Game Story


Worcester, MA — The Worcester Railers wrapped up a busy 3-in-3 weekend with a 4-3 overtime loss to the Norfolk Admirals on Sunday at the DCU Center.

John Muse had the start for Worcester making his seventh start with 26 saves. Domenic DiVincentiis made his sixth start of the season for Norfolk, recording 24 saves and remains undefeated through those six games, five of which have gone into overtime. Anthony Callin, Riley Piercey, and Lincoln Hatten scored for Worcester. German Yavash, Carson Golder, Justin Young, and Brandon Osmondson scored for Norfolk. Three of the four meetings between Worcester and Norfolk have gone into overtime. The Railers were 0-for-5 on the power play, Norfolk’s power play wasn’t much better but had some success going 1-for-7. A grand total of 18 penalties were called in this game.

The Railers opened the scoring with Anthony Callin netting his second goal of the season, assisted by Anthony Repaci. The goal sparked a squall of 1,350 Teddy Bears from the stands onto the ice. Norfolk answered three minutes later when German Yavash scored at 16:53, tying the game at 1-1. Norfolk outshot the Railers 12-11 in the first period. Riley Piercey fought Connor Fedorek at 8:08 in front of the Railers bench, after freeing himself from a pin against the boards, he fought back eventually bringing Fedorek down to the ice, bringing fans at the DCU Center some excitement to close out the weekend.

The Railers claimed the lead in the second period with two goals. At 3:43, Riley Piercey fired a loose puck from the left circle over DiVincentiis’s shoulder. Lincoln Hatten extended the lead to 3-1 at 12:57, scoring on his own rebound. Norfolk again outshot the Railers, 11-8, but trailed heading into the third.

Norfolk began the third period on a power play, and Carson Golder capitalized, cutting the Railers lead to 3-2. Moments after a power play expired that had Griffin Luce in the penalty box, Justin Young tied the game with his first goal of the season. With the game tied again, it went into overtime. Norfolk had outshot Worcester 6-3 in the third.

After a flurry of five Railers attempts, Brandon Osmundson capitalized on a rebound that John Muse couldn’t recover from, scoring the game-winning goal at 3:22. Osmundson’s goal was the lone shot Norfolk had in the overtime period.

The three stars of the Friday night’s game were:

  1. Brandon Osmundson (Norfolk) – game-winning oal
  2. Riley Piercey (Worcester) – 1 goal
  3. Lincoln Hatten (Worcester) – 1 goal

Trois-Rivieres Lions beat the Maine Mariners 4-2 in Portland, Logan Nijhoff and Alex Beaucage each had a pair of goals, extending their point streak to nine games.. Wheeling Nailers beat the Reading Royals with a Jordan Martel hat trick, extending their point streak to 13 games. The top three teams of the division are riding point streaks of six games or longer, and the the four bottom teams are .500 or lower in their last ten games.

The Railers host the Royals in the only divisional matchup on Wednesday night, puck drops at 7:05 at the DCU Center.

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Box Score


Scoring 1 2 3 T
1 0 2 1
1 2 0 0
Shots 1 2 3 T
12 11 6 1
11 8 3 5
Score Team Time Scored by Assisted by Type
0 – 1 13:40 – 1st A. Callin (2) A. Repaci, M. DeMelis
1 – 1 16:53 – 1st G. Yavash (1) S. Timofeyev, B. Zloty
1 – 2 3:43 – 2nd R. Piercey (7) M. Kopperud
1 – 3 12:57 – 2nd L. Hatten (2) C. Donhauser, M. DeMelis
2 – 3 0:55 – 3rd C. Golder (10) B. Fleurent, B. Zloty PP
3 – 3 16:01 – 3rd J. Young (1) P. Padakin, G. Sward
4 – 3 3:22 – 1st OT B. Osmundson (7) D. Louis-Jean, B. Zloty

