Game Story

Worcester, MA — The Worcester Railers beat the Adirondack Thunder, 5-4 in front of a crowd of 7,116 to kick off their 2022-23 season.

A number of debuts were had as both teams started their seasons. Former Railers player turned coach Jordan Lavallee-Smotherman coached (and won) his first regular season game. Former Adirondack Thunder player Pete MacArthur also coached his first ECHL game. Forward Jimmy Lambert and Defenseman Trevor Cosgrove Each made their pro debuts for Worcester. Xavier Parent made his pro debut for Adirondack; scoring a goal and an assist. Brent Beaudoin, Noah Delmas, and Reece Newkirk each scored their first goals of the season, while Blade Jenkins scored twice. Ryan MacKinnon was plus 3 in his return to Worcester. Ken Appleby stopped 19 of 23 shots by Adirondack; Mareks Mitens stopped 30 of 35 shots by Worcester.

The Railers made a statement early, scoring the game’s first three goals in the first twelve minutes. Brent Beaudoin scored on a wrist shot up front on the game’s first shot, Blade Jenkins scored with a defensive turnover by Thunder defenseman Daniel Maggio, and Noah Delmas scored on a feed from Jacob Hayhurst from the left circle at 11:58. The Adirondack Thunder kept with it with their first goal, at 14:00 in the period, followed-up by a power-play conversion by Nick Corson 49 seconds later. Worcester held on to a 3-2 lead outshooting Adirondack 16 to 8 after one.

Adirondack would continue their momentum into the second period as Vladislav Mikhalchuk scored with a quick wrap around the post to tie the game back up at 3:51 in the second. Reece Newkirk would put the Railers back in the lead with an excellent pass by Jacob Hayhurst, earning his second assist of the night.

Blade Jenkins’ scored his second of the night, burying the puck on a two-man breakaway chance to bring the Railers to a 5-3 advantage in the third. Adirondack would hold on to some hope of a second comeback with Sebastian Vidmar scoring a shorthanded goal on a Railers turnover in their defensive zone at 10:34 to bring the game to 5-4, but wouldn’t be enough as despite calling their timeout with 17.6 seconds left and did not have the opportunity to pull their goalie for the extra attacker.

As the game ended, former Railers enforcer Yanick Turcotte left the Adirondack Thunder bench, getting involved in an altercation between Railers forward Nolan Vesey and a number of Thunder players on the ice. Turcotte was given an unsportsmanlike minor and game misconduct for leaving the bench. This came after Turcotte looked for, and failed, to find a dance partner all night.

The Three Stars of the Game were:

  1. Blade Jenkins (Worcester) – 2 goals
  2. Reece Newkirk (Worcester) – 1 goal, 1 assist
  3. Collin Adams (Worcester) – 2 assists

Railers improve their winning streak of home openers to 5-0 with their win Saturday, The Railers host the Adirondack Thunder again on Sunday at 3:05.

Box Score

Scoring 1 2 3 T
Adirondack Thunder 2 1 1 4
Worcester Railers 3 1 1 5
Shots 1 2 3 T
Adirondack Thunder 8 8 7 23
Worcester Railers 16 12 7 35

Scoring

Score Team Time Scored By Assisted By Type
0 – 1 WOR 1:24 – 1st B. Beaudoin (1) A. Repaci, N. Vesey
0 – 2 WOR 6:19 – 1st B. Jenkins (1) R. Newkirk, C. Adams
0 – 3 WOR 11:58 – 1st N. Delmas (1) J. Hayhurst
1 – 3 ADK 14:00 – 1st X. Parent (1) N. Corson, J. Taylor
2 – 3 ADK 14:49 – 1st N. Corson (1) S. Harper, X. Parent PP
3 – 3 ADK 3:51 – 2nd V. Mikhalchuk (1) I. Chukarov, S. Harper
3 – 4 WOR 8:15 – 2nd R. Newkirk (1) J. Hayhurst, S. Jandric
3 – 5 WOR 7:30 – 3rd B. Jenkins (2) C. Adams
4 – 5 ADK 10:34 – 3rd S. Vidmar (1) SH

