Game Story

Worcester MA — The Worcester Railers suffered their second loss of the season at the hands of the Reading Royals, 6-2 on Wednesday night at the DCU Center.

Henrik Tikkanen made the start for Worcester, stopping 5 of the 9 shots Reading made during the second period. Ken Appleby made 9 saves in his relief effort during the second and third periods. Conor Breen and Jack Quinlivan both made their pro debuts with neither recording anything on the scoresheet. Collin Adams and Blake Christensen were the goal scorers for Worcester. Railers alum Max Newton scored two goals in his return to Worcester, with Alec Butcher, Brendan Hoffmann, Tyler Kirkup, and Trey Bradley each scoring Reading’s other four goals. Reading capitalized on two of their three power-play opportunities, while Worcester was 0-for-4 on their advantages. Reading’s Nolan Maier stopped 30 of 32 shots made by Worcester skaters.

A disappointing start for Worcester as they allowed four goals in the opening frame – Reading scored first, and Worcester tied it but failed to keep up as the Royals went on to score three more in the opening twenty minutes. Alec Butcher put the Royals on the board at 3:17 and tapped a puck in with a pass from behind the net with three Railers skaters behind their net for their first lead of the evening. Collin Adams responded to tie the game at 9:26 finding a cross-ice pass from Jimmy Lambert and sniping the puck from the left circle. Adam’s goal would be the closest Worcester would have towards a lead all night as Max Newton scored a pair of goals within a two-minute interval. Newton’s first goal came with a redirection in front of the Railers crease at 12:09. Newton’s second goal was scored by deflecting a shot from Royals defenseman Ryan Romeo from the blue line to extend Royal’s lead to 3-1. By the end of the frame, it was 4-1, Reading’s fourth goal came from a quick slapshot by Brendan Hoffmann from the left circle at 15:44.

Henrik Tikkanen was replaced by Ken Appleby to start the second but at that point, Worcester did not have the momentum to stage a comeback against Reading. Royals scored twice to Worcester’s single goal in the second period, Tyler Kirkup and Trey Bradley each scored in the frame, sandwiching Blake Christensen’s first goal of the season. Tyler Kirkup scored on a rebound from Colin Felix at 1:20. Blake Christensen scored on a wrist shot that beat the glove of Nolan Maier at 3:08. Reading converted on their second power play of the night at 11:15 in the second. Railers trailed 6-2 through two periods.

The Railers had two power plays in the third period but were unable to capitalize on the opportunities even as Ken Appleby was pulled to make it a two-man advantage for two of those four minutes. Neither team scored in the third period. The Railers’ last power-play goal came in the closing minute of last Friday’s game and have had nine opportunities since. Worcester outshot Reading 20-2 in the final frame.

The three stars of Wednesday night’s game were:

  1. Max Newton (Reading) – 2 goals
  2. Trey Bradley (Reading) – 1 goal, 1 assist
  3. Nolan Maier (Reading) – win, 30 saves, 0.938 SV%

Railers are now 11-18-1-1 against Reading in 31 meetings all-time. Railers and Royals will see each other again on January 6, 2023.

The Worcester Railers will pick up the pieces after Wednesday night’s loss to host the Greenville Swamp Rabbits at the DCU Center for the first of back-to-back meetings between the two teams on Friday at 7 PM.

Box Score

Scoring 1 2 3 T
Reading Royals 4 2 0 6
Worcester Railers 1 1 0 2
Shots 1 2 3 T
Reading Royals 9 9 2 20
Worcester Railers 4 8 20 32

Scoring

Score Team Time Scored By Assisted By Type
1 – 0 REA 3:17 – 1st A. Butcher (2) T. Bradley
1 – 1 WOR 9:26 – 1st C. Adams (6) J. Lambert
2 – 1 REA 12:09 – 1st M. Newton (7) S. Sellar, C. Gerard PP
3 – 1 REA 14:10 – 1st M. Newton (8) R. Romeo
4 – 1 REA 15:44 – 1st B. Hoffmann (1) J. Gaucher
5 – 1 REA 1:20 – 2nd T. Kirkup (2) C. Felix, W. MacKinnon
5 – 2 WOR 3:08 – 2nd B. Christensen (1) S. Jandric
6 – 2 REA 11:15 – 2nd T. Bradley (2) C. Gerard, G. McFadden PP

