Game Story

Worcester, MA — The Worcester Railers snapped an eight-game losing streak on Saturday, where they beat the Newfoundland Growlers in their final home game of the regular season.

Mitch Gillam was the starter for Worcester and was replaced by Blake Wojtala after the third Newfoundland goal. Gillam returned to the net for the beginning of the second period and played in the remainder of the game. Josh Holmstrom (14th), Tommy Kelley (5th and 6th), and Ross Olsson (2nd) each produced goals for Worcester.

Rookie Semyon Der-Arguchintsev put the Growlers on the board at 1:45 with his first professional goal, beating Mitch Gillam with a wide shot on the far right corner of the net. JJ Piccinich scored 13 seconds into a power play at 8:43, tipping in a loose puck at the crease. Josh Holmstrom scored his 14th of the season at 11:47 to make it a one-goal game. Giorgio Estephan brought the game to 3-1 for the final goal of the period at 12:56, beating Mitch Gillam to react on a quick shot between the circles. Mitch Gillam’s night was thought to be over and Wojtala was put in net as play resumed, stopping the only shot on net for the remaining seven minutes of the period.

Blake Wojtala went down not too long after replacing Mitch Gillam in a collision that involved fellow teammate Mike Cornell. Wojtala toughed things out and played for the remainder of the first period, but did not return to the game or the bench for the second period and the remainder of the game. Both Wojtala and Gillam have split a lot of games lately, but Gillam looked and played a lot better after his return to the net. Wojtala’s injury isn’t expected to be serious as he participated in the “jerseys off our backs” ceremony after the game, and could serve as the team’s back-up for tomorrow’s game in Adirondack.

Tommy Kelley scored the only goal of the middle frame, bringing Worcester back to within one goal at 7:47 in the period. A late shot by Gabriel Gagne brought the shot count to 21-20 Newfoundland after two periods.

Ross Olsson tied things up in the third, tapping in a loose puck from an Ivan Chukarov shot at 2:35. Tommy Kelley gave Worcester their only lead of the night with his second goal of the game at 16:47. Mitch Gillam was solid in the final forty minutes, stopping all 19 shots that came his way.

The Three Stars of the Game were:

  1. Tommy Kelley (Worcester) – 2 goals
  2. Josh Holmstrom (Worcester) – 1 goal
  3. Semyon Der-Arguchintsev (Newfoundland) – 1 goal

Elsewhere in the ECHL North division, the Maine Mariners were eliminated from playoff contention with their 5-2 loss to Manchester and Brampton’s 6-3 win over Toledo. The stage is set with Newfoundland, Adirondack, Manchester, and Brampton all earning spots for the Kelly Cup Playoffs.

The Railers regular season ends tomorrow against the Adirondack Thunder at 7 PM.

Box Score

Scoring 1 2 3 T
Newfoundland Growlers 3 0 0 3
Worcester Railers 1 1 2 4
Shots 1 2 3 T
Newfoundland Growlers 12 9 10 31
Worcester Railers 12 8 9 29

 

