Game Story

Henrik Tikkanen returned from his brief recall to the Bridgeport Islanders, stopping 33 saves in his eleventh loss of the season. Washington Capitals prospect Clay Stevenson stopped 24 shots by Worcester. Collin Adams and Reece Newkirk were the goal scorers for Worcester, both of which were their fourteenth goals of the season. The Railers failed to score on 4 power play opportunities and had 4 shots on the net during those chances. South Carolina, on the other hand, capitalized on one of their two power plays with goals from Kevin O’Neil, Carter Turnbull, and Jonny Evans, all occurring in the second period.

Neither team scored in the first period, with South Carolina having 12 shots compared to Worcester’s 5. The Railers had a power play towards the end of the first period which carried over into the beginning of the second period but were unable to score during their advantage.

Worcester took the lead early in the second period with Collin Adams scoring his 14th goal of the year at 5:08. Adams’ shot from the left circle beat Clay Stevenson to give Worcester the lead. Unfortunately, their lead would be shortlived as Kevin O’Neil tied the game 58 seconds later with his 14th goal of the season. O’Neil got the puck out of the corner and shot past Henrik Tikkanen up front to even the score at 1-1 at 6:06 of the second period. The Railers downfall would continue with two goals in the closing minutes in the second period, with Carter Turnbull converting eleven-seconds into a power play that had Andrei Bakanov in the box for a hooking call. The ‘Rays would take advantage of a already clocked out Railers team, with Jonny Evans taking Henrik Tikkanen one-on-one and scoing in the closing second of the period, bringing the game to 3-1, which would end up being the game-winning goal.

At 13:36 in the third period, Reece Newkirk was suckerpunched by Anthony Del Gaizo following a tie-up with Carter Turnbull in the corner behind the play. Del Gaizo removed his gloves to engage in the attack, which should have been given a major penalty. Del Gaizo was instantly given four minutes for roughing by referee Nolan Bloyer, and following the play Bulter disputed the call and was thrown out with a misconduct and a two-minute minor for disputing the call. Railers would end up with just a two-minute power play following the incident. Blake Christensen had also gone down ahead of the play with an open-ice hit by Chase Stewart, athletic trainers for both teams had responded to Railers players down on separate sides of the ice.

Reece Newkirk scored shortly after the power play ended, followed by some taunts directed at Del Gaizo, reducing the Railers’ deficit to one goal. Newkirk’s fourteenth goal of the season would be the closest that Worcester came to mounting a comeback. Late in the period, Tikkanen was taken out for the extra attacker, however the Railers had no real opportunity to score and get into attacking position.

The three stars of Friday night’s game were:

1. Jonny Evans (South Carolina) – 1 goal, 1 assist
2. Collin Adams (Worcester) – 1 goal
3. Kevin O’Neil (South Carolina) – 1 goal

Elsewhere, Newfoundland defeated Maine 3-1 for their fifth consecutive victory. Reading lost 5-2 to Adirondack, despite firing 51 shots at a shorthanded Thunder team. Trois-Rivieres beat the Norfolk Admirals 7-4 in a match between the bottom two teams in the North Division. The Railers are the only team playing outside the North Division this weekend, with a series of three games against South Carolina.

The Railers and Stingrays return to the DCU Center again on Saturday for a game that is already sold out with limited standing-room-only tickets available. The puck drop is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

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Box Score

Scoring	1	2	3	T
	0	3	0	3
	0	1	1	2

Shots	1	2	3	T
	12	19	5	36
	5	8	13	26

Score	Team	Time	Scored by	Assisted by	Type
0 – 1		5:08 – 2nd	C. Adams (14)	C. McCarthy, Q. Ryan
1 – 1		6:06 – 2nd	K. O’Neil (14)	J. Evans
2 – 1		18:47 – 2nd	C. Turnbull (24)	A. Del Gaizo, B. Hughes	PP
3 – 1		19:59 – 2nd	J. Evans (8)	M. Kim, C. Stevenson
3 – 2		15:45 – 3rd	R. Newkirk (14)	T. Cosgrove

Rosters

	#	Player	G	A	+/-	SH	PIM
G	1	T. Wall	0	0	0	0	0
G	33	C. Stevenson	0	1	0	0	0
D	3	M. Anderson	0	0	0	0	0
F	6	J. Leppard	0	0	0	2	0
F	7	J. Evans	1	1	+2	3	0
F	10	L. Courtnall	0	0	0	1	0
F	15	J. Wilkins	0	0	+1	3	0
F	16	T. Baker	0	0	0	1	0
D	18	B. Maass	0	0	+1	2	0
F	19	K. O’Neil	1	0	+1	6	2
F	20	R. Scarfo	0	0	0	0	0
F	21	C. Turnbull	1	0	-2	3	0
F	22	A. Del Gaizo	0	1	-1	0	4
F	25	B. Hughes	0	1	-1	3	0
F	28	A. Cherniwchan	0	0	0	4	0
D	29	E. Wardley	0	0	-1	3	4
D	36	M. Kim	0	1	-1	5	0
D	44	C. Stewart	0	0	0	0	0
D	74	C. Moore	0	0	+1	0	0
		Team:
		Totals:	3	5	0	36	10

