Game Story


Worcester, MA — After two big victories over the Newfoundland Growlers earlier in the week, the Railers seem to have lost their stride, falling 9-3 to the Growlers heading into the final six games of the regular season.

John Muse made his 28th start of the season, recording 25 saves. He was later replaced by Joe Spagnoli, a veteran emergency backup goaltender (EBUG) with a long history in the AHL, ECHL, and FHL. Spagnoli, who last played over nine years ago in the FHL, made a strong showing, stopping all but one of the twelve shots he faced. This appearance marked his first in an ECHL game. In the opposing net, Dryden McKay made 19 saves, securing his first-ever win against the Railers in his seventh career appearance against them. Worcester’s goals came from Brendan Robbins, Connor Welsh, and Jake Pivonka. On the other side, the Growlers saw goals from Grant Cruikshank, Issac Johnson (3x), Marco Sikic, Neil Shea (2x), Mathieu Gosselin, and Tyler Weiss.

While not the largest goal differential in a loss on home ice (that distinction goes to a game nearly six years prior, on March 30, 2018, a 7-0 loss to the Brampton Beast), this game marked the worst performance by the Railers this season.

The Railers were head-to-head with the Growlers for most of the first period. Grant Cruikshank scored first at 8:10 to give the Growlers the initial lead. Brendan Robbins followed-up with a goal ten seconds later. Twenty-five seconds later, Issac Johnson regained the lead for the Growlers. Connor Welsh tied the game back up with 1:03 left in the period, sending the game into the second period with a 2-2 tie with the Growlers having a slight edge in shots, 13-11.

A completely different team came out of the Worcester locker room after the first intermission. It took 1:39 for the Growlers to regain their lead, then 24 seconds later they doubled it to 4-2. Jake Pivonka scored at 3:11 in the period to bring it to 4-3, then 21 seconds later Issac Johnson made it 5-3. Mathieu Gosselin scored on the power play that had Trevor Cosgrove in the box for a lopsided holding call, bringing the game to 6-3. Neil Shea scored his second of the period at 18:48 for a football score of 7-3, with the Growlers outshooting the Railers 15-6 in the period.

Tyler Weiss continued the onslaught at 4:44 for the Growlers’ eighth goal. John Muse headed down the tunnel with athletic trainer Alex Maring and did not return, prompting the debut of Joe Spagnoli. Since EBUGs cannot enter a game unless the starting goaltender is injured, sick, or somehow ejected from the game this was a rare sight to see at the DCU Center. Spagnoli stopped all but one of the Growlers’ 12 shots for the remainder of the game, with Issac Johnson completing his hat trick with 4.4 seconds on the game clock.

It’s possible this was the last-ever game for the Newfoundland Growlers, as the ECHL Board of Governors is set to vote on the future of both the Trois-Rivieres Lions and the Growlers franchises on Tuesday.

The three stars of the game were:

  1. Issac Johnson (Newfoundland) – 3 goals, 1 assist
  2. Tyler Weiss (Newfoundland) – 1 goal, 3 assists
  3. Joe Spagnoli (Worcester) – 11 saves, first ECHL appearance

In other North Division action, the Maine Mariners secured a 4-3 victory over the Trois-Rivieres Lions in Quebec. Meanwhile, Norfolk dominated the Atlanta Gladiators with a 6-0 shutout, fueled by Brady Fleurent’s impressive four-goal performance. The Reading Royals also triumphed, defeating the Adirondack Thunder 5-2 in Glens Falls.

All ECHL teams are off on Sunday in observance of the Easter holiday. Reading, Norfolk, Maine, and Trois-Rivieres are set to return to action on Wednesday. The race for the last two playoff spots remains tight, with four teams hovering around 65 and 66 points.

Looking ahead, the Railers will travel to Maine for a game on Friday before hosting the Mariners at the DCU Center for back-to-back games on Saturday and Sunday.

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Box Score

Box Score

Scoring 1 2 3 T
2 5 2 9
2 1 0 3
Shots 1 2 3 T
13 15 17 45
11 6 5 22
Score Team Time Scored by Assisted by Type
1 – 0 8:10 – 1st G. Cruikshank (21) T. Weiss, J. Gatenby
1 – 1 8:20 – 1st B. Robbins (7)
2 – 1 8:45 – 1st I. Johnson (29) M. Sikic, J. Berezowski
2 – 2 18:57 – 1st C. Welsh (6) T. Cosgrove, B. Jenkins
3 – 2 1:39 – 2nd M. Sikic (1) I. Johnson, J. Berezowski
4 – 2 2:03 – 2nd N. Shea (17) M. Gosselin, D. McKay
4 – 3 3:11 – 2nd J. Pivonka (20) A. Calder
5 – 3 3:32 – 2nd I. Johnson (30) M. Sikic
6 – 3 8:04 – 2nd M. Gosselin (2) T. Weiss, B. Caufield PP
7 – 3 18:48 – 2nd N. Shea (18) C. Carter
8 – 3 4:44 – 3rd T. Weiss (14) Z. O’Brien, N. Staios
9 – 3 19:55 – 3rd I. Johnson (31) T. Weiss, G. Cruikshank

