Game Story

Worcester, MA — The Worcester Railers hosted the Maine Mariners for a preseason exhibition game on Saturday at the Fidelity Bank Worcester Ice Center.

Ken Appleby made 24 saves in net for Worcester and opposite him, Boston Bruins’ prospect Brandon Bussi stopped all 15 shots the Railers made all night. Goaltending was the strong suit for Worcester and while on paper a 1-0 loss doesn’t seem like much, it was their performance on the ice that shows that this team is very much a work in progress. It felt like this team had no business on the ice, in both the literal and figurative sense, but there were many parts of the night that reminds us that nothing is perfect with playing a pro hockey game in a practice rink – even if that’s just for a preseason tilt. While no ECHL roster is really finalized and cuts are obviously soon to come, players are fighting for a roster spot with less than a week until the 2022-23 season begins.

There were many delays during this preseason game due to technical difficulties with the time clock and penalty timings. An example of this was during a stoppage of play Connor Doherty and Nolan Vesey were sent to the box at 4:54 in the first for what should’ve been a roughing call. Both players served four minutes when Vesey had a 10-minute misconduct and a matching two-minute minor with Doherty on the clock and as of this writing, both penalties are on the scoresheet as Interference – minor (56.2). These clock errors continued as penalties were issued throughout the game.

Nick Master scored the only goal of the game around the midpoint of the second period, scoring on a bounced puck at the crease of Ken Appleby at 9:49. Maine had a few shots throughout the night that if scored in an arena with video review cameras, would’ve deserved a second look. Maine outshot Worcester 25 to 15, and limited Worcester to just two shots on goal in the second period. If zone times were tracked in the ECHL it would probably show Maine having puck possession in their attacking zone for a majority of Saturday’s game – it was joked during a timeout that rink staff didn’t need to come out and scrape the Mariners’ side of the ice.

There were no three stars of the game listed on the ECHL website.

The Railers and Mariners will conclude their preseason schedule with another exhibition at the Norway Savings Bank Arena up in Auburn, Maine on Sunday. The puck drop for that game is scheduled for 5:05 p.m.

Box Score

Scoring 1 2 3 T
Maine Mariners 0 1 0 1
Worcester Railers 0 0 0 0
Shots 1 2 3 T
Maine Mariners 5 12 8 25
Worcester Railers 7 2 6 15

 

No Name G A +/- Sh PIM
G 35 J. Boyko 0 0 0 0 0
G 40 B. Bussi 0 0 0 0 0
D 3 G. Chicoine 0 0 0 1 0
F 6 Z. Cloutier 0 0 0 0 0
F 8 J. McKechney 0 0 0 0 0
F 10 N. Master 1 0 +1 2 2
F 11 M. Fossier 0 1 +1 4 0
D 12 G. Gabriele 0 0 0 2 0
F 14 R. Stefanson 0 0 0 2 0
F 15 N. Isaacson 0 0 0 0 0
F 16 M. Santos 0 0 +1 1 0
F 17 T. Doherty 0 0 0 3 0
F 18 N. Jermain 0 0 0 0 0
F 21 C. Bleackley 0 0 0 3 0
D 22 A. Weller 0 0 0 0 0
F 23 A. Kile 0 0 0 1 0
D 24 M. Duquette 0 0 0 1 0
D 25 J. Wilson 0 0 +1 3 0
F 27 P. Shea 0 0 0 2 0
D 28 C. Doherty 0 0 0 0 6
Team:
Totals: 1 1 4 25 8
No Name Min SH SVS GA
No Name Min SH SVS GA
40 B. Bussi (W) 59:35 15 15 0
Totals: 59:35 15 15 0
Railers Roster # Name G A +/- SH PIM
G 35 K. Appleby 0 0 0 0 0
G 84 H. Tikkanen 0 0 0 0 0
F 7 L. Coughlin 0 0 0 0 2
F 8 B. Butler 0 0 0 1 2
C 10 B. Rigali 0 0 0 1 0
F 11 N. Vesey 0 0 0 0 2
F 12 B. Beaudoin 0 0 0 1 0
D 13 C. Breen 0 0 0 2 2
D 15 C. Evers 0 0 -1 1 2
F 18 B. Christensen 0 0 0 0 0
F 19 C. Adams 0 0 -1 1 0
D 22 C. Reagan 0 0 0 0 0
F 23 E. Price 0 0 0 1 0
F 24 J. Quinlivan 0 0 0 0 2
D 25 P. Beaulieu 0 0 -1 2 0
D 26 J. Brandt 0 0 0 0 0
D 27 M. McGurty 0 0 0 0 0
F 29 Z. Bross 0 0 0 2 0
F 44 S. Jandric 0 0 -1 1 0
F 81 A. Repaci 0 0 0 2 2
Team:
Totals: 0 0 -4 15 14
35 K. Appleby (L) 59:31 25 24 1
Totals: 59:31 25 24 1
P T Player M Offense Time
1st H C. Breen 2.00 Interference – minor (56.2) 0:37
1st V C. Doherty 2.00 Interference – minor (56.2) 4:54
1st H N. Vesey 2.00 Interference – minor (56.2) 4:54
1st V N. Master 2.00 Delay of Game (63.2) 17:35
2nd V C. Doherty 2.00 Roughing – minor (51.2) 7:57
2nd H L. Coughlin 2.00 Roughing – minor (51.2) 7:57
2nd H A. Repaci 2.00 Holding – minor (54.2) 13:55
3rd V C. Doherty 2.00 Slashing – minor (61.2) 5:59
3rd H J. Quinlivan 2.00 Boarding – minor (41.2) 9:24
3rd H B. Butler 2.00 Hooking – minor (55.2) 12:42
3rd H C. Evers 2.00 Slashing – minor (61.2) 17:12

