Game Story


Worcester, MA — The Worcester Railers and Trois-Rivieres Lions met for the second meeting in back-to-back games at the DCU Center on Saturday night. A deadlock through regulation sent the game into overtime, where the Lions took the game in the shootout 3-2.

Both teams opted for goalie rotations on Saturday and both goaltenders stood out for their teams. Zachary Émond made 39 saves for the Lions, while Michael Bullion, stopped 23 shots and a penalty shot in the third period. Jordan Kaplan and Matthew Kopperud scored for the Railers, while the Lions got goals from Xavier Cormier and Tommy Cormier. Alex Beaucage secured the only shootout goal to give Trois-Rivières a 3-2 win. Anthony Callin and Griffin Luce played in their 100th ECHL games. This was Nick Tuzzolino’s first game as head coach, having taken over the duties with Bob Duraney taking another role in the organization as Head of Scouting. The Railers wore a tropical specialty jersey that was auctioned during and after the game to benefit The Shine Initiative.

The Lions struck first at 4:29 of the opening period, with Xavier Cormier tapping in a power-play goal. Worcester answered at 8:45 when Kaplan netted a rebound backhander on a power play. Cole Donhauser fought Logan Nijhoff before the game’s first goal. It was an even scrap though Donhauser had an impressive take down, bringing Nijhoff down to the ice.

The Railers dominated the second frame, outshooting the Lions 15-2. Kopperud’s shot from the right circle at 14:26 gave the Railers a 2-1 lead, but Tommy Cormier’s breakaway goal at 18:01 evened the score heading into the second period. A cautious third period followed, with both sides playing conservatively to avoid mistakes. After a scoreless overtime, Beaucage’s shootout goal secured the victory for the Lions.

The three stars of Saturday night’s game were:

  1. Zachary Émond (Trois-Rivieres) – win, 49 saves, 0.951 SV%
  2. Matt Kopperud (Worcester) – 1 goal
  3. Jordan Kaplan (Worcester) – 1 goal

The Maine Mariners beat the Adirondack Thunder in the second their two-game weekend series with a final score of 3-1. The Wheeling Nailers beat the Reading Royals 4-1, their 13th consecutive win and pushing their point streak to 16 games. The Norfolk Admirals beat the Cincinnati Cyclones 5-2. Norfolk plays Cincinnati again for the only North Division action on Sunday. The Bridgeport Islanders had Saturday off, but will host the Laval Rocket Sunday at 3 PM.

The Railers are back at the DCU Center on Saturday night for the first of back-to-back games against the Maine Mariners, puck drops at 6:05 p.m.

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Box Score


Scoring 1 2 3 OT1 SO T
1 1 0 0 1 3
1 1 0 0 0 2
Shots 1 2 3 OT1 SO T
9 2 12 2 1 26
11 15 10 5 0 41

Scoring

Score Team Per Goals Assists Type
1 – 0 1st – 4:29 X. Cormier (7) A. Beaucage, A. Beauregard PP
1 – 1 1st – 8:45 J. Kaplan (4) A. Repaci, R. Piercey PP
1 – 2 2nd – 14:26 M. Kopperud (6) C. McDonald, J. Randl PP
2 – 2 2nd – 18:01 T. Cormier (3) C. Paiement, Z. Émond

Rosters

No Name G A +/- Sh PIM
G 1 Z. Émond 0 1 0 0 0
G 29 H. Jones 0 0 0 0 0
D 2 W. McLeod 0 0 0 0 0
D 3 K. Proctor 0 0 0 2 0
D 5 M. Boislard 0 0 0 0 0
D 6 J. Paquette 0 0 1 0 0
F 7 J. Yantsis 0 0 0 1 0
D 8 C. Jandric 0 0 1 4 0
RW 9 N. Guay 0 0 0 0 0
F 10 I. Dufort 0 0 0 0 2
D 14 B. Martin 0 0 0 1 0
F 15 T. Hylland 0 0 1 1 0
F 16 A. Beaucage 0 1 0 3 2
F 18 X. Cormier 1 0 0 3 0
D 27 C. tdomas 0 0 0 0 0
D 46 V. Sévigny 0 0 0 2 2
F 72 C. Paiement 0 1 1 0 0
C 78 T. Cormier 1 0 1 2 0
F 91 A. Beauregard 0 1 0 2 0
F 92 L. Nijhoff 0 0 0 4 5
Team: 1 1 2
Totals: 3 4 5 26 13
Name Min SH SVS GA SOG-S
1 Z. Émond (W) 67:00:00 41 39 2 0-3
Totals: 67:00:00 41 39 2
No Name G A +/- Sh PIM
G 32 M. Bullion 0 0 0 0 0
G 40 J. Muse 0 0 0 0 0
F 3 R. Ginnell 0 0 -1 3 0
F 10 J. Kaplan 1 0 0 2 0
F 11 J. Randl 0 1 0 2 0
F 12 K. Johnson 0 0 0 1 2
D 14 M. Rajaniemi 0 0 -1 1 0
C 15 J. Dudek 0 0 -1 0 0
F 18 M. Kopperud 1 0 0 6 0
F 19 R. Piercey 0 1 0 1 0
F 20 W. Provost 0 0 0 0 0
D 22 G. Luce 0 0 0 1 0
D 24 M. Klee 0 0 0 1 0
D 25 R. Dickinson 0 0 0 3 0
D 26 C. Welsh 0 0 0 4 0
D 27 C. McDonald 0 1 0 2 2
F 29 C. Donhauser 0 0 0 2 5
F 33 L. Hatten 0 0 -1 1 0
F 44 A. Callin 0 0 -1 4 0
F 81 A. Repaci 0 1 0 7 0
Team:
Totals: 2 4 -5 41 9
Name Min SH SVS GA SOG-S
32 M. Bullion (SOL) 67:00:00 25 23 2 1-2
Totals: 67:00:00 25 23 2

