Game Story


Worcester, MA — The Worcester Railers snapped a three-game losing streak on Friday night with a come-from-behind victory over the Trois-Rivieres Lions at the DCU Center.

Henrik Tikkanen made his eleventh start of the season and was his first back-to-back start of the year. John Muse served as the backup goaltender, having been signed earlier in the week to fill in for the injured Tristan Lennox. Tikkanen played the entire 60 minutes in goal, making 20 saves. Joe Vrbetic made his third career start against the Railers and performed well until Cipollone’s goal with 32 saves. The Lions have six consecutive losses (0-6-1) and have a seven-game losing streak with Vrbetic in the net (0-6-1). Anthony Repaci, Joey Cipollone, and Ashton Calder each netted goals for the Railers, while Anthony Beauregard scored for Trois-Rivieres. John Copeland earned his first professional point, also marking his first point in 16 games, with an assist. This mirrors his collegiate record, securing a single point, which was an assist in 46 games with Boston University. This game marked the Railers’ first win after trailing at the end of the first period.

It was just the second time these two teams met after playing against each other on October 22nd, where the Lions came out on top 4-1. Much like the Railers, the Lions have been hit or miss after a strong start to their season. They’ll see each other another twelve times after the New Year. Though penalty calls were inconsistent throughout this game, the Railers overcame that hurdle and built momentum as the game continued. Both teams looked quite different after the first period.

The Lions opened up scoring with a power play goal which had Riley Piercey in the box for holding the stick, a missed call by the on-ice officials as both Piercey and a Lions’ defender had been holding each other’s sticks. 37 seconds into the power play, Anthony Beauregard deflected a shot from Justin Ducharme. The Lions outshot the Railers 11-8 in the frame.

Both teams remained without scoring in the second period, each having two power plays but failing to convert, with the Railers outshooting 13-7. John Copeland served penalties for both of Worcester’s infractions. Jakov Novak received a slashing penalty at the nineteen-minute mark, carrying over a minute into the third period.

Twenty-seven seconds after Novak’s penalty concluded, Anthony Repaci directed a loose puck under the crossbar, equalizing the game in front of a congested net. Repaci’s goal marked his fourth in the last five games. The game lacked quality shots, and the potential overtime scenario loomed. Joey Cipollone seized the puck after a Lions’ turnover and found the net from the right circle with less than a minute and a half remaining in the third period. Vrbetic scrambled to regain position after venturing out to play the puck, allowing Cipollone to set up his shot. This goal was Cipollone’s second in consecutive games. Ashton Calder sealed the Railers’ ninth win of the season by scoring into an empty net with just a second left in the game.

The three stars of the game were:

  1. Joey Cipollone (Worcester) – game-winning goal
  2. Anthony Repaci (Worcester) – goal
  3. Henrik Tikkanen (Worcester) – win, 20 saves, 0.952 SV%

Elsewhere in the division, former Railer Jimmy Lambert scored the game-winning goal in Maine’s 5-4 win over the Adirondack Thunder in Glens Falls. The Reading Royals defeated the Norfolk Admirals 4-1 in a chippy game that amassed a total of 100 penalty minutes between the two teams, marking the second-highest in an ECHL game this season. All North division teams, excluding Newfoundland, are scheduled to play tomorrow before entering the Christmas break

The Railers’ holiday homestand continues into Saturday as the Maine Mariners come to town, with a special start time of 5:05 p.m.

