Game Story


Orlando, FL — The Worcester Railers dropped the second game of their southern road trip, losing 4-0 to the Orlando Solar Bears on Thursday night.

John Muse made 21 saves in his fourteenth start of the season. Brandon Halverson made his third appearance of the week, picking up his third win in that time with 36 saves, and was his first shutout of the season. Mitchell Hoelscher, Alex Frye, Tanner Schachle, and Jimmy Mazza each scored for Orlando. Railers did not make the scoresheet, despite two power plays and shooting the puck as many times as they could, not many were great scoring opportunities. This was the fifth shutout loss of the season and the Railers’ fourth on the road, every road shutout this season has resulted in a four-goal differential.

Continuing off of Monday’s match, it was another physical battle against the Solar Bears. Riley Piercey and Kelly Bent dropped the gloves shortly after Daniel Walker attempted to fight John Muse at 13:52 in the first period. Daniel Walker would be back in the box at 3:26 in the third period after a foiled attempt to get Ryan Dickinson to drop the mitts, and Jack Quinlivan fought Jérémie Biakabutuka after Quinlivan threw a few hits earlier in the game. Piercey’s fight was his second of the season, and Quinlivan’s was the first of his career.

The Solar Bears took a two-goal lead with two goals in two minutes and a second in the first period. Mitch Hoelscher got behind John Muse on a pass from Zachary Massicotte and nailed it in at 12:12. Alex Frye turned a two-on-one into a breakaway with Hoelsher for the second goal at 14:13. In between goals, Daniel Walker instigated John Muse into defending himself after managing to get Muse’s jersey over his head at 13:52. A fight between Riley Piercey and Kelly Bent broke out in the right face-off circle shortly thereafter. Railers were outshot 12-6 and trailing 2-0 after twenty minutes.

Artyom Kulakov went down with a leg injury in the first period. Based on the video, it looked like it just gave out as he was skating up the ice. He returned to the bench for the second period but did not make another shift in the game. Based on a report from Darryl Hunt, he did not return to the bench for the third period, but was still in the arena and seen on an exercise bike during the third period.

Tanner Schachle extended the lead to 3-0 at 14:08 in the second period. The Railers outshot the Solar Bears 14-5 in the period, and despite a power play at 16:47, they were unable to get one in the net, with five of those fourteen shots coming on that man advantage.

Adding insult to injury, Jimmy Mazza scored the fourth and final goal on the empty net at 18:23, with the Railers having a 5-on-4 advantage.

The three stars of the game were:

  1. Brandon Halverson (Orlando) – win, 36 saves, shutout
  2. Mitchell Hoelscher (Orlando) – 1 goal, 1 assist
  3. Darik Angeli (Orlando) – 2 assists

No North Division games were played on Wednesday, so the standings remain unchanged. Newfoundland is four points ahead of Worcester in third place, Maine and Trois-Rivieres are both five points behind Worcester, with Maine having three games in hand. The other six North Division teams all play on Saturday, Maine and Norfolk face each other Sunday. Maine holding their annual “Wild Blueberries” night on Saturday, as I’m already in Maine for a Wedding on Sunday, I might head over to the Cross Insurance Arena to check that game out.

Both teams are off until Monday when they’ll wrap up this series at the KIA Center with a special noon puck drop.

TL;DR as provided by @210Darryl on X: Ice was terrible, but not as bad as the team. Kulakov got hurt but looked great riding an exercise bike. The team is off until Monday when they’ll decide if they’ll show up or not for the game.

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Box Score


Scoring 1 2 3 T
0 0 0 0
2 1 1 4
Shots 1 2 3 T
6 14 16 36
12 5 8 25
Score Team Time Scored by Assisted by Type
0 – 1 12:12 – 1st M. Hoelscher (22) Z. Massicotte, D. Angeli
0 – 2 14:13 – 1st A. Frye (10) M. Hoelscher, D. Angeli
0 – 3 14:08 – 2nd T. Schachle (2) T. Bird, L. Boka
0 – 4 18:23 – 3rd J. Mazza (5) K. Gosselin EN.SH

Rosters

# Player G A +/- SH PIM
G 30 C. Ceci 0 0 0 0 0
G 40 J. Muse 0 0 0 0 2
F 5 Z. White 0 0 -1 1 0
D 8 C. Krygier 0 0 -1 1 0
D 10 T. Cosgrove 0 0 -3 3 0
F 12 J. Cipollone 0 0 0 4 0
F 13 J. Pivonka 0 0 -1 2 0
F 15 B. Robbins 0 0 -2 2 0
F 16 A. Calder 0 0 -2 2 0
F 17 K. Howdeshell 0 0 0 0 0
F 19 B. Jenkins 0 0 -2 3 0
F 24 J. Quinlivan 0 0 -1 0 5
D 25 R. Dickinson 0 0 -1 0 2
D 26 C. Welsh 0 0 -2 4 0
F 29 R. Piercey 0 0 -1 0 5
F 44 A. Callin 0 0 -1 3 2
D 70 Z. Garat 0 0 0 3 0
F 81 A. Repaci 0 0 -2 8 0
D 88 A. Kulakov 0 0 0 0 0
Team:
Totals: 0 0 -20 36 16
Player MIN SH SVS GA SV%
40 J. Muse (L) – 24 21 3 –
Empty Net – 1 1 –
Totals: – 25 21 4 –
# Player G A +/- SH PIM
G 31 B. Halverson 0 0 0 0 0
G 35 E. Fitzpatrick 0 0 0 0 0
D 2 Z. Massicotte 0 1 +2 1 0
D 3 J. Biakabutuka 0 0 +2 3 5
D 6 A. Malmström 0 0 +1 0 0
F 7 T. Bird 0 1 +2 3 0
F 9 B. Low 0 0 0 2 2
F 11 D. Walker 0 0 0 1 6
F 12 T. Schachle 1 0 +1 1 0
F 18 D. Angeli 0 2 +2 2 0
D 20 K. Gosselin 0 1 +1 0 0
F 23 T. Dickinson 0 0 0 4 0
F 28 A. Frye 1 0 +2 1 0
F 29 M. Hoelscher 1 1 +2 2 0
F 43 K. Bent 0 0 0 0 7
D 59 B. Carroll 0 0 +1 1 0
F 61 L. Boka 0 1 +2 1 0
F 71 J. Jacques 0 0 0 1 0
D 77 J. Mazza 1 0 +1 2 0
Team:
Totals: 4 7 19 25 20
Player MIN SH SVS GJ SV%
31 B. Halverson (W) – 36 36 0 –
Totals: – 36 36 0 –

