Game Story
Worcester, MA — The Worcester Railers hosted the Newfoundland Growlers on their first Guns N Hoses night on Saturday. Railers wore a light blue jersey featuring the Worcester Police Department’s logo on the shoulders. The jerseys were auctioned off during and after the game, with proceeds going to benefit the Boys and Girls Club of Worcester. Railers lost their third straight with a loss to the Growlers, 5-2.
Evan Buitenhuis was in net for Worcester, making his second straight start with Mitch Gillam being on recall to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. “Boots” made 28 saves in his second appearance of the weekend. Mario Culina was in net for the Growlers.
The first period showed some echoes of last night’s game but showed some hope of changing over. Railers allowed one power play goal with Connor Doherty in the box twice during the period, and thr Railers had two unsuccessful power plays of their own. Railers trailed 2-0 after twenty, with Newfoundland outshooting them 10-8.
Growlers extended their lead to three with a power play goal from Giorgio Estephan. The lead was extended once again to four with an even strength goal by Matt Bradley.
The closing minutes were the best minutes all weekend. Ivan Korsenkov scored his first pro goal with a shot from the right circle that went just under the crossbar. Tyler Barnes scored the second Railers goal from the left side of the net. Buitenhuis was pulled shortly after Barnes’ goal, where the Growlers put the game away with an empty net goal.
Barnes’ goal was the first one to be reviewed with the experimental video review system at the DCU Center. It was under review to determine whether a glove pushed the puck in, and was ultimately determined that a stick pushed it in after being reviewed for several minutes.
With a mix-up with the lines tonight the Railers had the same outcome as last night. The Railers inability to score on the power play, getting quality shots on goal, and allowing goals while penalized are beginning to add up. Perhaps a bigger shake-up in the line-up is in order for the Railers to get over this slump.
The Three Stars of the Game were:
- Estephan
- LeBlanc
- Culina
The Passengers: Railers will travel via plane to “the rock” in the coming days to face the Newfoundland Growlers on November 6 and 7. Note that the start time for these games is 5:30, as Newfoundland is an hour and a half ahead of eastern standard time. As these games will be played during the week, the Railers Sports Tavern will be hosting viewing parties for both of these games.
Box Score
| Scoring | 1 | 2 | 3 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newfoundland Growlers | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| Worcester Railers | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Shots | 1 | 2 | 3 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newfoundland Growlers | 10 | 10 | 13 | 33 |
| Worcester Railers | 8 | 11 | 16 | 35 |
| Growlers Roster | # | Name | G | A | +/- | SH | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | 31 | M. Culina | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| G | 34 | M. Garteig | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| D | 3 | K. Cumiskey | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| D | 5 | K. Rubins | 0 | 0 | -1 | 1 | 0 |
| D | 8 | E. Neugold | 0 | 0 | -1 | 1 | 0 |
| F | 9 | M. Power | 0 | 0 | -1 | 2 | 0 |
| F | 11 | D. Plouffe | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| F | 12 | S. Pooley | 0 | 0 | -1 | 3 | 0 |
| F | 14 | J. Piccinich | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| F | 16 | H. Elynuik | 0 | 0 | +1 | 0 | 0 |
| F | 22 | B. Ferguson | 1 | 1 | +1 | 5 | 0 |
| D | 23 | S. LeBlanc | 1 | 1 | +2 | 4 | 0 |
| F | 26 | J. Kestner | 0 | 0 | +1 | 2 | 0 |
| F | 27 | M. Bradley | 2 | 0 | +2 | 4 | 4 |
| F | 29 | G. Estephan | 1 | 2 | +2 | 8 | 0 |
| F | 40 | R. Moore | 0 | 0 | -2 | 0 | 4 |
| D | 46 | A. Cortese | 0 | 1 | +1 | 1 | 2 |
| D | 47 | T. Olson | 0 | 1 | +1 | 0 | 0 |
| Team: | |||||||
| Totals: | 5 | 7 | 5 | 33 | 10 |
| 31 | M. Culina (W) | 60:00 | 35 | 33 | 2 |
| Totals: | 60:00 | 35 | 33 | 2 |
