Game Story

Worcester, MA — The Worcester Monkey Wrenches claimed victory in the first of back-to-back games at the DCU Center on Friday night, defeating the Bloomington Bison 3-1.

Goaltender Hugo Ollas turned aside 23 shots against his former team, improving his season record to 10-10-1-2 through 25 games. On the other end, Yaniv Perets made 21 saves for Bloomington in his fourth career matchup against Worcester, dropping to 1-2 in those contests. Matt Kopperud, Lincoln Hatten, and Jordan Kaplan found the back of the net for the Monkey Wrenches, while Connor Welsh and Tanner Schachle each tallied two assists. Danny Katic scored the lone goal for the Bison.

Kopperud opened the scoring at 9:02 of the first period, capitalizing on a power play opportunity. With Perets drawn out of position, Kopperud fired a shot through traffic into an open net for his seventh power-play goal of the season. Worcester controlled play in the opening frame, outshooting Bloomington 10-7 and carrying a 1-0 lead into the intermission.

Just 29 seconds into the second period, Worcester extended their lead as Hatten redirected a shot from Welsh past Perets. However, with 2:55 remaining in the frame, Katic got Bloomington on the board, scoring off a deflection to end Ollas’ shutout bid. The Monkey Wrenches maintained their advantage, leading 2-1 after two periods and outshooting the Bison 11-7 in the stanza.

Despite being outshot 10-3 in the final period, Worcester added an insurance goal when Kaplan deflected a Griffin Luce shot for his 17th goal of the season. Bloomington pulled Perets late in the game, but the Monkey Wrenches held firm to secure their 25th win of the season.

Worcester remained penalty-free for nearly the entire game until the 14:55 mark of the third, when referee Casey Terreri awarded Bloomington a power play after Jonny Evans fell while skating into Schachle, resulting in a controversial interference call. It was the only time Worcester was shorthanded. The Monkey Wrenches went 1-for-3 on penalties during the game, with Mikael Robidoux receiving a roughing penalty at the final buzzer for some post-game antics.

The Three Stars of the Game were:

  1. Hugo Ollas (Worcester) – win, 23 saves, 0.958 SV%
  2. Lincoln Hatten (Worcester) – 1 goal, +2
  3. Tanner Schachle (Worcester) – 2 assists, +2

The Reading Royals beat the Maine Mariners 4-2 at the Santander Arena on Friday night. The Norfolk Admirals shutout the Trois-Rivieres Lions 4-0. The Wheeling Nailers beat the Adirondack Thunder 3-1. All seven North Division teams play in the same matchups on Saturday night.

The Bridgeport Islanders lost 5-2 to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Friday night. Riley Piercey and Jack Randl were in the lineup, Randl had an assist and was a +1 on the night. Henrik Tikkanen made 27 saves, and Tristan Lennox was the backup goaltender. Bridgeport plays Lehigh Valley again on Saturday night at 7:05 p.m.

The Monkey Wrenches and the Bison are back at the DCU Center on Saturday night with a 6:05 p.m. puck drop.

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Box Score

Scoring 1 2 3 T
0 1 0 1
1 1 1 3
Shots 1 2 3 T
7 7 10 24
10 11 3 24
Score Team Time Scored by Assisted by Type
0 – 1 9:02 – 1st M. Kopperud (13) A. Callin, C. Welsh PP
0 – 2 0:29 – 2nd L. Hatten (5) C. Welsh, T. Schachle
1 – 2 17:05 – 2nd D. Katic (8) M. Staudacher, K. Sato
1 – 3 4:53 – 3rd J. Kaplan (17) G. Luce, T. Schachle

Rosters

# Player G A +/- SH PIM
G 35 Y. Perets 0 0 0 0 0
G 80 K. Kaskisuo 0 0 0 0 0
D 2 C. Kosobud 0 0 -1 1 0
D 4 M. Jakovljevic 0 0 -1 2 0
D 5 J. Murray 0 0 -1 1 0
C 9 D. Manz 0 0 -1 0 0
D 11 R. Dadadzhanov 0 0 +1 2 0
LW 12 D. Katic 1 0 0 1 0
RW 13 M. Robidoux 0 0 -1 0 2
C 16 J. Boyer 0 0 0 1 0
RW 17 P. Bajkov 0 0 0 0 2
LW 19 D. Duhart 0 0 0 2 0
D 22 T. Stewart 0 0 -1 3 0
C 24 M. Neill 0 0 -1 2 2
LW 25 K. Sato 0 1 0 1 0
C 28 S. Panwar 0 0 0 1 0
D 44 M. Staudacher 0 1 +1 1 0
RW 67 J. Evans 0 0 0 2 2
RW 73 C. Lockhart 0 0 0 3 2
RW 77 C. Lee 0 0 0 1 0
Team:
Player MIN SH SVS GA SV%
35 Y. Perets (L) – 24 21 3 –
Totals: – 24 21 3 –
# Player G A +/- SH PIM
G 30 H. Ollas 0 0 0 0 0
G 32 M. Bullion 0 0 0 0 0
F 4 R. Mahshie 0 0 0 1 0
F 10 J. Kaplan 1 0 +2 3 0
F 13 T. Kobryn 0 0 0 0 0
D 14 M. Rajaniemi 0 0 0 2 0
C 15 J. Dudek 0 0 0 3 0
F 16 G. Loughran 0 0 -1 1 0
F 17 T. Schachle 0 2 +2 0 0
F 18 M. Kopperud 1 0 0 1 0
D 22 G. Luce 0 1 +2 2 0
D 24 M. Klee 0 0 -1 3 0
D 25 R. Dickinson 0 0 0 2 2
D 26 C. Welsh 0 2 +2 1 0
D 27 C. McDonald 0 0 -1 0 0
F 29 C. Donhauser 0 0 0 1 2
F 33 L. Hatten 1 0 +2 1 0
F 37 M. DeMelis 0 0 -1 1 0
F 44 A. Callin 0 1 -1 2 0
– – – – – – – –
Team:
Player MIN SH SVS GJ SV%
30 H. Ollas (W) – 24 23 1 –
Totals: – 24 23 1 –

