Game Story


Glens Falls, NY — The Worcester Railers fell 4-3 at the hands of the Adirondack Thunder on Sunday afternoon at the Cool Insuring Arena. The game was the final regular season match for both teams with playoff implications, Railers had to win in regulation to make the playoffs and failed to do so after a 3-2 lead after two periods.

Coming into the game the Railers had a 25-0-1 record when leading after two periods. The other loss came just over two weeks ago to the Trois-Rivieres Lions with a 5-4 final at the DCU Center on March 29. Perhaps if they had won that game, they’d have a different swing in momentum and they’d still be in the playoff picture. Needless to say, after a historic 9-0 start to the season, you’d expect the team to finish in a playoff spot and above the .500 win percentage mark. After Sunday’s loss, they hit the .500 mark for the first time all season with a record of 34-34-4-0 and came points out of a playoff spot. I jokingly said this in a post earlier this year – there are three things certain in life: death, taxes, and Worcester hockey teams coming up short, and losing in the final game of the season which had playoff implications surely seems like icing on the cake.

Ken Appleby started in net following his relief effort on Saturday night, making 31 saves on 34 shots for his 13th loss of the season. Mike Robinson was back in net for the Thunder with his second win of the weekend making 28 saves. Both goaltenders had a number of great saves to keep the game close, with Robinson having several pad saves early on Railers scoring opportunities. Nick Fea, Trevor Cosgrove, and Anthony Repaci each scored in the Railers’ finale, while Shawn Weller, Patrick Grasso, Matt Stief, and Brady Fleurent each had goals for the Thunder.

Shawn Weller scored the opening goal for the Thunder just 2 minutes and 39 seconds into the game, putting them ahead 1-0. Weller received the puck from Ryan Smith and managed to send a wrist shot past goaltender Ken Appleby. The Railers managed to turn the game around and took a 2-1 lead after Nick Fea scored a goal by tapping in a loose puck at 9:48 of the first period. Then, on the power play, Trevor Cosgrove sent a wrist shot past goaltender Mike Robinson at 12:25, making it 2-1 for Worcester at the end of the first period.

In the second period, Anthony Repaci scored a power-play goal, assisted by Nolan Vesey and Noah Delmas, at 11:59 to give the Railers a 3-1 lead, with his 27th goal of the year. However, Adirondack fought back, and Patrick Grasso managed to score his 36th goal of the year at 13:55, with assists from Wayne Letourneau and Shane Harper, bringing the Thunder back within one goal, with the score at 3-2 at the end of the second period.

In the third period, Matt Stief scored on the power play at 10:24, tying the game and giving Adirondack the chance to at least force overtime. Worcester then pulled their goaltender, Appleby, in an attempt to win the game in regulation, but Brady Fleurent scored an empty-net goal to secure a spot in the Kelly Cup Playoffs.

The Three Stars of Sunday afternoon’s game were not listed as of late Sunday night.

With the season in the books and the fourth straight season of missing the playoffs, the team is once again looking ahead to the next season. Once the dust settles we’ll have a season recap/review just like we had a preview to begin the season.

As the 2023-24 season schedule is set to be released in the coming weeks, fans can expect the Railers to start their season off on the road with the DCU Center already being booked for a Hot Wheels Monster Truck-esque event during the ECHL opening weekend.

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Box Score


Scoring 1 2 3 T
2 1 0 3
1 1 2 4
Shots 1 2 3 T
15 8 8 31
12 12 11 35
Score Team Time Scored by Assisted by Type
0 – 1 2:39 – 1st S. Weller (14) R. Smith
1 – 1 9:48 – 1st N. Fea (8) M. McGurty, A. Callin
2 – 1 12:25 – 1st T. Cosgrove (5) B. Butler, J. Hayhurst PP
3 – 1 11:59 – 2nd A. Repaci (27) N. Vesey, N. Delmas PP
3 – 2 13:55 – 2nd P. Grasso (36) W. Letourneau, S. Harper
3 – 3 10:24 – 3rd M. Stief (5) S. Vidmar, S. Harper PP
3 – 4 17:54 – 3rd B. Fleurent (9) EN

