Worcester Railers (21-20-5-3) vs Allen Americans (16-30-4-2)

Allen Event Center – Allen, Texas

Friday, February 15, 2019 – 8:05 EST – ECHL Game #666

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Referee: Andrew Bruggeman (#25)

Linesmen: Jordan Solomon (#78), Michael Miggans (#47)

Match Notes

  • Season Series: Game 1 of 1. (All-time series tied at 0-0)
  • Worcester can get within two points of fourth place, held by the Brampton Beast, with a win. Allen sits at the bottom of the league, nine points behind the Wichita Thunder in the mountain division.
  • Former Worcester Sharks Curt Gogol and Spencer Asuchak are on the Allen Americans roster, a former ECHL affiliate of the Worcester Sharks.

Players to Watch

  • Tyler Barnes (Worcester) – Having turned 29 on Wednesday, Barnes picked up another goal and assist to extend his goal and point streaks to eight and ten games. He is currently head-to-head with Kalamazoo’s Chris Collins for the longest goal streak of the season.
  • Zach Pochiro (Allen) – Leading the Allen Americans in one of their worst seasons in recent memory, Zach Pochiro leads the team in goals and points. He is second in the league with 11 power play goals, and is 14th overall in points with 46.

Railers Notes

  • Tyler Barnes is on a ten-game point streak and an eight-game goal streak. (9-5-14)
  • Barry Almeida has 184 shots, third in the league.
  • Railers are 13-0-1-2 when leading after two periods.
  • Newcomer Robert Powers is expected to make his Railers debut tonight.
  • Cold Streaks: Alex Vanier (9 games), Matt Gaudreau (4 games) Yanick Turcotte (4 games), Tommy Kelley (3 games), David Quenneville (3 games)

Recent Railers Additions, Subtractions, Transactions

  • Robert Powers was added to the active roster on Wednesday.
  • Tommy Panico was placed on injured reserve on Wednesday.

Possible Railers Scratches

  • Connor Doherty – out with an upper-body injury.
  • Malcolm Gould – on reserve.
  • Kyle McKenzie – on injured reserve, out for the season.
  • Tommy Panico – on injured reserve, out for the season.
  • Matt Schmalz – on injured reserve.
  • Additional scratches to be determined closer to puck drop.

Americans Notes

  • Zach Pochiro is tied for first in the league with 26 goals this season.
  • Alex Breton is sixth among defensemen with 31 points.
  • Curt Gogol has eight major penalties this season.
  • David Makowski has five power-play goals this season, tied for first for defensemen.
  • Allen is the only team that has not allowed a shorthanded goal at home this season.
  • Players who have faced Worcester earlier this season for other teams are: Riley Bourbonnais (Maine), Curt Gogol (Orlando), Pavel Jenys (Manchester)

Recent Americans Additions, Subtractions, Transactions

  • Tom Hodges was released as the team’s EBUG on February 11.

Possible Americans Scratches

  • Joel Chouinard – on reserve.
  • Emerson Clark – on reserve.
  • Thomas Frazee – on injured reserve, last played on November 27.
  • Casey Pierro-Zabotel – on injured reserve out for the season.
  • Kevin Sundher – on injured reserve, last played on December 31.
  • Dalton Thrower – on injured reserve, last played on January 28.
  • Josh Thrower – on injured reserve, last played on January 30.
  • Additional scratches to be determined closer to puck drop.

Head-to-Head

Worcester Allen
Goals For  2.53 – 26th  2.77 – 23rd
Goals Against  2.98 – 8th  3.60 – 24th
Shots For  31.79 – 13th  30.52 – 20th
Shots Against  32.60 – 21st  35.69 – 25th
Fighting Majors  31  29
Power Play  12.9% – 26th  17.4% – 14th
Penalty Kill  84.7% – 9th  83.1% – 13th
Avg Height / Weight / Age  6′ 0″ / 190 lbs / 24.79 years  6′ 1″ / 194 lbs / 25.36 years

Team Records

Worcester  Allen
Scoring First  15-6-1-2  10-4-4-1
Leading After 1  8-1-1-3  6-3-4-0
Leading After 2  13-0-1-2  10-0-1-1
Tied After 1  8-9-3-0  5-10-0-1
Tied After 2  7-6-2-1  4-8-2-0
Trailing After 1  5-10-1-0  5-17-0-1
Trailing After 2  1-14-1-0  2-22-1-2
Outshooting Opponents  8-9-2-2  5-7-0-1
Out Shot by Opponents  11-11-2-1  9-23-4-1

On the Island and at the Port

  • Greiss, Cizikas Lead Isles 3-0 Shutout Over Blue Jackets [NHL]
    • Greiss with the 31-save shutout (third in five games), which is his fourth of the season and a career high.
  • Isles host the Oilers tomorrow at 7.
  • Sound Tigers are on the road, facing Lehigh Valley tonight at 7:05.

Closing Statements