Game Story

Worcester, MA — The Worcester Monkey Wrenches completed a weekend sweep, taking the second of back-to-back games at the DCU Center, beating the Bloomington Bison 6-4.

Hugo Ollas made his fourth consecutive start for the Railers, stopping 21 of 25 shots. Yaniv Perets was back in net for Bloomington for the second straight night, making 14 saves before being pulled following Worcester’s fourth goal. Kasimir Kaskisuo took over for the remainder of the game, stopping 20 of 21 shots. Worcester’s goals came from Lincoln Hatten, Griffin Loughran, Matt DeMelis (twice), Matt Kopperud, and Anthony Callin, while Chongmin Lee (twice), Dalton Duhart, and Jake Murray found the net for Bloomington.

This was originally set to be game two of a two-game series in which the Railers would take on their Worcester Monkey Wrenches alternate identity, complete with specialty jerseys. However, Bloomington arrived in Worcester with only their white jerseys, leading to a dispute over color similarity. Despite the Monkey Wrenches jerseys being a cream shade rather than white, the Bison filed a complaint with the league, resulting in the Railers wearing their blue jerseys instead. The team still embraced the Monkey Wrenches theme throughout the game, and the specialty jerseys were auctioned off as planned to benefit Be Like Brit, a longtime Railers charity partner. This jersey snafu can be categorized as one of the most Worcester things ever, and at the same time a team not reading a memo on what jerseys they should bring with them and messing up a charity night is really no surprise for the monkey business that is the ECHL.

The game itself was an entertaining back-and-forth battle. The Bison struck first, with Chongmin Lee deflected a shot on the power play at 9:08 of the opening period. The Bison’s only lead of the weekend would come to an end just four minutes later when Lincoln Hatten tipped in a shot from Mason Klee to tie the game on the power play at 12:21. Griffin Loughran would score three minutes after Hatten, and 83 seconds after that, Matt DeMelis would score his first of the night to give the Monkey Wrenches a 3-1 lead. With 2:05 left in the first period, Chongmin Lee would get the Bison back to within one, scoring on a one-timer to beat Hugo Ollas. The Monkey Wrenches would lead 3-2, outshooting Bloomington 17-12 after twenty minutes.

Bloomington pulled even again just 89 seconds into the second period. With Griffin Luce in the box for tripping, Dalton Duhart capitalized on a one-timer to make it 3-3. The Railers reclaimed the lead minutes later when Matt Kopperud finished off a gorgeous two-on-one rush with Griffin Loughran, ending Perets’ night in goal. The Bison continued to push back, as Jake Murray tied the game yet again at 7:30.

While fans were anticipating a showdown between Kolby Johnson and Mikael Robidoux, it was Ryan Mahshie and Josh Boyer who dropped the gloves at 14:26 after the two traded some hits. Mahshie dominated the fight, bringing the DCU Center crowd of 5,720 to its feet. The game remained tied 4-4 at the second intermission, with Worcester holding a 26-20 shot advantage.

Mahshie’s fight gave Worcester the momentum to bring them over the finish line to take the second game in the series. Bloomington was limited to just six shots after the fight, four of them coming in the third period. Matt DeMelis gave Worcester the go-ahead goal at 7:24 in the third period, scoing on a quick pass across the crease to score on Kasimir Kaskisuo while he was out of position. Kaskisuo would be pulled later in the period for the extra attacker, and Anthony Callin would seal the 6-4 win with an empty net goal with 1:39 left in the third period.

The Three Stars of the Game were:

  1. Matt DeMelis (Worcester) – 2 goals, +1
  2. Lincoln Hatten (Worcester) – 1 goal, 2 assists, +1
  3. Matthew Kopperud (Worcester) – 1 goal, +1

The Norfolk Admirals beat the Trois-Rivieres Lions 3-1 earlier on Saturday night. The Reading Royals beat the Maine Mariners at home 5-3. The Adirondack Thunder beat the Wheeling Nailers 7-4 down in Wheeling. The stakes remain high as the Reading Royals are three points back from the Railers with one game in hand. All north division teams except Reading and Worcester play on Sunday. Reading hosts Adirondack and the Norfolk Admirals head south the face the Florida Everblades on Wednesday.

Up in the AHL, the Bridgeport Islanders fell 5-3 to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Tristan Lennox was the starting goaltender, playing in his first game since sustaining an injury while playing for Worcester on December 15, 2023 against the Reading Royals. Jack Randl and Riley Piercey were in the line-up but did not have any scoring contributions. Bridgeport faces the Hartford Wolf Pack on Wednesday.

The Railers hit the road for three games against the Trois-Rivieres Lions, starting with a 7 p.m. puck drop on Friday night.

—

Stay in the loop and never miss an update on Worcester Railers hockey by following Woo Hockey on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. You can also get involved and connect with other fans of the team in the Worcester Railers Fan Club Facebook group, where you can share your thoughts on the team and discuss all things hockey.

