Game Story


Wichita, KS — The Worcester Railers took game one of a three-game series on Wednesday night against the Wichita Thunder at the INTRUST Bank Arena in Wichita, Kanasas.

It was another interesting goaltender matchup. Henrik Tikkanen made his sixth start of the season, recording 28 saves, including a few that could be contenders for save of the week. Tikkanen earned his second win of the season, the other was a 4-0 victory over Maine on October 27. Former Worcester Shark Aaron Dell took his place in net for the Thunder, making his ninth appearance of the season, making a season-high 45 saves. Jack Randl scored the lone goal in the game. Jordan Kaplan (0-3-3) extended his point streak to three games with an assist on that goal. Anthony Callin had a game-high seven shots on goal, he is still searching for his first goal of the season.

Worcester had a slight edge in the first period, outshooting Wichita 16-15. Cole Donhauser appeared to score during a delayed penalty at 1:10, but the goal was waved off for interference. The Railers couldn’t capitalize on the resulting power play. Later, Lincoln Hatten and Connor Welsh got into it with Wichita forward Artem Guryev after he hit Hatten. Hatten and Welsh teamed up on Guryev, but to their surprise, Guryev landed punches on both Railers players. Henrik Tikkanen made a key stick save late in the period to keep the game scoreless after 20 minutes.

Jack Randl broke the deadlock at 15:01, flicking the puck over Aaron Dell’s shoulder and under the crossbar from close range for his sixth goal of the season. The Railers outshot the Thunder 27-24 through two periods.

Randl’s goal proved to be the only one of the game. In the third period, the Railers had an opportunity to extend their lead with eight shots on the power play midway through the period, but they couldn’t capitalize. Aaron Dell was pulled with 52 seconds remaining, but the Railers were again unable to score.

The three stars of Wednesday’s game were:

  1. Aaron Dell (Wichita) – 45 saves, 0.978 SV%
  2. Henrik Tikkanen (Worcester) – win, shutout, 28 saves
  3. Jack Randl (Worcester) – game-winning goal

In other North Division action, the Trois-Rivieres Lions defeated the Adirondack Thunder 3-1. The Norfolk Admirals completed a comeback to win 4-3 over the Maine Mariners. The Wheeling Nailers triumphed over the Toledo Walleye 4-1. Six of the seven North Division teams will be in action on Friday night.

Following Thanksgiving on Thursday, the Railers and Thunder will face off again on Friday for the second game of the series. Puck drop is scheduled for 8:05 p.m. EST (7:05 p.m. CST).

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Box Score


Scoring 1 2 3 T
0 1 0 1
0 0 0 0
Shots 1 2 3 T
16 11 19 46
15 8 5 28
Score Team Time Scored by Assisted by Type
1 – 0 15:01 – 2nd J. Randl (6) J. Kaplan, L. Hatten

Rosters

# Player G A +/- SH PIM
G 32 M. Bullion 0 0 0 0 0
G 39 H. Tikkanen 0 0 0 0 2
F 10 J. Kaplan 0 1 +1 5 0
F 11 J. Randl 1 0 +1 6 0
D 14 M. Rajaniemi 0 0 0 0 2
F 16 G. Loughran 0 0 0 1 0
F 18 M. Kopperud 0 0 0 1 0
F 19 R. Piercey 0 0 0 4 0
D 22 G. Luce 0 0 +1 0 0
C 23 C. Jacobs 0 0 0 1 0
D 24 M. Klee 0 0 0 4 0
D 25 R. Dickinson 0 0 0 1 0
D 26 C. Welsh 0 0 +1 1 2
F 29 C. Donhauser 0 0 0 1 0
F 33 L. Hatten 0 1 +1 3 5
F 37 M. DeMelis 0 0 0 2 0
F 44 A. Callin 0 0 0 7 0
D 55 A. Nielsen 0 0 0 3 0
F 81 A. Repaci 0 0 0 6 0
Team:
Player MIN SH SVS GA SV%
39 H. Tikkanen (W) 28 28 0
Totals: 28 28 0
# Player G A +/- SH PIM
G 32 A. Dell 0 0 0 0 0
G 33 T. Gorsuch 0 0 0 0 0
D 4 J. Bucheler 0 0 0 2 2
D 6 T. Lloyd 0 0 0 1 0
F 10 D. Boucher 0 0 -1 1 0
F 12 P. Bates 0 0 0 2 2
F 14 A. Guryev 0 0 -1 2 5
F 18 K. Walker 0 0 0 0 0
F 19 J. Carroll 0 0 0 1 0
F 20 C. Jones 0 0 0 0 2
F 21 J. Dickman 0 0 0 1 0
F 22 M. Stinil 0 0 0 4 0
F 23 M. Russell 0 0 0 3 0
D 25 B. Hache 0 0 0 0 0
D 27 N. Kneen 0 0 -1 1 0
F 29 L. Grainger 0 0 0 3 0
F 43 A. Heidemann 0 0 0 5 0
D 44 D. Dockery 0 0 -1 0 0
D 81 T. Jette 0 0 0 0 0
F 83 J. Wahlin 0 0 -1 2 0
Team:
Player MIN SH SVS GJ SV%
32 A. Dell (L) 46 45 1
Totals: 46 45 1

