Game Story

Tristan Lennox made his third start of the season and turned aside 27 shots. It marked just his second career appearance against Reading – his previous coming on December 15, 2023, when a knee injury forced him out early in a 5-2 loss that sidelined him for 14 months. In net for Reading, Vinnie Purpura made 25 saves to earn his tenth career win versus Worcester. In 11 appearances against the Railers, Purpura remains undefeated in regulation (11-0-1).

Massimo Rizzo, Brandon Saigeon, Carson Golder (twice), and Sawyer Boulton scored for Reading, while Drew Callin provided the lone Worcester goal. The night turned chippy, with a combined 132 penalty minutes, most of them stemming from multiple fights late in the third period. This game had the second-highest penalty minutes in franchise history, the most was in the third game the Railers played on October 25, 2017 against the Colorado Eagles with 182 combined minutes. The Railers also lost that game 5-1, Yanick Turcotte had a game-high of 34 minutes, Mike Cornell had 24, all of which stemmed from fights in the closing minutes of that game.

Rizzo opened the scoring at 9:12 of the first period when a rebound off Robbie Stucker’s shot and a collision in front left Lennox out of position. Saigeon doubled the lead later in the frame, sneaking a shot from along the left boards into the top-right corner of Lennox’s net. Reading carried a 2-0 advantage into the first intermission, outshooting Worcester 11-9. At 14:44 in the period, Sawyer Boulton and Lincoln Hatten dropped the gloves, with Boulton gaining the upper hand after pulling Hatten’s jersey over his head.

Worcester had a golden opportunity midway through the second with a 5-on-3 power play after penalties to Golder and Ben Meehan. Despite three shots, the Railers couldn’t capitalize, and just 11 seconds after the penalties expired, Reading struck on a 3-on-1 rush finished by Golder to make it 3-0. Worcester held an 18-16 edge in shots after forty minutes.

Drew Callin finally broke through at 4:51 of the third period, ending Purpura’s shutout bid after a brief review confirmed the goal. The physical play ramped up soon after – Ross Mitton leveled Nick Capone with a big hit, drawing a retaliatory check from Austen Swankler that led to a scrap with Jason Horvath and offsetting penalties. Boulton extended Reading’s lead to 4-1 at 7:40 on a rebound chance, and Golder added a power-play goal at 11:55 to seal the 5-1 final.

With 5:14 remaining, chaos erupted again as Riley Piercey fought Swankler and Horvath tangled with Artem Kulakov at center ice, leading to 102 additional penalty minutes assessed in the closing minutes. Worcester finished the game killing off multiple penalties, going 5-on-3 for the final five minutes of the game while Reading closed out a dominant weekend sweep.

The three stars of the game were:

1. Carson Golder (Reading) – 2 goals, 1 assist, +2
2. Ben Meehan (Reading) – 3 assists, +2
3. Drew Callin (Worcester) – 1 goal

Elsewhere in the North Division… The Greensboro Gargoyles picked up their first win in franchise history, 2-1 over the Trois-Rivieres Lions in the shootout. The Adirondack Thunder beat the Maine Mariners 3-2 in the shootout. The Wheeling Nailers beat the Norfolk Admirals 3-1. The Reading Royals head to Maine on Sunday, while Greensboro and Trois-Rivieres, along with Norfolk and Wheeling, meet again on Sunday.

The Railers hit the road to Maine Friday night to open a three-game weekend series with the Mariners. Game one is in Portland, with the next two back home in Worcester. Puck drops at 7:15 p.m.

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Box Score

Scoring	1	2	3	T
	2	1	2	5
	0	0	1	1

Shots	1	2	3	T
	11	5	16	32
	9	9	8	26

Score	#	Per	Team	Time	Goals	Assists
1 – 0	1	1st		9:12	M. Rizzo (2)	R. Stucker, A. Kulakov
2 – 0	2	1st		15:37	B. Saigeon (3)	K. Haskins, C. Golder
3 – 0	3	2nd		18:44	C. Golder (2)	C. Cook, B. Meehan
3 – 1	4	3rd		4:51	D. Callin (1)	A. Repaci, R. Mitton
4 – 1	5	3rd		7:40	S. Boulton (1)	L. Devlin, B. Meehan
5 – 1	6	3rd		11:55	C. Golder (3)	M. Rizzo, B. Meehan

Rosters

	No	Name	G	A	+/-	SH	PIM
G	29	V. Purpura	0	0	0	0	0
G	80	K. Petruzzelli	0	0	0	0	0
D	2	R. Stucker	0	1	+2	2	0
D	3	E. Szmagaj	0	0	+1	2	0
D	6	V. Hadfield	0	0	+1	1	0
D	7	B. Meehan	0	3	+2	0	2
F	8	K. Haskins	0	1	+1	3	0
F	9	C. Golder	2	1	+2	6	2
F	11	N. Capone	0	0	+1	1	0
F	12	L. Devlin	0	1	+1	2	0
F	13	M. Rizzo	1	1	+2	1	0
F	17	B. Saigeon	1	0	+1	2	2
F	21	C. Cook	0	1	+1	3	10
D	24	A. Guryev	0	0	0	1	0
F	25	N. Burke	0	0	0	2	0
F	27	A. Swankler	0	0	0	2	6
F	28	A. Butcher	0	0	0	1	0
F	36	S. Boulton	1	0	+1	1	15
D	88	A. Kulakov	0	1	+3	1	15
F	91	Y. Mongo	0	0	+1	1	0
		Team:	0			0
		Totals:	5	10	20	32	52

	Player	MIN	SH	SVS	GA	SV%
29	V. Purpura (W)	60	26	25	1	0.9615
	Totals:	60	26	25	1	0.9615

