Game Story


Worcester, MA — The Worcester Railers wrapped up their annual Pink in the Rink weekend with a 3-2 win over the Maine Mariners on Saturday night.

John Muse picked up his ninth win of the season and made his fourth straight start of the season with 26 saves of the night. Shane Starrett made 26 saves for the Mariners in his second career appearance against Worcester (0-2-0). Artyom Kulakov, Anthony Repaci, and Jake Pivonka each scored for Worcester. Repaci and Pivonka’s goals were both shorthanded, Pivonka’s was an empty net goal. William Provost and Ethan Ritchie scored for Maine. Blade Jenkins extended his point streak to nine games with an assist on Kulakov’s goal. He has 17 points (11-6-17) in that span.

The game featured Worcester donning Pink in the Rink specialty jerseys, contrasting with Maine’s green attire, reminiscent of “Pepto Bismol vs Guacamole,” as described by one fan on X. The Railers wore the pink jerseys as part of an auction benefiting The Cup Crusaders. The attendance was listed at 6,337, which the team considers a sell-out.

Neither team scored in the opening period with Worcester outshooting Maine 10-5. The Railers had several scoring opportunities and did everything but get the puck in the back of the net.

Artyom Kulakov broke the scoreless tie at 5:52 on a rush into the Maine zone with Ashton Calder, Calder carried the puck into the zone and passed the puck to Kulakov past a couple of Maine skaters and Kulakov sent it to the corner of the net for his second goal of the season. Anthony Repaci brought it to two goals while shorthanded nine minutes later, deflecting a shot from Connor Welsh at the crease which made it 2-0. Both teams had nine shots in the period.

Maine looked to stage a comeback, as they did Friday night with William Provost getting a nice shot from the left circle at 12:57 to get the Mariners on the board. Worcester had three bodies in front of the net and Provost found a direct path through them. The Railers would go shorthanded with 2:10 left in regulation with Trevor Cosgrove in the box for a high-sticking penalty and as such, Maine pulled Starett for the 6-on-4 advantage. A minute and four seconds into the penalty kill, Jake Pivonka got control of the puck and sent a hail mary of a shot from the Railers zone into the empty net for a much-needed insurance goal. With Cosgrove still in the box, Starett was again pulled for the 6-on-4 advantage, where Ethan Ritchie brought Maine back to within one, but the Railers held the 3-2 lead for the remaining 42.5 seconds left in the game.

The three stars of the game were:

  1. Anthony Repaci (Worcester) – 1 goal, 1 assist
  2. John Muse (Worcester) – win, 26 saves, 0.929 SV%
  3. Artyom Kulakov (Worcester) – 1 goal

Following Saturday’s game, the Railers still hold third place in points percentage in the North Division. Norfolk, Worcester, Newfoundland, and Maine each have five or more wins in their last ten games. Newfoundland beat Greenville 5-1 earlier on Saturday night. Norfolk beat Trois-Rivieries 4-3 in overtime. Adirondack lost their second game to Florida 3-1. Reading was shut out 3-0 by Wheeling. It’s a rare Sunday with no games being played throughout the ECHL.

The Railers head to Orlando to face the Solar Bears, kicking off their southern road trip on Monday at 7 p.m. They’ll return to the DCU Center on March 2nd.

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Box Score


Scoring 1 2 3 T
0 0 2 2
0 2 1 3
Shots 1 2 3 T
5 9 14 28
10 9 12 31

 

