Game Story


Worcester, MA — The Worcester Railers suffered a 3-1 loss to the Maine Mariners at the DCU Center in front of 6,045 on Saturday night.

The Railers hosted a Sports Legends-themed night Saturday, hosting local sports legends Rich Gedman, Jose Antonio Rivera, and Tom Poti. To complement the theme, the first 1,500 fans received a Bobby Butler bobblehead. The game was a sell-out crowd with only a limited number of standing-room-only tickets available at the box office before the start of the game. Reece Newkirk prevented a shutout, converting on the power play at 3:20 in the third period. Maine’s goals were scored by Alex Kile, Nate Kallen, and Grant Gabriele. Ken Appleby stopped 42 shots in his second start this weekend, and Michael DiPietro stopped all but one of Worcester’s 36 shots. The Railers have lost seven straight, Mariners have won seven straight following Saturday night’s game.

Alex Kile got the scoring started late in the opening period when he picked up a puck that had hit him in the back of the leg and beat Railer netminder Ken Appleby. Kile’s goal came 20 seconds after the Railers’ first power play expired. Maine led 1-0 after the first period, outshooting Worcester 15-8.

Worcester was shorthanded heading into the second period with Christian Evers heading to the penalty box for cross-checking with 24 seconds left in the opening frame. Maine would have a power play to start the second period, followed by a two-man advantage with Zack Bross joining him at the 49-second mark for holding, and Myles McGurty entering for tripping at 1:20. All penalties would end up expiring, but some tired legs would allow Maine’s second goal just seconds after McGurty left the penalty box.

The Mariners extended their lead to 3-0 when defenseman Grant Gabriele wired home a wrister from the left circle at 3:20 of the third. Worcester matched Maine’s second-period shot barrage with 23 of their own in the third. Nate Kallen would make it 2-0 on a rebound at 3:34. Railers would trail for the second straight night heading into the third period, 2-0, notching just five shots on goal compared to Maine’s 23.

Maine’s lead would be extended to 3-0 at 3:20 of the third period from Grant Gabriele. Reece Newkirk stopped Michael DiPietro’s shutout hopes at 10:06 in the third period which was followed up by a brawl during Newkirk’s goal celebration. Reece Newkirk headed to the penalty box after being cross-checked by Maine’s Tyler Hinam, but the Railers would head back on the power play with Hinam getting two penalties in the exchange. Railers would go on to have 23 shots of their own in the frame, but was ultimately not enough as Maine took this one 3-1. Another brawl would break out after the buzzer after Connor Doherty cross-checked Newkirk, both would avoid any additional infractions with double minors for roughing.

The three stars of Saturday’s game were:

  1. Alex Kile (Maine) – 1 goal, 1 assist
  2. Michael DiPietro (Maine) – win, 35 saves, 0.972 SV%
  3. Bobby Butler (Worcester) – 1 assist

On Saturday night, the Reading Royals emerged victorious with a score of 5-1 against the Norfolk Admirals. Meanwhile, the Adirondack Thunder shut out the Newfoundland Growlers with a score of 5-0. Currently, the Railers hold the fourth-place spot in the North Division, leading by 11 points over the Trois-Rivieres Lions and Adirondack Thunder who are tied with 30 points each.

The Railers’ home 3-in-3 concludes Sunday afternoon against the Trois-Rivieres Lions at 3:05.


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Box Score


Scoring 1 2 3 T
2 1 0 3
0 1 1 2
Shots 1 2 3 T
16 10 11 37
14 10 11 35
Score Team Time Scored by Assisted by Type
1 – 0 16:17 – 1st K. Suthers (9) B. Kapcheck, J. Badini
2 – 0 19:32 – 1st N. Walker (9) P. Gogolev, Z. Solow
3 – 0 2:46 – 2nd T. Skirving (16) D. Plouffe, B. Kruse
3 – 1 16:39 – 2nd B. Beaudoin (11) N. Fea
3 – 2 18:39 – 3rd B. Butler (14) R. Newkirk

