Game Story

Worcester, MA – The Worcester Railers took on the Maine Mariners for their home opener in front of a crowd of 8,853 at the DCU Center on Saturday. Railers came up top 4-1.

Mitch Gillam had another solid game in net, making 31 saves in the win, allowing a single goal.

Tyler Barnes put the Railers on the board with the game’s only goal in the first period. The goal, which was a back-handed shot, which went Top-Shelf and over the pads of Mariners goalie Brandon Halverson.

Mike Cornell scored his second of the season on a lucky shot that narrowly got away, inching slowly past Halverson. The lead was extended to three, with Jeff Kubiak getting a shot through the pads of Halverson.

Mariners only goal came at 4:59 in the third with Riley Bourbonnais finding the back of the net on a bounced puck past Mitch Gillam. Railers extended their lead to 4-1, as a shot from Ryan MacKinnon that went five hole.

The three stars of the game were:

1. Tyler Barnes – 1 goal, 1 assist
2. Mitch Gillam – 31 saves
3. Nick Bligh – 2 assists

Coming Up: Railers travel to Glen’s Falls, NY where they’ll face the Adirondack Thunder on Wednesday.

Box Score

Notes

• Railers Scratches: Tommy Kelley, Connor Doherty, Ivan Korsenkov, Alexis Vanier, Brian Arneson, and Tommy Tsicos.
• Mariners Scratches:
• Yanick Turcotte left the game at some point during the second period and did not return to the game, for an unknown reason.
• Railers wore blues and Mariners wore their white jerseys.
• The Railers signed Ivan Kosorenkov on Friday and released Connor Graham earlier in the week. Graham’s signing was questionable in my eyes as he didn’t have much of a track record and didn’t put up anything in his one game played. Kosorenkov averaged over a point per game in his last two seasons with the Victoriaville Tigers of the QMJHL. Whether this translates to success in the ECHL is yet to be seen, though it does appear to be a good signing at face value for the Railers.
• The Railers unveiled their new alternate jerseys for this season earlier this week at a members-only event. The jersey is nearly identical to the Pink in the Rink and St. Patrick’s Day jerseys with the Railers’ secondary logo on the crest, with the main color being orange. The Railers will wear the jerseys on Sundays when they play at home. A picture of the jersey can be found here.
• I rarely put personal notes on here but as I noted on Twitter earlier today, my brother got married to his best friend of seven years earlier today. For those that know who I am (or my brother and his wife, for that matter), be sure to congratulate them at an upcoming game!
• Here’s how Worcester ranked compared to their North Division rivals on their opening nights:
  

  	Announced Attendance	Arena Capacity	Percentage (%)
  Adirondack	4,805	~4,800	100%
  Brampton	2,507	~5,000	50%
  Maine	5,291	~6,200	85%
  Manchester	2,790	~9,900	28%
  Newfoundland	6,287	~7,000	89%
  Reading	5,146	~7,200	71%
  Worcester	8,853	~12,200	73%

Railers Lines (Observed by order in which they appeared):