Game Story

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

Michael Bullion made his fourth start of the season, securing his third consecutive win with 25 saves. Nolan Maier also made his fourth start of the season, stopping 19 of 24 shots. Saturday’s game marked Maier’s thirteenth start against Worcester, though his previous starts came with the Reading Royals. Worcester’s goals came from Riley Piercey, Jack Randl, and Anthony Repaci, while Sebastian Vidmar scored Maine’s only goal. Five Railers notched multi-point performances: Anthony Repaci (3 goals), Connor Welsh (2 assists), Riley Piercey (1 goal, 1 assist), Jack Randl (1 goal, 1 assist), and Jordan Kaplan (3 assists). This was the second time this season the Railers won by a four-goal margin—the first was a 4-0 shutout against Maine on October 27. Attendance for the game was listed as a sellout with 5,720 fans. In honor of “Railers Fight Cancer” night, the team wore special lavender and cream jerseys, which were auctioned off to benefit Why Me & Sherry’s House, a Central Massachusetts nonprofit supporting families affected by childhood cancer.

Neither team scored in the first twenty minutes of play. The Railers took two penalties in the opening ten minutes, but Maine couldn’t capitalize. Worcester also had a power play opportunity but couldn’t convert. The first period ended scoreless, with Maine holding a slight edge in shots, outshooting Worcester 10-6.

Riley Piercey gave Worcester an early lead just 94 seconds into the second period. He received a pass from Connor Welsh along the boards, then fired the puck off the far post from the left circle to score his fourth goal of the season. However, the lead was short-lived as Sebastian Vidmar quickly equalized 2:12 later. Vidmar scored off a rebound from Mason Millman, with Michael Bullion unable to recover from his initial save, allowing Vidmar to beat him from the right side. The Railers regained the lead at 7:54 of the period when Jack Randl, teaming up with Jordan Kaplan on a rush, netted his third goal of the season. Worcester had a chance to extend their lead with a power play late in the period after Drew Bavaro was sent to the box for Maine, but they were unable to convert any of their shots on goal. The shots in the period were 9-7, bringing the total to 17-15 in favor of Maine heading into the third.

Anthony Repaci started his scoring spree just 33 seconds into the third period, finishing a feed from Jordan Kaplan behind the net. Fourteen minutes later, Repaci found the back of the net again after a rush into the zone by Kaplan. Facing a 3-on-1, Kaplan passed the puck back to Repaci in the right circle, where he fired it past Nolan Maier to score top-shelf. A minute into the ensuing power play, Repaci completed the hat trick—his third as a Railer—extending Worcester’s lead to 5-1, which would stand as the final score.

The three stars of Saturday’s game were:

  1. Anthony Repaci (Worcester) – 3 goals, +2
  2. Michael Bullion (Worcester) – win, 25 saves, 0.962 SV%
  3. Jordan Kaplan (Worcester) – 3 goals

All seven North Division teams took the ice on Saturday night. Three hours west of Worcester, the Norfolk Admirals dealt the Adirondack Thunder their first regulation loss of the season with a 3-2 victory. In Indianapolis, Reading played the first of two games against the Indy Fuel, winning 5-2. Meanwhile, the Trois-Rivières Lions dropped a close one, 4-3, to the Wheeling Nailers, splitting their weekend series after Trois-Rivières had edged out a 5-4 overtime win on Friday night.

The homestand continues into Sunday, where the Norfolk Admirals will come into town for a 3:05 p.m. puck drop.

