Game Story

Worcester, MA – The Worcester Railers secured a 4-3 victory over the Adirondack Thunder, picking up the first win of three games at the DCU Center on Friday night.

Hugo Ollas picked up his second win as a Railer, stopping 29 saves. Jeremy Brodeur stopped 37 shots made by Worcester, he now has a 5-5-1 record against Worcester in his career. Riley Ginnell, Matt Kopperud, Mason Klee, and Matt DeMelis had the scoring tallies for Worcester. Ryan Conroy and Kevin O’Neil scored for Adirondack, O’Neil scored twice. The Railers are on a season-long six-game point streak (4-0-2). JD Dudek is on a three-game point streak (1-3-4).

Adirondack struck early, scoring on their first shot to get 1-0 lead just 1:28 into the game when Ryan Conroy scored on a rebound backhand shot past goaltender Hugo Ollas.. The Thunder carried the 1-0 lead into the first intermission.

Worcester evened the score 1-1 at 8:00 in the second period as Riley Ginnell netted his third goal of the season, capitalizing on a rush and beating goaltender Jeremy Brodeur. Mason Klee and Cam McDonald earned the assists.

Kevin O’Neil restored the Thunder’s lead at 10:17 of the second period on one-timer from the left circle that beat Ollas over the shoulder. O’Neil struck again on the power play at 11:28, firing a shot from the point through traffic for his second goal of the game, giving Adirondack a 3-1 advantage.

The game had a brief delay just after Kevin O’Neil’s first goal, as crews worked to secure glass on the right side of the Adirondack bench which had broke free. After the glass was secured with duct tape, play resumed.

The Railers wasted 30 seconds of a 5-on-3 power play after a delayed penalty, opting to pull Hugo Ollas for an extra attacker and playing six-on-four instead of turning the puck over at 5:50. Later in the period, Jeremy Brodeur’s stick broke at the handle, leading to confusion among fans and the Railers bench, who shouted for a penalty. However, goalies are allowed to use broken sticks during play, which Brodeur did, unlike skaters who are prohibited from doing so.

Worcester narrowed the gap late in the second period, as Matthew Kopperud scored his eighth goal of the season with 45 seconds remaining, assisted by JD Dudek and Anthony Callin, making it 3-2 heading into the third.

In the final period, Mason Klee tied the game at 12:32 with a power-play goal, followed by Matt DeMelis scoring just 29 seconds later to give Worcester a 4-3 lead, which they maintained to secure the victory.

The three stars of the game were:

  1. Matt DeMelis (Worcester) – game-winning goal
  2. Mason Klee (Worcester) – 1 goal, 1 assist
  3. Matt Kopperud (Worcester) – 1 goal, 1 assist

In the North Division, the Reading Royals lost 4-3 in overtime to the Jacksonville Icemen at home. The Norfolk Admirals defeated the Trois-Rivieres Lions 5-2 at the Norfolk Scope, while the Maine Mariners were beaten 6-1 by the Cincinnati Cyclones on the road. The Railers currently hold a four-point lead over Reading for fourth place in the division, with both teams having played 37 games. In terms of points percentage, the Railers have pulled ahead of Maine with a 0.473 percentage compared to Maine’s 0.456. All teams except Adirondack are in action on Saturday, with Maine facing Fort Wayne.

In the AHL, the Bridgeport Islanders fell 4-1 to the Syracuse Crunch on Friday night and are back to a three-goalie system with the addition of Hunter Miska. Henrik Tikkanen and Jack Randl were scratches, and none of the Railers players on recall appeared on the scoresheet.

The Railers host the Wheeling Nailers on Saturday at 6:05 p.m.

—

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

Scoring 1 2 3 T
1 2 0 3
0 2 2 4
Shots 1 2 3 T
9 10 13 32
15 15 11 41

 

Score Team Time Scored by Assisted by Type
1 – 0 1:28 – 1st R. Conroy (6) S. Boomhower, G. Loven
1 – 1 8:00 – 2nd R. Ginnell (3) M. Klee, C. McDonald
2 – 1 10:17 – 2nd K. O’Neil (7) R. Conroy, J. van de Leest
3 – 1 11:28 – 2nd K. O’Neil (8) J. Filmon, A. Ghantous PP
3 – 2 19:15 – 2nd M. Kopperud (8) J. Dudek, A. Callin
3 – 3 12:32 – 3rd M. Klee (5) L. Hatten, M. Kopperud PP
3 – 4 13:01 – 3rd M. DeMelis (2) M. Rajaniemi, C. Donhauser