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Box Score


Scoring 1 2 3 T
1 0 0 1
0 0 3 3
Shots 1 2 3 T
11 7 3 21
8 13 14 35
Score Team Time Scored by Assisted by Type
1 – 0 9:08 – 1st A. Beauregard (10) J. Ducharme, M. Tourigny PP
1 – 1 1:27 – 3rd A. Repaci (6) A. Callin, J. Copeland
1 – 2 18:34 – 3rd J. Cipollone (2)
1 – 3 19:59 – 3rd A. Calder (11) T. Cosgrove EN

Rosters

# Player G A +/- SH PIM
G 31 Z. Bouthillier 0 0 0 0 0
G 35 J. Vrbetic 0 0 0 0 0
D 3 E. Hjorth 0 0 -1 0 2
D 6 N. Laaouan 0 0 -1 0 2
D 14 B. Martin 0 0 0 1 0
F 15 M. Trépanier 0 0 -1 1 0
D 18 C. Ortiz 0 0 0 0 2
F 19 A. Voyer 0 0 -1 1 0
C 21 C. Montminy 0 0 -2 3 0
D 23 M. Komuls 0 0 -1 1 0
F 28 P. Saretsky 0 0 -1 0 0
F 55 N. Lariviere 0 0 0 0 0
F 67 N. Jermain 0 0 -1 1 0
F 71 J. Ducharme 0 1 -1 6 0
F 72 C. Paiement 0 0 -1 2 0
RW 85 J. Parker-Jones 0 0 -1 2 2
C 86 J. Novak 0 0 -2 0 2
D 89 M. Tourigny 0 1 -2 1 0
F 92 A. Beauregard 1 0 0 2 0
Team:
Totals: 1 2 -16 21 10
Player MIN SH SVS GA SV%
35 J. Vrbetic (L) – 34 32 2 –
Empty Net – 1 1 –
Totals: – 35 32 3 –
# Player G A +/- SH PIM
G 39 H. Tikkanen 0 0 0 0 0
G 40 J. Muse 0 0 0 0 0
D 3 R. Verrier 0 0 +1 0 0
F 5 Z. White 0 0 0 0 0
D 10 T. Cosgrove 0 1 +2 4 0
F 11 A. Bakanov 0 0 0 3 0
F 12 J. Cipollone 1 0 +1 4 0
F 13 J. Pivonka 0 0 +1 1 0
F 16 A. Calder 1 0 +1 4 0
F 17 K. Howdeshell 0 0 +1 3 0
F 19 B. Jenkins 0 0 +1 3 0
F 22 D. Kuefler 0 0 +1 1 0
D 26 C. Welsh 0 0 0 1 0
D 27 J. Copeland 0 1 +1 1 4
F 29 R. Piercey 0 0 0 1 4
F 44 A. Callin 0 1 +2 2 2
D 70 Z. Garat 0 0 +1 2 0
F 81 A. Repaci 1 0 +1 4 0
D 88 A. Kulakov 0 0 +1 1 0
Team:
Totals: 3 3 15 35 10
Player MIN SH SVS GJ SV%
39 H. Tikkanen (W) – 21 20 1 –
Totals: – 21 20 1 –

Penalties

Time Team Player Mins Infraction
8:32 – 1st R. Piercey 2 Holding the stick – minor (54.2)
12:16 – 1st C. Ortiz 2 Slashing – minor (61.2)
5:44 – 2nd J. Copeland 2 Cross-Checking Minor (59.2)
6:49 – 2nd J. Parker-Jones 2 Hooking – minor (55.2)
16:19 – 2nd J. Copeland 2 Hooking – minor (55.2)
19:00 – 2nd J. Novak 2 Slashing – minor (61.2)
9:10 – 3rd E. Hjorth 2 Interference – minor (56.2)
14:41 – 3rd N. Laaouan 2 Roughing – minor (51.2)
14:41 – 3rd R. Piercey 2 Slashing – minor (61.2)
16:20 – 3rd A. Callin 2 Slashing – minor (61.2)


