Game Story


Worcester, MA — The Worcester Railers lost their sixth straight game as they fell 3-2 to the Newfoundland Growlers on Friday night at the DCU Center.

At the end of the night, it was just a one-point game, though the Railers were outpaced by the Growlers all night. The Growlers scored three straight goals to kick off the scoring in the opening 23 minutes, which was all it took to pick up their fourth straight win over the Railers. Neither team scored in a combined 22 penalty minutes across eleven separate power plays.  Ken Appleby and Trevor Cosgrove were back on the Worcester roster following their recalls. Anthony Repaci, Bobby Butler, and Liam Coughlin were back in the Railers lineup after missing back-to-back games, as was Blake Christensen who was activated from injured reserve earlier in the day. Ken Appleby made his first appearance for the Railers after being recalled to the Bridgeport Islanders on December 18, 2022. The Growlers were notably without Zach O’Brien, who was named to the ECHL all-star game last Monday, but was replaced and did not participate.

The Growlers scored twice in the final minutes of the first period to give them a 2-0 lead through the opening twenty minutes. Keenan Suthers scored on a rebound for the game’s first score with 3:43 left in the period. Nolan Walker scored the second goal, set up with a pass from Pavel Gogolev from behind the net with 28 seconds left in the second period. Growlers led 2-0 with a two-shot edge over the Railers, 16-14 at the end of the first period.

Growlers’ all-star Todd Skirving brought his team’s lead to 3-0 at 2:46 as Derian Plouffe sent the wide-open forward a shot to the slot for Newfoundland’s third unanswered goal. The Railers finally got on the board at 16:39 after a scramble for the loose puck between teams at the Growlers net, when it was all said and done Brent Beaudoin picked up the goal with Nick Fea scoring an assist, his third straight game with a point. Growlers led 3-1 through two periods with both teams having 10 shots in the period.

With Ken Appleby off for the extra attacker, Bobby Butler brought the game to within one with 1:21 left in the third period. Butler found a pass from Reece Newkirk and he slapped it in on the backhand past Dryden McKay for his fourteenth of the season. Appleby would be brought off the ice again for the remainder of the game where opportunities to get back into the Growlers zone were scarce, allowing the Growlers to take their fourth straight win over Worcester 3-2. Both teams had 11 shots in the final frame.

The three stars of Friday night’s game were:

  1. Dryden McKay (Newfoundland) – win, 33 saves, 0.943 SV%
  2. Nolan Walker (Newfoundland) – 1 goal
  3. Brent Beaudoin (Worcester) – 1 goal

Around the north division Friday night, the Reading Royals were victorious over the Norfolk Admirals 5-3 and the Adirondack Thunder defeated the Trois-Rivières Lions 6-3. The Railers (1-7-2-0), Lions (1-8-1-0), and Admirals (1-7-0-2) each have one win across their last ten games. The Railers remain in fourth place, eleven points ahead of the Trois-Rivieres Lions as of Friday night.

The 3-in-3 weekend continues into Saturday when Railers face the third-place Maine Mariners at 7:05.

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Box Score

Box Score

Scoring 1 2 3 T
2 1 0 3
0 1 1 2
Shots 1 2 3 T
16 10 11 37
14 10 11 35

 

Score Team Time Scored by Assisted by Type
1 – 0 16:17 – 1st K. Suthers (9) B. Kapcheck, J. Badini
2 – 0 19:32 – 1st N. Walker (9) P. Gogolev
3 – 0 2:46 – 2nd T. Skirving (16) D. Plouffe, B. Kruse
3 – 1 16:39 – 2nd B. Beaudoin (11) N. Fea
3 – 2 18:39 – 3rd B. Butler (14) R. Newkirk

Rosters

# Player G A +/- SH PIM
G 30 D. McKay 0 0 0 0 0
G 33 L. Cavallin 0 0 0 0 0
D 3 M. Joyaux 0 0 -1 3 0
D 4 S. Kubicek 0 0 +2 1 0
D 5 B. Kapcheck 0 1 +2 1 0
F 11 D. Plouffe 0 1 -1 3 0
F 14 B. Budgell 0 0 +1 4 0
F 15 T. Skirving 1 0 +1 6 0
F 17 B. Kruse 0 1 +1 1 0
F 19 A. Dawe 0 0 0 0 0
F 21 J. Badini 0 1 +1 1 0
F 25 N. Walker 1 0 -1 2 0
F 27 K. Suthers 1 0 +1 5 6
F 28 Z. Solow 0 0 +1 5 0
D 41 T. Egan 0 0 0 0 0
D 43 J. Melindy 0 0 -1 2 0
D 45 M. Sredl 0 0 0 0 0
F 46 P. Gogolev 0 1 -1 2 4
D 49 A. Samuelsson 0 0 0 1 0
Team:
Totals: 3 5 5 37 10
Player MIN SH SVS GA SV%
30 D. McKay (W) – 35 33 2 –
Totals: – 35 33 2 –
# Player G A +/- SH PIM
G 35 K. Appleby 0 0 0 0 2
G 39 H. Tikkanen 0 0 0 0 0
F 7 L. Coughlin 0 0 -1 0 0
F 8 B. Butler 1 0 0 4 4
D 9 N. Delmas 0 0 -2 2 0
D 10 T. Cosgrove 0 0 -1 4 0
F 11 N. Vesey 0 0 -1 4 0
F 12 B. Beaudoin 1 0 0 3 2
F 13 B. Jerry 0 0 0 0 0
D 15 C. Evers 0 0 +1 0 0
F 18 B. Christensen 0 0 -1 1 0
F 19 Q. Ryan 0 0 +1 2 0
D 20 A. Terchiyev 0 0 0 0 0
F 22 N. Fea 0 1 0 1 0
D 26 J. Brandt 0 0 -1 0 0
D 27 M. McGurty 0 0 +1 2 2
F 29 Z. Bross 0 0 0 3 0
F 37 R. Newkirk 0 1 0 5 2
F 81 A. Repaci 0 0 0 4 0
Team:
Totals: 2 2 -4 35 12
Player MIN SH SVS GJ SV%
35 K. Appleby (L) – 37 34 3 –
Totals: – 37 34 3 –