Rosters

# Player G A +/- SH PIM
G 35 K. Appleby 0 0 0 0 0
G 39 H. Tikkanen 0 0 0 0 0
F 3 N. Fea 1 0 0 2 0
F 7 L. Coughlin 0 0 -2 0 0
F 8 B. Butler 0 1 -1 3 0
D 9 N. Delmas 0 1 -1 1 0
D 10 T. Cosgrove 1 0 -2 4 0
F 11 N. Vesey 0 1 -1 1 0
F 12 B. Beaudoin 0 0 -1 1 0
F 16 J. Hayhurst 0 1 -1 4 4
F 17 A. Callin 0 1 +1 1 0
F 22 J. Lambert 0 0 -1 3 0
F 23 A. Bakanov 0 0 0 1 0
D 26 J. Brandt 0 0 0 0 0
D 27 M. McGurty 0 1 0 1 0
D 29 A. Kulakov 0 0 0 1 0
D 41 R. Da Silva 0 0 -1 3 2
F 44 S. Jandric 0 0 0 2 2
F 81 A. Repaci 1 0 -1 3 0
Team:
Totals: 3 6 -11 31 8
Player MIN SH SVS GA SV%
35 K. Appleby (L) – 34 31 3 –
Empty Net – 1 1 –
Totals: – 35 31 4 –
# Player G A +/- SH PIM
G 1 M. Petizian 0 0 0 0 0
G 39 M. Robinson 0 0 0 0 0
D 3 D. Mingo 0 0 +1 2 0
D 4 M. Slick 0 0 +1 2 2
D 7 M. Stief 1 0 0 3 0
D 8 W. Letourneau 0 1 +1 2 0
F 9 C. Long 0 0 +1 1 2
F 10 R. Smith 0 1 +1 3 0
F 11 S. Harper 0 2 0 3 0
D 12 R. Orgel 0 0 0 0 2
F 14 M. Jennings 0 0 0 5 0
F 21 P. Grasso 1 0 0 2 0
F 22 S. Vidmar 0 1 0 3 0
D 26 K. Hallbauer 0 0 +1 0 0
F 27 T. Broughman 0 0 0 3 2
F 29 B. Fleurent 1 0 +1 2 0
F 37 E. Middendorf 0 0 0 1 0
F 43 G. Jozefek 0 0 +2 2 0
F 63 S. Weller 1 0 +1 1 0
Team:
Totals: 4 5 10 35 8
Player MIN SH SVS GJ SV%
39 M. Robinson (W) – 31 28 3 –
Totals: – 31 28 3 –

Penalties

Time Team Player Mins Infraction
10:42 – 1st R. Orgel 2 Hooking – minor (55.2)
16:48 – 1st S. Jandric 2 Hooking – minor (55.2)
1:18 – 2nd J. Hayhurst 2 Tripping – minor (57.2)
10:37 – 2nd T. Broughman 2 Tripping – minor (57.2)
14:45 – 2nd C. Long 2 Tripping – minor (57.2)
5:46 – 3rd J. Hayhurst 2 Cross-Checking Minor (59.2)
10:18 – 3rd R. Da Silva 2 High-sticking – minor (60.2)
15:32 – 3rd M. Slick 2 Delay of Game (63.2)


Notes


Worcester Scratches: Adam Goodsir, Christian Evers, Connor McCarthy, Jack Quinlivan, Max Johnson, Phil Beaulieu, Quinn Ryan, and Reece Newkirk.
Adirondack Scratches: Brandon Schultz, Bryce Martin, Ivan Chukarov, Jake Theut, Jeff Taylor, Mareks Mitens, Nick Rivera, Vinnie Purpura, and Yanick Turcotte.

Railers Lines

Forward Lines LW C RW
Forward Line 1 Andrei Bakanov #23 Brent Beaudoin #12 Anthony Repaci #81
Forward Line 2 Steve Jandric #44 Jacob Hayhurst #16 Bobby Butler #8
Forward Line 3 Nolan Vesey #11 Anthony Callin #17 Reece Newkirk #37
Rotated Forwards – Liam Coughlin #7 Jimmy Lambert #22
Defensive Pairings LD RD
Defense Pair 1 Jared Brandt #26 Myles McGurty #27
Defense Pair 2 Noah Delmas #9 Artyom Kulakov #29
Defense Pair 3 Ryan Da Silva #41 Trevor Cosgrove #10
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 Matt Jennings #14 Shane Harper #11 Patrick Grasso #21
Forward Line 2 Grant Jozefek #43 Ryan Smith #10 Sebastian Vidmar #22
Forward Line 3 Erik Middendorf #37 Travis Broughman #27 Brady Fleurent #29
Rotated Forwards Shawn Weller #63 Colin Long #9 –
Defensive Pairings LD RD
Defense Pair 1 Matt Stief #7 Ryan Orgel #12
Defense Pair 2 Matt Slick #4 Dajon Mingo #3
Defense Pair 3 Wayne Letourneau #8 Kyle Hallbauer #26
Rotated Defensemen – –
Goalie Tandem G
Starting Goaltender Mike Robinson #39
Backup Goaltender Matt Petizian #1

On-Ice Officials

– –
Referee Alex Normandin (26)
Referee –
Linesman Trevor Waite (73)
Linesman Matthew Heinen (93)




Notable Tweets as the Game Happened


Railers Lines


Thunder Lines


Shawn Weller goal (1-0 Thunder)


Nick Fea goal (Tied 1-1)


Trevor Cosgrove goal (2-1 Railers)


Anthony Repaci goal (3-1 Railers)


Patrick Grasso goal (3-2 Railers)


Matt Stief goal (Tied 3-3)


Brady Fleurent goal (4-3 Thunder)