Game Story


Worcester, MA — The Worcester Railers came up short after tying the game with seconds left on the game clock to force overtime Wednesday night, ultimately falling 5-4 to the Trois-Rivieres Lions at the DCU Center.

The Railers had entered the contest undefeated when leading after two periods with a 24-0 record. Rookie defenseman Artem Kulakov picked up his first professional goal in his debut for the Railers halfway through the first period. Worcester’s other three goals were scored by Steve Jandric, Anthony Repaci, and Bobby Butler. Brent Beaudoin reached a milestone by scoring his 50th goal of the season, becoming the sixth player in franchise history to achieve this feat. Henrik Tikkanen made 31 saves during the game, while Étienne Montpetit made his first professional appearance and stopped 36 shots at the other end of the ice.

Nicolas Guay gave the Lions the initial lead at 7:30, taking advantage of a pass from James Phelan behind the net during a rush into the Railers’ zone. Guay’s quick shot beat Henrik Tikkanen on his glove side. Just a minute and 22 seconds later, Artem Kulakov tied the game with a snipe from the left circle. Anthony Callin collected the puck from a Lions defenseman to set up the goal at 8:52. Matthew Barron scored the final goal of the period with just 1:05 remaining on the clock. Barron capitalized on a rebound and regained the lead for the Lions. At the end of the first period, the Lions had outshot the Railers 21-12.

With William Lemay sitting on a hooking penalty, Steve Jandric scored a power-play goal with just 11 seconds left to tie the game at 3:42 in the second period. A scuffle broke out, resulting in Phil Beaulieu and James Phelan exiting the game early for intermission. With 3:02 left on the clock, Andrei Bakanov passed to Anthony Repaci, who scored to give the Railers a 3-2 lead with 3:02 remaining in the period.

After a slow start to the period, the Trois-Rivieres Lions staged a comeback and got their first shots on goal at 10:14 and 10:23. They eventually scored on their fourth and fifth shots of the period. Anthony Beauregard scored the game-tying goal at 14:42, tapping in a rebound from Zach Kaiser’s shot. Nicolas Guay scored his second goal of the night at 16:09, capitalizing on a loose puck at the crease for the go-ahead goal. Despite many fans having left the DCU Center at this point, Bobby Butler rallied late to tie the game with just 5 seconds left in regulation and force overtime. The Railers outshot the Lions 12-6 in back-to-back periods.

At 4:49 in the overtime period, Ryan Francis scored the game-winning goal with a wrist shot that Henrik Tikkanen lost sight of. The puck had bounced off his pads into the net behind him and had already crossed the goal line by the time he regained sight of it.

The three stars of the game were:

  1. Ryan Francis (Trois-Rivières) – 1 goal
  2. Nicolas Guay (Trois-Rivières) – 2 goals, 1 assist
  3. Bobby Butler (Worcester) – 1 goal

With the Railers picking up a point and the Royals losing in overtime to Adirondack, the Reading Royals are just one point shy of punching their ticket to the Kelly Cup Playoffs. With the Railers having lost four straight and the Thunder continuing their momentum, the Railers will need to pick up wins in its next six games to make the playoffs. The Railers have 66 points, the Adirondack Thunder have 64 points, and have two games in hand. The Railers host the Thunder in back-to-back games on Friday and Saturday.

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Box Score


Scoring 1 2 3 T
2 0 2 1
1 2 1 0
Shots 1 2 3 T
21 6 6 3
12 12 12 4

 

Score Team Time Scored by Assisted by Type
1 – 0 7:30 – 1st N. Guay (9) J. Phelan, R. Zuhlsdorf
1 – 1 8:52 – 1st A. Kulakov (1) A. Callin
2 – 1 18:55 – 1st M. Barron (7) N. Lariviere, N. Guay
2 – 2 3:42 – 2nd S. Jandric (7) N. Delmas, N. Vesey PP
2 – 3 16:58 – 2nd A. Repaci (21) A. Bakanov, B. Beaudoin
3 – 3 14:42 – 3rd A. Beauregard (23) Z. Kaiser, B. Johnson
4 – 3 16:09 – 3rd N. Guay (10) M. Komuls, N. Lariviere
4 – 4 19:55 – 3rd B. Butler (17) J. Hayhurst, S. Jandric
5 – 4 4:49 – 1st OT R. Francis (20) C. Welsh, A. Beauregard