Rosters

# Player G A +/- SH PIM
G 37 K. Stead 0 0 0 0 0
G 50 D. DiVincentiis 0 0 0 0 0
D 2 D. Louis-Jean 0 1 0 1 0
D 7 N. Kelly 0 0 -1 0 2
F 8 D. Smirnov 0 0 -2 1 0
F 10 F. Fornåå Svensson 0 0 0 1 0
F 12 P. Padakin 0 1 +1 3 4
D 14 C. Fedorek 0 0 -1 0 5
D 15 G. Sward 0 1 +1 0 0
F 16 M. Reifenberger 0 0 -1 0 0
F 19 S. Montgomery 0 0 0 1 0
F 20 R. Chyzowski 0 0 -2 0 4
F 21 J. Young 1 0 +1 2 0
F 22 S. Timofeyev 0 1 0 4 0
D 23 J. McDougall 0 0 0 2 0
F 24 C. Golder 1 0 0 5 2
F 25 B. Osmundson 1 0 +1 2 2
F 28 G. Yavash 1 0 +1 4 0
D 44 B. Zloty 0 3 0 0 0
F 94 B. Fleurent 0 1 0 4 0
Team:
Player MIN SH SVS GA SV%
50 D. DiVincentiis (W) 63:15 27 24 3 0.889
Totals: 63:15 27 24 3 0.889
# Player G A +/- SH PIM
G 32 M. Bullion 0 0 0 0 0
G 40 J. Muse 0 0 0 0 2
F 9 Z. Nazzarett 0 0 0 0 0
F 10 J. Kaplan 0 0 +1 3 2
F 12 K. Johnson 0 0 0 0 0
D 14 M. Rajaniemi 0 0 +1 0 2
F 18 M. Kopperud 0 1 -1 2 0
F 19 R. Piercey 1 0 +1 1 5
D 22 G. Luce 0 0 -1 3 2
C 23 C. Jacobs 0 0 -1 0 0
D 24 M. Klee 0 0 -2 1 4
D 25 R. Dickinson 0 0 +1 0 2
D 26 C. Welsh 0 0 0 1 2
D 27 C. McDonald 0 0 0 1 0
F 29 C. Donhauser 0 1 0 0 0
F 33 L. Hatten 1 0 0 3 0
F 37 M. DeMelis 0 2 +2 0 0
F 44 A. Callin 1 0 0 7 0
F 81 A. Repaci 0 1 +1 5 2
Team:
Player MIN SH SVS GA SV%
40 J. Muse (L) – 30 26 4 –
Totals: – 30 26 4 –

Penalties

Time Team Player Mins Infraction
8:08 – 1st C. Fedorek 5 Fighting – Major (46.14)
8:08 – 1st R. Piercey 5 Fighting – Major (46.14)
8:58 – 1st R. Dickinson 2 Roughing – minor (51.2)
18:28 – 1st N. Kelly 2 Hooking – minor (55.2)
1:39 – 2nd R. Chyzowski 2 Holding the stick – minor (54.2)
5:59 – 2nd A. Repaci 2 Tripping – minor (57.2)
7:37 – 2nd R. Chyzowski 2 Unsportsmanlike conduct – minor (75.2)
7:37 – 2nd M. Rajaniemi 2 Cross-Checking Minor (59.2)
9:49 – 2nd P. Padakin 2 Slashing – minor (61.2)
10:12 – 2nd J. Kaplan 2 Holding – minor (54.2)
14:23 – 2nd P. Padakin 2 Roughing – minor (51.2)
14:48 – 2nd B. Osmundson 2 Roughing – minor (51.2)
14:48 – 2nd C. Welsh 2 Roughing – minor (51.2)
18:22 – 2nd C. Golder 2 Charing – minor (42.2)
19:58 – 2nd M. Klee 2 Interference – minor (56.2)
2:11 – 3rd J. Muse 2 Interference – minor (56.2)
10:06 – 3rd M. Klee 2 Holding – minor (54.2)
13:55 – 3rd G. Luce 2 Tripping – minor (57.2)