Penalties

P T Player M Offense
1st – 3:18 K. Johnson 2 High-sticking – minor (60.2)
1st – 3:37 L. Nijhoff 5 Fighting – Major (46.14)
1st- 3:37 C. Donhauser 5 Fighting – Major (46.14)
1st – 7:46 I. Dufort 2 Interference – minor (56.2)
2nd – 12:39 Served by C. Paiement 2 Delay of Game – Faceoff Infraction (76.6)
2nd – 14:50 V. Sévigny 2 Hooking – minor (55.2)
3rd – 2:44 A. Beaucage 2 Slashing – minor (61.2)
3rd – 14:55 C. McDonald 2 Tripping – minor (57.2)


Notes

  • Worcester Scratches: Brenden Rons, Christian Krygier, Colin Jacobs, Griffin Loughran, and Matt DeMelis.
  • Trois-Rivières Scratches: Anthony Beauchamp, Israel Mianscum, Jakov Novak, and Morgan Adams-Moisan.
  • The Results of the post-game auction were:
    • Riley Piercey #19 – $725
    • Griffin Luce #22 w/ A – $425
    • Matt Kopperud #18 – $600
    • Anthony Repaci #81 w/ C – $700
    • Kolby Johnson #12 – $900
  • Following Saturday night’s game, the Railers had the following streaks and droughts:
    • Riley Grinnel is without a point in his last seven games.
    • Jordan Kaplan is on a three-game point streak. (2-2-4)
    • Jack Randl is on a four-game point streak. (2-3-5)
    • Kolby Johnson is without a point in his last six games.
    • Matias Rajaniemi is without a point in all 22 games this season.
    • JD Dudek is without a point in his last six games.
    • Matt Kopperud is on a four-game point streak. (1-3-4)
    • William Provost is without a point in his last 13 games.
    • Mason Klee is without a point in his last five games.
    • Lincoln Hatten is without a point in his last three games.

    Railers Lines

    Forward Lines LW C RW
    Forward Line 1 Jack Randl #11 Jordan Kaplan #10 Anthony Repaci #81
    Forward Line 2 Riley Piercey #19 Anthony Callin #44 Matthew Kopperud #18
    Forward Line 3 Riley Ginnell #3 Cole Donhauser #29 Lincoln Hatten #33
    Forward Line 4 Kolby Johnson #12 JD Dudek #15 William Provost #20
    Defensive Pairings LD RD
    Defense Pair 1 Griffin Luce #22 Connor Welsh #26
    Defense Pair 2 Cam McDonald #27 Mason Klee #24
    Defense Pair 3 Matias Rajaniemi #14 Ryan Dickinson #25
    Rotated Defensemen – –
    Goalie Tandem G
    Starting Goaltender Michael Bullion #32
    Backup Goaltender John Muse #40

    Lions Lines

    Forward Lines LW C RW
    Forward Line 1 Logan Nijhoff #92 Anthony Beauregard #91 Alex Beaucage #16
    Forward Line 2 Xavier Cormier #18 Nicolas Guay #9 Jonathan Yantsis #7
    Forward Line 3 Isaac Dufort #10 Tyler Hylland #15 Charles-Antoine Paiement #72
    Forward Line 4 Mathieu Boislard #5 Tommy Cormier #78 Brycen Martin #14
    Defensive Pairings LD RD
    Defense Pair 1 Chris Jandric #8 Jacob Paquette #6
    Defense Pair 2 Wyatt McLeod #2 Vincent Sévigny #46
    Defense Pair 3 Cory Thomas #27 Kirby Proctor #3
    Rotated Defensemen – –
    Goalie Tandem G
    Starting Goaltender Zachary Émond #1
    Backup Goaltender Hunter Jones #29

    On-Ice Officials

    – –
    Referee Trevor Wohlford (38)
    Referee Sam Heidemann (22)
    Linesman Cody Sullivan (82)
    Linesman Jack McQuesten (53)


Highlights

Notable Tweets as the Game Happened


Railers Lines


Lions Lines


Xavier Cormier goal


Jordan Kaplan goal


Matt Kopperud goal


Tommy Cormier goal


Griffin Luce/Anthony Callin 100th ECHL games