Game Story


Worcester, MA – The Worcester Railers beat the Maine Mariners in the first of back-to-back games at the DCU Center on Saturday night, 5-1.

John Muse made his 10th start of the season in a Railers jersey, stopping 30 of 31 shots from Maine and earning an assist on the Railers’ fifth goal. Ryan Bischel, in net for Maine, allowed four goals while making 20 saves against Worcester. Brenden Rons, Matt Kopperud, Anthony Callin, and Anthony Repaci each recorded a goal and an assist. Connor Welsh, Griffin Loughran, and Connor Welsh added assists, with Cole Donhauser securing the win with an empty-net goal. Xander Laampa scored Maine’s lone goal. The Railers improved their record to 10-14-1-2, snapping a five-game losing streak (0-3-1-1). This marks their second win in December, following a 2-1 overtime victory against Maine on December 6.

Brenden Rons opened the scoring with his first professional goal, beating Ryan Bischel at 1:15 of the first period. However, the Railers’ lead was short-lived as Xander Laampa tied the game just 1 minute and 31 seconds later, slipping one past John Muse’s right side. The score remained 1-1 through the end of the first.

There was a brief stoppage in play at the 7:26 mark as officials addressed an issue with Maine’s lineup. Forward Matt Philip was not initially listed on the scoresheet for Saturday night’s game but still took the ice and was involved in Maine’s only goal. He was sent to the locker room but later returned and was added to the scoresheet at the start of the second period. The issue is believed to have been caused by an issue with the lineup submission, which was is now done electronically starting this season. The Railers release for this game notes that Philip was omitted from the lineup due to a case of ineligibility, though in the first intermission this was cleared up with an email from the league. Initially credited with a secondary assist on Laampa’s goal, Philip’s assist was later correctly credited to Justin Bean.

In the second period, Anthony Repaci regained Worcester’s lead just 19 seconds in, scoring on the backdoor of Ryan Bischel off a nice pass from Griffin Loughran from the left side to the right side of the net. Exactly a minute later, Anthony Callin capitalized on a 5-on-3 advantage with a snipe from the left circle to the top right corner, extending Worcester’s lead to 3-1 with his third goal of the season.

Matt Kopperud added to the lead at 6:21 of the third period with a quick shot over Bischel’s shoulder, giving Worcester a three-goal cushion. Finally, Cole Donhauser sealed the game with an empty-net goal with 1:16 remaining. The play was set up by John Muse, whose initial shot from the crease was blocked by Justin Bean before Matt Boudens collected the puck and passed it up-ice to Donhauser, who put the game away.

The three stars of Saturday night’s game were:

  1. John Muse (Worcester) – 30 saves, win, assist
  2. Brenden Rons (Worcester) – 1 goal, 1 assist, +2
  3. Anthony Repaci (Worcester) – 1 goal, 1 assist

In other North Division action on Saturday night, the Reading Royals defeated the Adirondack Thunder 6-3 in Glens Falls. The Trois-Rivieres Lions triumphed over the Norfolk Admirals 3-2 at the Norfolk Scope, while the Wheeling Nailers extended their dominance with a 5-2 win over the Toledo Walleye at the Huntington Center.

The Baby Isles fell 6-3 to the Charlotte Checkers, Henrik Tikkanen played the first two periods and five goals before being substituted for Jakub Skarek. Former Railer Ken Appleby was the goaltender for Charlotte, stopping 21 of 23 shots.

The Railers wrap up their season-long eight-game homestand on Sunday, hosting the Maine Mariners at 3:05 p.m.

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Box Score


Scoring 1 2 3 T
1 0 0 1
1 2 2 5
Shots 1 2 3 T
9 7 15 31
8 8 9 25
Score Team Time Scored by Assisted by Type
0 – 1 1:15 – 1st B. Rons (1) M. Kopperud, A. Callin
1 – 1 2:46 – 1st X. Lamppa (2) S. Vidmar, J. Bean
1 – 2 0:19 – 2nd A. Repaci (18) G. Loughran
1 – 3 1:19 – 2nd A. Callin (3) C. Welsh, A. Repaci PP
1 – 4 6:21 – 3rd M. Kopperud (7) G. Luce, B. Rons
1 – 5 18:44 – 3rd C. Donhauser (3) M. Boudens, J. Muse EN