Box Score

Scoring 1 2 3 T
0 1 0 1
0 2 3 5
Shots 1 2 3 T
10 7 9 26
6 9 9 24
Score Team Time Scored by Assisted by Type
0 – 1 1:34 – 2nd R. Piercey (4) C. Welsh, J. Gill
1 – 1 3:46 – 2nd S. Vidmar (1) M. Millman, W. Deveaux
1 – 2 7:54 – 2nd J. Randl (3) J. Kaplan, C. Welsh
1 – 3 0:33 – 3rd A. Repaci (3) J. Kaplan, R. Dickinson
1 – 4 14:35 – 3rd A. Repaci (4) J. Kaplan, J. Randl
1 – 5 16:53 – 3rd A. Repaci (5) C. McDonald, R. Piercey PP

Rosters

# Player G A +/- SH PIM
G 1 B. Arvanitis 0 0 0 0 0
G 73 N. Maier 0 0 0 0 0
D 2 Z. Massicotte 0 0 0 1 0
D 3 M. Underwood 0 0 0 1 0
F 4 W. Deveaux 0 1 +1 0 0
F 7 O. Pederson 0 0 -2 2 0
F 8 J. Hudson 0 0 0 1 0
F 9 B. Kalmikov 0 0 -1 1 0
F 11 S. Vidmar 1 0 +1 4 4
D 12 M. Millman 0 1 -2 2 0
F 15 B. Stockdale 0 0 -1 2 0
F 18 C. Johnson 0 0 0 0 0
F 19 X. Lamppa 0 0 -1 0 0
F 20 N. Jermain 0 0 -1 1 2
D 21 D. Bavaro 0 0 -2 5 2
F 23 J. Lambert 0 0 -1 3 0
D 26 J. Bean 0 0 -1 0 0
F 27 P. Guay 0 0 -2 1 0
F 41 E. Vierling 0 0 -2 1 0
D 42 D. Gally 0 0 -1 1 0
Team:
Player MIN SH SVS GA SV%
73 N. Maier (L) – 24 19 5 –
Totals: – 24 19 5 –
# Player G A +/- SH PIM
G 32 M. Bullion 0 0 0 0 0
G 40 J. Muse 0 0 0 0 0
F 7 J. Gill 0 1 +1 2 0
F 10 J. Kaplan 0 3 +2 1 0
F 11 J. Randl 1 1 +2 1 0
F 12 K. Johnson 0 0 0 0 0
F 13 A. Bakanov 0 0 0 0 0
D 14 M. Rajaniemi 0 0 +2 1 0
F 16 G. Loughran 0 0 0 0 2
F 18 M. Kopperud 0 0 +1 3 0
F 19 R. Piercey 1 1 +1 1 4
D 22 G. Luce 0 0 +1 2 2
C 23 C. Jacobs 0 0 -1 1 0
D 24 M. Klee 0 0 +1 1 0
D 25 R. Dickinson 0 1 +1 0 0
D 26 C. Welsh 0 2 +2 3 0
D 27 C. McDonald 0 1 0 2 0
F 29 C. Donhauser 0 0 0 0 0
F 37 M. DeMelis 0 0 0 2 0
F 81 A. Repaci 3 0 +2 4 0
Team:
Player MIN SH SVS GJ SV%
32 M. Bullion (W) – 26 25 1 –
Totals: – 26 25 1 –

Penalties

Time Team Player Mins Infraction
3:36 – 1st R. Piercey 2 Hooking – minor (55.2)
7:21 – 1st G. Luce 2 Tripping – minor (57.2)
14:38 – 1st S. Vidmar 2 Hooking – minor (55.2)
11:55 – 2nd D. Bavaro 2 Tripping – minor (57.2)
5:47 – 3rd R. Piercey 2 Hooking – minor (55.2)
9:07 – 3rd N. Jermain 2 Hooking – minor (55.2)
15:52 – 3rd S. Vidmar 2 Tripping – minor (57.2)
18:00 – 3rd G. Loughran 2 High-sticking – minor (60.2)

