Game Story

Parker Gahagen earned his seventh win of the season, turning aside 27 shots. His former teammate Cam Johnson made 28 saves for the Everblades. Craig Needham and Reid Duke scored for Florida, while Jesse Pulkkinen, Ryan Miotto, and Max Dorrington scored for Worcester. This was the second night in the Railers’ annual IceCats weekend, jerseys based on the IceCats’ fifth year alternate jerseys were worn and auctioned off during the game to benefit the Railers Foundation. This was Worcester’s second all-time win against Florida, the first was a 3-2 win on January 28, 2018.

Neither team scored in the opening frame, Worcester outshot Florida 10-7 in the period. Florida had a power play at the 11:54 mark and later, teams traded roughing power plays and Worcester had an abbreviated 4-on-3 power play.

Craig Needham scored while Tanner Schachle served a cross-checking penalty after he cross-checked a Florida skater during a stoppage of play between the benches. Craig Needham tipped-in a shot from Gianfranco Cassaro at 4:52 for the only scoring of the period, giving Florida the 1-0 heading into the second period.

Reid Duke gave Florida a 2-0 lead on a shot from the right faceoff circle at 2:41 in the third period. Jesse Pulkkinen gave the IceCats some hope with 5:26 left in the third period, scoring off the cross bar for his first North American goal. With three minutes left in regulation, Ryan Miotto tipped-in a shot from Michael Suda that would eventually force the game into overtime.

The IceCats would head on the man advantage at 2:47 in the overtime period. Jesse Pulkkinen would have another nice shot from the blue line and Max Dorrington would tip it in up front to secure the 3-2 victory for the IceCats.

This was one of a few dramatic come from behind wins in Railers’ history, another that stands out was a 5-4 victory over the Trois-Rivieres Lions on March 23, 2025 during Military Appreciation Night. The Railers had overcome a 3-0 deficit to force overtime, with Justin Gill earning the hat trick with the game-winning goal.

The three stars of the game were:

1. Max Dorrington (Worcester) – game-winning goal
2. Parker Gahagen (Worcester) – win, 27 saves, 0.931 SV%
3. Cam Johnson (Florida) – 28 saves, 0.903 SV%

The Norfolk Admirals beat the Adirondack Thunder 4-3 in overtime later in the evening. The Maine Mariners shutout the Reading Royals 2-0 in Reading. The Wheeling Nailers shutout the Trois-Rivieres Lions 5-0 in Wheeling. The Greensboro Gargoyles fell 7-4 to the Idaho Steelheads late on Saturday night. Five of the Eight North Division teams play on Sunday.

The Bridgeport Sound Tigers beat the Utica Comets 4-2 on Saturday night, Henrik Tikkanen made 28 saves to earn his sixth win of the season, matching his AHL win total from last season in a third of the amount of games played compared to last season.

The IceCats will revert to their Railers moniker and host the Florida Everblades to close out the weekend series at 3:05 p.m. on Sunday afternoon.

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Box Score

Scoring	1	2	3	OT	T
	0	1	1	0	2
	0	0	2	1	3

Shots	1	2	3	OT	T
	7	10	11	1	29
	10	9	10	2	31

Score	#	Per	Team	Time	Goals	Assists
1 – 0	1	2nd		4:52	C. Needham (11)	G. Cassaro, Q. Burns
2 – 0	2	3rd		2:41	R. Duke (7)	G. Cassaro, K. Penney
2 – 1	3	3rd		14:36	J. Pulkkinen (1)	G. Veremyev
2 – 2	4	3rd		17:00	R. Miotto (6)	M. Suda, D. Callin
2 – 3	5	OT		4:23	M. Dorrington (2)	J. Pulkkinen, M. DeMelis

