Game Story


Worcester, MA — The Worcester Railers picked up a crucial two points on Saturday night, defeating the Maine Mariners 8-2 at the DCU Center.

John Muse made his 29th start of the season, picking up his 15th win with 22 saves. Kyle Keyser made his second career start against Worcester, allowing eight goals on 28 shots. Ashton Calder, Anthony Callin, Ryan Verrier, Trevor Cosgrove, Blade Jenkins, Connor Welsh, and Jake Pivonka each scored for Worcester. Zsombor Garat, Reece Newkirk, Christian Krygier, Ryan Scarfo, Riley Piercey, and Keeghan Howdeshell contributed with assists in the Saturday night Slaughter of the Maine Mariners. Christian Sarlo and Ethan Ritchie scored for Maine. It was the most the Railers have scored on home ice since December 17, 2022, where the Railers beat the Newfoundland Growlers 8-3.

In the past week, the Railers have been blown out twice and the way this game started, it started looking like fans were going to see a third one. Christian Sarlo put Maine on the board on a wrist shot a 6:33, on Maine’s fifth shot of the game. Meanwhile, the Railers had yet to maintain possession long enough to get the puck into Maine’s zone. At 6:57, it briefly looked like Maine had scored again with the light going off except Maine missed their shot on the net. A puck from warm-ups had been tucked along the crossbar and dropped behind John Muse, and dropped down at just the right time. Amongst the confusion, it was reviewed and didn’t count. This was a turning point in the period, and the Railers began to slowly wake up, eventually getting their first shots on goal shortly after. Ashton Calder skated solo across the blue line and beat Kyle Keyser with a shot from the high slot to get the game all tied up at 18:18 and from there, the Railers never looked back heading into the second period.

The goals never stopped coming in the second period, with that eventually ending with the Railers leading 5-2. Anthony Callin and Ryan Verrier each scored in the first six minutes to give Worcester a 3-1 lead. Riley Piercey and Cam Askew fought to the left of the Railers bench at 4:19 and after Piercey landed some uppercuts, the fight was broken up. Cam Askew served his penalty and returned to the bench after serving, but did not return for the third period. The Railers momentum was briefly broken by a goal from Ethan Ritchie at 10:50 in the period. On the same play, Tyler Drevitch and Christian Krygier got tied up behind the net and Drevitch seemed to be hurt in the incident but returned for the third period. Trevor Cosgrove scored off the crossbar at 14:26 and Blade Jenkins scored at 17:07 on a one-timer from Reece Newkirk to give the Railers a comfortable 3-point lead heading into the third period.

Connor Welsh made it 6-2 on a shot from the left circle at 12:04, Blade Jenkins was setup on another one-timer a minute and 34 seconds later after Andrei Bakanov stole the puck from Gabriel Chicoine in the Maine zone for a 7-2 lead. A brawl between the teams broke out after Alex Kile boarded Jake Pivonka at 16:24, which sent the Railers on the power play and sent Connor Doherty, Alex Kile, and Christian Krygier to their locker rooms. Pivonka, who seemed uninjured from being boarded, scored on the subsequent power play at 18:22, notching the Railers’ eighth goal of the game.

The three stars of the game were:

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

Railers and Mariners play for their final regular season schedule on Sunday at 3 PM.

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Box Score

Box Score

Scoring 1 2 3 T
1 1 0 2
1 4 3 8
Shots 1 2 3 T
9 7 8 24
7 11 10 28

 

Score Team Time Scored by Assisted by Type
1 – 0 6:33 – 1st C. Sarlo (3) A. Peski, B. Stockdale
1 – 1 18:18 – 1st A. Calder (17)
1 – 2 2:42 – 2nd A. Callin (14) Z. Garat, R. Newkirk
1 – 3 5:56 – 2nd R. Verrier (3) R. Newkirk, B. Jenkins
2 – 3 10:50 – 2nd E. Ritchie (7) A. Peski, B. Kalmikov
2 – 4 14:26 – 2nd T. Cosgrove (11)
2 – 5 17:07 – 2nd B. Jenkins (23) R. Newkirk, C. Krygier
2 – 6 12:04 – 3rd C. Welsh (7) R. Scarfo, R. Piercey
2 – 7 13:38 – 3rd B. Jenkins (24) A. Bakanov
2 – 8 18:22 – 3rd J. Pivonka (21) A. Calder, K. Howdeshell PP