Score Team Time Scored by Assisted by Type
0 – 1 5:52 – 2nd A. Kulakov (2) A. Calder, A. Repaci
0 – 2 15:04 – 2nd A. Repaci (15) C. Welsh, B. Jenkins SH
1 – 2 12:57 – 3rd W. Provost (8) A. Sheehy
1 – 3 18:54 – 3rd J. Pivonka (12) EN.SH
2 – 3 19:23 – 3rd C. Zieky (9) R. Mast, W. Deveaux 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 3 G. Chicoine 0 0 -2 1 0
F 4 W. Deveaux 0 1 -2 1 0
D 5 A. Sheehy 0 1 +1 0 2
D 6 J. Horvath 0 0 0 2 0
F 9 B. Kalmikov 0 0 -1 3 0
F 10 W. Provost 1 0 -2 4 0
D 12 J. Solow 0 0 0 1 2
F 16 N. Noel 0 0 -2 0 0
F 19 C. Askew 0 0 -1 1 0
D 21 E. Ritchie 0 0 0 1 0
F 23 A. Kile 0 0 -1 2 0
F 24 A. Mechura 0 0 -1 3 0
D 27 Z. Malatesta 0 0 -1 1 2
F 29 C. Zieky 1 0 0 6 0
D 41 R. Mast 0 1 0 2 0
F 42 T. Drevitch 0 0 +1 0 0
Team:
Totals: 2 3 -11 28 6
Player MIN SH SVS GA SV%
40 S. Starrett (L) – 30 28 2 –
Empty Net – 1 1 –
Totals: – 31 28 3 –
# Player G A +/- SH PIM
G 30 C. Ceci 0 0 0 0 0
G 40 J. Muse 0 0 0 0 0
D 3 R. Verrier 0 0 0 0 0
D 8 C. Krygier 0 0 +2 0 0
D 10 T. Cosgrove 0 0 0 2 2
F 11 A. Bakanov 0 0 -1 4 0
F 12 J. Cipollone 0 0 0 0 0
F 13 J. Pivonka 1 0 +2 2 2
F 16 A. Calder 0 1 +2 1 0
F 17 K. Howdeshell 0 0 0 4 0
F 19 B. Jenkins 0 1 +1 3 0
F 23 T. Goehring 0 0 -1 2 2
F 24 J. Quinlivan 0 0 0 2 0
D 25 R. Dickinson 0 0 0 2 2
D 26 C. Welsh 0 1 +2 1 0
F 29 R. Piercey 0 0 0 0 0
F 44 A. Callin 0 0 -1 4 0
F 81 A. Repaci 1 1 +2 2 0
D 88 A. Kulakov 1 0 0 2 0
Team:
Totals: 3 4 8 31 8
Player MIN SH SVS GJ SV%
40 J. Muse (W) – 28 26 2 –
Totals: – 28 26 2 –

Penalties

Time Team Player Mins Infraction
3:52 – 1st A. Sheehy 2 Delay of Game (63.2)
9:17 – 2nd Z. Malatesta 2 Cross-Checking Minor (59.2)
9:17 – 2nd R. Dickinson 2 Cross-Checking Minor (59.2)
13:22 – 2nd J. Pivonka 2 Tripping – minor (57.2)
20:00 – 2nd T. Goehring 2 Interference – minor (56.2)
3:33 – 3rd J. Solow 2 Hooking – minor (55.2)
17:50 – 3rd T. Cosgrove 2 High-sticking – minor (60.2)


Notes

  • Worcester Scratches: Brendan Robbins, John Copeland, Tristan Lennox, Zach White, and Zsombor Garat.
  • Maine Scratches: Andrew Peski, Austin Albrecht, Brad Arvanitis, Connor Doherty, Curtis Hall, François Brassard, Gabe Guertler, Jimmy Lambert, and Owen Pederson. Maine skated with 16 players on Saturday.
  • The results of the post-game auction were:
    • John Muse – $650
    • Trevor Cosgrove – $425
    • Ashton Calder – $400
    • Blade Jenkins – $600
    • Anthony Repaci – $525
  • Following Saturday night’s game, the Railers had the following scoring streaks and droughts:
    • Ryan Verrier is without a point in his last four games.
    • Trevor Cosgrove snapped a three-game point streak. (1-4-5)
    • Andrei Bakanov is without a point in his last three games.
    • Joey Cipollone is without a point in his last three games.
    • Keeghan Howdeshell is without a point in his last four games.
    • Blade Jenkins extended his point streak to nine games with an assist. (11-6-17)

Railers Lines

Forward Lines LW C RW
Forward Line 1 Anthony Repaci #81 Blade Jenkins #19 Anthony Callin #44
Forward Line 2 Riley Piercey #29 Jake Pivonka #13 Ashton Calder #16
Forward Line 3 Keeghan Howdeshell #17 Joey Cipollone #12 Jack Quinlivan #24
Rotated Forwards Andrei Bakanov #11 – Todd Goehring #23
Defensive Pairings LD RD
Defense Pair 1 Trevor Cosgrove #10 Ryan Dickinson #25
Defense Pair 2 Ryan Verrier #3 Artyom Kulakov #88
Defense Pair 3 Connor Welsh #26 Christian Krygier #8
Rotated Defensemen – –
Goalie Tandem G
Starting Goaltender John Muse #40
Backup Goaltender Cole Ceci #30

On-Ice Officials

– –
Referee Yannick Jobin-Manseau (30)
Referee –
Linesman Stephen Drain (52)
Linesman Nicolas Boivin (82)




Notable Tweets as the Game Happened


Railers Lines


Arena View during Warmups


Artyom Kulakov goal (1-0 Worcester)


Pretty in Pink


Anthony Repaci goal (2-0 Worcester)


William Provost goal (2-1 Worcester)


Jake Pivonka goal (3-1 Worcester)


Ethan Ritchie goal (3-2 Worcester)