Penalties

Time Team Player Mins Infraction
1:00 – 1st C. Jones 2 Hooking – minor (55.2)
10:10 – 1st L. Hatten 5 Fighting – Major (46.14)
10:10 – 1st C. Welsh 2 Roughing – minor (51.2)
10:10 – 1st A. Guryev 5 Fighting – Major (46.14)
14:30 – 1st M. Rajaniemi 2 Interference – minor (56.2)
11:52 – 2nd H. Tikkanen 2 Slashing – minor (61.2)
15:15 – 2nd P. Bates 2 Hooking – minor (55.2)
9:45 – 3rd J. Bucheler 2 Hooking – minor (55.2)


Notes

  • Worcester Scratches: Brenden Rons, JD Dudek, John Muse, and Kolby Johnson.
  • Wichita Scratches: Declan Smith, Gannon Laroque, Nico Somerville, Nolan Burke, and Ryan Finnegan.
  • The ECHL announced the suspension of Kolby Johnson on Monday. Johnson was suspended three games for his game misconduct – aggressor penalty sustained in Sunday’s game. He’ll miss the entirety of the Wichita trip, eligible to return December 4 at Adirondack.
  • The Railers dressed only 17 skaters on Wednesday night. Among the four players unavailable, Brenden Rons was eligible but was placed on reserve earlier that day. JD Dudek remains on 14-day injured reserve, while Kolby Johnson served the first game of his three-game suspension. Despite having roster space to add players, it’s somewhat surprising the team hasn’t brought in more fresh legs so far this season. Andrew Nielsen finally joined the team in Wichita. He made his debut with the team on Wednesday night, wearing #55, last worn by Cole Crowder, but was conveniently the number he wore with the Allen Americans.
  • Andrei Bakanov was suspended by the team on Tuesday. Mid-season suspensions typically mean that the player has signed with a team overseas, but a press release announcing his signing has yet to surface. Bakanov was having a tough season with just 3 points (2-1-3) in 15 games with the Railers this season. He’s ranked 11th in all-time games played with 112 and a game shy of tying Nolan Vesey for tenth on that list.
  • Following Wednesday night’s game, the Railers had the following scoring streaks and droughts:
    • Jordan Kaplan is on a three-game point streak. (0-3-3)
    • Matias Rajaniemi is without a point in all 13 games he’s played this season.
    • Matt Kopperud is without a point in his last four games.
    • Riley Piercey is without a point in his last five games.
    • Colin Jacobs is without a point in his last six games.
    • Ryan Dickinson is without a point in his last three games.
    • Connor Welsh is without a point in his last five games.
    • Cole Donhauser is without a point in his last three games.
    • Matt DeMelis is without a point in his last 11 games.
    • Anthony Callin is without a point in his last five games.

Railers Lines

Forward Lines LW C RW
Forward Line 1 Jack Randl #11 Jordan Kaplan #10 Anthony Repaci #81
Forward Line 2 Matthew Kopperud #18 Anthony Callin #44 Cole Donhauser #29
Forward Line 3 Riley Piercey #19 Matt DeMelis #37 Griffin Loughran #16
Forward Line 4 Kolby Johnson #12 Andrei Bakanov #13 Lincoln Hatten #33
Defensive Pairings LD RD
Defense Pair 1 Griffin Luce #22 Connor Welsh #26
Defense Pair 2 Brenden Rons #17 Mason Klee #24
Defense Pair 3 Matias Rajaniemi #14 Ryan Dickinson #25
Rotated Defensemen
Goalie Tandem G
Starting Goaltender John Muse #40
Backup Goaltender Michael Bullion #32

On-Ice Officials

Referee Andrew Bell (24)
Referee
Linesman Reilly Hickey (95)
Linesman Karl von Haasl (55)


Highlights

Notable Tweets as the Game Happened


Railers Lines


Thunder Lines


Lincoln Hatten & Connor Welsh vs Artem Guryev


Aaron Dell save


Henrik Tikkanen save


Jack Randl goal


Lincoln Hatten hit on T.J. Lloyd