Rosters

Reading Roster # Player G A Rating SH PIM
G 31 J. Kapelmaster 0 0 0 0 0
G 73 N. Maier 0 0 0 0 0
D 4 M. Balinson 0 0 +1 0 0
D 5 Will MacKinnon 0 1 +1 0 0
F 7 D. Paliani 0 0 +1 0 0
F 9 C. Gerard 0 2 0 4 2
F 11 A. Butcher 1 0 +1 1 2
D 12 M. Millman 0 0 -1 0 2
F 14 T. Bradley 1 1 +1 1 0
F 16 S. Sellar 0 1 0 0 2
F 17 M. Newton 2 0 0 4 0
F 24 J. Gaucher 0 1 +1 1 0
D 26 C. Felix 0 1 +2 2 0
D 27 G. McFadden 0 1 0 0 0
F 39 B. Hoffmann 1 0 +1 2 0
F 43 T. Kirkup 1 0 +1 3 0
D 44 R. Romeo 0 1 +1 1 0
D 58 D. Cormier 0 0 0 0 0
F 91 Y. Mongo 0 0 0 1 0
Team:
Totals: 6 9 10 20 8
Reading Goalies No Min SH SVS GA SV%
73 N. Maier (W) 59:58:00 32 30 2 0.938
Totals: 59:58:00 32 30 2
Worcester Roster # Player G A Rating SH PIM
G 35 K. Appleby 0 0 0 0 0
G 39 H. Tikkanen 0 0 0 0 0
D 2 C. McCartdy 0 0 0 0 0
F 7 L. Coughlin 0 0 -2 1 0
F 8 B. Butler 0 0 -1 1 0
D 9 N. Delmas 0 0 -1 3 2
F 11 N. Vesey 0 0 -1 2 0
F 12 B. Beaudoin 0 0 -1 1 0
D 13 C. Breen 0 0 -1 3 0
D 15 C. Evers 0 0 0 2 0
F 17 B. Jenkins 0 0 -1 4 2
F 18 B. Christensen 1 0 +1 4 0
F 19 Q. Ryan 0 0 -1 1 0
F 21 C. Adams 1 0 -1 4 0
F 23 J. Lambert 0 1 0 2 0
F 24 J. Quinlivan 0 0 +1 0 0
D 26 J. Brandt 0 0 -1 1 0
D 27 M. McGurty 0 0 -1 3 2
F 44 S. Jandric 0 1 0 0 0
Team:
Totals: 2 2 -10 32 6
Worcester Goalies No Min SH SVS GA SV%
39 H. Tikkanen (L) 19:57 9 5 4 0.556
35 K. Appleby 37:58 11 9 2 0.818
Totals: 57:55 20 14 6

Penalties

Time Team Player Mins Infraction
4:33 – 1st V M. Millman 2 Slashing – minor (61.2)
11:28 – 1st H N. Delmas 2 Slashing – minor (61.2)
9:20 – 2nd H B. Jenkins 2 Tripping – minor (57.2)
15:58 – 2nd H M. McGurty 2 Tripping – minor (57.2)
17:15 – 2nd V C. Gerard 2 Slashing – minor (61.2)
1:31 – 3rd V A. Butcher 2 Interference – minor (56.2)
4:49 – 3rd V S. Sellar 2 High-sticking – minor (60.2)

Notes

  • Railers Scratches: Phil Beaulieu (family/bereavement leave), Zack Bross (reserve), Reece Newkirk, and Anthony Repaci (reserve).
  • Royals Scratches: Mike Chen, Kamerin Nault, and Sam Sternschein.
  • The Railers made four transactions prior to puck drop Wednesday. Among those were activating rookies Conor Breen and Jack Quinlivan from the injured reserve, making them eligible to play in Wednesday’s game in which both made their pro debuts. Neither made the scoresheet as Quinlivan got some ice time with each of the three forward lines and was out there in one of the penalty kill units. Quinlivan was a plus one on the evening alongside Blake Christensen. Conor Breen was on the third defensive pair alongside Connor McCarthy. Phil Beaulieu was placed on family/bereavement leave as a part of the other transactions.
  • Three Railers alum were in the building and were dressed for Reading – Max Newton and Devon Paliani both dressed for Worcester while Justin Kapelmaster was the backup goaltender for Reading. Newton was named the first star of the game with two goals in the first period and had led the Royals with four shots on goal alongside Charlie Gerard. Paliani was a +1 on the night.
  • Railers alum Chris Ordoobadi, who had re-signed with Worcester this past offseason and was released prior to training camp, signed with the Orlando Solar Bears this week.
  • The Railers had the following scoring streaks:
    • Jimmy Lambert extended his point streak to six games with an assist (2 goals, 6 assists).
    • Quinn Ryan snapped his four-game point streak. (3 goals, 2 assists).
  • 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

Forward Lines LW C RW
Forward Line 1  Steve Jandric #44  Liam Coughlin #7  Bobby Butler #8 “C”
Forward Line 2  Collin Adams #21  Jimmy Lambert #23  Quinn Ryan #19
Forward Line 3  Blade Jenkins #17  Brent Beaudoin #12  Nolan Vesey #11
Rotated Forwards  Blake Christensen #18  Jack Quinlivan #24  –
Defensive Pairings LD RD
Defense Pair 1  Jared Brandt #26  Myles McGurty #27 “A”
Defense Pair 2  Noah Delmas #9  Christian Evers #15
Defense Pair 3  Conor Breen #13  Connor McCarthy #2
Rotated Defensemen  –  –
Goalie Tandem G
Starting Goaltender  Henrik Tikkanen #39
Backup Goaltender  Ken Appleby #35

Opponent Lines

Forward Lines LW C RW
Forward Line 1  Charlie Gerard #9 “A”  Shane Sellar #16  Max Newton #17
Forward Line 2  Tyler Kirkup #43  Alec Butcher #11  Trey Bradley #14 “A”
Forward Line 3  Jacob Gaucher #24  Devon Paliani #7  Brendan Hoffman #39
Rotated Forwards  –  –  Yves Mongo #91
Defensive Pairings LD RD
Defense Pair 1  Mason Milton #12  Garrett McFadden #27 “C”
Defense Pair 2  Colin Felix #26  Will MacKinnon #5
Defense Pair 3  Dominic Cormier #58  Ryan Romeo #44
Rotated Defensemen  –  –
Goalie Tandem G
Starting Goaltender  Nolan Maier #73
Backup Goaltender  Justin Kapelmaster #31

On-Ice Officials

Referee  Austin O’Rourke (10)
Referee  –
Linesman  Patrick Philbin (88)
Linesman  Sam Schildkraut (46)

 

Highlights

Notable Tweets as the Game Happened


Railers Lines


Warm-ups


Collin Adams


Blake Christensen goal


This was the only noteworthy tweet the @ReadingRoyals account shared the entire game. Well played.