Game Story

Tristan Lennox made 31 saves in his first ECHL appearance in 673 days, having last played in a 5–2 loss to Reading on December 15, 2023. On the other end, Kelly Cup Champion Luke Cavallin was locked in, stopping all 26 shots he faced to earn his first shutout of the season and the eighth of his career.

Worcester went 0-for-2 on the power play. The Railers were shorthanded 5 times with Maine capitalizing on one of them, sparking their scoring surge. Brooklyn Kalmikov, Xander Lamppa, Jacob Perreault, Tristan Thompson, and Maxim Andreev all found the back of the net for Maine.

The Railers wore new navy blue jerseys on Saturday, while Maine hit the ice in their yellow throwback alternates, a jersey they previously wore last season for a specialty night. It made for a rare color-vs-color matchup, something Worcester very rarely gets to take part in, though it’s more common around the league with other ECHL teams. The circumstances lined up just right, as most teams don’t typically have all three jersey sets ready for opening night. It also appears to be a first for Maine, as they rarely, if ever, wear their Bruins-alternate jerseys on the road.

It was a good goaltending matchup through the first two periods. The game went scoreless through the opening twenty minutes, shots were locked 11-11. Cole Donhauser had Worcester’s best chance to score at 13:50 in the period when he had a breakaway, but was stonewalled by Luke Cavallin. Anthony Hora took a dumb penalty with a second left in the first period after he shot the puck out of play, leading Worcester to be shorthanded to start the second period.

Maine controlled possession for most of Hora’s penalty and that continued well after his penalty was killed off. Drew Callin was called for a hook at 16:56, giving Maine their second power play of the night. Brooklin Kalmikov broke the tie with a one-timer at 17:55 put Maine ahead 1-0. Kabore Dunn shot the puck out of play for another delay of game call, but that penalty kill shifted to 4-on-4 when Lynden McCallum was called for holding 54 seconds into the advantage. Maine outshot Worcester 15-5 in the second.

Xander Lamppa gave Maine a 2-0 lead at 5:49 in the third period off a rebound. Kolby Johnson and Ty Cheveldayoff dropped the gloves right after the next faceoff, bringing the DCU Center to their feet after laying down the final punch on Cheveldayoff. Jacob Perreault made it 3-0 at 10:16, followed by Tristan Thompson three minutes later to stretch the lead to four. At 13:20, Cole Fraser dropped the gloves with Zachary Massicotte, resulting in an instigator call and automatic 10-minute misconduct that sent Fraser to the locker room early. Worcester earned a power play at 14:14 but failed to convert, and just 25 seconds after it expired, Maxim Andreev buried Maine’s fifth goal.

Shots were 36-26 in favor of Maine, sending them back to Portland with two points as they host the Reading Royals on Saturday.

The Three Stars of the Game were:

1. Luke Cavallin (Maine) – win, shutout, 26 saves
2. Brooklyn Kalmikov (Maine) – 1 goal, 1 assist
3. Jacob Perreault (Worcester) – 1 goal 2 assists, +2

Elsewhere in the Islanders affiliation tree, the Bridgeport Islanders, skating with Sound Tigers jerseys, blew a 3-0 lead and fell 6-3 to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Saturday night. Daylan Kuefler dressed for his first game of the season, registering two shots on goal. The New York Islanders lost 5-4 to the Ottawa Senators that same night.

The Railers close out their opening weekend on Sunday afternoon with the Adirondack Thunder coming into town for a 3 p.m. puck drop.

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Box Score

Scoring	1	2	3	T
	0	1	4	5
	0	0	0	0

Shots	1	2	3	T
	11	15	10	36
	11	5	10	26

Score	Team	Time	Scored by	Assisted by	Type
1 – 0		17:55 – 2nd	B. Kalmikov (1)	T. Gallagher, J. Perreault	PP
2 – 0		5:49 – 3rd	X. Lamppa (1)	J. Perreault, T. Gallagher
3 – 0		10:16 – 3rd	J. Perreault (1)	B. Kalmikov
4 – 0		13:09 – 3rd	T. Thompson (1)	T. Cheveldayoff, J. Hudson
5 – 0		16:39 – 3rd	M. Andreev (1)	S. Element, J. Bellamy