Rosters

# Player G A +/- SH PIM
G 35 K. Keyser 0 0 0 0 0
G 40 S. Starrett 0 0 0 0 0
D 2 A. Peski 0 2 +1 4 0
D 3 G. Chicoine 0 0 -3 0 0
D 5 A. Sheehy 0 0 -2 0 0
F 7 O. Pederson 0 0 -3 2 0
F 8 S. Vidmar 0 0 -1 0 0
F 9 B. Kalmikov 0 1 -2 0 0
F 10 C. Sarlo 1 0 -1 2 0
F 11 G. Ness 0 0 -1 0 0
F 12 X. Lamppa 0 0 -1 0 0
F 18 B. Stockdale 0 1 +1 1 0
F 19 C. Askew 0 0 -1 2 5
D 21 E. Ritchie 1 0 -1 3 0
F 23 A. Kile 0 0 -2 2 4
F 24 A. Mechura 0 0 -5 3 0
D 27 Z. Malatesta 0 0 -4 3 0
D 28 C. Doherty 0 0 -1 0 4
F 42 T. Drevitch 0 0 +1 2 0
Team:
Totals: 2 4 -25 24 13
Player MIN SH SVS GA SV%
35 K. Keyser (L) 28 20 8
Totals: 28 20 8
# Player G A +/- SH PIM
G 39 H. Tikkanen 0 0 0 0 0
G 40 J. Muse 0 0 0 0 0
D 3 R. Verrier 1 0 +1 1 2
D 8 C. Krygier 0 1 +1 0 4
F 9 R. Scarfo 0 1 +2 0 0
D 10 T. Cosgrove 1 0 +2 3 0
F 11 A. Bakanov 0 1 +2 3 0
F 12 J. Cipollone 0 0 -1 0 0
F 13 J. Pivonka 1 0 0 1 0
F 15 B. Robbins 0 0 0 0 0
F 16 A. Calder 1 1 +1 4 0
F 17 K. Howdeshell 0 1 +1 1 2
F 19 B. Jenkins 2 1 +4 2 0
D 26 C. Welsh 1 0 +3 3 0
F 29 R. Piercey 0 1 0 0 7
F 37 R. Newkirk 0 3 +4 3 0
F 44 A. Callin 1 0 +2 3 2
D 70 Z. Garat 0 1 +2 2 0
D 88 A. Kulakov 0 0 +1 2 0
Team:
Totals: 8 11 25 28 17
Player MIN SH SVS GJ SV%
40 J. Muse (W) 24 22 2
Totals: 24 22 2

Penalties

Time Team Player Mins Infraction
3:57 – 1st R. Piercey 2 Hooking – minor (55.2)
14:08 – 1st A. Callin 2 Slashing – minor (61.2)
4:19 – 2nd C. Askew 5 Fighting – Major (46.14)
4:19 – 2nd R. Piercey 5 Fighting – Major (46.14)
16:24 – 3rd C. Doherty 4 Double Minor – Roughing
16:24 – 3rd A. Kile 2 Boarding – minor (41.2)
16:24 – 3rd A. Kile 2 Roughing – minor (51.2)
16:24 – 3rd C. Krygier 4 Double Minor – Roughing
16:24 – 3rd R. Verrier 2 Roughing – minor (51.2)
19:18 – 3rd K. Howdeshell 2 Bench minor – Too many men (74.2)


Notes

  • Worcester Scratches: Anthony Repaci, Austin Heidemann, CJ Regula, Jack Quinlivan, John Copeland, Ryan Dickinson, Tristan Lennox, and Zach White.
  • Maine Scratches: Brad Arvanitis, Chase Zieky, Fedor Gordeev, François Brassard, Gabe Guertler, Jason Horvath, Nathan Noel, and Wyllum Deveaux.
  • The team auctioned off their orange alternate jerseys during the game, here are the auction results:
    • Ryan Verrier #3 – $600
    • Zach White #5 – $1000
    • Christian Krygier #8 – $450
    • Ryan Scarfo #9 – $350
    • Trevor Cosgrove #10 – $450
    • Andrei Bakanov #11 – $500
    • Joey Cipollone #12 – $450
    • Jake Pivonka #13 – $405
    • Brendan Robbins #15 – $500
    • Ashton Calder #16 – $400
    • Keeghan Howdeshell #17 – $400
    • CJ Regula #18 – $400
    • Blade Jenkins #19 – $500
    • Austin Heidemann #20 – $400
    • Jack Quinlivan #24 – $800
    • Ryan Dickinson #25 – $400
    • Connor Welsh #26 – $1000
    • John Copeland #27 – $375
    • Riley Piercey #29 – $475
    • Reece Newkirk #37 – $425
    • John Muse #40 – $475
    • Henrik Tikkanen #39 – $600
    • Anthony Callin #44 – $429
    • Zsombor Garat #70 – $475
    • Anthony Repaci #81 – $700
    • Artyom Kulakov #88 – $575
    • Trax #7 – $1500
  • Following Saturday night’s game, the Railers had the following scoring streaks and droughts:
    • Trevor Cosgrove is on a three-game point streak. (2-1-3)
    • Joey Cipollone is without a point in his last three games.
    • Ashton Calder is on a three-game point streak. (1-3-4)
    • Keeghan Howdeshell snapped a three-game scoring drought.
    • Blade Jenkins is on a five-game point streak. (4-6-10)
    • Riley Piercey is without a point in his last fourteen games.
    • Zsombor Garat snapped a three-game scoring drought.

Railers Lines

Forward Lines LW C RW
Forward Line 1 Andrei Bakanov #11 Blade Jenkins #19 Anthony Callin #44
Forward Line 2 Reece Newkirk #37 Jake Pivonka #13 Ashton Calder #16
Forward Line 3 Keeghan Howdeshell #17 Zach White #5 Brendan Robbins #15
Rotated Forwards Riley Piercey #29 Joey Cipollone #12
Defensive Pairings LD RD
Defense Pair 1 Christian Krygier #8 Trevor Cosgrove #10
Defense Pair 2 Ryan Verrier #3 Connor Welsh #26
Defense Pair 3 Zsombor Garat #70 Artyom Kulakov #88
Rotated Defensemen
Goalie Tandem G
Starting Goaltender John Muse #40
Backup Goaltender Henrik Tikkanen #39

On-Ice Officials

Referee Tyler Hascall (8)
Referee
Linesman Shane Kanaly (74)
Linesman Antoine Bujold-Roux (72)




Notable Tweets as the Game Happened