Penalties

Time Team Player Mins Infraction
7:41 – 1st M. Neill 2 Hooking – minor (55.2)
2:25 – 2nd C. Lockhart 2 High-sticking – minor (60.2)
1:28 – 3rd J. Evans 2 Delay of Game (63.2)
14:55 – 3rd R. Dickinson 2 Interference – minor (56.2)
16:45 – 3rd P. Bajkov 2 Diving/Embellishment (64.2)
16:45 – 3rd C. Donhauser 2 Hooking – minor (55.2)
20:00 – 3rd M. Robidoux 2 Roughing – minor (51.2)

Notes

  • Worcester Scratches: Anthony Hora, Anthony Repaci, Kabore Dunn, Kolby Johnson, Mark Cheremeta, Matt Ustaski, and Riley Ginnell.
  • Bloomington Scratches: Gavin Gould, Sam Coatta, and Sam Sternschein.
  • Kolby Johnson was suspended an additional game for his game misconduct against the Savannah Ghost Pirates last Friday. He is eligible to return in Saturday’s game.
  • The Railers acquired forward Tanner Schachle on Monday. To free up roster space, the Railers released Benjamin Lindberg and Bennett Stockdale. Stockdale never played a game while Lindberg did, and was a +2 with an assist in two games. McDonald was -4 during his recall, playing 9 games with the baby Isles.
  • Matt Ustaski was moved from 3-day injured reserve on Thursday, and Anthony Hora was moved to 3-day injured reserve in another transaction. Ustaski will be eligible to return as soon as next weekend during the Railers trip to Trois-Rivieres.
  • The Bridgeport Islanders assigned Cam McDonald back to the Railers after being on recall for over a month.
  • The Bison were notably without their Captain Eddie Matsushima, who signed a PTO with the San Diego Gulls of the AHL on Friday. Matsushima leads the Bison with 45 points (24-21-45) in 52 games. He played 11 games with the Railers during the 2019-20 season and had four assists during that run.
  • Following Friday Night’s game, the Railers had the following scoring streaks and droughts:
    • Ryan Mahshie is without a point in his last 9 games.
    • Matias Rajaniemi is without a point in his last 4 games.
    • Griffin Luce snapped his point drought after 4 games.
    • Mason Klee is without a point in his last 7 games.
    • Ryan Dickinson is without a point in his last 6 games.
    • Cole Donhauser is without a point in his last 3 games.
    • Lincoln Hatten snapped his point drought after 7 games.
    • Matt DeMelis is without a point in his last 3 games.

Railers Lines

Forward Lines LW C RW
Forward Line 1 Matthew Kopperud #18 Anthony Callin #44 JD Dudek #15
Forward Line 2 Cole Donhauser #29 Jordan Kaplan #10 Ryan Mahshie #4
Forward Line 3 Tyler Kobryn #13 Matt DeMelis #37 Griffin Loughran #16
Forward Line 4 Tanner Schachle #17 – Lincoln Hatten #33
Defensive Pairings LD RD
Defense Pair 1 Connor Welsh #26 Griffin Luce #22
Defense Pair 2 Connor Welsh #26 Mason Klee #24
Defense Pair 3 Matias Rajaniemi #14 Ryan Dickinson #25
Rotated Defensemen – –
Goalie Tandem G
Starting Goaltender Hugo Ollas #30
Backup Goaltender Michael Bullion #32

On-Ice Officials

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Referee Chazz Knoche (33)
Referee Casey Terreri (14)
Linesman Davids Rozitis (90)
Linesman Noah Merrow (57)


Highlights

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Notable Tweets as the Game Happened


Railers Lines


Matt Kopperud goal


Lincoln Hatten goal


Danny Katic goal


Jordan Kaplan goal