Game Story

Norfolk, VA — The Worcester Railers closed out a five-game roadtrip on Sunday afternoon, falling 4-2 to the Norfolk Admirals.

Henrik Tikkanen made his third start of the season for the Railers, recording 23 saves. Joe Cannata, a Wakefield, MA native, debuted for the Norfolk Admirals, making 19 saves in his first North American game since March 29, 2019, after spending five seasons in Sweden and Germany. Worcester’s goals came from Jack Randl and Connor Welsh, while Norfolk’s scorers included Carson Golder, Sean Montgomery, Connor Fedorek, and Brady Fleurent. The Railers’ loss drops them to a 0.429 winning percentage as they look ahead to a five-game homestand starting Friday against Maine.

The Railers scored their first shorthanded goal of the season while Cole Crowder was serving a holding penalty. Jack Randl entered the Norfolk zone on a 2-on-1 with Cole Donhauser and fired a shot past Joe Cannata’s glove, putting Worcester ahead for the only time in the game. Just 34 seconds later, Carson Golder responded for Norfolk to tie it, scoring while Crowder was still in the box.

Late in the first period, a skirmish broke out after Denis Smirnov and Ryan Dickinson exchanged cross-checks, leading to a fight between Matias Rajaniemi and Smirnov. Shortly after, Stepan Timofeyev went after Dickinson, scattering equipment across the Railers’ zone. Timofeyev was handed a game misconduct for being the aggressor, and Worcester gained a five-minute power play but failed to score, managing three shots on goal during the advantage.

Norfolk seized momentum in the second period, scoring twice in four minutes. Sean Montgomery notched his second goal of the weekend, receiving a pass up-ice from Carson Musser and beating Henrik Tikkanen at 7:49. Connor Fedorek followed up with a goal at 11:23, capitalizing on a rebound after Tikkanen left his crease for the initial save but couldn’t recover in time. Connor Welsh ended Norfolk’s scoring run with a power-play goal 2:07 later, blasting a shot from the blue line for his third goal of the season.

Despite a late power play in the third, Worcester couldn’t find the equalizer. Pavel Padakin went off for hooking with 2:03 left, and Tikkanen was pulled for an extra attacker with 1:35 remaining. Worcester generated five shots during the 6-on-4 advantage, but none got past Cannata. Brady Fleurent clinched the game for Norfolk, racing ahead to cancel icing and scoring on the empty net with just 8 seconds left, sealing a 4-2 victory for the Admirals.

The three stars of Sunday’s game were:

  1. Connor Fedorek (Norfolk) – game-winning goal
  2. Sean Montgomery (Norfolk) – 1 goal
  3. Graham Sward (Norfolk) – 2 assists

The Railers are back in Worcester to kick off a five-game homestand, starting with a three-game weekend series against Maine on Friday and Saturday, followed by a matchup with the Admirals on Sunday. The puck drops for Friday’s game at 7 p.m.

Box Score

Scoring 1 2 3 T
1 1 0 2
1 2 0 3
Shots 1 2 3 T
8 6 4 18
11 7 8 26
Score Team Time Scored by Assisted by Type
1 – 0 13:31 – 1st J. Randl (2) C. Donhauser, R. Dickinson SH
1 – 1 14:05 – 1st C. Golder (3) G. Sward, P. Padakin PP
1 – 2 7:49 – 2nd S. Montgomery (2) C. Musser, G. Sward
1 – 3 11:23 – 2nd C. Fedorek (1) B. Osmundson, R. Chyzowski
2 – 3 13:30 – 2nd C. Welsh (3) M. Kopperud PP
2 – 4 19:52 – 3rd B. Fluerent EN,SH

Rosters

# Player G A +/- SH PIM
G 32 M. Bullion 0 0 0 0 0
G 39 H. Tikkanen 0 0 0 0 0
F 7 J. Gill 0 0 0 1 0
F 10 J. Kaplan 0 0 -1 0 0
F 11 J. Randl 1 0 0 1 0
F 13 A. Bakanov 0 0 0 1 0
D 14 M. Rajaniemi 0 0 -1 1 4
F 16 G. Loughran 0 0 -2 1 0
F 18 M. Kopperud 0 1 0 2 0
F 19 R. Piercey 0 0 0 2 0
D 22 G. Luce 0 0 0 1 2
C 23 C. Jacobs 0 0 0 2 0
D 24 M. Klee 0 0 -1 1 0
D 25 R. Dickinson 0 1 0 0 0
D 26 C. Welsh 1 0 -1 3 0
D 27 C. McDonald 0 0 -1 0 0
F 29 C. Donhauser 0 1 +1 0 2
F 33 L. Hatten 0 0 -1 0 0
F 55 C. Crowder 0 0 0 0 7
F 81 A. Repaci 0 0 0 2 0
Team:
Player MIN SH SVS GA SV%
39 H. Tikkanen – 26 23 3 –
Totals: – 26 23 3 –
# Player G A +/- SH PIM
G 1 J. Cannata 0 0 0 0 0
G 31 D. Giannuzzi 0 0 0 0 0
D 2 D. Louis-Jean 0 0 +2 1 0
D 4 C. Musser 0 1 +1 2 0
F 8 D. Smirnov 0 0 0 1 4
F 11 K. Nault 0 0 -1 0 0
F 12 P. Padakin 0 1 0 1 4
D 14 C. Fedorek 1 0 +1 5 0
D 15 G. Sward 0 2 +1 4 0
F 16 M. Reifenberger 0 0 0 0 0
F 19 S. Montgomery 1 0 +1 3 0
F 20 R. Chyzowski 0 1 +1 0 0
F 21 J. Young 0 0 -1 1 0
F 22 S. Timofeyev 0 0 0 0 15
D 23 J. McDougall 0 0 0 1 0
F 24 C. Golder 1 0 +1 1 0
F 25 B. Osmundson 0 1 +1 2 0
F 26 S. Kennedy 0 0 -1 0 9
F 74 S. Shin 0 0 -1 1 0
F 94 B. Fleurent 0 0 0 3 0
Team:
Player MIN SH SVS GJ SV%
1 J. Cannata – 18 16 2 –
Totals: – 18 16 2 –