Rosters

	No	Name	G	A	+/-	SH	PIM
G	31	W. Cranley	0	0	0	0	0
G	33	C. Johnson	0	0	0	0	0
D	4	S. Allen	0	0	-1	2	2
D	6	J. Sambrook	0	0	0	0	0
F	7	L. Lambdin	0	0	0	0	0
F	11	I. Nurse	0	0	-1	2	0
F	13	C. Needham	1	0	-2	2	2
F	16	T. Fizer	0	0	0	0	0
F	17	O. Cooper	0	0	0	0	2
D	19	Z. Berzolla	0	0	0	1	2
F	20	O. Chau	0	0	-1	2	0
F	22	K. Penney	0	1	0	4	0
D	23	G. Cassaro	0	2	0	3	0
F	27	R. Duke	1	0	+1	4	0
D	28	C. Doherty	0	0	-1	2	0
F	29	A. Romano	0	0	0	3	0
F	34	J. Lansdell	0	0	0	1	0
D	55	Q. Burns	0	1	-1	2	2
F	62	L. Will	0	0	+1	0	0
F	71	J. Jones	0	0	0	1	0
		Team:	0			0
		Totals:	2	4	-5	29	10

	Player	MIN	SH	SVS	GA	SV%
33	C. Johnson (L)	64:23	31	28	3	0.903
	Totals:	64:23	31	28	3	0.903

	No	Name	G	A	+/-	SH	PIM
G	30	T. Lennox	0	0	0	0	0
G	35	P. Gahagen	0	0	0	0	0
D	3	A. Hora	0	0	0	1	0
F	7	M. Dorrington	1	0	-1	3	0
F	10	R. Miotto	1	0	+1	2	0
F	11	L. Hatten	0	0	0	1	2
D	14	A. Samuelsson	0	0	0	2	0
F	15	G. Veremyev	0	1	+2	1	0
F	16	R. Mitton	0	0	-1	0	0
F	17	T. Schachle	0	0	0	1	2
D	18	M. Suda	0	1	0	1	2
F	19	R. Piercey	0	0	0	1	2
D	24	J. Pulkkinen	1	1	+1	1	0
D	28	C. Federkow	0	0	0	2	0
F	29	C. Donhauser	0	0	-1	3	2
F	37	M. DeMelis	0	1	0	0	0
F	44	A. Callin	0	0	+2	5	0
F	77	D. Callin	0	1	+2	2	0
F	81	A. Repaci	0	0	0	4	0
D	88	G. Blanchard	0	0	0	1	0
		Team:	0			0
		Totals:	3	5	5	31	10

	Player	MIN	SH	SVS	GA	SV%
35	P. Gahagen (W)	64:23	29	27	2	0.931
	Totals:	64:23	29	27	2	0.931

Penalties

Time	Team	Player	Mins	Infraction
11:54 – 1st		C. Donhauser	2	Interference – minor (56.2)
18:11 – 1st		O. Cooper	2	Roughing – minor (51.2)
18:11 – 1st		R. Piercey	2	Roughing – minor (51.2)
18:37 – 1st		S. Allen	2	Cross-Checking Minor (59.2)
03:41 – 2nd		T. Schachle	2	Cross-Checking Minor (59.2)
14:31 – 2nd		L. Hatten	2	Roughing – minor (51.2)
18:16 – 2nd		M. Suda	2	Interference – minor (56.2)
04:10 – 3rd		C. Needham	2	Slashing – minor (61.2)
09:16 – 3rd		Z. Berzolla	2	Roughing – minor (51.2)
02:47 – 1st OT		Q. Burns	2	Tripping – minor (57.2)

Notes

• Worcester Scratches: Case McCarthy, Lazarus Kaebel, MacAuley Carson, Michael Ferrandino, Porter Schachle, Riley Ginnell, and Thomas Gale.
• Florida Scratches: Ben Brar, Carson Gicewicz, Hudson Elynuik, Hunter Sansbury, Kade Landry, Kurtis Henry, Kyle Betts, and Kyle Neuber.
• Former IceCats Terry Virtue and Sean Heaphy were in attendance and dropped two of the ceremonial puck drops prior to the game. They signed autographs during the first intermission on the concourse, and had their own customized specialty jerseys. The Railers recognized Anthony Repaci passing Virtue for most points in Worcester Pro Hockey history after the puck drops.
• The top five jerseys in the jersey auction were:
  • Lincoln Hatten #11 – $1,500 (Buy It Now Option)
  • Anthony Repaci #81 w/ C – $850
  • Scratch #1 – $800
  • Tanner Schachle #17 – $750
  • Henrik Tikkanen #39 – $550
    

Railers Lines

Notable X Posts as the Game Happened

Craig Needham goal

Reid Duke goal

Jesse Pulkkinen goal

Ryan Miotto goal

Max Dorrington goal