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