jenkins 0 0 -2 0 0
F 23 T. Goehring 0 0 -1 1 0
D 26 C. Welsh 0 0 -1 1 2
D 27 J. Copeland 0 0 -1 1 0
F 29 R. Piercey 0 0 +1 1 2
F 44 A. Callin 0 0 0 0 2
D 70 Z. Garat 0 0 -1 1 0
F 81 A. Repaci 0 0 -2 3 0
D 88 A. Kulakov 0 0 -1 3 0
Team: 2
Totals: 1 0 -16 23 13
Player MIN SH SVS GJ SV%
30 T. Lennox (L) – 31 28 3 –
Empty Net – 1 1 –
Totals: – 32 28 4 –

Penalties

Time Team Player Mins Infraction
2:13 – 1st Served by T. Goehring 2 Bench minor – Too many men (74.2)
7:36 – 2nd M. Andreev 2 Hooking – minor (55.2)
11:45 – 2nd R. Piercey 2 Tripping – minor (57.2)
18:36 – 2nd J. Hayhurst 5 Fighting – Major (46.14)
18:36 – 2nd Z. White 5 Fighting – Major (46.14)
2:55 – 3rd C. Welsh 2 Tripping – minor (57.2)
8:44 – 3rd R. Jones 2 Roughing – minor (51.2)
8:44 – 3rd A. Callin 2 Slashing – minor (61.2)
19:03 – 3rd M. Duquette 2 Interference – minor (56.2)


Notes

  • Worcester Scratches: Christian Krygier, Jack Quinlivan, Jake Schultz, Joey Cipollone, and Quinn Ryan.
  • Kansas City Scratches: Casey Carreau, Dillon Kelley, Luke Santerno, and Ryan Devine.
  • The Railers last scored a power play goal seven games ago, on November 12 against the Newfoundland Growlers.
  • Wednesday’s game was the first of two School Day games scheduled for the DCU Center this season, with the other being held on March 13, 2024 against the Reading Royals.
  • Following Wednesday morning’s game, the Railers had the following scoring streaks and droughts:
    • Ryan Verrier is without a point in all 15 games he’s played in this season.
    • Zach White snapped a four-game point streak. (3-1-4)
    • Andrei Bakanov is without a point in his last three games.
    • Todd Goehring snapped a three-game point streak. (1-3-4)
    • John Copeland is without a point in all 13 games he’s played in this season.
    • Zsombor Garat is without a point in his last five games.
    • Anthony Repaci is without a point in his last three games.
    • Artyom Kulakov is without a point in his last five games.
Forward Lines LW C RW
Forward Line 1 Andrei Bakanov #11 Anthony Callin #44 Todd Goehring #23
Forward Line 2 Blade Jenkins #19 Brendan Robbins #15 Zach White #5
Forward Line 3 Anthony Repaci #81 Jake Pivonka #13 Ashton Calder #16
Rotated Forwards Riley Piercey #29 – Keeghan Howdeshell #17
Defensive Pairings LD RD
Defense Pair 1 Connor Welsh #26 Trevor Cosgrove #10
Defense Pair 2 Ryan Verrier #3 John Copeland #27
Defense Pair 3 Artyom Kulakov #88 Zsombor Garat #70
Rotated Defensemen – –
Goalie Tandem G
Starting Goaltender Henrik Tikkanen #39
Backup Goaltender Tristan Lennox #30
– –
Referee Trevor Wohlford (38)
Referee –
Linesman Sam Schildkraut (46)
Linesman Conor Foley (86)




Notable Tweets as the Game Happened


Railers Lines

[This tweet does not exist, as the Mavericks did not tweet their lines prior to puck drop.]

Mavericks Lines


Tristan Lennox save

Justin Nachbaur goal (1-0 Mavericks)


Brendan Robbins goal (Tied at 1)


Zach White v. Jacob Hayhurst


David Cotton goal (2-1 Mavericks)


Nolan Walker goal (3-1 Mavericks)


Cole Coskey goal (4-1 Mavericks)