Game Story
Worcester, MA — Playing in their first home game of 2019, the Worcester Railers hosted the Reading Royals at the DCU Center on Saturday.
With Mitch Gillam on recall with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, Evan Buitenhuis got his 18th start of the 2018-19 season on Saturday. Rob Lemelin was the emergency back-up goaltender, who was signed to a contract earlier in the week. Bo Brauer and Nick Roberto played in their first games at the DCU Center.
Shots were 9-6 Reading in the first period. It was one of those uneventful periods to write home about in terms of shots, goals, fights, and penalties as there weren’t many, if any in those categories. We were scoreless through twenty minutes. Evan Buitenhuis made nine saves in the period.
Matt Schmalz scored his second goal as a Railer 35 seconds into the second period, sending a pass from Bo Brauer into the net for the first goal of the game. Josh Holmstrom and Joe Houk had matching penalties for roughing at 8:04 in the second period for the game’s first penalties. Frank DiChiara skated the puck into the pads of Evan Buitenhuis at 13:40. Bo Brauer scored his second goal in as many games slapping a rebound from Matt Schmalz to give the Railers their second lead of the night.
Matt Schmalz scored his second of the night at 10:18, extending the Railers lead to 3-1. Nick Sorkin put the game away for Worcester, putting a puck into the empty net with 66 seconds remain in regulation. Connor Doherty set-up the easy goal on a hail-mary shot into the Reading zone from the Railers zone.
The Worcester Railers (15-16-3-2) are still at the bottom of the North Division with the season halfway over.
The three stars of the game were:
- Matt Schmalz (Worcester) – 2 goals, assist
- Bo Brauer (Worcester) – goal, assisted
- Evan Buitenhuis (Worcester) – 30 saves, win
Two! Three! Four!: Worcester is back at it again on Sunday, facing the Manchester Monarchs at home. The Railers will wear a Red Sox-themed jersey that will be auctioned off during and after the game to benefit The Be Like Brit Foundation. The game will have an early start time of 3 PM.
Box Score
| Scoring | 1 | 2 | 3 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading Royals | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Worcester Railers | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Shots | 1 | 2 | 3 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading Royals | 9 | 9 | 13 | 31 |
| Worcester Railers | 6 | 13 | 6 | 25 |
| Royals Roster | # | Name | G | A | +/- | SH | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No | Name | G | A | +/- | Sh | PIM | |
| G | 1 | C. Booth | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| G | 30 | A. D’Agostini | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| F | 3 | C. McCarthy | 0 | 0 | -2 | 0 | 0 |
| D | 5 | S. Dornbrock | 0 | 0 | -1 | 2 | 0 |
| F | 7 | T. Bird | 0 | 0 | -1 | 3 | 0 |
| D | 8 | D. Drake | 0 | 0 | +1 | 2 | 0 |
| D | 11 | C. Vasaturo | 0 | 0 | -1 | 1 | 0 |
| D | 13 | J. Houk | 0 | 0 | -3 | 3 | 2 |
| F | 14 | A. Schmidt | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| F | 16 | A. Roos | 0 | 0 | -2 | 1 | 0 |
| F | 20 | A. Marsh | 0 | 0 | -1 | 1 | 0 |
| LW | 21 | F. DiChiara | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| F | 24 | B. Pieper | 0 | 0 | -1 | 1 | 0 |
| D | 25 | N. Luukko | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 |
| F | 27 | K. Goumas | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| F | 29 | J. Riley | 0 | 0 | -2 | 1 | 0 |
| D | 43 | F. Hora | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 | 0 |
| F | 86 | J. MacDonald | 0 | 0 | -1 | 2 | 0 |
| Team: | |||||||
| Totals: | 1 | 2 | -16 | 31 | 2 |
| No | Name | Min | SH | SVS | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | C. Booth (L) | 58:08 | 24 | 21 | 3 |
| Empty Net | 1 | 1 | |||
| Totals: | 58:08 | 25 | 21 | 4 |