 

Notes

  • Worcester Scratches: Trevor Cosgrove, Noah Delmas, Blade Jenkins, Connor McCarthy, Brent Moran, Reece Newkirk, and Quinn Ryan.
  • Maine Scratches: Cameron Askew, François Brassard, Fedor Gordeev, Keltie Jeri-Leon, Nate Kallen, Andrew Peski, and Cameron Spicer.
  • The ECHL listed the attendance at 642 fans. No physical or digital tickets were provided for this event, though the team was accepting a $5 suggested donation to benefit the Junior Railers Hockey Club.
  • Anthony Repaci, Zack Bross, Phil Beaulieu, and Connor Breen each had two shots on goal.
  • The ECHL game report listed both Bobby Butler and Connor Doherty as captains of their respective teams. Connor Doherty should be no surprise as Maine’s captain as he was their captain last season, but Bobby Butler shouldn’t really be either given he’s the only veteran on the team with 500 combined games between the NHL and AHL levels. Neither wore letters signifying their status but are expected to be captains heading into the 2022-23 season.
  • Railers wore blue practice jerseys as their home blues were not prepared for tonight’s game and players wore matching blue helmets. The jerseys featured sublimated numbers on the back, with no nameplates present. Opposite the Railers, Maine wore their road whites with matching white helmets. Maine’s white jerseys are a part of a home/away/alternate refresh, featuring blue shoulders and green accents.
  • Just as opening-night rosters aren’t finalized, there are a number of jersey numbers that likely aren’t finalized either. A number of duplicate numbers exist in the ECHL database listing Connor Breen and Connor McCarthy wearing #13, Blake Christensen and Reece Newkirk as wearing #18, and Collin Adams and Quinn Ryan wearing #19. Trevor Cosgrove, Blade Jenkins, and Henrik Tikkanen were also assigned numbers 82, 83, and 84 but these are likely to change.
  • Saturday’s game was broadcast live on Mixlr. Given this is a pre-season game and is held at a practice rink, there was no live video broadcast of the game. Sunday’s game will also be broadcast on the same Mixlr link. There are just seven pre-season ECHL games being broadcast on FloSports this preseason, all of which are being held at the team’s regular home arenas.
  • 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:

LW C RW
Forward Line 1  Nolan Vesey #11  Brent Beaudoin #12  Anthony Repaci #81
Forward Line 2  Bobby Butler #8 “C”  Liam Coughlin #7  Blake Christensen #18
Forward Line 3  Steven Jandric #44  Quinn Ryan #19  Zack Bross #29
Forward Line 4  Brian Rigali #10  Jack Quinlivan #24  Ethan Price #23
LD RD
Defense Line 1  Connor Breen #13  Myles McGurty #27
Defense Line 2  Jared Brandt #5  Cam Reagan #22
Defense Line 3  Christian Evers #15  Phil Beaulieu #25
G
Starting Goaltender  Ken Appleby #35
Backup Goaltender  Henrik Tikkanen #39

 

On-Ice Officials:

Referee  Austin O’Rourke #10
Linesman  Matthew Heinen #93
Linesman  Stephen Drain #52

Out-Of-Town Scoreboard:

Bridgeport 3, Springfield 2

Charlotte 3, Hartford 1

Adirondack 3, Reading 1

Highlights

Due to there not being a live broadcast of the game, there are a limited amount of highlights from the game to be shared.