Worcester Railers (23-22-5-3) vs Maine Mariners (28-25-0-1)

Cross Insurance Arena – Portland, Maine

Sunday, February 24, 2019 – 3:00 EST – ECHL Game #735

989 Nash Icon | ECHL.TV

Referee: Liam Sewell (#7)

Linesmen: Shane Kanaly (#39), Kyle Richetelle (#73)

Match Notes

  • Season Series: Game 11 of 14. (Maine leads season series 7-3)
  • All games between these two teams that have gone to overtime or later have been won by Maine. Three of their last four match-ups have gone into overtime or shootout.
  • Maine sits one point behind the Brampton Beast for the final playoff spot in the division with 58 points. Worcester sits in last but can get within two points of Maine with a win and a Reading loss.

Players to Watch

  • Mike Cornell (Worcester) – Leading Worcester in penalty minutes, Cornell also has the most with 25 in games against the Mariners. Cornell sits in second for points behind Tyler Barnes in games against Maine as well.
  • Michael McNicholas (Maine) – McNicholas is Maine’s leading point scorer with 42 points on the season. He is currently in a four-way tie for first in assists for Rookies with 30 assists on the season. McNicholas is tied with Ryan Ferrill for goals, assists, and points against Worcester, going 3-2-5 in nine games this season

Railers Notes

  • Tyler Barnes leads Worcester in points against Maine with nine in ten games.
  • Barry Almeida is tied for second in shots with 201 this season. With seven shots on goal in Wednesday’s loss to Manchester, it is the first time in his career that he has passed the 200 shot mark.
  • Mike Cornell is ranked third in defensemen for penalty minutes with 147 in 49 games, which is his career-high.
  • 21 of Worcester’s 53 games have been decided by one goal.
  • Railers are tied for last in shorthanded goals scored with two.
  • Worcester is undefeated in regulation when leading after two periods.
  • Cold Streaks: Alex Vanier (12 games), Tommy Kelley (5 games), Dylan Willick (4 games), Yanick Turcotte (3 games)

Recent Railers Additions, Subtractions, Transactions

  • Evan Buitenhuis was recalled to Bridgeport on Sunday.
  • Ryan Hubbard was signed to contract on Sunday.
  • Kevin Hart was released on Thursday.

Possible Railers Scratches

  • Connor Doherty – on injured reserve, last played on February 10.
  • Tommy Kelley – on reserve.
  • Kyle McKenzie – on injured reserve, out for the season.
  • Tommy Panico – on injured reserve, out for the season.
  • Robert Powers – on reserve.
  • Matt Schmalz – on injured reserve, last played on January 25.
  • Additional scratches to be determined closer to puck drop.

Mariners Notes

  • Greg Chase leads all active Mariners with four game-winning goals this season.
  • Nine different players have shorthanded goals for Maine this season.
  • Maine is the only team in the ECHL without a loss in the overtime period.
  • Mariners have the second-worst penalty kill at home with 76.5 percent of penalties killed off.
  • Maine is 14-0 when leading after two periods.

Recent Mariners Additions, Subtractions, Transactions

  • Ryan Siiro was claimed on waivers from Fort Wayne on Thursday.
  • Taylor Cammarata was acquired from Wichita on Wednesday.
  • Sean Campbell was placed on reserve on Tuesday.
  • Jason Salvaggio was recalled to Hartford on Tuesday.
  • Derek Pratt was assigned to Maine by Hartford on Tuesday.
  • Blake Kessel was acquired from Jacksonville on Monday.

Possible Mariners Scratches

  • Louie Rowe – on injured reserve, last played on February 9.
  • Additional scratches to be determined closer to puck drop.

Head-to-Head

Worcester  Maine
Goals For  2.57 – 26th  3.07 – 18th
Goals Against  3.04 – 9th  3.43 – 20th
Shots For  31.7 – 13th  31.56 – 14th
Shots Against  33.21 – 22nd  35.93 – 26th
Fighting Majors  39  28
Power Play  14.2% – 24th  16.3% – 17th
Penalty Kill  84.7% – 8th  80% – 24th
Avg Height / Weight / Age  6′ 0″ / 190 lbs / 24.72 years  6′ 1″ / 195 lbs / 25.36 years

Team Records

Worcester  Maine
Scoring First  16-6-1-2  19-9-0-1
Leading After 1  9-1-1-3  15-3-0-0
Leading After 2  14-0-1-2  14-0-0-0
Tied After 1  8-9-3-0  7-8-0-0
Tied After 2  7-6-2-1  9-3-0-1
Trailing After 1  6-12-1-0  6-14-0-1
Trailing After 2  2-16-1-0  5-22-0-0
Outshooting Opponents  9-9-2-2  9-9-0-0
Out Shot by Opponents  12-13-3-1  18-16-0-1

On the Island and at the Port

  • Lehner’s Shutout Leads Isles in 4-0 Win Over Canucks [NHL]
  • Vande Sompel Earns OT Winner in 5-4 Victory [Sound Tigers]
  • Isles host the Calgary Flames on Tuesday night.
  • Sound Tigers are on the road against Hershey this afternoon.

Closing Statements

  • For live updates during the game, follow us on Twitter @WooHockeyNews.