| Railers Roster | # | Name | G | A | +/- | SH | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | 31 | R. Lemelin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| G | 34 | E. Buitenhuis | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| D | 2 | T. Panico | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 |
| D | 3 | A. Vanier | 0 | 0 | -1 | 1 | 0 |
| D | 4 | R. MacKinnon | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| F | 7 | T. Barnes | 0 | 0 | +1 | 1 | 0 |
| F | 8 | N. Sorkin | 1 | 0 | +1 | 1 | 0 |
| F | 11 | D. Willick | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| F | 12 | J. Holmstrom | 0 | 0 | +1 | 2 | 2 |
| F | 15 | B. Brauer | 1 | 1 | +3 | 1 | 0 |
| F | 17 | M. Schmalz | 2 | 1 | +3 | 3 | 0 |
| F | 19 | B. Almeida | 0 | 0 | -1 | 1 | 0 |
| D | 20 | D. Quenneville | 0 | 1 | +3 | 4 | 0 |
| F | 23 | W. Hudson | 0 | 0 | +1 | 4 | 0 |
| D | 24 | T. Mueller | 0 | 0 | +1 | 2 | 0 |
| D | 28 | C. Doherty | 0 | 1 | +3 | 1 | 0 |
| F | 37 | T. Kelley | 0 | 0 | +1 | 0 | 0 |
| F | 41 | N. Roberto | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Team: | |||||||
| Totals: | 4 | 4 | 15 | 25 | 2 |
| No | Name | Min | SH | SVS | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 34 | E. Buitenhuis (W) | 60:00 | 31 | 30 | 1 |
| Totals: | 60:00 | 31 | 30 | 1 |
| P | T | Player | M | Offense | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2nd | V | J. Houk | 2.00 | Roughing – minor (51.2) | 8:04 |
| 2nd | H | J. Holmstrom | 2.00 | Roughing – minor (51.2) | 8:04 |
Notes
- Railers Injuries: Malcolm Gould, Ivan Kosorenkov, Kyle McKenzie
- Railers Scratches: Yanick Turcotte (suspended), Alex Adams
- Mike Cornell and Mitch Gillam were recalled to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on Thursday. So far, Cornell has been a healthy scratch on Friday’s game and was on Saturday. Gillam has been the back-up goaltender as Christopher Gibson is out with an upper-body injury. The timeframe for Gibson’s return is unknown at this time.
- Josh Holmstrom was named the team’s interim Captain while Mike Cornell is on recall with Bridgeport. Holmstrom becomes the fourth player to wear the letter in the franchise’s history.
- Tyler Barnes became the ninth player to wear the alternate captain’s “A”. He joins Mike Cornell, Chris Langkow, Kellen Jones, Barry Almeida, Justin Hamonic, Patrick Cullity, Nick Saracino, and Josh Holmstrom in that club.
- Stick taps to Woo Hockey Alum John McCarthy who played in his 500th game with the Sharks organization on Friday. McCarthy holds several records for the Worcester Sharks including most points (151), games played (tied for first at 277), second in assists (88).
- Mitch Gillam was named to the ECHL’s all-star game on Monday. Should he play or be returned to Worcester in time for the events next weekend, he will play as the goaltender in the Eastern Conference. Otherwise, he will be replaced by another goaltender in the East.
- Railers’ photographer Rich LeBlanc was entered into this week’s poll for the Best Photo of the 2018-19 Season. He is currently ranked fourth with eight percent of the vote with the poll ending tomorrow. We encourage you to submit a vote for his photo (takes only a second of your time) through this link.
- For up-to-date news on all things Worcester Hockey, Like us on Facebook at Woo Hockey – Worcester Hockey News, Follow us on Twitter @WooHockeyNews, and join our Facebook Group – Worcester Railers Fan Club.
Railers Lines (Observed by order in which they appeared):
| LW | C | RW | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward Line 1 | N. Sorkin #8 | J. Holmstrom #12 “C” | W. Hudson #23 |
| Forward Line 2 | B. Almeida #19 “A” | D. Willick #11 | T. Barnes #7 “A” |
| Forward Line 3 | B. Brauer #15 / N. Roberto #41 | T. Kelley #37 | N. Schmalz #17 |
| LD | RD | |
|---|---|---|
| Defense Line 1 | D .Quenneville #20 | C. Doherty #28 |
| Defense Line 2 | T. Mueller #24 | R. MacKinnon #4 |
| Defense Line 3 | T. Panico #2 | A. Vanier #3 |
| G | |
|---|---|
| Starting Goaltender | Evan Buitenhuis #34 |
| Backup Goaltender | Rob Lemelin #39 |
Highlights
Highlights will be posted upon completion of the game.