Penalties

Time Team Player Mins Infraction
2:47 – 1st C. Crowder 5 Fighting – Major (46.14)
2:47 – 1st S. Kennedy 2 Holding – minor (54.2)
2:47 – 1st S. Kennedy 5 Fighting – Major (46.14)
9:40 – 1st C. Donhauser 2 Hooking – minor (55.2)
12:09 – 1st C. Crowder 2 Holding – minor (54.2)
17:15 – 1st M. Rajaniemi 4 Double Minor – Roughing
17:15 – 1st D. Smirnov 2 Cross-Checking Minor (59.2)
17:15 – 1st D. Smirnov 2 Roughing – minor (51.2)
17:15 – 1st S. Timofeyev 5 Fighting – Major (46.14)
17:15 – 1st S. Timofeyev 10 Game misconduct – Aggressor (46.2)
4:34 – 2nd S. Kennedy 2 High-sticking – minor (60.2)
13:05 – 2nd P. Padakin 2 Slashing – minor (61.2)
6:52 – 3rd G. Luce 2 Cross-Checking minor (59.2)
17:57 – 3rd P. Padakin 2 Hooking – minor (55.2)

Notes

  • Worcester scratches: Anthony Callin, JD Dudek, Matt DeMelis, and Ryan Verrier.
  • Norfolk scratches: German Yavash, Kristian Stead, Lordanthony Grissom, Nathan Kelly, Pavel Padakin, and Spencer Kennedy.
  • The Railers had the following scoring streaks:
    • Matt Kopperud extended his point streak to five games (3-4-7)
    • Collin Jacobs is without a point in any of his seven games played this season.
    • Connor Welsh is on a three-game point streak. (2-1-3)
    • Cam McDonald is without a point in his last three games.
    • Cole Donhauser snapped a three-game pointless streak with an assist.
    • Lincoln Hatten is without a point in his last four games.
    • Cole Crowder is without a point in any of his five games played this season.
  • 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

Forward Lines LW C RW
Forward Line 1 Riley Piercey #19 Matthew Kopperud #18 Anthony Repaci #81
Forward Line 2 Jack Randl #11 Justin Gill #7 Cole Donhauser #29
Forward Line 3 Andrei Bakanov #13 Jordan Kaplan #10 Colin Jacobs #23
Forward Line 4 Cole Crowder #55 Griffin Loughran #16 Lincoln Hatten #33
Defensive Pairings LD RD
Defense Pair 1 Griffin Luce #22 Connor Welsh #26
Defense Pair 2 Cam McDonald #27 Mason Klee #24
Defense Pair 3 Matias Rajaniemi #14 Ryan Dickinson #25
Rotated Defensemen – –
Goalie Tandem G
Starting Goaltender Henrik Tikkanen #39
Backup Goaltender Michael Bullion #32

Opponent Lines

Forward Lines LW C RW
Forward Line 1 Stepan Timofeyev #22 Denis Smirnov #8 Brady Fleurent #94
Forward Line 2 Carson Golder #24 Brandon Osmundson #25 Sanghoon Shin #74
Forward Line 3 Ryan Chyzowski #20 Sean Montgomery #19 Justin Young #21
Forward Line 4 Kamerin Nault #11 Marko Reifenberger #16 Keegan Iverson #13
Defensive Pairings LD RD
Defense Pair 1 Graham Sward #15 Darick Louis-Jean #2
Defense Pair 2 Carson Musser #4 Josh McDougall #23
Defense Pair 3 Connor Fedorek #14 Lord-Anthony Grissom #27
Rotated Defensemen – –
Goalie Tandem G
Starting Goaltender Dante Giannuzzi #31
Backup Goaltender Joe Cannata #1

On-Ice Officials

– –
Referee Austin O’Rourke (10)
Referee –
Linesman Mark Dungan (61)
Linesman Evan Knox (83)

Highlights

Notable Tweets as the Game Happened


Railers Lines


Admirals Lines


Jack Randl goal


Carson Golder goal


Ryan Dickinson cross-check


Sean Montgomery goal


Connor Fedorek goal


Connor Welsh goal


Brady Fluerent goal