	Player	MIN	SH	SVS	GA	SV%
33	C. Stevenson (W)	–	26	24	2	–
	Totals:	–	26	24	2	–

	#	Player	G	A	+/-	SH	PIM
G	30	B. Moran	0	0	0	0	0
G	39	H. Tikkanen	0	0	0	0	0
D	2	C. McCarthy	0	1	0	0	0
F	8	B. Butler	0	0	-1	1	12
D	10	T. Cosgrove	0	1	0	2	0
F	12	B. Beaudoin	0	0	0	0	0
F	13	B. Jerry	0	0	0	0	0
D	15	C. Evers	0	0	+1	0	0
D	17	C. Breen	0	0	0	0	0
F	18	B. Christensen	0	0	0	1	0
F	19	Q. Ryan	0	1	+1	0	0
D	20	A. Terchiyev	0	0	-1	0	0
F	21	C. Adams	1	0	0	5	0
F	22	N. Fea	0	0	0	2	0
F	23	A. Bakanov	0	0	0	4	2
D	27	M. McGurty	0	0	-1	1	0
F	29	Z. Bross	0	0	0	1	2
F	37	R. Newkirk	1	0	0	7	0
F	81	A. Repaci	0	0	+1	2	0
		Team:
		Totals:	2	3	0	26	16

	Player	MIN	SH	SVS	GJ	SV%
39	H. Tikkanen (L)	–	36	33	3	–
	Totals:	–	36	33	3	–

Penalties

Time	Team	Player	Mins	Infraction
18:51 – 1st		K. O’Neil	2	High-sticking – minor (60.2)
7:57 – 2nd		Z. Bross	2	Delay of Game (63.2)
12:03 – 2nd		E. Wardley	2	Hooking – minor (55.2)
14:52 – 2nd		E. Wardley	2	Hooking – minor (55.2)
18:36 – 2nd		A. Bakanov	2	Hooking – minor (55.2)
13:36 – 3rd		A. Del Gaizo	4	Double Minor – Roughing
13:36 – 3rd		B. Butler	2	Unsportsmanlike conduct – Disputing decision – minor (39.2)
13:36 – 3rd		B. Butler	10	Misconduct (39.4)

Notes

• Worcester Scratches: Jack Quinlivan, Jared Brandt, Ken Appleby, Liam Coughlin, Noah Delmas, Nolan Vesey, and Philip Beaulieu.
• South Carolina Scratches: Alexandre Fortin, Carter Allen, Chaz Reddekopp, Connor Russell, Justin Florek, Mario Culina, and Martin Haš.
• Conor Breen made his second appearance of the season for Worcester this season after being signed on Friday afternoon and wearing #17. Breen did not do anything notable as the warm body did not make the scoresheet, make a shot on goal, nor was he on the ice for any of the five goals scored Friday night.
• The jersey auction of the game was a Mitchell Balmas #86 jersey, worn during the 2021-22 season.
• Following Friday night’s game, the Railers had the following scoring streaks:
  • Bobby Butler is without a point in his last four games.
  • Trevor Cosgrove is on a three-game point streak. (2-5-7)
  • Christian Evers snapped a three-game point streak. (0-3-3)
  • Quinn Ryan is on a four-game point streak. (1-4-5)
  • Collin Adams is on a four-game point streak. (2-3-5)
  • Myles McGurty is without a point in his last seven games.
  • Zack Bross is without a point in his last three games.
  • Reece Newkirk is on a three-game point streak. (1-2-3)

Railers Lines

Opponent Lines

On-Ice Officials

Notable Tweets as the Game Happened

Line up, everyone!#AllAboutTheW | #RailersHC | #Worcester pic.twitter.com/PV0j8SKBzA

— Worcester Railers (@RailersHC) February 3, 2023

Railers Lines

Chugging our way into town…. pic.twitter.com/PrHVsKQmR7

— SC Stingrays (@SCStingrays) February 3, 2023

Stingrays Lines

WORCESTER SCORES!!!!! Adams goal leads to players exchanging pleasantries. Railers up 1-0!!! #AllAboutTheW | #RailersHC | #Worcester pic.twitter.com/wsnMRL2EMC

— Worcester Railers (@RailersHC) February 4, 2023

Collin Adams goal (1-0 Railers)

REECE NEWKIRK GETS EVEN!!! RAILERS down by one with four left to play. #AllAboutTheW | #RailersHC | #Worcester pic.twitter.com/eypcvyfeub

— Worcester Railers (@RailersHC) February 4, 2023

Reece Newkirk goal (3-2 Stingrays)

Stingrays beat the Railers by a score of 3-2 on Friday night. Check out tonight’s MedTrust Postgame Highlights 🎥 pic.twitter.com/0WL8HkDAvf

— SC Stingrays (@SCStingrays) February 4, 2023

Stingrays highlight reel