Rosters

# Player G A +/- SH PIM
G 30 D. McKay 0 0 0 0 0
G 33 L. Cavallin 0 0 0 0 0
D 3 M. Joyaux 0 0 -1 3 0
D 4 S. Kubicek 0 0 +2 1 0
D 5 B. Kapcheck 0 1 +2 1 0
F 11 D. Plouffe 0 1 -1 3 0
F 14 B. Budgell 0 0 +1 4 0
F 15 T. Skirving 1 0 +1 6 0
F 17 B. Kruse 0 1 +1 1 0
F 19 A. Dawe 0 0 0 0 0
F 21 J. Badini 0 1 +1 1 0
F 25 N. Walker 1 0 -1 2 0
F 27 K. Suthers 1 0 +1 5 6
F 28 Z. Solow 0 1 +1 5 0
D 41 T. Egan 0 0 0 0 0
D 43 J. Melindy 0 0 -1 2 0
D 45 M. Sredl 0 0 0 0 0
F 46 P. Gogolev 0 1 -1 2 4
D 49 A. Samuelsson 0 0 0 1 0
Team:
Totals: 3 6 5 37 10
Player MIN SH SVS GA SV%
30 D. McKay (W) – 35 33 2 –
Totals: – 35 33 2 –
# Player G A +/- SH PIM
G 35 K. Appleby 0 0 0 0 2
G 39 H. Tikkanen 0 0 0 0 0
F 7 L. Coughlin 0 0 -1 0 0
F 8 B. Butler 1 0 0 4 4
D 9 N. Delmas 0 0 -2 2 0
D 10 T. Cosgrove 0 0 -1 4 0
F 11 N. Vesey 0 0 -1 4 0
F 12 B. Beaudoin 1 0 0 3 2
F 13 B. Jerry 0 0 0 0 0
D 15 C. Evers 0 0 +1 0 0
F 18 B. Christensen 0 0 -1 1 0
F 19 Q. Ryan 0 0 +1 2 0
D 20 A. Terchiyev 0 0 0 0 0
F 22 N. Fea 0 1 0 1 0
D 26 J. Brandt 0 0 -1 0 0
D 27 M. McGurty 0 0 +1 2 2
F 29 Z. Bross 0 0 0 3 0
F 37 R. Newkirk 0 1 0 5 2
F 81 A. Repaci 0 0 0 4 0
Team:
Totals: 2 2 -4 35 12
Player MIN SH SVS GJ SV%
35 K. Appleby (L) – 37 34 3 –
Totals: – 37 34 3 –

Penalties

Time Team Player Mins Infraction
5:10 – 1st B. Beaudoin 2 High-sticking – minor (60.2)
6:12 – 1st K. Suthers 2 High-sticking – minor (60.2)
11:07 – 1st K. Suthers 2 Hooking – minor (55.2)
5:39 – 2nd P. Gogolev 2 Interference – minor (56.2)
12:33 – 2nd R. Newkirk 2 Hooking – minor (55.2)
16:39 – 2nd P. Gogolev 2 Hooking – minor (55.2)
19:03 – 2nd B. Butler 2 Tripping – minor (57.2)
2:56 – 3rd K. Suthers 2 Tripping – minor (57.2)
3:28 – 3rd K. Appleby 2 Interference – minor (56.2)
12:28 – 3rd M. McGurty 2 Closing hand on puck (67.2)
15:06 – 3rd B. Butler 2 Hooking – minor (55.2)


Notes

  • Worcester Scratches: Billy Jerry, Brent Moran, Connor McCarthy, Jack Quinlivan, and Philip Beaulieu.
  • Maine Scratches: Alden Weller, Cameron Askew, Conner Bleackley, and Mitchell Fossier.
  • The Railers had their third-largest crowd of the season Saturday night, behind November 8th against Norfolk (7,209) and Opening Night against Adirondack (7,119).
  • The jersey auction of the night was a #10 Blake Christensen Blue Jersey, which was worn during the 2021-22 season.
  • The Railers had the following streaks following Friday night’s game:
    • Liam Coughlin is without a point in his last ten games. His last points were three assists against Newfoundland on December 18.
    • Noah Delmas is without a point in his last eight games.
    • Nick Fea snapped a three-game point streak. (2-2-4)
    • Anthony Repaci is without a point in his last four games.
    • Artur Terchiyev is without a point in his last three games.
    • Jared Brandt is without a point in his last three games.
    • Myles McGurty is without a point in his last three games.

Railers Lines

Forward Lines LW C RW
Forward Line 1 Anthony Repaci #81 Reece Newkirk #37 Bobby Butler #8
Forward Line 2 Nick Fea #22 Collin Adams #21 Quinn Ryan #19
Forward Line 3 Blake Christensen #18 Brent Beaudoin #12 Zack Bross #29
Rotated Forwards Nolan Vesey #11 – Liam Coughlin #7
Defensive Pairings LD RD
Defense Pair 1 Christian Evers #15 Myles McGurty #27
Defense Pair 2 Trevor Cosgrove #10 Noah Delmas #9
Defense Pair 3 Artur Terchiyev #20 Jared Brandt #26
Rotated Defensemen – –
Goalie Tandem G
Starting Goaltender Ken Appleby #35
Backup Goaltender Henrik Tikkanen #39

On-Ice Officials

– –
Referee Yannick Jobin-Manseau (30)
Referee –
Linesman Ryan Robinson (96)
Linesman Nathan Frechette (49)


Highlights

Notable Tweets as the Game Happened


Rich German, Jose Antonio Rivera Pre-Puck Drop Photo


Alex Kile goal (1-0 Mariners)


Nate Kallen goal (2-0 Mariners)


Grant Gabrielle goal (3-0 Mariners)


Reece Newkirk goal (3-1 Mariners)