Game Story

Worcester, MA — Closing out their February homestand, the Worcester Railers hosted the Cincinnati Cyclones for the first time in the franchise’s history.

In front of a crowd of 4602, the Railers faced one of their bigger opponents of the season who sat second in the overall standings in the ECHL on Sunday afternoon. The story goes much like the previous two home games have gone, with their opponents leading through the first two periods before making an attempt to rally back. Railers did just that to force overtime, but hopes of a win would come up short in overtime.

The first two goals of the game came in the first period by Cincinnati and were both on their first two shots of the game. Vasili Glotov sent one through the pads at 1:54 after gliding across the crease past the pads of Evan Buitenhuis. A little under four minutes later Michael Powell scored on a one-timer in front of the net with a quick past from Alex Wideman. Railers would put some pressure on the Cyclones in the final five minutes of the period, but were unable to generate anything but a few extra shots on goal. Cyclones led with the only action of the opening frame, 2-0.

Connor Doherty left the game at 3:39 in the second period after taking a slapshot to the face in the Railers zone by a Cyclones skater. Play stopped with Doherty holding his head on the ice, as he skated back to the bench we could see a noticeable gash under his eye, indicating either the protective glass on his helmet may have cut him as he blocked that shot. He did not return to the game but was later seen in a suit with an ice pack on his eye.

Cincinnati scored their third straight goal at 6:50 in the second period, taking advantage of Evan Buitenhuis being out of his net and in a struggle to get back into the net, losing his stick in the process as well. Worcester would begin their comeback at 15:39 with some quick passes and good control of the puck by Ryan Hitchcock. Cyclones led 3-1, taking over and leading in shots 20-16 through forty minutes.

Tyler Barnes scored his twentieth goal of the season after Ryan MacKinnon left the puck in front of the crease which he quickly slapped in to extend his goal and point streaks and bringing the game to within one goal. Barnes now holds the record for the longest goal streak in Worcester Pro Hockey history with that goal. The game got tied up after some quick bounces at the Cyclones’ net, which eventually led to the puck rolling past Jonas Johansson and over the goal line before he had time to react. Josh Holmstrom led the team to the bench with the game-tying goal, but it was later announced as Nick Sorkin’s goal.

Cyclones and Railers headed into overtime with Cyclones having the man advantage as Ryan MacKinnon sat for an interference call just before regulation ended.  Cyclones would take home the win at 2:39 with the game-winning goal scored by Brady Vail.

The Three Stars of the Game were:

  1. Brady Vail (Cincinnati) – game-winning goal, assist
  2. Ryan Hitchcock (Worcester) – goal, assist
  3. Josh Holmstrom (Worcester)

With an unfortunate end to a great comeback, the Railers (21-20-4-3) trail behind the Reading Royals for fifth place by a single point. Reading faces Brampton tomorrow, so that may change depending on the outcome of that game.

The Railers’ season-long seven game road trip begins on Wednesday against the Maine Mariners before they head west later in the week. Puck drops at 7:05 PM.

Box Score

Scoring 1 2 3 OT T
Cincinnati Cyclones 2 1 0 1 4
Worcester Railers 0 1 2 0 3
Shots 1 2 3 OT T
Cincinnati Cyclones 5 15 11 3 34
Worcester Railers 7 9 8 0 24

 