Growlers Roster # Name G A +/- SH PIM
G 31 E. Levine 0 0 0 0 0
G 34 M. Garteig 0 0 0 0 0
D 2 A. Pardy 0 0 -2 0 2
D 8 E. Neugold 0 1 +1 6 0
F 10 Z. O’Brien 0 1 0 1 0
F 12 S. Pooley 0 1 -1 6 0
F 14 J. Piccinich 1 0 0 2 0
F 15 T. Skirving 0 0 -1 0 0
F 19 S. Der-Arguchintsev 1 0 0 1 0
D 21 S. Jardine 0 0 +1 2 0
F 22 B. Ferguson 0 1 0 3 0
D 25 C. Dunn 0 0 -2 1 0
F 27 M. Bradley 0 0 -1 0 0
F 28 G. Gagne 0 1 0 4 0
F 29 G. Estephan 1 0 -2 1 0
F 40 R. Moore 0 1 -1 4 0
D 43 J. Melindy 0 0 -1 0 2
D 48 G. Johnston 0 0 -1 0 0
Team:
Totals: 3 6 -10 31 4
No Name Min SH SVS GA
31 E. Levine (L) 58:15 29 25 4
Totals: 58:15 29 25 4
Railers Roster # Name G A +/- SH PIM
G 31 B. Wojtala 0 0 0 0 0
G 35 M. Gillam 0 0 0 0 0
D 4 R. MacKinnon 0 1 -1 2 0
D 6 M. Cornell 0 0 +2 3 2
F 7 T. Barnes 0 1 -1 1 0
F 8 N. Sorkin 0 2 +2 1 0
F 9 R. Olsson 1 0 +1 2 0
F 11 D. Willick 0 1 +2 2 0
F 12 J. Holmstrom 1 0 +1 1 0
D 13 I. Chukarov 0 0 -1 0 0
F 15 B. Brauer 0 0 +1 1 0
F 17 M. Schmalz 0 1 +1 2 0
F 19 B. Almeida 0 0 -2 2 2
D 20 D. Quenneville 0 0 +1 2 0
D 24 T. Mueller 0 0 +1 3 2
F 27 R. Hitchcock 0 1 -1 2 0
D 28 C. Doherty 0 0 +2 1 0
F 37 T. Kelley 2 0 +2 4 0
Team:
Totals: 4 7 10 29 6
No Name Min SH SVS GA
35 M. Gillam (W) 52:56 30 27 3
31 B. Wojtala 7:04 1 1 0
Totals: 60:00 31 28 3
P T Player M Offense Time
1st H M. Cornell 2.00 Holding – minor (54.2) 3:47
1st H B. Almeida 2.00 High-sticking – minor (60.2) 8:30
1st V A. Pardy 2.00 Slashing – minor (61.2) 17:02
3rd V J. Melindy 2.00 Holding – minor (54.2) 6:25
3rd H T. Mueller 2.00 Slashing – minor (61.2) 18:15

Notes

  • Railers Injuries: Evan Buitenhuis, Kyle McKenzie, Tommy Panico, Alex Vanier
  • Railers Scratches: Drew Callin, Matt Gaudreau, Robert Powers, Yanick Turcotte (suspended)
  • Growlers Injuries: Kristian Pospisil
  • Growlers Scratches: Josh Kestner, Ilya Nekolenko, Marcus Power, Derian Plouffe
  • With Worcester out of the playoffs, it didn’t make much of a difference whether the team won tonight or will win tomorrow. Speaking with fans and players after the game, they were pumped to end the season with a big win. The energy on the ice along with the energy in the stands was something that several fans mentioned was unlike anything the DCU Center had all season. As Railers Booster Club President Rich Lundin mentioned to me in-person and also tweeted, “Going back to 94-95 I have never seen or heard our crowd give our team a rousing send-off like tonight. Everyone – including the players – were pumped.”
  • The ECHL announced that Yanick Turcotte was fined and suspended for two games earlier in the day, effectively ending his season a few games early as a result of his Boarding major and game misconduct on Friday. Maine’s Brycen Martin was also suspended two games for his antics at the end of the game.
  • 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 (Observed by order in which they appeared):

LW C RW
Forward Line 1  B. Almeida #19 “A”  R. Hitchcock #27  Tyler Barnes #7
Forward Line 2  J. Holmstrom #12  M. Schmalz #17  N. Sorkin #8
Forward Line 3  B. Brauer #15 / R. Olsson #9  D. Willick #11  T. Kelley #37
LD RD
Defense Line 1  M. Cornell #6 “C”  T. Mueller #24
Defense Line 2  R. MacKinnon #4  C. Doherty #28
Defense Line 3  D. Quenneville #20  I. Chukarov #13
G
Starting Goaltender  Blake Wojtala #31
Backup Goaltender  Mitch Gillam #35

Highlights