Rosters

# Player G A +/- SH PIM
G 1 B. Arvanitis 0 0 0 0 0
G 30 R. Bischel 0 0 0 0 0
D 2 Z. Massicotte 0 0 -1 2 0
D 3 M. Underwood 0 0 -1 1 2
D 5 A. Sheehy 0 0 -1 1 2
D 6 T. Thurston 0 0 -1 0 0
F 7 O. Pederson 0 0 0 0 0
F 8 J. Hudson 0 0 0 1 0
F 9 B. Kalmikov 0 0 -2 2 0
F 10 C. Sarlo 0 0 -3 0 0
F 17 M. Philip 0 0 +1 3 0
F 18 C. Johnson 0 0 -1 4 0
F 19 X. Lamppa 1 0 +1 1 2
F 22 S. Vidmar 0 1 +1 1 0
F 23 J. Lambert 0 0 -1 3 0
D 25 C. Berger 0 0 -1 1 0
D 26 J. Bean 0 1 -1 2 0
F 27 P. Guay 0 0 -2 4 0
F 29 C. Zieky 0 0 -1 0 0
F 41 E. Vierling 0 0 -3 5 0
Team:
Player MIN SH SVS GA SV%
30 R. Bischel (L) 58:30 24 20 4 0.833
Empty Net 00:00 1 1 0.000
Totals: 58:30 25 20 5 0.000
# Player G A +/- SH PIM
G 32 M. Bullion 0 0 0 0 0
G 40 J. Muse 0 1 0 0 0
F 9 R. Ginnell 0 0 -1 1 0
F 10 J. Kaplan 0 0 +1 0 0
F 12 K. Johnson 0 0 -1 2 0
D 14 M. Rajaniemi 0 0 -1 2 0
C 15 J. Dudek 0 0 0 0 0
F 16 G. Loughran 0 1 +1 0 2
D 17 B. Rons 1 1 +2 1 0
F 18 M. Kopperud 1 1 +2 3 0
F 19 R. Piercey 0 0 +2 0 0
D 22 G. Luce 0 1 +2 2 0
F 23 M. Boudens 0 1 +1 0 0
D 24 M. Klee 0 0 +2 0 0
D 25 R. Dickinson 0 0 -1 0 0
D 26 C. Welsh 0 1 +2 2 0
F 29 C. Donhauser 1 0 +1 2 2
F 33 L. Hatten 0 0 -1 2 0
F 44 A. Callin 1 1 +3 3 0
F 81 A. Repaci 1 1 +1 5 4
Team:
Player MIN SH SVS GA SV%
40 J. Muse (W) – 31 30 1 –
Totals: – 31 30 1 –

Penalties

Time Team Player Mins Infraction
3:43 – 1st G. Loughran 2 Slashing – minor (61.2)
15:24 – 1st A. Sheehy 2 Holding – minor (54.2)
0:55 – 2nd M. Underwood 2 Cross-Checking Minor (59.2)
1:06 – 2nd X. Lamppa 2 Slashing – minor (61.2)
11:24 – 2nd A. Repaci 4 High-sticking – double minor (60.3)
18:33 – 2nd C. Donhauser 2 Hooking – minor (55.2)


Notes

  • Worcester Scratches: Christian Krygier, Matt DeMelis, and Ryan Mahshie.
  • Maine Scratches: Cory Dennis, Nick Jermain, Nolan Maier, and Wyllum Deveaux.
  • Former Rochester American Dan Collins joined Nick Tuzzolino behind the bench for Saturday night’s game. While no official announcement has been made about Collins joining the coaching staff permanently, it’s assumed this is on a volunteer basis, similar to Bob Deraney’s role before he was formally named assistant head coach during the 2023-24 season. Additionally, the Railers’ website has yet to reflect updates on Deraney’s appointment as Director of Scouting and Tuzzolino’s roles as Head Coach and General Manager. There does not appear to be any overlap in Collins or Tuzzolino’s playing careers where they played in the same league. Collins is from Syracuse, New York, Tuzzolino is from Buffalo, New York.
  • The team completed two trades on Monday. According to a press release, the Railers traded Colin Jacobs to the Allen Americans in exchange for forward Ryan Mahshie. Additionally, the Railers acquired forward Matt Boudens from the Cincinnati Cyclones, finalizing a trade from August that sent Keeghan Howdeshell to Cincinnati. Howdeshell, who was released earlier this season after five games without registering a point, has not signed anywhere after his release.
  • On Tuesday, the Railers lost Jack Randl and Cam McDonald, who were recalled to Bridgeport. Randl was scratched for Saturday’s road game in Charlotte, and they play there again on Sunday.
  • Following Saturday night’s game, the Railers had the following scoring streaks and droughts:
    • Riley Grinnell is without a point in his last eight games.
    • Jordan Kaplan snapped a three-game scoring streak. (2-2-4)
    • Kolby Johnson is without a point in his last seven games.
    • Matias Rajaniemi is without a point in all 23 games played this season.
    • JD Dudek is without a point in all 7 games he’s played in this season.
    • Griffin Loughran is on a four-game point streak. (2-2-4)
    • Brendan Rons snapped a nine-game scoring drought with a goal and an assist.
    • Matt Boudens snapped a 15-game scoring drought with an assist.
    • Mason Klee is without a point in his last six games.
    • Ryan Dickinson is without a point in his last seven games.
    • Lincoln Hatten is without a point in his last four games.
    • Anthony Repaci is on a three-game point streak. (2-4-6)

Railers Lines

Forward Lines LW C RW
Forward Line 1 Anthony Repaci #81 Jordan Kaplan #10 Griffin Loughran #16
Forward Line 2 Riley Piercey #19 Anthony Callin #44 Matthew Kopperud #18
Forward Line 3 Matthew Boudens #23 JD Dudek #15 Cole Donhauser #29
Forward Line 4 – Lincoln Hatten #33 Kolby Johnson #12
Defensive Pairings LD RD
Defense Pair 1 Connor Welsh #26 Griffin Luce #22
Defense Pair 2 Brenden Rons #17 Mason Klee #24
Defense Pair 3 Matias Rajaniemi #14 Ryan Dickinson #25
Rotated Defensemen – –
Goalie Tandem G
Starting Goaltender John Muse #40
Backup Goaltender Michael Bullion #32

On-Ice Officials

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Referee Nolan Bloyer (31)
Referee Alexandre Gagne (44)
Linesman Matthew Heinen (93)
Linesman Jack McQuesten (53)

Highlights

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Notable Tweets as the Game Happened


Railers Lines


Xander Laampa goal


Brendan Rons goal


Anthony Repaci goal


Anthony Callin goal


Matt Kopperud goal


Cole Donhauser goal