Box Score

Box Score

Scoring 1 2 3 T
2 2 0 4
3 1 2 6
Shots 1 2 3 T
12 8 5 25
17 9 14 40
Score Team Time Scored by Assisted by Type
1 – 0 9:08 – 1st C. Lee (9) J. Murray, C. Lockhart PP
1 – 1 12:21 – 1st L. Hatten (6) M. Klee, C. McDonald PP
1 – 2 15:39 – 1st G. Loughran (8) J. Dudek, M. Kopperud
1 – 3 17:01 – 1st M. DeMelis (5) L. Hatten
2 – 3 17:55 – 1st C. Lee (10) D. Katic, J. Murray
3 – 3 1:29 – 2nd D. Duhart (1) D. Katic, J. Murray PP
3 – 4 2:43 – 2nd M. Kopperud (14) G. Loughran
4 – 4 7:30 – 2nd J. Murray (4) S. Coatta
4 – 5 7:24 – 3rd M. DeMelis (6) L. Hatten
4 – 6 18:21 – 3rd A. Callin (17) – EN

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 3 C. Berger 0 0 -4 4 0
D 4 M. Jakovljevic 0 0 -1 0 0
D 5 J. Murray 1 3 +1 2 0
C 9 D. Manz 0 0 -1 0 0
D 11 R. Dadadzhanov 0 0 -2 1 2
LW 12 D. Katic 0 2 0 1 0
RW 13 M. Robidoux 0 0 -1 0 0
C 16 J. Boyer 0 0 0 0 7
RW 17 P. Bajkov 0 0 -1 1 0
LW 19 D. Duhart 1 0 0 1 0
D 22 T. Stewart 0 0 +2 0 0
LW 25 K. Sato 0 0 0 2 0
RW 27 S. Coatta 0 1 -1 2 0
C 28 S. Panwar 0 0 -2 1 0
D 44 M. Staudacher 0 0 -1 2 0
RW 67 J. Evans 0 0 -1 3 2
RW 73 C. Lockhart 0 1 -2 2 0
RW 77 C. Lee 2 0 -1 3 0
Team:
Player MIN SH SVS GA SV%
35 Y. Perets – 18 14 4 –
80 K. Kaskisuo (L) – 21 20 1 –
Empty Net – 1 1 –
Totals: – 40 34 6 –
# 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 0 5
F 9 R. Ginnell 0 0 0 0 0
F 12 K. Johnson 0 0 0 1 0
F 13 T. Kobryn 0 0 +1 0 2
D 14 M. Rajaniemi 0 0 +2 2 0
C 15 J. Dudek 0 1 +1 5 0
F 16 G. Loughran 1 1 +2 1 2
F 18 M. Kopperud 1 1 +1 5 0
F 20 M. Cheremeta 0 0 0 2 0
D 22 G. Luce 0 0 +1 2 2
D 24 M. Klee 0 1 0 2 2
D 25 R. Dickinson 0 0 +3 1 0
D 26 C. Welsh 0 0 0 3 0
D 27 C. McDonald 0 1 +1 2 0
F 29 C. Donhauser 0 0 -1 4 0
F 33 L. Hatten 1 2 +1 3 0
F 37 M. DeMelis 2 0 +1 3 0
F 44 A. Callin 1 0 +1 4 0
Team:
Player MIN SH SVS GJ SV%
30 H. Ollas (W) – 25 21 4 –
Totals: – 25 21 4 –

Penalties

Time Team Player Mins Infraction
7:42 – 1st M. Klee 2 Holding – minor (54.2)
11:01 – 1st R. Dadadzhanov 2 Interference – minor (56.2)
14:15 – 1st T. Kobryn 2 Hooking – minor (55.2)
14:40 – 1st J. Evans 2 Holding – minor (54.2)
1:00 – 2nd G. Luce 2 Tripping – minor (57.2)
10:42 – 2nd G. Loughran 2 Holding – minor (54.2)
14:26 – 2nd J. Boyer 2 Boarding – minor (41.2)
14:26 – 2nd J. Boyer 5 Fighting – Major (46.14)
14:26 – 2nd R. Mahshie 5 Fighting – Major (46.14)

Notes

  • Worcester Scratches: Anthony Hora, Anthony Repaci, Jordan Kaplan, Kabore Dunn, Matt Ustaski, and Tanner Schachle.
  • Bloomington Scratches: Carson Kosobud, Gavin Gould, Max Neill, and Sam Sternschein.
  • Following Friday Night’s game, the Railers had the following scoring streaks and droughts:
    • Ryan Mahshie is without a point in his last 10 games.
    • Riley Ginnell is without a point in his last 6 games.
    • Kolby Johnson is without a point in his last 4 games.
    • Tyler Kobryn is without a point in his last 3 games.
    • Matias Rajaniemi is without a point in his last 5 games.
    • Mark Cheremeta is without a point in his last 3 games.
    • Mason Klee snapped his point drought after 7 games.
    • Ryan Dickinson is without a point in his last 7 games.
    • Cam McDonald is without a point in his last 4 games.
    • Michael Bullion snapped his point drought after – games.
    • Lincoln Hatten snapped his point drought after 3 games.

Railers Lines

Forward Lines LW C RW
Forward Line 1 Matthew Kopperud #18 Anthony Callin #44 Griffin Loughran #16
Forward Line 2 Cole Donhauser #29 JD Dudek #15 Ryan Mahshie #4
Forward Line 3 Tyler Kobryn #13 Matt DeMelis #37 Lincoln Hatten #33
Forward Line 4 Riley Ginnell #9 Mark Cheremeta #20 Kolby Johnson #12
Defensive Pairings LD RD
Defense Pair 1 Connor Welsh #26 Griffin Luce #22
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 Hugo Ollas #30
Backup Goaltender Michael Bullion #32

On-Ice Officials

– –
Referee Chazz Knoche (33)
Referee –
Linesman Davids Rozitis (90)
Linesman TJ Dockery (42)


Highlights

–

Notable Tweets as the Game Happened


Railers Lines


Chongmin Lee goal


Lincoln Hatten goal


Griffin Loughran goal


Matt DeMelis goal


Chongmin Lee goal


Dalton Duhart goal


Matt Kopperud goal


Jake Murray goal


Ryan Mahshie vs Josh Boyer fight


Matt DeMelis goal


Anthony Callin goal