Worcester Railers (23-21-5-3) vs Manchester Monarchs (27-24-1-1)

SNHU Arena – Manchester, New Hampshire

Wednesday, February 20, 2019 – 7:05 EST – ECHL Game #706

989 Nash Icon | ECHL.TV

Referee: Steven Rouillard (#3

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

Match Notes

  • Season Series: Game 7 of 12. (Season-series tied at 3-3)
  • Only one game in the previous 21 games between the two teams has gone into overtime or later. (January 12, 2018 – Worcester 2, Manchester 1 – OT)
  • With Worcester, just two points behind Manchester for the last playoff spot in the North Division, Wednesday’s match-up is sure to be an important one.  Maine and Reading trail behind Worcester by a single point, and they also face each other tonight.

Players to Watch

  • Barry Almeida (Worcester) – Things are going great for Barry Almeida on this season-long seven-game road trip. He leads the team with 3 goals and 4 assists on the trip and leads all Railers in points against Manchester this season.
  • Nic Pierog (Manchester) – Manchester’s leading goal scorer looks to start a streak with goals in back-to-back games. Pierog has 5 points in his last 5 games. With one more goal, he will be tie Chris McCarthy (Reading Royals) as the all-time leader in goals against Worcester in the franchise history.

Railers Notes

  • Tyler Barnes is on a thirteen-game point streak. (10-7-17)
  • Ryan Hitchcock is on a five-game point streak. (3-4-7)
  • Barry Almeida is on a four-game point streak. (3-4-7)
  • Yanick Turcotte has four fights in his last three games.
  • Evan Buitenhuis has the highest save percentage in the league at 0.931.
  • Worcester is undefeated in regulation when leading after two periods.
  • Cold Streaks: Alex Vanier (12 games), Tommy Kelley (5 games), David Quenneville (3 games)

Recent Railers Additions, Subtractions, Transactions

  • Ivan Chukarov was signed to a SPC on Tuesday.
  • Kevin Hart was signed to a SPC on Tuesday.
  • Robert Powers was placed on reserve on Tuesday.
  • Tommy Kelley was placed on reserve on Tuesday.
  • Connor Doherty was placed on injured reserve on Tuesday, retroactive to February 11.

Possible Railers Scratches

  • Mike Cornell – suspended, serving game one of one.
  • 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.
  • David Quenneville – missed all three games last weekend due to illness.
  • Matt Schmalz – on injured reserve, last played on January 25.
  • Additional scratches to be determined closer to puck drop.

Monarchs Notes

  • Spencer Watson is on a three-game point streak. (1-3-4)
  • Cole Kehler has a 0.944 save percentage against Worcester this season.
  • Nic Pierog is second in goals among rookies with 23.
  • David Kolomatis has four game-winning goals this season, which is tied for first among defensemen.
  • Manchester is averaging 34.98 shots per game, the second most in the ECHL.
  • Monarchs have the second-highest winning percentage in games that have gone into Overtime or Shootout at 75%, they have just one overtime and one shootout loss this season.
  • Manchester is the least penalized team in the ECHL with 498 minutes this season.

Recent Monarchs Additions, Subtractions, Transactions

  • Alex Rauter was traded to Manchester on Wednesday, completing a trade that sent Zac Lynch to Wheeling earlier in the season.
  • Danny Tirone was placed on reserve on Saturday.
  • Justin Agosta was released on February 12.
  • Michael Doherty signed a PTO with the Providence Bruins on February 12.

Possible Monarchs Scratches

  • Jared Fiegl – on injured reserve, last played on January 8.
  • Pavel Jenys – on injured reserve, last played on December 28.
  • Mario Puskarich – on injured reserve, last played on December 29.
  • Danny Tirone – on reserve.
  • Additional scratches to be determined closer to puck drop.

Head-to-Head

Worcester Manchester
Goals For  2.58 – 26th  3.11 – 14th
Goals Against  2.96 – 8th  3.26 – 16th
Shots For  31.71 – 12th  34.98 – 2nd
Shots Against  33.10 – 21st  33.00 – 20th
Fighting Majors  38  20
Power Play  13.7% – 25th  15.6% – 21st
Penalty Kill  84.9% – 8th  81.3 – 18th
Avg Height / Weight / Age  6′ 0″ / 191 lbs / 24.81 years  6′ 0″ / 193 lbs / 24.17 years

Team Records

Worcester  Manchester
Scoring First  16-6-1-2  18-7-0-1
Leading After 1  9-1-1-3  12-4-0-1
Leading After 2  14-0-1-2  16-2-0-1
Tied After 1  8-9-3-0  11-7-0-0
Tied After 2  7-6-2-1  8-5-0-0
Trailing After 1  6-11-1-0  4-13-1-0
Trailing After 2  2-15-1-0  3-17-1-0
Outshooting Opponents  9-9-2-2  12-17-1-1
Out Shot by Opponents  12-12-3-1  15-5-0-0

On the Island and at the Port

  • Ho-Sang Scores Natural Hat Trick in 7-3 Win [Sound Tigers]
  • Sound Tigers Add Special Player to Roster [Sound Tigers]
  • Ho-Sang Named CCM/AHL Player of the Week [Sound Tigers]
  • Isles play against Calgary tonight at 9:30.
  • Sound Tigers play against Providence on Friday.

Closing Statements

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