Game Story
Worcester, MA — The Worcester Railers fell 2-1 to the Adirondack Thunder on Friday night at the DCU Center.
Jake Pinonka scored Worcester’s lone goal, while Henrik Tikkanen, in his third start of the season, made 27 saves. Filip Engaras found the back of the net twice for the Adirondack Thunder, and Vinnie Purpura stopped 30 shots. Purpura made his first return to the DCU Center since March 31, when he was carried off the ice on a stretcher after a collision that prematurely ended his season.
The game remained a one-goal contest, primarily thanks to Henrik Tikkanen’s performance in the net. Worcester has struggled on the power play, failing to convert in their last eleven opportunities, resulting in the second-worst power play record in the ECHL.
Adirondack took an early 1-0 lead at 13:18 of the first period when Filip Engaras scored on his own rebound to give the Thunder the lead. Devon Becker and Matt Stief were credited with assists, and the Thunder carried their one-goal lead into the intermission outshooting Worcester 12-11.
Filip Engras extended the Thunder’s lead to 2-0 in the second period. Jace Isely collected a rebound from a shot by Andrei Bakanov, who then passed it to Engras. Engras managed to beat Tikkanen at the 16:33 mark. Just a little over two minutes later, Jake Pivonka reduced the Thunder’s lead to one. Zsombar Garat initiated the play with an up-ice pass to Anthony Callin, who subsequently set up Jake Pivonka for a wrist shot that sailed over Vinnie Purpura’s shoulder. Adirondack outshot Worcester 12-7 during the period, while still maintaining a one-goal lead after the second period.
With the Railers playing dump-and-chase for a good portion of the third period, the Adirondack Thunder picked up their first win of the season after Worcester outshot them 13-5 in the third period.
The three stars of the game were:
- Filip Engaras (Adirondack) – 2 goals
- Vinnie Purpura (Adirondack) – win, 30 saves, 0.968 SV%
- Jake Pivonka (Worcester) – 1 goal
Friday night saw action from all seven North Division teams. Reading fell to the Toledo Walleye 5-2, Norfolk secured a 4-2 victory over Maine, and the red-hot Trois-Rivieres Lions triumphed with a 4-1 win against the Newfoundland Growlers.
The Railers and Thunder will return to the DCU Center on Saturday. The Railers will be sporting unique Lavender Specialty jerseys as they host their version of Hockey Fights Cancer night, with a puck drop of 7:05 p.m.
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