Penalties

Time Team Player Mins Infraction
5:10 – 1st B. Beaudoin 2 High-sticking – minor (60.2)
6:12 – 1st K. Suthers 2 High-sticking – minor (60.2)
11:07 – 1st K. Suthers 2 Hooking – minor (55.2)
5:39 – 2nd P. Gogolev 2 Interference – minor (56.2)
12:33 – 2nd R. Newkirk 2 Hooking – minor (55.2)
16:39 – 2nd P. Gogolev 2 Hooking – minor (55.2)
19:03 – 2nd B. Butler 2 Tripping – minor (57.2)
2:56 – 3rd K. Suthers 2 Tripping – minor (57.2)
3:28 – 3rd K. Appleby 2 Interference – minor (56.2)
12:28 – 3rd M. McGurty 2 Closing hand on puck (67.2)
15:06 – 3rd B. Butler 2 Hooking – minor (55.2)


Notes

  • Worcester Scratches: Brent Moran, Collin Adams, Connor McCarthy, Jack Quinlivan, and Philip Beaulieu.
  • Newfoundland Scratches: Jordan Escott, Nathan Noel, and Zach O’Brien.
  • Trevor Cosgrove and Ken Appleby were reassigned to Worcester on Thursday.
  • Trevor Cosgrove had his third number change of the season following his return to the Railers on Friday. He becomes the third Railer to wear #10 after wearing #20 to start the season and wearing #44 on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
  • Game-worn jerseys and event-used pucks from the 2023 ECHL all-star game are now available for bid on MeigrayAuctions.com. There are multiple sets from the event are available for auction, including Collin Adams along with Railers alum Lincoln Griffin, Max Newton, and Eddie Matsushima.
  • The Railers suspended Jordan Kaplan on Friday, after playing just two games with Worcester after being claimed from the Newfoundland Growlers. Suspending Kaplan allows the Railers to retain his ECHL playing rights if he decides to return to the league and can be moved via trade.
  • Jake Schultz was released on Thursday after a five-game stint in which he had two goals and was a -4. Schultz’s release comes as a surprise as he was one of the better players for Worcester in last week’s games against Newfoundland. Perhaps with Jordan Kaplan leaving the team, Schultz will get a second look with the team.
  • Friday was jersey reversal day in the ECHL. The league reversed jersey usage, so teams will now wear their dark jerseys at home games, and their white jerseys for away games. Railers will wear their blues for most home games through the remainder of the season.
  • The jersey auction of the night was a #61 Matt Sredl Orange Jersey, which was worn during the 2021-22 season.
  • The Railers had the following streaks following Friday night’s game:
    • Liam Coughlin is without a point in his last nine games. His last points were three assists against Newfoundland on December 18.
    • Noah Delmas is without a point in his last seven games.
    • Brent Beaudoin snapped a three-game scoring drought with one of the two Railers goals on Friday.
    • Billy Jerry is without a point in his last three games.
    • Nick Fea is now on a three-game point streak. (2-2-4)
    • Quinn Ryan snapped a three-game scoring streak. (1-4-5)
    • Zack Bross snapped a three-game scoring streak. (0-3-3)
    • Anthony Repaci is without a point in his last three games.

Railers Lines

Forward Lines LW C RW
Forward Line 1 Anthony Repaci #81 Reece Newkirk #37 Bobby Butler #8
Forward Line 2 Nick Fea #22 Brent Beaudoin #12 Quinn Ryan #19
Forward Line 3 Nolan Vesey #11 Liam Coughlin #7 Blake Christensen #18
Rotated Forwards – Billy Jerry #13 Zack Bross #29
Defensive Pairings LD RD
Defense Pair 1 Christian Evers #15 Myles McGurty #27
Defense Pair 2 Artur Terchiyev #20 Jared Brandt #26
Defense Pair 3 Trevor Cosgrove #10 Noah Delmas #9
Rotated Defensemen – –
Goalie Tandem G
Starting Goaltender Ken Appleby #35
Backup Goaltender Henrik Tikkanen #39

Opponent Lines

Forward Lines LW C RW
Forward Line 1 Pavel Gogolev #46 Zach Solow #28 Nolan Walker #25
Forward Line 2 Keenan Suthers #27 Jack Bandini #21 Brett Budgell #14
Forward Line 3 Derian Plouffe #11 Todd Skirving #15 Brandon Kruse #17
Rotated Forwards – – Adam Dawe #19
Defensive Pairings LD RD
Defense Pair 1 Michael Joyaux #3 James Melindy #43
Defense Pair 2 Brennan Kapcheck #5 Simon Kubicek #4
Defense Pair 3 Adam Samuelsson #49 Matt Sredl #45
Rotated Defensemen Taylor Egan #41 –
Goalie Tandem G
Starting Goaltender Dryden McKay #30
Backup Goaltender Luke Cavallin #33

On-Ice Officials

– –
Referee Brendan Schreider (12)
Referee –
Linesman Darryl Butt (70)
Linesman Joe Maynard (92)


Highlights

Notable Tweets as the Game Happened


Railers Lines


Growlers Lines


1-0 Growlers


2-0 Growlers


3-0 Growlers


3-1 Growlers


3-2 Growlers