Rosters

# Player G A +/- SH PIM
G 34 T. Brennan 0 0 0 0 0
G 35 J. Brodeur 0 0 0 0 0
D 2 B. Less 0 0 -1 4 0
D 4 K. Gosselin 0 0 0 3 0
D 5 J. van de Leest 0 1 0 2 0
D 6 R. Wheeler 0 0 -2 2 2
F 7 C. Brand 0 0 0 0 0
D 8 R. Conroy 1 1 +1 1 0
D 9 T. Gibson 0 0 0 0 0
F 12 A. Ghantous 0 1 -1 6 2
F 17 K. O’Neil 2 0 +1 3 2
F 19 T. Friedmann 0 0 0 2 0
F 20 S. Smirnov 0 0 +1 0 2
F 23 G. Loven 0 1 0 2 0
F 24 J. Filmon 0 1 +1 1 0
F 29 G. Smith 0 0 -2 2 0
F 36 S. Gulka 0 0 0 0 0
D 44 D. Skeoch 0 0 -1 0 0
D 46 J. Marooney 0 0 0 0 0
F 65 S. Boomhower 0 1 -2 4 2
Team:
Player MIN SH SVS GA SV%
35 J. Brodeur (L) 57:52 41 37 4 0.902
Totals: 57:52 41 37 4 0.902
00:00 0.000
# Player G A +/- SH PIM
G 30 H. Ollas 0 0 0 0 2
G 32 M. Bullion 0 0 0 0 0
F 4 R. Mahshie 0 0 +1 1 0
F 9 R. Ginnell 1 0 +1 4 2
F 10 J. Kaplan 0 0 -1 3 2
F 12 K. Johnson 0 0 +1 0 0
D 14 M. Rajaniemi 0 1 0 1 0
C 15 J. Dudek 0 1 +1 0 0
F 16 G. Loughran 0 0 -2 3 0
F 18 M. Kopperud 1 1 +1 5 0
D 22 G. Luce 0 0 +1 1 0
D 24 M. Klee 1 1 -1 5 2
D 25 R. Dickinson 0 0 +1 0 0
D 26 C. Welsh 0 0 +1 2 0
D 27 C. McDonald 0 1 0 4 0
F 29 C. Donhauser 0 1 0 1 0
F 33 L. Hatten 0 1 +1 0 0
F 37 M. DeMelis 1 0 0 4 0
F 44 A. Callin 0 1 +1 2 0
F 81 A. Repaci 0 0 -1 5 0
Team:
Player MIN SH SVS GA SV%
30 H. Ollas (W) – 32 29 3 –
Totals: – 32 29 3 –

Penalties

Time Team Player Mins Infraction
19:57 – 1st S. Smirnov 2 Slashing – minor (61.2)
10:55 – 2nd M. Klee 2 High-sticking – minor (60.2)
13:05 – 2nd R. Wheeler 2 Holding – minor (54.2)
14:47 – 2nd A. Ghantous 2 Tripping – minor (57.2)
15:19 – 2nd H. Ollas 2 Interference – minor (56.2)
7:15 – 3rd J. Kaplan 2 Slashing – minor (61.2)
8:26 – 3rd S. Boomhower 2 Cross-Checking Minor (59.2)
8:26 – 3rd R. Ginnell 2 Roughing – minor (51.2)
11:30 – 3rd K. O’Neil 2 Slashing – minor (61.2)

Notes

  • Worcester Scratches: Brenden Rons and Matthew Boudens.
  • Adirondack Scratches: Alex Young, Benjamin Lindberg, David Fessenden, Kishaun Gervais, Ryan Francis, Tag Bertuzzi, and Taylor Ford.
  • For transactions this week, Bridgeport recalled Matias Rajaniemi and Justin Gill on Tuesday, and before Friday’s game Rajaniemi and Matt Kopperud were assigned to the Worcester.
  • Following Friday night’s game, the Railers had the following scoring streaks and droughts:
    • Ryan Mashie is without a point in his last three games.
    • Kolby Johnson is without a point in his last three games.
    • Matias Rajaniemi snapped a six-game scoring drought with an assist.
    • JD Dudek is on a three-game point streak. (1-3-4)
    • Griffin Luce is without a point in his last ten games.
    • Connor Welsh is without a point in his last three games.
    • Cole Donhauser snapped a six-game scoring drought with an assist.
    • Lincoln Hatten snapped a three-game scoring drought with an assist.
    • Matt DeMelis snapped a three-game scoring drought with an assist.

Railers Lines

Forward Lines LW C RW
Forward Line 1 Anthony Repaci #81 Jordan Kaplan #10 Griffin Loughran #16
Forward Line 2 Matthew Kopperud #18 Anthony Callin #44 JD Dudek #15
Forward Line 3 Cole Donhauser #29 Matt DeMelis #37 –
Forward Line 4 Riley Ginnell #9 Lincoln Hatten #33 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 Brenden Rons #17 Ryan Dickinson #25
Rotated Defensemen – –
Goalie Tandem G
Starting Goaltender Hugo Ollas #30
Backup Goaltender Michael Bullion #32

Thunder Lines

Forward Lines LW C RW
Forward Line 1 Josh Filmon #24 Kevin O’Neil #17 Andre Ghantous #12
Forward Line 2 Shaw Boomhower #65 Grant Loven #23 Greg Smith #29
Forward Line 3 Chase Brand #7 T.J. Friedmann #19 Savva Smirnov #20
Forward Line 4 James Marooney #46 Sean Gulka #36 Ty Gibson #9
Defensive Pairings LD RD
Defense Pair 1 Ryan Wheeler #6 Brendan Less #2
Defense Pair 2 Ryan Conroy #8 Darian Skeoch #44
Defense Pair 3 Jackson van de Leest #5 Kurt Gosselin #4
Rotated Defensemen – –
Goalie Tandem G
Starting Goaltender Jeremy Brodeur #35
Backup Goaltender Tyler Brennan #34

On-Ice Officials

– –
Referee Tyler Hascall (8)
Referee Scott Allan (54)
Linesman Maxime Bedard (65)
Linesman Davids Rozitis (90)


Highlights

–

Notable Tweets as the Game Happened


Railers Lines


Thunder Lines


Ryan Conroy goal


Hugo Ollas save


Hugo Ollas save


Riley Ginnell goal


Kevin O’Neil goal


Kevin O’Neil goal


Matt Kopperud goal


Jeremy Broduer save


Mason Klee goal


Matt DeMelis goal