Notes

  • Worcester Scratches: Brenden Rons, Christian Krygier, Griffin Loughran, Jack Randl, and JD Dudek.
  • Norfolk Scratches: Brady Fleurent, Carson Musser, Kamerin Nault, Keegan Iverson, Sanghoon Shin, and Spencer Kennedy.
  • Completing the weekend hat trick of dressing a captain and three alternate captains, Griffin Luce wore the A for a third straight game.
  • After conversing with fellow Worcester Hockey writer Darryl Hunt, Matias Rajaniemi indeed does have the Railers franchise record for the longest stretch of games without a point, which currently stands at 19, but does not have the record across Worcester Pro Hockey. The Worcester Pro Hockey record is at least 44. Steve McLaren had no points in 40 games during the 2002-03 season along with three games during the playoffs during that season and played in one game in the playoffs during the previous season.
  • The Railers claimed forward William Provost from the Trois-Rivieres Lions on Saturday. Provost didn’t score in ten games with the Lions this season. In 59 games during the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons, he had 11 goals and 20 assists. Worcester will be his sixth ECHL season in three seasons.
  • Following Sunday’s game, the Railers had the following scoring streaks and droughts:
    • Zachary Nazzarett is without a point in his last three games.
    • Kolby Johnson is without a point in his last three games.
    • Matias Rajaniemi is without a point in all nineteen games he’s played in this season.
    • Colin Jacobs is without a point in his last four games.
    • Ryan Dickinson is without a point in his last three games.
    • Cam McDonald is without a point in his last three games.
    • Cole Donhauser snapped an eight-game scoring drought with an assist.

Railers Lines

Forward Lines LW C RW
Forward Line 1 Anthony Repaci #81 Jordan Kaplan #10 Lincoln Hatten #33
Forward Line 2 Matthew Kopperud #18 Anthony Callin #44 Colin Jacobs #23
Forward Line 3 Riley Piercey #19 Cole Donhauser #29 Matt DeMelis #37
Forward Line 4 Kolby Johnson #12 – –
Defensive Pairings LD RD
Defense Pair 1 Griffin Luce #22 Connor Welsh #26
Defense Pair 2 Cam McDonald #27 Mason Klee #24
Defense Pair 3 Matias Rajaniemi #14 Ryan Dickinson #25
Rotated Defensemen – –
Goalie Tandem G
Starting Goaltender John Muse #40
Backup Goaltender Michael Bullion #32

Opponent Lines

Forward Lines LW C RW
Forward Line 1 Stepan Timofeyev #22 Denis Smirnov #8 Brady Fleurent #94
Forward Line 2 Carson Golder #24 Brandon Osmundson #25 Justin Young #21
Forward Line 3 Pavel Padakin #12 Marko Reifenberger #16 Sean Montgomery #19
Forward Line 4 Ryan Chyzowski #20 German Yavash #28 Filip Fornåå Svensson #10
Defensive Pairings LD RD
Defense Pair 1 Darick Louis-Jean #2 Ben Zloty #44
Defense Pair 2 Graham Sward #15 Josh McDougall #23
Defense Pair 3 Connor Fedorek #14 Nathan Kelly #7
Rotated Defensemen – –
Goalie Tandem G
Starting Goaltender Domenic DiVincentiis #50
Backup Goaltender Kristian Stead #37

On-Ice Officials

– –
Referee Chris Rumble (26)
Referee –
Linesman Davids Rozitis (90)
Linesman Michael Tarquinio (45)


Highlights

Notable Tweets as the Game Happened


Railers Lines


Admirals Lines


Railers Warm-ups Shots


Riley Piercey vs Connor Fedorek


Anthony Callin goal


Teddy Bear Toss Photos


Riley Piercey goal


Lincoln Hatten goal


Teddy Bear Count


Brandon Osmundson GWG