	No	Name	G	A	+/-	SH	PIM
G	30	T. Lennox	0	0	0	0	0
G	39	H. Tikkanen	0	0	0	0	0
D	6	C. McDonald	0	0	-1	1	0
F	7	M. Dorrington	0	0	0	0	0
D	8	M. Ferrandino	0	0	-3	2	0
F	10	R. Miotto	0	0	0	1	0
F	11	L. Hatten	0	0	0	0	15
F	13	T. Kobryn	0	0	-1	2	0
D	15	J. Horvath	0	0	0	0	17
F	16	R. Mitton	0	1	-2	1	0
F	19	R. Piercey	0	0	-1	1	17
D	24	J. Pulkkinen	0	0	-2	5	0
F	25	J. Nurmi	0	0	-1	2	0
D	28	K. Dunn	0	0	0	0	2
F	29	C. Donhauser	0	0	-2	1	2
F	37	M. DeMelis	0	0	-2	2	0
F	44	A. Callin	0	0	-1	0	15
D	74	C. Fraser	0	0	-2	1	10
F	77	D. Callin	1	0	-1	3	0
F	81	A. Repaci	0	1	-1	4	0
		Team:	0			0	2
		Totals:	1	2	-20	26	80

	Player	MIN	SH	SVS	GA	SV%
30	T. Lennox (L)	60	32	27	5	0.8438
	Totals:	60	32	27	5	0.8438

Penalties

Time	Team	Player	Mins	Infraction
14:44 – 1st		S. Boulton	5	Fighting – Major (46.14)
14:44 – 1st		L. Hatten	5	Fighting – Major (46.14)
16:24 – 2nd		C. Golder	2	Slashing – minor (61.2)
16:33 – 2nd		B. Meehan	2	High-sticking – minor (60.2)
03:23 – 3rd		B. Saigeon	2	Roughing – minor (51.2)
06:24 – 3rd		A. Swankler	4	Double Minor – Roughing
06:24 – 3rd		J. Horvath	2	Roughing – minor (51.2)
06:24 – 3rd		R. Piercey	2	Roughing – minor (51.2)
10:17 – 3rd		K. Dunn	2	Slashing – minor (61.2)
11:34 – 3rd		Served by M. Dorrington	2	Bench minor – Too many men (74.2)
12:14 – 3rd		C. Donhauser	2	Roughing – minor (51.2)
14:46 – 3rd		S. Boulton	10	Misconduct – Continuing Altercation (46.5)
14:46 – 3rd		C. Cook	10	Misconduct – Continuing Altercation (46.5)
14:46 – 3rd		A. Kulakov	5	Fighting – Major (46.14)
14:46 – 3rd		A. Kulakov	10	Game misconduct – Secondary altercation (46.7)
14:46 – 3rd		A. Swankler	2	Roughing – minor (51.2)
14:46 – 3rd		A. Callin	5	Slashing – major (61.3)
14:46 – 3rd		A. Callin	10	Game misconduct – Slashing (61.5)
14:46 – 3rd		C. Fraser	10	Misconduct – Continuing Altercation (46.5)
14:46 – 3rd		L. Hatten	10	Misconduct – Continuing Altercation (46.5)
14:46 – 3rd		J. Horvath	5	Fighting – Major (46.14)
14:46 – 3rd		J. Horvath	10	Game misconduct – Secondary altercation (46.7)
14:46 – 3rd		R. Piercey	5	Fighting – Major (46.14)
14:46 – 3rd		R. Piercey	10	Game misconduct – Leaving The Players Bench (70.1)

Notes

• Worcester Scratches: Anthony Hora, Kolby Johnson, Matt Stief, Porter Schachle, Riley Ginnell, T.J. Walsh, Tanner Schachle, and Thomas Gale.
• Reading Scratches: Connor McMenamin, Emile Chouinard, Jack Page, Jacob Frasca, Jake Willets, Jeremy Michel, Jordan Frasca, Miles Gendron, and Patrick Moynihan.
• Anthony Callin played in his 150th game in a Railers jersey on Friday night. He is just one of three players to reach that milestone – Anthony Repaci and Barry Almeida being the others. The next milestone for games played is Riley Piercey, who is five away from playing his 100th game as a Railer.
• The mentioning of last year’s Anthony Repaci Military Appreciation jerseys seems to be the gift that keeps giving. There was a spotting of another jersey on Saturday night, bringing the grand total to four jerseys. This one was unsigned and also had a near-perfect nameplate.
• There are no ratings on the Wonder Bar pizza for this game. Oddly enough, the Wonder Bar and the Craft Beer Corner at the DCU Center were both closed on Saturday night.
• Following Saturday night’s game, the Railers had the following scoring streaks and droughts:
  • Cam McDonald is without a point in his last five games.
  • Lincoln Hatten is without a point in his last six games.
  • Tyler Kobryn is without a point in his last three games.
  • Jason Horvath is without a point in his last three games.
  • Kabore Dunn is without a point in his last five games.
  • Anthony Callin is without a point in his last four games.
  • Cole Fraser is without a point in his last six games.
    

Railers Lines

Opponent Lines

On-Ice Officials

Highlights

Notable X Posts as the Game Happened

Railers Lines

Reading Lines

Massimo Rizzo goal

Brandon Saigeon goal

Carson Golder goal

Drew Callin goal

Sawyer Boulton goal

Sawyer Boulton vs Lincoln Hatten

Carson Golder goal

Vinnie Purpura save

Horvath and Swankler scuffle

Sawyer Boulton goal

Carson Golder goal