Game Story

Worcester, MA — The Worcester Railers hosted the Norfolk Admirals in the first-ever match-up between the two on Saturday at the DCU Center.

Evan Buitenhuis was the starter for Worcester who lasted a second over three minutes before being replaced by Blake Wojtala after suffering an apparent leg injury. Wojtala made 26 saves in his pro debut. Josh Holmstrom was the team’s captain, with Mike Cornell and Ryan Hitchcock getting recalled to Bridgeport, and Nick Sorkin signing a PTO with the Binghamton Devils earlier in the day. Railers goals were scored by Tommy Kelley (4th), Bo Brauer (7th), Ryan Hitchcock (14th & 15th), Barry Almeida (19th), Ross Olsson (1st).

Railers had a bit of a scare early in the game as Evan Buitenhuis was looked at early in the first period with some discomfort in his leg. After being attended to by Worcester’s athletic trainer Rob Tagle, Boots stayed in net for the next play. However after the play stopped again, Boots skated to the bench and was headed down the tunnel for the dressing room with the discomfort affecting his ability to play the remainder of the game. This led to 24-year old Blake Wojtala making his pro debut and playing the rest of the game for Worcester.

Two and a half minutes after Buitenhuis’ departure Worcester had back-to-back goals by Tommy Kelley and Bo Brauer over the course of about 45 seconds. Yanick Turcotte dropped the gloves with Ludlow Harris Jr, in what was probably Turcotte’s easiest fighting win of his career with a few punches in. Railers led 2-0 over Norfolk, shots 9-6 in Worcester’s favor.

Ryan Hitchcock scored his first of the game with a cross-ice pass from Tyler Barnes into the open net of Norfolk goaltender Ty Reichenbach at 3:43 in the middle frame. Norfolk’s only goal of the game came nine seconds into their penalty kill later in the period with Domenic Alberga getting a shot past Wojtala on the backhand. Worcester held a strong lead at 3-1 and outshot Norfolk 19-17.

Worcester went on to score three more goals in the third period by Barry Almeida and Ryan Hitchcock, followed by Ryan Olsson scoring his pro goal for the 6-1 win over Norfolk. Things got tense as the game grew closer to its conclusion.

Referee Jarred Mitrano left the game with an injury early in the third period. It’s quite rare that an on-ice official leaves the game, but when it does it leaves the linesmen to step up on calls, which was the case for Saturday’s game with linesmen Kyle Richetelle and Shane Kanaly. Such is the case with a lot of ECHL games, things can easily get out of hand when calls (or lack thereof) feel one-sided or non-existent.

David Quenneville fought Brant Sherwood in his first pro fight at 4:19 in the third period. Not much of a surprise that Quenneville was involved in a fight due to his playing style and getting caught-up in action behind the play that often earns him the “Pest of the Game” nod.

As the third period went on, Ross Olsson was forced to defend himself after being attacked out of no-where by Daniel Maggio after the play had stopped at 10:39. With just under 15 seconds left in the game, Olsson found himself in the same situation with Maggio, which left sticks and gloves scattered across the ice with teams coming together shortly after. Bo Brauer was listed as fighting Jake Wood on the scoresheet with a number of game misconducts and misconducts assigned to various players on both sides.

The Railers nearly saw their first goalie fight in franchise history with Ty Reichenbach dropping his gloves and chasing Blake Wojtala around the ice. Given the Railers were already down to one goaltender, it was for the best that he didn’t pursue the fight and waited for the time left on the clock to expire.

The Three stars of the game were:

  1. Blake Wojtala (Worcester) – 26 saves, win
  2. Ryan Hitchcock (Worcester) – 2 goals, 1 assist
  3. Tyler Barnes (Worcester) – 2 assists

Worcester wore black and green Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle-themed jerseys that were auctioned off during and after the game. Yanick Turcotte’s jersey sold for an auction-high of $1,550. A blog post with the results of the auction will be posted before the team wears their final specialty jersey of the season, a Patriots-themed jersey on March 30.

Box Score

Scoring 1 2 3 T
Norfolk Admirals 0 1 0 1
Worcester Railers 2 1 3 6
Shots 1 2 3 T
Norfolk Admirals 6 11 12 29
Worcester Railers 9 10 7 26

 