Rosters

Adirondack Roster # Player G A Rating SH PIM
G 1 I. Poulter 0 0 0 0 0
G 39 M. Mitens 0 0 0 0 0
D 3 F. Bratt 0 0 -1 0 0
D 6 J. Taylor 0 1 -2 2 0
F 9 C. Long 0 0 0 0 0
F 11 S. Harper 0 2 -1 2 0
D 13 I. Chukarov 0 1 +1 1 2
F 14 V. Mikhalchuk 1 0 -2 2 0
F 17 Y. Turcotte 0 0 0 1 12
F 21 P. Grasso 0 0 +1 4 0
F 22 S. Vidmar 1 0 0 3 0
F 23 N. Rivera 0 0 -1 0 0
F 24 X. Parent 1 1 -1 1 0
D 26 R. Da Silva 0 0 -2 2 2
F 27 B. Jerry 0 0 0 0 0
D 44 D. Maggio 0 0 -1 2 2
F 58 G. Van Wyhe 0 0 -1 1 0
D 60 J. Gourley 0 0 +1 0 0
F 91 N. Corson 1 1 -2 2 4
Team:
Totals: 4 6 -11 23 22
Adirondack Goalies No Min SH SVS GA SV%
39 M. Mitens (L) 59:42 35 30 5 0.857
Totals: 59:42 35 30 5
Worcester Roster # Player G A Rating SH PIM
G 35 K. Appleby 0 0 0 0 0
G 39 H. Tikkanen 0 0 0 0 0
F 8 B. Butler 0 0 0 2 0
D 9 N. Delmas 1 0 0 1 0
D 10 R. MacKinnon 0 0 +3 1 0
F 11 N. Vesey 0 1 +1 2 2
F 12 B. Beaudoin 1 0 +1 2 0
D 15 C. Evers 0 0 0 2 0
F 16 J. Hayhurst 0 2 +1 3 2
F 17 B. Jenkins 2 0 0 4 2
F 18 B. Christensen 0 0 0 3 0
D 20 T. Cosgrove 0 0 0 4 0
F 21 C. Adams 0 2 +1 3 2
F 23 J. Lambert 0 0 -1 2 0
D 25 P. Beaulieu 0 0 0 0 2
D 27 M. McGurty 0 0 +1 0 0
F 37 R. Newkirk 1 1 +1 4 0
F 44 S. Jandric 0 1 +1 1 0
F 81 A. Repaci 0 1 +1 1 0
Team:
Totals: 5 8 10 35 10
Worcester Goalies No Min SH SVS GA SV%
35 K. Appleby (W) 60:00 23 19 4 0.826
Totals: 60:00 23 19 4

Penalties

Time Team Player Mins Infraction
14:34 – 1st H C. Adams 2 Tripping – minor (57.2)
17:58 – 1st V N. Corson 2 Slashing – minor (61.2)
18:53 – 1st H B. Jenkins 2 Slashing – minor (61.2)
4:32 – 2nd V D. Maggio 2 Tripping – minor (57.2)
6:03 – 2nd H P. Beaulieu 2 Interference – minor (56.2)
15:02 – 2nd V I. Chukarov 2 Interference – minor (56.2)
1:04 – 3rd H N. Vesey 2 Hooking – minor (55.2)
9:21 – 3rd V N. Corson 2 Roughing – minor (51.2)
9:21 – 3rd V R. Da Silva 2 Holding – minor (54.2)
9:21 – 3rd H J. Hayhurst 2 Roughing – minor (51.2)
20:00 – 3rd V Y. Turcotte 2 Unsportsmanlike conduct – minor (75.2)
20:00 – 3rd V Y. Turcotte 10 Game misconduct – Leaving The Players Bench (70.1)