Rosters

	#	Player	G	A	+/-	SH	PIM
G	1	B. Arvanitis	0	0	0	0	0
G	33	L. Cavallin	0	0	0	0	0
D	2	Z. Massicotte	0	0	+1	2	5
F	4	W. Deveaux	0	0	0	1	0
D	7	P. Beaulieu	0	0	+2	0	0
F	9	B. Kalmikov	1	1	+1	2	0
D	10	T. Gallagher	0	2	+1	5	0
F	11	T. Cheveldayoff	0	1	+2	3	5
F	13	R. Cronin	0	0	0	1	0
F	14	J. Perreault	1	2	+2	5	0
D	15	T. Thompson	1	0	+2	2	0
F	16	S. Element	0	1	+1	2	2
F	19	X. Lamppa	1	0	+1	5	0
F	22	S. Vidmar	0	0	+1	0	0
F	23	M. Andreev	1	0	+2	2	0
F	27	L. McCallum	0	0	+1	3	2
F	28	A. DiPaolo	0	0	0	0	0
D	44	J. Bellamy	0	1	+2	0	0
D	55	L. Johansson	0	0	0	1	0
F	92	J. Hudson	0	1	+1	2	0
		Team:	0			0

	Player	MIN	SH	SVS	GA	SV%
33	L. Cavallin (W)	60:00	26	26	0	1.000
	Totals:	60:00	26	26	0	1.000

	#	Player	G	A	+/-	SH	PIM
G	30	T. Lennox	0	0	0	0	0
G	39	H. Tikkanen	0	0	0	0	0
D	3	A. Hora	0	0	-2	0	2
D	4	C. Odelius	0	0	-3	0	0
D	6	C. McDonald	0	0	0	3	0
F	7	M. Dorrington	0	0	-2	2	0
F	10	R. Miotto	0	0	-1	0	0
F	11	L. Hatten	0	0	0	0	0
F	12	K. Johnson	0	0	0	0	5
F	16	R. Mitton	0	0	-1	3	0
F	19	R. Piercey	0	0	-2	2	0
F	26	T. Walsh	0	0	0	0	0
D	27	M. Stief	0	0	0	2	0
D	28	K. Dunn	0	0	-2	1	4
F	29	C. Donhauser	0	0	0	2	0
F	37	M. DeMelis	0	0	-2	2	0
F	44	A. Callin	0	0	0	3	0
D	74	C. Fraser	0	0	-1	0	17
F	77	D. Callin	0	0	-2	4	2
F	81	A. Repaci	0	0	-2	2	0
		Team:	0			0

	Player	MIN	SH	SVS	GA	SV%
30	T. Lennox (L)	60:00	36	31	5	0.861
	Totals:	60:00	36	31	5	0.861

Penalties

Time	Team	Player	Mins	Infraction
17:10 – 1st		K. Dunn	2	Hooking – minor (55.2)
19:59 – 1st		A. Hora	2	Delay of Game (63.2)
16:56 – 2nd		D. Callin	2	Hooking – minor (55.2)
18:01 – 2nd		K. Dunn	2	Delay of Game (63.2)
18:55 – 2nd		L. McCallum	2	Holding – minor (54.2)
5:52 – 3rd		T. Cheveldayoff	5	Fighting – Major (46.14)
5:52 – 3rd		K. Johnson	5	Fighting – Major (46.14)
13:20 – 3rd		Z. Massicotte	5	Fighting – Major (46.14)
13:20 – 3rd		C. Fraser	2	Instigating – minor (46.11)
13:20 – 3rd		C. Fraser	5	Fighting – Major (46.14)
13:20 – 3rd		C. Fraser	10	Misconduct (39.4)

Notes

• Worcester Scratches: Jason Horvath, Michael Ferrandino, Porter Schachle, Riley Ginnell, Tanner Schachle, Thomas Gale, and Tyler Kobryn.
• Maine Scratches: Ethan Pearson, Jackson Stewart, James Marooney, Liam Gorman, Linus Hemstrom, Mason Primeau, and Ryan Orgel.
• The DCU Center received a few upgrades over the offseason. The most noticeable addition is the new sound system that hangs above the videoboard, along with a bright ribbon board installed along edge the lower bowl. The ribbon board adds a modern touch and allows for more dynamic ad placement, but it comes with a trade-off, section number signage has been removed, making it much harder to orient where other sections are once you enter the lower bowl. The ribbon board also replaces the traditional time and game clocks on either end of the lower bowl. Once the early issues with shot counts are resolved, shot totals and penalty times will appear there as well.
• The Wonder Bar has officially opened inside the DCU Center, serving hot slices from the concourse restaurant space formerly occupied by Figs & Pigs, REIGNcafe, and Toro Loco Taqueria in the old “Craft Beer Corner.” Lines were understandably long on opening night, but it’s already on my list to try. Slices are priced in the $8–10 range. Longtime friend of Woo Hockey, Matt Mullaney, channeled his inner Dave Portnoy after grabbing a slice and gave it a respectable 8.2.

Railers Lines

On-Ice Officials

Highlights

Notable X Posts as the Game Happened

Railers Lines

New Railers Threads

Luke Cavallin save

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Brooklin Kalmikov goal

Xander Lamppa goal

Kolby Johnson v. Ty Cheveldayoff Fight

Jacob Perreault goal

Tristan Thompson goal

Max Andreev goal