Game Story


Worcester, MA – The Worcester Railers picked up their first win of the season over the Reading Royals, 5-3 on Saturday night at the DCU Center.

John Muse made 34 saves in his 40th game as a Worcester Railer, and one that would end up being his last of 140 regular season games. Keith Petruzzelli stopped 32 shots for Reading. Railers goals were scored by Connor Welsh, Mason Klee, Anthony Callin, Matt Boudens, and Jordan Kaplan. Reading’s goals were scored by Matt Miller and Ryan Leibold, who scored twice. Anthony Repaci extended his point streak to 6 games, where he has three goals and seven assists for ten points.

The Railers overcame a tough start, eventually finding themselves down 2-0 at the end of the first period. An early 2-on-1 rush by Reading would’ve made that tally 3-0, Griffin Luce was the lone Railers defender on that rush when a bounced puck off the pads of John Muse made its way behind him, some good positioning by Luce in the crease allowed him to bat the puck away, at the time kept the game scoreless. Matt Miller broke the scoreless tie at 16:07 when a controversial call at the goal line ruled in Reading’s favor. Three minutes and three seconds later, Ryan Leibold brought their lead to 2-0 on a shot from top of the left circle with six seconds remaining on a Royals’ power play. Shot tallies were 21-8 Reading through twenty minutes of play.

Worcester responded in the second period with a power play goal by Connor Welsh at 1:45 and an even-strength goal by Mason Klee at 7:21 to tie the game at 2-2. However, Leibold struck again at 8:37, finishing a 2-on-1 to reclaim the lead for the Royals, making it 3-2 heading into the third period.

The Railers rallied in the final frame, beginning with Anthony Repaci’s power-play goal at 1:02, his team-leading sixth of the season. Later, Worcester turned the tide with two quick goals just 13 seconds apart—Anthony Callin’s high wrist shot at 11:15 tied the game, and Matt Boudens’ rebound at 11:28 gave them a 4-3 lead. Jordan Kaplan secured the victory with an empty-net goal at 18:40, converting after a hail mary attempt by John Muse, and a turnover by a Royals skater in front of their empty net.

John Muse was named the game’s number one star and in his post-game interview with PA announcer Adam Webster, Muse announced that Saturday night’s game would be his last professional game. Darryl Hunt of 210Sports reports that Muse has taken a goaltending coach role with China’s national team.

The three stars of Sunday’s game were:

  1. John Muse (Worcester) – Final career win, 34 saves, 0.919 SV%
  2. Cole Donhauser (Worcester) – 2 assists, +2
  3. Anthony Callin (Worcester) – 1 goal

The Adirondack Thunder secured a 2-1 victory over the Maine Mariners at the Cross Insurance Arena on Saturday. The Norfolk Admirals were defeated 3-1 by the Atlanta Gladiators on the road, while the Wheeling Nailers earned their 20th win of the season with a dominant 6-2 triumph over the Iowa Heartlanders at home. Six North Division teams, excluding Reading, are set to play on Sunday.

The Bridgeport Islanders beat the Springfield Thunderbirds 7-5 on Saturday. Jack Randl picked up his first AHL point with an assist and Michael Bullion served as the back-up goaltender. The Baby Isles are off until next Saturday when the host the Rochester Americans.

The Railers host the Adirondack Thunder for the last home game of 2024 on Sunday at 3:05 p.m.

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