Game Story

Parker Gahagen earned his 15th win of the season with 41 saves earning him the games first star. Yaniv Perets Yaniv Perets made 18 saves for Reading. Jesse Pulkkinen, Matt DeMelis, Declan McDonnell, and Riley Piercey (who scored twice) scored for Worcester. Connor McMenamin and Yvan Mongo scored for the Royals. MacAuley Carson (3-3-6) extended his point streak to four games with two assists.

The Railers pulled through after being out played by the Royals in almost every way, except for the score sheet. Three of Worcester’s goals came on the first shot of each period.

Jesse Pulkkinen opened up scoring at 7:35 in the first period scoring top shelf, Yaniv Perets’ water bottle off the net and giving the Railers their first lead of the night. Reading answered three minutes later on a backdoor goal from Connor McMenamin to tie it. Shots were 14-3 Reading after twenty minutes.

The Railers regained the lead midway through the second when Matt DeMelis tipped in a shot from Cam McDonald on the crease at 7:01 in the second period. Worcester was outshot 17-7 in the second period.

Just 56 seconds later, Yvan Mongo answered on a breakaway to make it a one-goal game again. Worcester pushed the lead back to two at 5:56 when Riley Piercey finished a play started by Max Dorrington. The goal was reviewed after an odd bounce, but it stood. Reading pulled Perets late for the extra attacker, but Piercey iced the game with an empty-net goal at 18:57, giving Worcester a 5-2 win in the first of two weekend meetings against Reading. Worcester outshot Reading for the only time in the third period, 13-12.

The three stars of the game were:

1. Parker Gahagen (Worcester) – win, 41 saves, 0.953 SV%
2. Riley Piercey (Worcester) – 2 goals, 1 asst
3. Jesse Pulkkinen (Worcester) – 1 goal, 1 assist, +3

Around the North Division, Maine beat Norfolk 3-2 in overtime, Trois-Rivières blanked Greensboro 6-0 on the road, and Wheeling beat Adirondack 4-2 at home. The only other divisional game this weekend is a rematch between Trois-Rivières and Greensboro on Sunday.

After Saturday’s games, Trois-Rivières is ahead of Worcester for fifth place with 60 points. Reading remains in fourth with 65, while the Railers sit at 59. The race for the final playoff spot is tight, and Worcester still has four games left against Reading this season. On Sunday, the Railers will be hoping Greensboro can bounce back with a win.

In the AHL, the Bridgeport Islanders were shut out 2-0 by the Charlotte Checkers on Saturday afternoon. Henrik Tikkanen made 16 saves and gave up one of the goals. Bridgeport returns home next Saturday to host the Hershey Bears.

The Railers and Royals close out the weekend for game two of the weekend on Sunday at 3 PM.

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Box Score

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

Shots	1	2	3	T
	3	7	13	23
	14	17	12	43

Score	#	Per	Team	Time	Goals	Assists
1 – 0	1	1st		7:35	J. Pulkkinen (8)	R. Piercey, M. Carson
1 – 1	2	1st		10:54	C. McMenamin (9)	B. Saigeon, J. Willets
2 – 1	3	2nd		7:01	M. DeMelis (16)	C. McDonald, M. Carson
3 – 1	4	3rd		0:59	D. McDonnell (1)	A. Repaci, J. Pulkkinen
3 – 2	5	3rd		1:55	Y. Mongo (2)	A. Saint, B. Meehan
4 – 2	6	3rd		5:56	R. Piercey (5)	M. Dorrington
5 – 2	7	3rd		18:57	R. Piercey (6)

Rosters

	No	Name	G	A	+/-	SH	PIM
G	33	T. Gale	0	0	0	0	0
G	35	P. Gahagen	0	0	0	0	0
D	6	C. McDonald	0	1	+2	2	2
F	7	M. Dorrington	0	1	+1	1	0
F	10	R. Miotto	0	0	-1	1	4
F	11	L. Hatten	0	0	+2	3	0
D	14	A. Samuelsson	0	0	0	0	2
F	16	R. Mitton	0	0	-1	0	0
D	18	M. Suda	0	0	+2	2	0
F	19	R. Piercey	2	1	+4	3	0
F	20	M. Dukovac	0	0	-1	0	0
D	24	J. Pulkkinen	1	1	+3	1	0
F	25	K. Acosta	0	0	+1	0	0
F	26	D. McDonnell	1	0	+1	1	0
D	27	X. Jean-Louis	0	0	-1	2	2
D	28	C. Federkow	0	0	+1	1	2
F	37	M. DeMelis	1	0	+3	2	0
F	44	A. Callin	0	0	0	1	0
F	74	M. Carson	0	2	+2	0	0
F	81	A. Repaci	0	1	+1	3	0
		Team:	0			0
		Totals:	5	7	19	23	12