Notes

  • Railers Scratches: Conor Breen (injured reserve), Zack Bross (injured reserve), Connor McCarthy, Quinn Ryan, and Jack Quinlivan (injured reserve).
  • Thunder Scratches: Cory Dennis, Rex Moe (injured reserve), Jake Ryczek (injured reserve), Ryan Smith, and Jake Theut.
  • Prior to the puck drop, the Railers honored late Worcester hockey broadcaster Eric Lindquist with a video tribute and a moment of silence. The Railers are wearing decals with Eric’s initials on the back of their helmets for this season, and have painted his initials into the center ice. A portion of his ashes have also been spread into the ice, in front of both penalty boxes in his memory. Lindquist passed away unexpectedly in May at 43.
  • A number of players changed numbers from last season:
    • Collin Adams #8 -> #21
    • Jared Brandt #5 -> #26
    • Blake Christensen #10 -> #18
    • Ryan MacKinnon #4 -> #10
    • Connor McCarthy #13 -> #2
    • Reece Newkirk #18 -> #37
  • Railers announced earlier in the day Saturday the alternate captains to begin the 2022-23 season. Nolan Vesey and Anthony Repaci will dawn the As at home, while Myles McGurty and Liam Coughlin will wear them on the road. Bobby Butler is the team’s captain as previously announced by the team.
  • Railers have introduced a modified orange jersey into the team’s jersey line-up. Signifying the team’s fifth year in the league, the Railers introduced a Fifth-year logo which replaces the main circle logo on the orange jerseys and will replace the circular shoulder patches on the blue and white jerseys.
  • Adirondack players Ivan Chukarov and Vladislav Mikhalchuk are both wearing decals of the Ukrainian flag on their helmets this season in solidarity with Ukrainian citizens and fellow players. Per The Post Star, Chukarov has family living in Ukraine and Mikhalchuk is listed as being born in the neighboring country Belarus.
  • For up-to-date news on all things Worcester Hockey, Like us on Facebook at Woo Hockey – Worcester Hockey News, Follow us on Twitter @WooHockeyNews, and join our Facebook Group – Worcester Railers Fan Club.

Railers Lines

Forward Lines LW C RW
Forward Line 1  Bobby Butler #8 “C”  Jimmy Lambert #23  Blake Christensen #18
Forward Line 2  Collin Adams #21  Blade Jenkins #17  Reece Newkirk #37
Forward Line 3  Nolan Vesey #11 “A”  Brent Beaudoin #12  Anthony Repaci #81 “A”
Rotated Forwards  Jacob Hayhurst #16  –  Steven Jandric #44
Defensive Pairings LD RD
Defense Line 1  Ryan MacKinnon #10  Noah Delmas #9
Defense Line 2  Christian Evers #15  Myles McGurty #27
Defense Line 3  Trevor Cosgrove #20  Phil Beaulieu #25
Goalie Tandem G
Starting Goaltender  Ken Appleby #35
Backup Goaltender  Henrik Tikkanen #39

Thunder Lines

Forward Lines LW C RW
Forward Line 1  Noah Corson #91  Shane Harper #11 “C”  Vladislav Mikhalchuk #14
Forward Line 2  Nick Rivera #23  Xavier Parent #24  Patrick Grasso #21
Forward Line 3  Sebastian Vidmar #22  Garrett Van Wyhe #58  Billy Jerry #27
Rotated Forwards  Yanick Turcotte #17  –  Colin Long #9
Defensive Pairings LD RD
Defense Line 1  Jeff Taylor #6 “A”  Ryan Da Silva #26
Defense Line 2  Jarrod Gourley #60  Ivan Chukarov #13
Defense Line 3  Daniel Maggio #44  Filip Bratt #3
Goalie Tandem G
Starting Goaltender  Mareks Mitens #39
Backup Goaltender  Issac Poulter #1

On-Ice Officials:

Referee  Alex Normandin (#26)
Linesman  Sam Schildkraut (#46)
Linesman  Shane Kanaly (#74)

Out-Of-Town Scores:

Newfoundland 4, Reading 3 (OT)
Trois-Rivières 3, Maine 2
South Carolina 8, Norfolk 1

Bridgeport 5, Laval 2
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 4, Hartford 3 (SO)
Providence 2, Utica 1
Springfield 3, Belleville 2

Highlights

https://twitter.com/RichLundin1/status/1584020507518636034