Admirals Roster # Name G A +/- SH PIM
G 33 T. Reichenbach 0 0 0 0 2
G 35 J. Brodeur 0 0 0 0 0
D 3 L. Harris Jr. 0 0 -1 0 5
D 4 E. Roy 0 0 -2 3 0
F 8 D. Alberga 1 0 -1 3 0
F 9 S. Eiserman 0 0 -2 1 0
F 10 C. Horn 0 0 -2 0 0
F 11 M. McMorrow 0 0 -2 5 0
RW 12 B. Duffy 0 1 -1 2 0
F 14 D. Angeli 0 0 -2 1 2
F 16 C. Hurley 0 0 -2 0 0
LW 17 J. Wood 0 0 -2 3 15
F 18 L. Nogard 0 0 -2 4 10
D 21 D. Maggio 0 0 -3 1 20
F 23 B. Sherwood 0 0 0 0 5
D 26 B. Rumble 0 0 0 1 0
D 42 D. Olivieri 0 0 -2 1 4
D 52 T. Melancon 0 0 -2 4 0
Team:
Totals: 1 1 -26 29 63
No Name Min SH SVS GA
33 T. Reichenbach (L) 59:49 26 20 6
35 J. Brodeur 0:11 0 0 0
Totals: 60:00 26 20 6
Railers Roster # Name G A +/- SH PIM
G 31 B. Wojtala 0 0 0 0 2
G 34 E. Buitenhuis 0 0 0 0 0
F 7 T. Barnes 0 2 +3 1 0
F 9 R. Olsson 1 0 0 3 7
F 11 D. Willick 0 0 0 0 2
F 12 J. Holmstrom 0 0 +1 1 0
D 13 I. Chukarov 0 0 +1 1 0
F 15 B. Brauer 1 0 +1 1 15
F 19 B. Almeida 1 2 +3 5 0
D 20 D. Quenneville 0 0 0 0 5
F 21 M. Gaudreau 0 1 0 2 0
F 22 C. Michalowski 0 0 +1 0 0
D 24 T. Mueller 0 1 +2 2 0
F 27 R. Hitchcock 2 1 +4 4 0
D 28 C. Doherty 0 1 +3 3 2
F 37 T. Kelley 1 1 +2 2 0
D 41 R. Powers 0 1 +3 1 0
F 51 Y. Turcotte 0 0 +1 0 15
Team:
Totals: 6 10 25 26 48
No Name Min SH SVS GA
34 E. Buitenhuis 3:01 2 2 0
31 B. Wojtala (W) 56:59 27 26 1
Totals: 60:00 29 28 1
P T Player M Offense Time
1st V L. Harris Jr. 5.00 Fighting – Major (46.14) 6:17
1st H Y. Turcotte 5.00 Fighting – Major (46.14) 6:17
1st V D. Olivieri 2.00 Hooking – minor (55.2) 11:03
2nd H C. Doherty 2.00 Tripping – minor (57.2) 7:29
2nd V D. Olivieri 2.00 Interference – minor (56.2) 13:58
3rd V D. Angeli 2.00 Tripping – minor (57.2) 4:19
3rd V B. Sherwood 5.00 Fighting – Major (46.14) 4:19
3rd H D. Quenneville 5.00 Fighting – Major (46.14) 4:19
3rd V D. Maggio 5.00 Fighting – Major (46.14) 10:39
3rd H R. Olsson 5.00 Fighting – Major (46.14) 10:39
3rd H D. Willick 2.00 Tripping – minor (57.2) 13:56
3rd V D. Maggio 5.00 Fighting – Major (46.14) 19:48
3rd V D. Maggio 10.00 Game misconduct – Aggressor (46.2) 19:48
3rd V L. Nogard 10.00 Misconduct – Continuing Altercation (46.5) 19:48
3rd V T. Reichenbach 2.00 Leaving the crease – minor (27.6) 19:48
3rd V J. Wood 5.00 Fighting – Major (46.14) 19:48
3rd V J. Wood 10.00 Game misconduct – Secondary altercation (46.7) 19:48
3rd H B. Brauer 5.00 Fighting – Major (46.14) 19:48
3rd H B. Brauer 10.00 Game misconduct – Secondary altercation (46.7) 19:48
3rd H R. Olsson 2.00 Roughing – minor (51.2) 19:48
3rd H Y. Turcotte 10.00 Misconduct – Unsportsmanlike Conduct (75.4) 19:48
3rd H B. Wojtala 2.00 Leaving the crease – minor (27.6) 19:48

Notes

  • Railers Injures: Kyle McKenzie, Tommy Panico, Matt Schmalz, Alex Vanier
  • Railers Scratches: (none)
  • Admirals Injuries: Patrick D’Amico, John Gustafsson, Merrick Madsen, Cody Smith
  • Admirals Scratches: Romain Chauard, Brandon Parone, Strathis Soumelidis
  • Mike Cornell and Ryan MacKinnon will be out of the line-up as Bridgeport faces the Toronto Marlies on Sunday. They’ll need to meet some playing requirements at the AHL level before they’ll be eligible to play for Worcester if they make the playoffs. The same goes for any skater (excluding goalies and two exceptions) who is on a contract with Bridgeport.
  • As all misconducts and game misconducts are reviewed by the league, fans should look out for any announcements regarding suspensions as Bo Brauer and Yanick Turcotte received some discipline right before the end of Saturday’s game. As always, we’ll bring you the latest on the social media links in the bullet below.
  • 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  T. Barnes #7 “A”
Forward Line 2  J. Holmstrom #12 “C”  M. Gaudreau #21  T. Kelley #37
Forward Line 3  C. Michalowski #22 / Y. Turcotte #51  D. Willick #11  R. Olsson #9
LD RD
Defense Line 1  D. Quenneville #20 R. Powers #41
Defense Line 2  C. Doherty #28 T. Mueller #24
Defense Line 3  B. Brauer #15  I. Chukarov #13
G
Starting Goaltender  Evan Buitenhuis #34
Backup Goaltender  Blake Wojtala #31

Highlights