Notes

  • Worcester scratches: Anthony Callin, Brenden Rons, Cole Crowder, JD Dudek, Lincoln Hatten, and Ryan Verrier.
  • Maine scratches: Alex Sheehy, Christian Berger, Christian Sarlo, Garrett Devine, Jake Willets, Jason Horvath, Matthew Philip, and Turner Ripplinger.
  • The Worcester Railers sported special lavender “Railers Fight Cancer” jerseys, which were auctioned off during and after the game. Proceeds from the auction went to Why Me & Sherry’s House, a Central Massachusetts nonprofit dedicated to supporting families affected by childhood cancer.
  • On Monday, the Railers announced that their November 8 game was rescheduled to Saturday, December 7 at 6:05 pm due to ice repairs at the DCU Center. During the Railers’ road trip, the arena hosted events like Disney on Ice and an Iron Maiden concert, and a Holy Cross game originally set for the DCU Center was moved to the Hart Center.
  • On Tuesday, the Railers and Bridgeport Islanders made roster moves, with Henrik Tikkanen recalled by Bridgeport and John Muse released from his PTO after serving as backup last Saturday. The Railers also signed forward Kolby Johnson to an ECHL contract. Johnson, a 6’3″, 212 lb forward, joins from the Pensacola Ice Flyers (SPHL), where he logged three games with one goal, 30 penalty minutes, and a -1 rating. Previously, he started the season in the Tulsa Oilers’ training camp and played in 2023-24 with the Macon Mayhem (SPHL) and Danbury Hat Tricks (FPHL), earning six points and 79 penalty minutes across 10 games.
  • On Wednesday, the Railers placed Cole Crowder on 3-day injured reserve and Anthony Callin on 14-day injured reserve after Callin had already missed last weekend’s games. Additionally, the team acquired defenseman Brenden Rons, 26, from the Rapid City Rush for future considerations. Rons, who played one game this season for Rapid City, played 110 NCAA games over five years at Ferris State and Lindenwood, posting 11 points and 58 penalty minutes.
  • The post-game live auction results were:
    • Justin Gill #7 – $400
    • Connor Welsh #26 w/ A – $400
    • Matt Kopperud #18 – $350
    • Michael Bullion #32 – $400
    • Anthony Repaci #81 w/ C – $1,000
  • The Railers had the following scoring streaks:
    • Matias Rajaniemi is without a point in all eight games this season.
    • Ryan Dickinson has assists in three straight games. (0-3-3)
    • Connor Welsh is on a four-game point streak. (2-4-6)
    • Cam McDonald snapped a three-game pointless streak with an assist.
    • Matt DeMelis is without a point in his last three games.
  • For up-to-date news on all things Worcester Hockey, Like us on Facebook at Woo Hockey – Worcester Hockey News, Follow us on Twitter @WooHockeyNews, and join our Facebook Group – Worcester Railers Fan Club.

Railers Lines

Forward Lines LW C RW
Forward Line 1 Riley Piercey #19 Matthew Kopperud #18 Justin Gill #7
Forward Line 2 Jack Randl #11 Jordan Kaplan #10 Anthony Repaci #81
Forward Line 3 Andrei Bakanov #13 Matt DeMelis #37 Griffin Loughran #16
Forward Line 4 Kolby Johnson #12 Colin Jacobs #23 Cole Donhauser #29
Defensive Pairings LD RD
Defense Pair 1 Griffin Luce #22 Connor Welsh #26
Defense Pair 2 Cam McDonald #27 Mason Klee #24
Defense Pair 3 Matias Rajaniemi #14 Ryan Dickinson #25
Rotated Defensemen – –
Goalie Tandem G
Starting Goaltender Michael Bullion #32
Backup Goaltender John Muse #40

On-Ice Officials

– –
Referee Marc-Olivier Phaneuf (23)
Referee Alexandre Bechard (27)
Linesman Nicolas Boivin (82)
Linesman Davids Rozitis (90)

Highlights

Notable Tweets as the Game Happened


Railers Lines


Riley Piercey goal


Sebastian Vidmar goal


Jack Randl goal


Anthony Repaci goal


Anthony Repaci goal


Anthony Repaci goal