	Player	MIN	SH	SVS	GA	SV%
35	P. Gahagen (W)	60	43	41	2	0.953
	Totals:	60	43	41	2	0.953

	No	Name	G	A	+/-	SH	PIM
G	1	Y. Perets	0	0	0	0	0
G	80	K. Petruzzelli	0	0	0	0	0
D	7	B. Meehan	0	1	-3	6	0
F	8	K. Haskins	0	0	-3	4	2
F	12	L. Devlin	0	0	0	0	0
D	15	E. Chouinard	0	0	-1	2	0
F	16	A. Saint	0	1	0	4	2
F	17	B. Saigeon	0	1	-1	5	0
F	19	Z. Bannister	0	0	0	0	0
F	21	C. Cook	0	0	-1	0	0
F	23	C. Kurth	0	0	-2	2	0
F	25	G. Devine	0	0	-1	3	2
F	34	J. Michel	0	0	-3	4	0
F	39	C. McMenamin	1	0	-1	1	0
D	43	M. Gendron	0	0	-1	2	2
D	46	V. Sevigny	0	0	-1	3	0
D	53	J. Willets	0	1	-1	4	0
D	88	A. Kulakov	0	0	0	0	0
F	91	Y. Mongo	1	0	0	1	0
F	95	J. Frasca	0	0	-2	2	0
		Team:	0			0
		Totals:	2	4	-21	43	8

	Player	MIN	SH	SVS	GA	SV%
1	Y. Perets (L)	56:58	22	18	4	0.818
	Empty Net		1		1	0.000
	Totals:	56:58	23	18	5	0.783

Penalties

Time	Team	Player	Mins	Infraction
09:21 – 1st		C. Federkow	2	Roughing – minor (51.2)
10:34 – 1st		A. Samuelsson	2	Roughing – minor (51.2)
10:34 – 1st		K. Haskins	2	Roughing – minor (51.2)
12:08 – 2nd		R. Miotto	2	Interference – minor (56.2)
15:07 – 2nd		M. Gendron	2	Cross-Checking Minor (59.2)
18:18 – 2nd		R. Miotto	2	Boarding – minor (41.2)
06:59 – 3rd		X. Jean-Louis	2	Holding – minor (54.2)
08:31 – 3rd		C. McDonald	2	Roughing – minor (51.2)
08:31 – 3rd		A. Saint	2	Roughing – minor (51.2)
12:36 – 3rd		G. Devine	2	Holding – minor (54.2)

Notes

• Worcester Scratches: AJ Schlepp, Anthony Hora, Cole Donhauser, Drew Callin, Gabe Blanchard, Michael Ferrandino, Riley Ginnell, and Tristan Lennox.
• Reading Scratches: Alec Butcher, Hunter Johannes, Ian Shane, Jack Page, Mikael Robidoux, Nick Capone, Nolan Burke, and Victor Hadfield.
• The ECHL announced this week that the Iowa Heartlanders were granted a voluntary suspension for the 2026-27 season, citing financial concerns. The team has ranked last in attendance since joining the league in 2021-22 and are averaging 1,500 this season. It is likely that their ownership will look to sell the team, with a possible relocation. The league will stay at 30 members next season with the New Mexico Goatheads joining.
• Cole Donhauser was suspended two games following his game misconduct in the final minutes of Wednesday night’s game. A tough loss for the Railers to lose Donhauser at a crucial point in the season after losing Drew Callin last week to 14-day injured reserve.
• Defenseman Xavier Jean-Louis was signed by the Railers on Thursday and made his debut on Saturday night.
• The Railers had a break this week with news that Massimo Rizzo was traded out of the Philadelphia Flyers organization this week, resulting in a recall from Reading into the Bruins organization, where he played one game for the Providence Bruins before he was traded again to the Nashville Predators and assigned to the Milwaukee Admirals. Rizzo (2-4-6) had six points against the Railers in four games this season.
• Following Saturday night’s game, the Railers had the following scoring streaks and droughts:
  • Cam McDonald snapped an eight game scoring drought with an assist.
  • Max Dorrington is on a three-gane point streak. (0-4-4)
  • Ryan Miotto is without a point in his last five games.
  • Lincoln Hatten is without a point in his last five games.
  • Adam Samuelsson is without a point in his last seven games.
  • Khristian Acosta is without a point in his last six games.
  • Connor Federkow is without a point in his last 19 games.
  • Anthony Callin is without a point in his last three games.
  • MacAuley Carson extended his point streak to four games with two assists. (3-3-6)

Railers Lines

Opponent Lines

On-Ice Officials

Notable X Posts as the Game Happened

Railers Lines

Royals Lines

Jesse Pulkkinen goal

Connor McManamin goal

Matt DeMelis goal

Declan McDonnell goal

Yvan Mongo goal

Riley Piercey goal

Riley Piercey empty-net goal