| Railers Roster | # | Name | G | A | +/- | SH | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | 34 | E. Buitenhuis | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| G | 39 | R. Hubbard | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| D | 2 | T. Panico | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| D | 3 | A. Vanier | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| D | 4 | R. MacKinnon | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| D | 6 | M. Cornell | 0 | 1 | -2 | 2 | 2 |
| F | 7 | T. Barnes | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| F | 8 | N. Sorkin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| F | 9 | A. Block | 0 | 0 | -1 | 2 | 0 |
| F | 10 | I. Kosorenkov | 1 | 0 | +1 | 3 | 0 |
| F | 11 | D. Willick | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 |
| F | 12 | J. Holmstrom | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| F | 19 | B. Almeida | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| F | 22 | N. Bligh | 0 | 0 | -1 | 2 | 0 |
| F | 23 | W. Hudson | 0 | 0 | -1 | 5 | 0 |
| D | 24 | T. Mueller | 0 | 1 | -2 | 0 | 2 |
| D | 28 | C. Doherty | 0 | 1 | +1 | 1 | 6 |
| F | 41 | T. Tsicos | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Team: | |||||||
| Totals: | 2 | 3 | -6 | 35 | 16 |
| No | Name | Min | SH | SVS | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 34 | E. Buitenhuis (L) | 59:34 | 33 | 28 | 5 |
| Totals: | 59:34 | 33 | 28 | 5 |
| P | T | Player | M | Offense | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | H | C. Doherty | 2.00 | Slashing – minor (61.2) | 9:50 |
| 1st | V | R. Moore | 2.00 | Slashing – minor (61.2) | 12:10 |
| 1st | H | C. Doherty | 2.00 | Tripping – minor (57.2) | 17:07 |
| 1st | V | A. Cortese | 2.00 | Hooking – minor (55.2) | 19:55 |
| 2nd | H | T. Mueller | 2.00 | Tripping – minor (57.2) | 6:17 |
| 2nd | H | B. Almeida | 2.00 | Hooking – minor (55.2) | 16:54 |
| 2nd | V | R. Moore | 2.00 | Interference – minor (56.2) | 19:11 |
| 2nd | V | M. Bradley | 2.00 | Hooking – minor (55.2) | 19:34 |
| 3rd | H | C. Doherty | 2.00 | Hooking – minor (55.2) | 2:04 |
| 3rd | H | A. Vanier | 2.00 | Roughing – minor (51.2) | 2:54 |
| 3rd | H | N. Sorkin | 2.00 | Roughing – minor (51.2) | 12:25 |
| 3rd | H | M. Cornell | 2.00 | High-sticking – minor (60.2) | 12:41 |
| 3rd | V | M. Bradley | 2.00 | Hooking – minor (55.2) | 18:00 |
Notes
- Railers Scratches: Tommy Kelley (14-day IR), Yanick Turcotte (14-day IR), Kyle McKenzie (undisclosed reason), David Quenneville (upper body injury), Bryan Arneson.
- Ray Bourque was in attendance for the puck drop as the first celebrity appearance of the 2018-19 season. Bourque was previously seen at the DCU Center years ago when his sons played against the Worcester Sharks a few years ago. Both sons, Ryan and Chris, currently play for the Railers’ AHL affiliate in Bridgeport. Ray played in a few of Denis Leary’s Celebrity Hat Trick events in the early 2000’s when the event was held at the Centrum.
- The Worcester Police and Fire Departments took the ice before the Railers game for the first “doubleheader” game of the season.
- Railers wore a light blue specialty jersey with a Worcester Police Department badge on the crest. Jerseys were auctioned during the weekend. Full details on what everything went for will be up in a new series of posts that will be introduced on the site.
- Mitch Gillam and Jeff Kubiak are on recall with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Gillam was the back-up for Bridgeport’s 3-2 loss on Friday. Jeff Kubiak has two assists in five games for the Sound Tigers.
- The only Worcester connection on the Growlers is Scott Pooley, who played for the Holy Cross Crusaders from 2014-2018.
- Eamon McAdam, who has dressed for the Newfoundland Growlers, Toronto Marlies, and Toronto Maple Leafs so far this season played in his first AHL game this season in a relief effort. McAdam made 22 saves on 23 shots, with his only goal being allowed in the shootout, taking a 7-6 loss to Cleveland.
Railers Lines (Observed by order in which they appeared):
| LW | C | RW | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward Line 1 | B. Almeida #19 “A” | N. Bligh #22 | T. Barnes #7 |
| Forward Line 2 | N. Sorkin #8 | J. Holmstrom #12 “A” | I. Korsorenkov #10 |
| Forward Line 3 | A. Block #9 / T. Tsicos #41 | D. Willick #11 | W. Hudson #23 |
| LD | RD | |
|---|---|---|
| Defense Line 1 | T. Panico #2 | M. Cornell #6 “C” |
| Defense Line 2 | A. Vanier #3 | R. MacKinnon #4 |
| Defense Line 3 | T. Mueller #24 | C. Doherty #28 |
| G | |
|---|---|
| Starting Goaltender | Evan Buitenhuis #34 |
| Backup Goaltender | Ryan Hubbard #39 |