Rosters

# Player G A +/- SH PIM
G 45 D. McKay 0 1 0 0 0
G 50 V. Peksa 0 0 0 0 0
D 4 B. Tabakin 0 0 0 2 0
D 5 B. Kapcheck 0 0 0 1 0
F 6 B. Caufield 0 1 +2 1 0
F 7 J. Berezowski 0 2 +2 2 0
F 10 Z. O’Brien 0 1 +1 2 0
F 12 M. Gosselin 1 1 +2 4 0
F 15 T. Skirving 0 0 -1 1 0
F 19 G. Cruikshank 1 1 +2 10 0
D 20 J. Tychonick 0 0 +4 2 0
F 22 N. Shea 2 0 +1 6 2
F 23 I. Johnson 3 1 +3 5 0
D 26 J. Gatenby 0 1 +1 2 0
F 36 T. Weiss 1 3 +2 3 2
F 42 M. Sikic 1 2 +1 2 0
D 44 N. Staios 0 1 +4 1 2
F 47 A. Dawe 0 0 0 0 2
D 48 C. Carter 0 1 +1 1 0
Team:
Totals: 9 16 25 45 8
Player MIN SH SVS GA SV%
45 D. McKay (W) – 22 19 3 –
Totals: – 22 19 3 –
# Player G A +/- SH PIM
G 35 J. Spagnoli 0 0 0 0 0
G 40 J. Muse 0 0 0 0 0
D 3 R. Verrier 0 0 -4 1 0
D 7 M. Klee 0 0 -1 1 0
F 9 R. Scarfo 0 0 -2 0 2
D 10 T. Cosgrove 0 1 -1 1 2
F 11 A. Bakanov 0 0 -1 0 0
F 12 J. Cipollone 0 0 -2 3 0
F 13 J. Pivonka 1 0 -2 2 0
F 15 B. Robbins 1 0 -2 1 0
F 16 A. Calder 0 1 -2 2 0
F 17 K. Howdeshell 0 0 -2 0 0
D 18 C. Regula 0 0 -2 0 0
F 19 B. Jenkins 0 1 0 2 2
F 20 A. Heidemann 0 0 -2 2 0
D 26 C. Welsh 1 0 -3 3 0
F 37 R. Newkirk 0 0 0 2 0
F 44 A. Callin 0 0 0 1 0
D 70 Z. Garat 0 0 +1 1 0
Team:
Totals: 3 3 -25 22 6
Player MIN SH SVS GJ SV%
40 J. Muse (L) – 33 25 8 –
35 J. Spagnoli – 12 11 1 –
Totals: – 45 36 9 –

Penalties

Time Team Player Mins Infraction
0:54 – 1st N. Staios 2 Slashing – minor (61.2)
5:27 – 1st A. Dawe 2 Cross-Checking Minor (59.2)
5:27 – 1st R. Scarfo 2 Roughing – minor (51.2)
9:53 – 1st T. Weiss 2 Roughing – minor (51.2)
9:53 – 1st B. Jenkins 2 Roughing – minor (51.2)
11:33 – 1st N. Shea 2 Kneeing – minor (50.2)
6:08 – 2nd T. Cosgrove 2 Holding – minor (54.2)


Notes

  • Worcester Scratches: Anthony Repaci, Christian Krygier, Henrik Tikkanen, Jack Quinlivan, John Copeland, Michael Gildon, Riley Piercey, Ryan Dickinson, Tristan Lennox, and Zach White.
  • Newfoundland Scratches: James Melindy, Jordan Escott, Josh Victor, Keenan Suthers, Nolan Dillingham, Owen Norton, and Serron Noel.
  • Joe Spagnoli was released and signed again later in the day Saturday as Henrik Tikkanen is reportedly day-to-day with illness.
  • The results of the post-game auction were:
    • Anthony Repaci #81 (w/ C) – $2600
    • Henrik Tikkanen #39 – $650
    • Reece Newkirk #37 – $800
    • Artyom Kulakov #88 – $600
    • Blade Jenkins #19 (w/ A) – $3000
  • Following Saturday night’s game, the Railers had the following scoring streaks and droughts:
    • Mason Klee is without a point in his last three games.
    • Blade Jenkins is on a three-game point streak. (2-3-5)
    • Austin Heidemann is without a point in his last four games.
    • Connor Welsh snapped a three-game scoring drought with a goal.
    • Reece Newkirk’s point streak was snapped at five games. (4-2-6)

Railers Lines

Forward Lines LW C RW
Forward Line 1 Reece Newkirk #37 Blade Jenkins #19 Anthony Callin #44
Forward Line 2 Keeghan Howdeshell #17 Jake Pivonka #13 Ashton Calder #16
Forward Line 3 Andrei Bakanov #11 Brendan Robbins #15 Austin Heidemann #20
Rotated Forwards Ryan Scarfo #9 Joey Cipollone #12 –
Defensive Pairings LD RD
Defense Pair 1 Trevor Cosgrove #10 CJ Regula #18
Defense Pair 2 Ryan Verrier #3 Connor Welsh #26
Defense Pair 3 Zsombor Garat #70 Mason Klee #7
Rotated Defensemen – –
Goalie Tandem G
Starting Goaltender Joe Spagnoli #35
Backup Goaltender John Muse #40




Notable Tweets as the Game Happened


Railers Lines


Growlers Lines


Grant Cruikshank goal


Brendan Robbins goal


Issac Johnson goal


Connor Welsh goal


Marko Sikic goal


Neil Shea goal


Jake Pivonka goal


Issac Johnson goal


Mathieu Gosselin goal


Neil Shea goal


Tyler Weiss goal


Issac Johnson goal