Penalties

Time Team Player Mins Infraction
13:52 – 1st J. Muse 2 Roughing – minor (51.2)
13:52 – 1st R. Piercey 5 Fighting – Major (46.14)
13:52 – 1st K. Bent 5 Fighting – Major (46.14)
13:52 – 1st D. Walker 2 Roughing – minor (51.2)
16:47 – 2nd K. Bent 2 Bench minor – Face-off Violation (76.4)
3:26 – 3rd R. Dickinson 2 Roughing – minor (51.2)
3:26 – 3rd D. Walker 2 Roughing – minor (51.2)
5:36 – 3rd D. Walker 2 Tripping – minor (57.2)
12:35 – 3rd J. Quinlivan 5 Fighting – Major (46.14)
12:35 – 3rd J. Biakabutuka 5 Fighting – Major (46.14)
16:32 – 3rd A. Callin 2 Cross-Checking Minor (59.2)
18:15 – 3rd B. Low 2 Tripping Minor (57.2)


Notes

  • Worcester scratches: Andrei Bakanov, John Copeland, Ryan Verrier, Todd Goehring, and Tristan Lennox.
  • Orlando scratches: Aaron Luchuk, Avery Winslow, Chays Ruddy, Jaydon Dureau, and Ryan Mahshie.
  • Following Thursday night’s game, the Railers had the following scoring streaks and droughts:
    • Zach White is without a point in his last three games.
    • Christian Krygier is without a point in his last three games.
    • Trevor Cosgrove is without a point in his last three games.
    • Joey Cipollone is without a point in his last five games.
    • Jake Pivonka’s scoring streak ended after three games. (3-2-5)
    • Ashton Calder’s scoring streak ended after three games. (1-4-5)
    • Keeghan Howdeshell is without a point in his last six games.
    • Jack Quinlivan is without a point in his last four games.
    • Anthony Callin is without a point in his last three games.
    • Zsombor Garat is without a point in his last seven games.

Railers Lines

Forward Lines LW C RW
Forward Line 1 Anthony Repaci #81 Blade Jenkins #19 Anthony Callin #44
Forward Line 2 Riley Piercey #29 Jake Pivonka #13 Ashton Calder #16
Forward Line 3 Keeghan Howdeshell #17 Joey Cipollone #12 Jack Quinlivan #24
Rotated Forwards – Zach White #5 Brendan Robbins #15
Defensive Pairings LD RD
Defense Pair 1 Trevor Cosgrove #10 Ryan Dickinson #25
Defense Pair 2 Zsombor Garat #70 Artyom Kulakov #88
Defense Pair 3 Connor Welsh #26 Christian Krygier #8
Rotated Defensemen – –
Goalie Tandem G
Starting Goaltender Cole Ceci #30
Backup Goaltender John Muse #40

Opponent Lines

Forward Lines LW C RW
Forward Line 1 Alex Frye #28 Mitchell Hoelscher #29 Darik Angeli #18
Forward Line 2 Brayden Low #9 Tanner Dickinson #23 Jesse Jacques #71
Forward Line 3 Tanner Schachle #12 Luke Boka #61 Tyler Bird #7
Rotated Forwards Daniel Walker #11 Kelly Bent #43 –
Defensive Pairings LD RD
Defense Pair 1 Anton Malmström #6 Ben Carroll #59
Defense Pair 2 Zachary Massicotte #2 Jérémie Biakabutuka #3
Defense Pair 3 Kurt Gosselin #20 Jimmy Mazza #77
Rotated Defensemen – –
Goalie Tandem G
Starting Goaltender Brandon Halverson #31
Backup Goaltender Evan Fitzpatrick #35

On-Ice Officials

– –
Referee Nolan Bloyer (31)
Referee –
Linesman Brady Fagan (89)
Linesman Davids Rozitis (90)




Notable Tweets as the Game Happened


Railers Lines


Solar Bears Lines


Mitchell Hoelscher goal (1-0 Solar Bears)


Alexs Frye goal (2-0 Solar Bears)


Tanner Schachle goal (3-0 Solar Bears)


Jimmy Mazza goal (4-0 Solar Bears)