Game Story

Worcester, MA — The Worcester Railers battled back to steal two points from a 4-1 deficit, beating the Trois-Rivières Lions 5-4 in overtime on Saturday night.

Michael Bullion earned his fourteenth win of the season and his third straight, making 14 saves on 18 shots. Hunter Jones made 23 saves on 28 shots for the Lions. Justin Gill had a hat trick, while Anthony Repaci and Matt DeMelis scored two of Worcester’s other goals. Mason Klee had three assists, his first multi-point game in 68 games as a Railer. Chris Jandric, Tyler Hylland, Israel Manscum, and Justin Ducharme scored for Trois-Rivieres. The Railers wore camo specialty jerseys as a part of Military appreciation night that were auctioned off to benefit Central Mass Veterans Support, Inc.

The opening period was one of the worst first periods the Railers have played in recent memory, though there have been more than a couple where they let up a goal in one of the opening shots. Saturday night was no exception, as they quickly found themselves in a 3-0 hole by the end of the first. Special teams proved costly, with Worcester surrendering two power-play goals on their first two penalties, both within the first ten minutes.

Chris Jandric struck just 12 seconds into a power play after Matt DeMelis was sent off for slashing at 1:22. Griffin Loughran then took a slashing penalty, and 32 seconds later, Tyler Hylland capitalized to make it 2-0. The Lions extended their lead at 13:40 when Israel Mianscum found the back of the net. Despite the deficit, the Railers kept pace in shots, trailing only 9-8 after the first period.

The Railers finally found a spark late in the second period, cutting into the deficit at 16:29 when Justin Gill netted his first goal of the night. The tally came 59 seconds into a power play with Jonathan Yantsis in the box for holding. Despite the goal, offense was scarce for both teams in the middle frame, with Worcester holding a narrow 6-3 shot advantage through 40 minutes.

Justin Ducharme reinstated Trois-Rivières’ three-goal lead at 2:35 of the third period, but Worcester mounted a thrilling comeback. With 9:06 remaining, the Railers took an aggressive approach, pulling goaltender Michael Bullion for a 6-on-4 advantage as Tommy Cormier sat for slashing. The gamble paid off, as Justin Gill netted his second power-play goal of the night to cut the deficit to 4-2.

Bullion was pulled again with five minutes left in regulation, and just 16 seconds after the extra attacker hit the ice, Anthony Repaci capitalized to make it 4-3. Worcester kept pressing, and with 3:11 remaining, Bullion headed to the bench for a third time. The strategy proved effective once more, as Matt DeMelis buried a rebound off a Connor Welsh shot to complete the comeback and send the game to overtime. The Railers dominated the third period, outshooting the Lions 11-6.

Justin Gill sealed the victory in dramatic fashion, completing his hat trick just 1:17 into overtime. As a battle for the puck unfolded in the corner, Gill found open ice between the faceoff circles. When the puck escaped the scrum, Jordan Kaplan spotted Gill and fed him a perfect pass for a one-timer that slipped through the pads of Hunter Jones, securing the 5-4 win for Worcester. The Railers controlled the extra frame, registering all three shots in overtime.

After Gill’s game-winner, the benches cleared and Logan Nijhoff and Jordan Kaplan dropped their gloves with some auxiliary action going on between the two teams. Both Kaplan and Nijhoff were issued fighting majors, Kaplan and additional game misconduct – aggressor, which could see a suspension under league review.

The Three Stars of the Game were:

  1. Justin Gill (Worcester) – 3 goals, +2
  2. Matt DeMelis (Worcester) – 1 goal, +1
  3. Anthony Repaci (Worcester) – 1 goal, +1

In other division action, the Adirondack Thunder defeated the Maine Mariners 4-3 in Portland, while the Norfolk Admirals triumphed 4-1 over the Reading Royals in Reading. The Wheeling Nailers were defeated 6-2 by the Toledo Walleye in Toledo. The Railers currently sit in fourth place with 66 points, but the race remains tight with Reading just two points behind and holding two games in hand. All seven teams in the North Division are in action on Sunday.

The Bridgeport Islanders won 4-1 against the Springfield Thunderbirds on Saturday night in Bridgeport. Henrik Tikkanen made 21 saves, improving to a 6-16-3-1 record. Former Railers Daylan Kuefler and Jack Randl both dressed for Bridgeport, though neither made it onto the scoresheet. The Baby Isles will host the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Sunday at 3 p.m.

The Railers and Lions will face off for the final time in the regular season on Sunday at 3 p.m.

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