Notes

  • Worcester Scratches: Brendan Robbins, Christian Krygier, Jack Quinlivan, Jake Schultz, Quinn Ryan, Todd Goehring, and Tristan Lennox.
  • Trois-Rivières Scratches: Jared Power, Marc-Antoine Pépin, Nicolas Guay, Ty Smilanic, William Lemay, and Zachary Émond.
  • Attendance for the last three Friday night home games have been listed at 1804, 1839, and tonight at 1886. Not counting a closed door game, the Railers have had six home games with attendance numbers less than 2000. With 14 games played so far this season, the attendance average is 3,156.
  • Reece Newkirk was recalled to Bridgeport earlier in the week in a move that was necessary to put the Railers within Roster Requirements, with Anthony Callin returning from bereavement leave the same day.
    The Maine Mariners claimed former Railers defenseman Jeff Solow off waivers from the Jacksonville IceMen earlier this week. Perhaps we’ll see him in the line-up on Saturday. Solow had an assist and was a +3 in seven games with Jacksonville. Maine had released defenseman Adam Samuelsson in a separate transaction earlier in the week, oddly enough he was claimed by Jacksonville.
  • Following Friday’s game, the Railers have the following scoring streaks and droughts:
    • Zach White is without a point in his last seven games.
    • Trevor Cosgrove snapped a three-game scoring drought with an assist.
    • Andrei Bakanov is without a point in his last three games.
    • Jake Pivonka is without a point in his last seven games.
    • Ashton Calder snapped a four-game scoring drought with an empty net goal.
    • Daylan Kuefler is without a point in all three games he’s played in this season.
    • Connor Welsh is without a point in his last five games.
    • John Copeland picked up his first professional point and his first point in 16 games with an assist. This matches his collegiate record, with a single point which was an assist in 46 games with Boston University.
    • Anthony Callin snapped a three-game scoring drought with an assist.
    • Zsombor Garat is without a point in his last twelve games.
    • Artyom Kulakov is without a point in his last twelve games.

Railers Lines

Forward Lines LW C RW
Forward Line 1 Anthony Repaci #81 Blade Jenkins #19 Anthony Callin #44
Forward Line 2 Daylan Kuefler #22 Jake Pivonka #13 Ashton Calder #16
Forward Line 3 Keeghan Howdeshell #17 Joey Cipollone #12 Riley Piercey #29
Rotated Forwards Andrei Bakanov #11 Zach White #5 –
Defensive Pairings LD RD
Defense Pair 1 Zsombor Garat #70 Connor Welsh #26
Defense Pair 2 Trevor Cosgrove #10 John Copeland #27
Defense Pair 3 Artyom Kulakov #88 Ryan Verrier #3
Rotated Defensemen – –
Goalie Tandem G
Starting Goaltender Henrik Tikkanen #39
Backup Goaltender John Muse #40

Opponent Lines

Forward Lines LW C RW
Forward Line 1 Cedric Montminy #21 Anthony Beauregard #92 Justin Ducharme #71
Forward Line 2 Jakov Novak #86 Alex-Olivier Voyer #19 Maxim Trépanier #15
Forward Line 3 Nicolas Lariviere #55 Nick Jermain #67 John Parker-Jones #85
Rotated Forwards – Parker Saretsky #28 Charles-Antoine Paiement #72
Defensive Pairings LD RD
Defense Pair 1 Brycen Martin #14 Miguël Tourigny #89
Defense Pair 2 Chris Ortiz #18 Noah Laaouan #6
Defense Pair 3 Markuss Komuls #23 Eric Hjorth #3
Rotated Defensemen – –
Goalie Tandem G
Starting Goaltender Joe Vrbetic #35
Backup Goaltender Zachary Bouthillier #31

On-Ice Officials

– –
Referee Bobby Esposito (35)
Referee Evan Reddick (21)
Linesman Robert Griffin (53)
Linesman Patrick Philbin (88)


Highlights


Notable Tweets as the Game Happened


Railers Lines


Lions Lines


Anthony Beauregard goal (1-0 Lions)


Anthony Repaci goal (Tied at 1)


Henrik Tikkanen breakaway save


Joey Cipollone goal (2-1 Railers)


Ashton Calder goal (3-1 Railers)