Railers Roster # Name G A +/- SH PIM
G 29 M. Houser 0 0 0 0 0
G 31 J. Johansson 0 1 0 0 0
D 3 A. Florentino 0 0 -1 0 0
D 5 E. Knodel 0 0 0 5 0
D 6 M. Jones 1 0 +2 6 2
F 10 A. Wideman 0 1 0 1 0
D 12 T. Bisson 0 0 -1 1 0
F 15 S. Dorowicz 0 0 0 1 2
F 17 M. Powell 1 0 0 2 2
F 18 J. Peterson 0 0 0 2 0
F 19 J. Schultz 0 1 +1 2 0
D 20 A. Atwal 0 1 0 4 2
F 24 P. Aquin 0 1 +1 2 0
F 27 B. Vail 1 1 0 2 0
D 28 D. Stephens 0 0 +1 1 2
LW 44 B. Johnson 0 0 +1 1 0
F 51 M. Marnell 0 0 -1 3 0
F 92 V. Glotov 1 0 0 1 0
Team:
Totals: 4 6 3 34 10
No Name Min SH SVS GA
31 J. Johansson (W) 62:35 24 21 3
Totals: 62:35 24 21 3
Railers Roster # Name G A +/- SH PIM
G 34 E. Buitenhuis 0 0 0 0 0
G 35 M. Gillam 0 0 0 0 0
D 3 A. Vanier 0 0 0 0 0
D 4 R. MacKinnon 0 1 +2 1 2
D 6 M. Cornell 0 1 -2 2 0
F 7 T. Barnes 1 0 0 2 0
F 8 N. Sorkin 1 0 0 2 0
F 10 I. Kosorenkov 0 0 -1 3 0
F 11 D. Willick 0 0 0 1 0
F 12 J. Holmstrom 0 0 -1 0 2
F 15 B. Brauer 0 1 +1 0 0
F 19 B. Almeida 0 0 0 4 0
D 20 D. Quenneville 0 0 -1 2 4
F 21 M. Gaudreau 0 0 -1 2 0
D 24 T. Mueller 0 1 +1 1 0
F 27 R. Hitchcock 1 1 0 3 0
D 28 C. Doherty 0 0 -1 0 0
F 51 Y. Turcotte 0 0 0 1 2
Team:
Totals: 3 5 -3 24 10
No Name Min SH SVS GA
34 E. Buitenhuis (L) 62:39 34 30 4
Totals: 62:39 34 30 4
P T Player M Offense Time
1st H D. Quenneville 2.00 Hooking – minor (55.2) 6:37
1st H J. Holmstrom 2.00 Slashing – minor (61.2) 11:41
1st V A. Atwal 2.00 Interference – minor (56.2) 18:54
2nd V S. Dorowicz 2.00 Holding – minor (54.2) 0:04
2nd H D. Quenneville 2.00 Cross-Checking Minor (59.2) 12:13
2nd V M. Powell 2.00 Slashing – minor (61.2) 16:43
2nd V M. Jones 2.00 Unsportsmanlike conduct – minor (75.2) 20:00
2nd H Y. Turcotte 2.00 Unsportsmanlike conduct – minor (75.2) 20:00
3rd V D. Stephens 2.00 High-sticking – minor (60.2) 10:51
3rd H R. MacKinnon 2.00 Interference – minor (56.2)

Notes

  • Railers Injuries: Ivan Kosorenkov, Kyle McKenzie, Matt Schmalz
  • Railers Scratches: Malcolm Gould, Woody Hudson, Alex Vanier
  • Cyclones Injuries: Shaw Boomhauer, Andrew DeBrincat
  • Cyclones Scratches: Nate Mitton, Justin Vaive
  • Tyler Barnes’ seven-game goal streak is now the record for longest in Worcester Pro Hockey history.
  • 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 (Observed by order in which they appeared):

LW C RW
Forward Line 1  B. Almeida #19 “A”  R. Hitchcock #27  T. Barnes #7
Forward Line 2  J. Holmstrom #12 “A”  M. Gaudreau #21  N. Sorkin #8
Forward Line 3  I. Kosorenkov #10 / Y. Turcotte #51  D. Willick #11  B. Brauer #15
LD RD
Defense Line 1  M. Cornell #6 “C”  T. Mueller #24
Defense Line 2 D. Quenneville #20  C. Doherty #28
Defense Line 3  A. Vanier #3  R. MacKinnon #4
G
Starting Goaltender  Evan Buitenhuis #34
Backup Goaltender  Mitch Gillam #35

Highlights