Rosters

# Player G A +/- SH PIM
G 1 W. Lavallière 0 0 0 0 0
G 31 �. Montpetit 0 0 0 0 0
D 6 R. Zuhlsdorf 0 1 +2 0 0
C 7 B. Stapley 0 0 -1 2 0
F 8 W. Lemay 0 0 -1 5 2
F 9 C. Gallant 0 0 -2 1 0
D 10 S. Kuzmeski 0 0 -1 1 0
D 13 B. Johnson 0 1 0 3 0
F 14 J. Phelan 0 1 0 1 6
F 16 Z. Kaiser 0 1 -1 1 0
F 19 C. Lacroix 0 0 +1 2 2
D 23 M. Komuls 0 1 +2 0 0
F 37 M. Barron 1 0 +2 3 0
RW 44 R. Francis 1 0 +1 1 0
F 55 N. Lariviere 0 2 +2 1 0
D 58 S. Centorame 0 0 0 1 0
D 59 C. Welsh 0 1 +1 1 0
RW 91 N. Guay 2 1 +2 6 0
F 92 A. Beauregard 1 1 +1 7 2
Team: 2
Totals: 5 10 8 36 14
Player MIN SH SVS GA SV%
31 �. Montpetit (W) – 40 36 4 –
Totals: – 40 36 4 –
# Player G A +/- SH PIM
G 35 K. Appleby 0 0 0 0 0
G 39 H. Tikkanen 0 0 0 0 0
D 2 C. McCarthy 0 0 0 1 0
F 7 L. Coughlin 0 0 -1 2 0
F 8 B. Butler 1 0 -1 4 2
D 9 N. Delmas 0 1 0 0 0
F 11 N. Vesey 0 1 0 1 0
F 12 B. Beaudoin 0 1 -1 2 0
F 16 J. Hayhurst 0 1 0 3 0
F 17 A. Callin 0 1 0 1 0
F 18 A. Goodsir 0 0 -1 4 0
F 23 A. Bakanov 0 1 0 1 0
D 25 P. Beaulieu 0 0 -2 0 4
D 26 J. Brandt 0 0 0 1 0
D 27 M. McGurty 0 0 -1 3 0
D 29 A. Kulakov 1 0 -1 1 0
F 37 R. Newkirk 0 0 -1 4 0
F 44 S. Jandric 1 1 +1 6 0
F 81 A. Repaci 1 0 +1 6 0
Team:
Totals: 4 7 -7 40 6
Player MIN SH SVS GJ SV%
39 H. Tikkanen (L) – 36 31 5 –
Totals: – 36 31 5 –

Penalties

Time Team Player Mins Infraction
19:48 – 1st J. Phelan 2 Slashing – minor (61.2)
1:52 – 2nd W. Lemay 2 Hooking – minor (55.2)
6:44 – 2nd C. Lacroix 2 Interference – minor (56.2)
18:37 – 2nd J. Phelan 4 Double Minor – Roughing
18:37 – 2nd P. Beaulieu 2 Interference – minor (56.2)
18:37 – 2nd P. Beaulieu 2 Roughing – minor (51.2)
5:29 – 3rd B. Butler 2 Hooking – minor (55.2)
7:53 – 3rd Served by A. Beauregard 2 Bench minor – Too many men (74.2)
0:40 – 1st OT A. Beauregard 2 Tripping – minor (57.2)


Notes

  • Worcester Scratches: Billy Jerry, Chris Ordoobadi, Christian Evers, Conor Breen, Jack Quinlivan, Josh Victor, Max Johnson, and Quinn Ryan.
  • Trois-Rivieres Scratches: Brendan Soucie, Brett Beauvais, Cedric Montminy, Étienne Montpetit, Francis Thibeault, Joe Vrbetic, Sam Dunn, and William Leblanc.
  • The jersey raffle of the game was a #30 Worcester IceCats throwback jersey from the 2021-22 season, which did not have a nameplate on the back.
  • Following Wednesday night’s game, the Railers had the following streaks and droughts:
    • Connor McCarthy is without a point in his last eleven games.
    • Liam Coughlin is without a point in his last seven games.
    • Noah Delmas snapped a three-game scoring drought.
    • Anthony Callin snapped a three-game scoring drought.
    • Adam Goodsir is on a four-game scoring drought.
    • Andrei Bakanov snapped a three-game scoring drought.
    • Phil Beaulieu is without a point in his last five games.
    • Anthony Repaci snapped a four-game scoring drought.

Railers Lines

Forward Lines LW C RW
Forward Line 1 Andrei Bakanov #23 Brent Beaudoin #12 Anthony Repaci #81
Forward Line 2 Steve Jandric #44 Reece Newkirk #37 Bobby Butler #8
Forward Line 3 Jacob Hayhurst #16 – –
Rotated Forwards – – –
Defensive Pairings LD RD
Defense Pair 1 Connor McCarthy #2 Myles McGurty #27
Defense Pair 2 Jared Brandt #26 Noah Delmas #9
Defense Pair 3 Philip Beaulieu #25 Artem Kulakov #29
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 William Lemay #8 Anthony Beauregard #92 Ryan Francis #44
Forward Line 2 Zach Kaiser #16 Brett Stapley #7 Cole Gallant #9
Forward Line 3 Cédric Lacroix #19 Markuss Komuls #23 Nicolas Guay #91
Rotated Forwards Nicolas Lariviere #55 Matthew Barron #37 –
Defensive Pairings LD RD
Defense Pair 1 Connor Welsh #59 Bradley Johnson #13
Defense Pair 2 Ryan Zuhlsdorf #6 Markuss Komuls #23
Defense Pair 3 Shane Kuzmeski #10 Santino Centorame #58
Rotated Defensemen – –
Goalie Tandem G
Starting Goaltender Étienne Montpetit #31
Backup Goaltender William Lavallière #1

On-Ice Officials

– –
Referee Austin O’Rourke (10)
Referee John Lindner (6)
Linesman Shane Kanaly (74)
Linesman Brent Colby (77)


Highlights

Notable Tweets as the Game Happened


Railers Lines


Lions Lines


Nicholas Guay first goal (1-0 Lions)


Artem Kulakov goal (Tied at 1)


Matthew Barron goal (2-1 Lions)


Steve Jandric goal (Tied at 2)


Anthony Repaci goal (3-2 Railers)


Anthony Beauregard goal (Tied at 3)


Nicolas Guay second goal (4-3 Lions)


Bobby Butler goal (Tied at 4)


Ryan Francis goal (5-4 Lions)