Newfoundland Growlers (43-20-4-3) vs Worcester Railers (30-29-7-4)

DCU Center – Worcester, MA

Saturday, April 6, 2019 – 7:05 EST – ECHL Game #960

989 Nash Icon | ECHL.TV

Referee: Jesse Gour (#8)

Linesmen: Guillaume Brunelle (#73), Shane Kanaly (#39)

Match Notes

  • Season series: Game 8 of 8. (Newfoundland leads 5-1-1)
  • These teams last met on February 2nd, 2019. Tyler Barnes and Ryan Hitchcock both scored shorthanded goals in the 5-1 win. Both teams accumulated 34 penalty minutes across nine infractions.
  • Division rankings are almost set for both teams with Newfoundland clinching first in the division with 93 points and Worcester all but clinching last with 71 points.

Players to Watch

  • Nick Sorkin (Worcester) – Sorkin is the current leader in points against Newfoundland with five.
  • Brady Ferguson (Newfoundland) – Ferguson has nine points in five games against the Railers this season.

Railers Notes

  • Mike Cornell is on a three-game point streak. (1-3-4)
  • Mitch Gillam was the starter for both of Worcester’s wins against Newfoundland on January 18 (OT) and February 2.
  • Connor Doherty has penalties in six straight games. (22 minutes)
  • Worcester’s average attendance is 4,196.
  • Railers are on an eight-game losing streak.
  • Worcester is the most penalized team in the north division with 1014 PIMS.
  • Cold Streaks: Alex Vanier (12 games), Yanick Turcotte (12 games), Ryan MacKinnon (7 games), Tommy Kelley (4 games). Bo Brauer (4 games)

Recent Railers Additions, Subtractions, Transactions

  • No new transactions have been announced.

Possible Railers Scratches

  • Evan Buitenhuis – on injured reserve, last played on March 9.
  • Kyle McKenzie – on injured reserve, out for the season.
  • Tommy Panico – on injured reserve, out for the season.
  • Alex Vanier – on injured reserve, last played on February 17.
  • Additional scratches to be determined closer to puck drop.

Growlers Notes

  • Brady Ferguson is on a four-game goal streak.
  • Zach O’Brien is tenth in points.
  • Brady Ferguson, Marcus Power, Scott Pooley, Josh Kestner, and Giorgio Estephan rank in the top 20 in points for rookies.
  • Newfoundland has the second-best penalty kill on the road, allowing just 16 goals while shorthanded.
  • Growlers are 35-16-1-2 in games against other north division teams.
  • Newfoundland is 14-17-1-3 in away games.

Recent Growlers Additions, Subtractions, Transactions

  • Semyon Der-Arguchintsev was assigned to Newfoundland on Friday by the Toronto Maple Leafs.
  • Eric Levine was signed to a SPC on Thursday.
  • Eamon McAdam was recalled to the Toronto Marlies on Thursday.
  • Matthew Whittaker was released on Thursday.

Possible Growlers Scratches

  • Cory Dunn – on reserve, has missed the last two games.
  • Adam Pardy – did not play on Friday.
  • Kristian Pospisil – has not played this season.
  • Marcus Power – did not play Friday.
  • Derian Plouffe – did not play Friday.
  • Todd Skirving – has missed the last two games.

Head-to-Head

 Worcester  Newfoundland
Goals For  2.67 – 25th  3.60 – 3rd
Goals Against  3.13 – 13th  3.43 – 5th
Shots For  32.07 – 12th  32.29 – 11th
Shots Against  32.97 – 19th  36.07 – 27th
Fighting Majors  51  16
Power Play  13.1% – 26th  18.7% – 9th
Penalty Kill  85.3% – 5th  84.7% – 7th
Avg Height / Weight / Age  6′ 1″ / 192 lbs / 24.96 years  6′ 1″ / 193 lbs / 24.57 years

Team Records

Worcester  Newfoundland
Scoring First  19-9-2-3  31-5-3-3
Leading After 1  12-2-2-4  25-4-1-1
Leading After 2  19-1-2-2  33-2-1-2
Tied After 1  11-10-4-0  14-4-2-2
Tied After 2  9-6-2-2  8-2-2-0
Trailing After 1  7-17-1-0  4-12-1-0
Trailing After 2  2-22-3-0  2-16-1-1
Outshooting Opponents  12-13-3-3  24-9-2-1
Out Shot by Opponents  16-15-4-1  18-10-1-1

On the Island and at the Port

  • Hutton, Carpenter Net First Pro Goals in 8-6 loss [Sound Tigers]
  • Islanders face the Capitals today at 7 PM.
  • Sound Tigers host Providence tonight at 7 PM.

Closing Statements

  • The Railers are hosting their fan appreciation night tonight with the following promotions:
    • Boston Bruins Alumni Game at 3:30
    • PawSox Flex Vouchers
    • $2 Mass Lottery Scratch Tickets
  • The Railers will also auction off the Orange Regular Season jerseys during the game. The auction can be found here.
  • For live updates during the game, follow us on Twitter @WooHockeyNews.