Match Notes

• Each team has won three of the six games in the season series this year.
• Maine is victorious in the only game that headed into overtime.
• Mariners can tie with Adirondack for second place in the North with a win, and a Reading and Adirondack loss.
• Worcester can tie for fourth in the North with a win, Manchester loss, and a Brampton loss.

Mariners Notes

• Team Rankings and Averages:
  • Maine is averaging 36.76 shots allowed per game, which is a league high.
  • Mariners are 8-2 when leading after one period and 6-0 when leading after two.
  • Maine is on a four-game road losing streak.
  • Mariners are 4-8 in road games this season.
  • Maine has the third-best penalty kill on the road, killing 90.7 percent of penalties and allowing just four goals.
  • Mariners are second in shorthanded goals scored so far this season with eight.
• Player Rankings and Streaks:
  • Michael McNicholas is ranked second in the league in shorthanded assists with two.
  • Alex Kile has the second highest shooting percentage at 28.6% on 42 shots.
  • Brandon Halverson has the fourth-highest amount of saves with 531.
  • Michael McNicholas has the ninth-highest amount of points for a rookie with 21 in 18 games.
  • Sean Day is ranked eighteenth in defensemen in points with 14 in 17 games and is ranked fifth in defensemen for shooting percentage at 15.4 percent on 26 shots.
  • Brandon Halverson is ranked seventh in save percentage with 0.919.
  • Jason Salvaggio has five points in his last five games played.
  • Ryan Gropp is on a five-game point streak.
  • Michael McNicholas is on a six-game point streak and has 11 points in his last eight games.
• Recent Transactions:
  • Mariners acquired Greg Chase from the Allen Americans in exchange for Riley Bourbonnais on Friday.
  • Alex Kile was released from his PTO with the Hartford Wolf Pack (AHL affiliate) on Thursday.
  • Morgan Adams-Moisan was recalled to the Laval Rocket (AHL) on Tuesday.
  • Ryan Culkin was released from his PTO with the Laval Rocket (AHL) on Tuesday.
  • Adam Plant was assigned to Maine on Tuesday.
• Possible Scratches:
  • Alex Adams – On reserve.
  • Dwyer Tschantz – On injured reserve.
  • Zach Tolkinen – On injured reserve.

Railers Notes

• Rankings and Averages:
  • Railers are averaging 2.27 goals scored per game, which is the lowest in the ECHL.
  • Worcester is winless (0-9-1) when trailing after two.
  • Railers are 3-0-1 when leading after one period, and are undefeated (6-0) when leading after two.
  • Worcester is undefeated in games that head to shootouts.
  • Railers are 0-2 when wearing specialty jerseys this season. They are 7-2 all-time.
• Player Rankings and Streaks:
  • Tyler Barnes leads the Railers in scoring with 18 points (7-11-18).
  • Mike Cornell leads Railers defensemen with 13 points (2-11-13).
  • Austin Block, Alex Vanier, Yanick Turcotte are looking for their first goals of the season.
  • Evan Buitenhuis is ranked fourth in save percentage with 0.927.
  • Railers have fighting majors in three straight games.
  • Woody Hudson is on an eleven game cold streak.
  • Yanick Turcotte is still looking for his first point of the season.
• Recent Transactions:
  • Matt Schmalz, who was acquired in a trade this past weekend, will be making his Railers debut tonight.
  • Austin Block was activated from reserve on Thursday.
  • Ivan Kosorenkov was placed on reserve on Thursday.
• Possible Scratches:
  • Malcolm Gould –  On injured reserve, is eligible to be activated.
  • Ivan Kosorenkov – On reserve.
  • Tommy Kelley – On injured reserve, is eligible to be activated.
  • Kyle McKenzie – On injured reserve, is eligible to be activated.
  • Tyler Mueller – Considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
  • Additional scratches to be determined around game time.

Isles/Sound Tigers News

• Islanders take on the Detriot Red Wings tonight at home.
• Sound Tigers win 4-3 in overtime. [Sound Tigers]
  • Michael Del Colle picked up his first career hat trick.
  • Bruins tied the game up with 8 seconds remaining in regulation.
  • Christopher Gibson made 24 saves in net, hasn’t lost a game in regulation in eight games (5-0-3).

Recent North Division Game Results

Friday, December 12, 2018

• Reading 5, Allen 3
• Maine 5, Adirondack 2

North Division Games Today

• Allen vs Reading
• Manchester vs Adirondack
• Brampton vs Kalamazoo

Other Mentions

• The Worcester Railers Booster Club will be donating proceeds from tonight’s 50-50 raffle to the Ava Roy fund. Check out the tables behind section 109 (next to the Chick-Fil-A concession stand) and close to the main entrance to buy your tickets tonight.
• The Junior Railers will be raising money for the Ava Roy fund on Saturday from 4 to 7 PM and 9 AM to Noon on Sunday at the Worcester Ice Center. They will also be partnering with all Worcester 99 Restaurant locations on Sunday for the “Dining For a Cause” fundraiser, with 15% of your bill being donated to the Ava Roy Fund.
• The Railers will be holding their first-ever teddy bear toss at tonight’s game. The toss will occur if/when the Railers score their first goal of the game.
• Railers will be wearing Ugly Sweater Specialty jerseys during tonight’s game. The jerseys will be auctioned off to benefit The Shine Initiative. Jerseys will be auctioned off during and after the game. A select amount of jerseys will be auctioned off through the HandBid app and are live right now, through this link.
• For live updates during the game, follow us on Twitter @WooHockeyNews.