Game Story

St John’s, NL — The Worcester Railers picked up four points out of a possible six in a 3-in-3 weekend against the Newfoundland Growlers.

Continuing their weekend after a 4-2 win by the Worcester Railers on Friday, the Growlers and Railers met again on Saturday and Sunday afternoon. Both teams’ were scarce for scoring with their leading scorers on recall to their respective AHL teams. Newfoundland lost ECHL leading scorers Orrin Centazzo to recall on Saturday morning and Zach O’Brien on Sunday morning, with Zach Solow and Tyler Boland already on recall to the Toronto Marlies. The Railers had seven players – Collin Adams, Trevor Cosgrove, Jacob Hayhurst, Steve Jandric, Jimmy Lambert, and Ryan MacKinnon on recall to the Bridgeport Islanders or Springfield Thunderbirds prior to this road trip.

Saturday

The Worcester Railers scored six goals in the first two periods to earn their sixteenth win of the season on Saturday over the Newfoundland Growlers, 6-2.

In the second of three games against the Growlers this week, the Railers had six different goal scorers – Brent Beaudoin, Jared Brandt, Reece Newkirk, Bobby Butler, Myles McGurty, and Quinn Ryan. Ken Appleby stopped 36 shots and played a full 60 minutes. Dryden McKay started in net for Newfoundland and was replaced at the five-minute mark by Luke Cavallin after Worcester’s sixth goal. Cavallin stopped all ten shots he faced in the 35 minutes he was in the net.

Nolan Walker scored for the Growlers at 2:16 in the first period to give the home team the early lead but it didn’t take long for the Railers to bounce back with four goals in a span of 4:34. Brent Beaudoin tied the game on a one-timer that was set up by Nolan Vesey at 11:27. Jared Brandt scored from the left circle after a pass from Jack Quinlivan made its way through a pair of Growlers’ skaters 36 seconds later. Reece Newkirk scored on a slapshot from the right circle at 12:37. Finally, Bobby Butler would tap in a rebound at 15:53 to bring the game to 4-1. Zack Bross dropped the gloves with Growlers’ captain James Melindy at 19:19, with Melindy taking down Bross but the Railers came out with a power play with Melindy going off for a slashing call before the fight broke out.

Myles McGurty was boarded at 1:31 in the second period, giving the Railers the man advantage for what was called a Cross-Checking Major, issued to Simon Kubicek. McGurty never missed a shift and scored the first of two Railers’ goals on that power play, connecting with Quinn Ryan when the Growlers had no coverage on their net. The Railers scored their second at the five-minute mark, with Quinn Ryan deflecting Phil Beaulieu’s shot to bring the score to 6-1. Dryden McKay’s night would be done after allowing six goals on 17 shots.

There would be a change in momentum for the Growlers’ as Luke Cavallin replaced McKay in the net after Quinn Ryan’s goal. The Railers did not score again for the remaining 35 minutes of the game, but the Growlers would attempt a comeback with three goals in a six-minute time frame later in the second period. After six unanswered goals by the Railers, the Growlers would score their second of the night with Zach O’Brien taking possession of the puck on a rush of the Growlers zone and sniping the puck from the right circle. Prior to this goal, Luke Cavallin made a fantastic save that set up the play and will likely be a nominee for save of the week. O’Brien’s second goal came at 16:27 with what replay shows bounces as a rebound bounce off of Jared Brandt’s stick. The Growlers’ third goal of the period came at 18:27 with a 2-on-1 with Brett Budgell and Pavel Gogolev connecting at the crease to bring the game to 6-4.

For the second straight game, neither the Railers nor the Growlers would score in the third period. Growlers’ head coach Eric Wellwood would pull Luke Cavallin with 2:05 left in the third period for the extra attacker. Ken Appleby would take home his eighth win of the season with 36 saves at the end of the night.

The three stars of Saturday’s game were:

  1. Anthony Repaci (Worcester) – 2 assists
  2. Zach O’Brien (Newfoundland) – 2 assists, 9 shots
  3. Bobby Butler (Worcester) – 1 goal, 1 assist

Sunday

A tired Railers team came up short of a win on Sunday afternoon after dominating the Growlers the past two nights, finding themselves unable to sweep the Growlers in a 3-2 loss.

Henrik Tikkanen stopped 44 of 47 shots on Sunday, the most that either of Worcester’s two goalies has faced so far this season. Jack Quinlivan and Liam Coughlin were the Railers’ two goal scorers. Ken Appleby was a late scratch and was replaced by Doug Pippy on the bench Sunday afternoon. Coughlin’s goal was his first since November 5th. Neither team scored in the first period with Newfoundland outshooting Worcester 9-4 through 20.

Sunday’s game was a relatively quiet game up until the middle of the second period where both teams scored in a 30-second interval where the Growlers scored on their first power play followed by a goal by Jack Quinlivan on the following play. Keenan Suthers netted his own rebound on the power play at 13:34 for the Growlers’ first lead of the night. Their lead would be short-lived with Jack Quinlivan tapping in a loose puck from Reece Newkirk at 14:04. With the game tied at 1, the Growlers outshot the Railers 28-11 through two sets of action.

Growlers would bounce back in the third period with Todd Skirving scoring on a scramble for the puck made by just about every skater on the ice at 11:39 which eventually beat Tikkanen on his own crease. Liam Coughlin scored at the 13-minute mark for his first in 12 games to tie the game back up at 2. However, Brett Budgell would score the game-winner on a tight angle from the left circle, with the puck going over the shoulder of Henrik Tikkanen with 5:08 left in regulation. The Growlers would take their first win over the Railers this season 3-2, outshooting Worcester 47-19 with the Growlers making 19 shots in each of the final two periods.

The three stars of Sunday’s game were:

  1. Brett Budgell (Newfoundland) – 1 goal, 1 assist
  2. Henrik Tikkanen (Worcester) – 44 saves
  3. Luke Cavallin (Newfoundland) – 17 saves, win

Over and Onward
The Railers hold a four-point lead in the standings over the two-way tie for second place between the Newfoundland Growlers, Idaho Steelheads, and the Indy Fuel. The Growlers and Railers will face each other again in Worcester on December 17 and 18.

Around the North division, Maine won two of their three-game series against the Adirondack Thunder this weekend. Reading won both their games against Norfolk. Trois-Rivieres picked up four points over Iowa in an inter-division matchup this weekend.

With the Railers’ first 3-in-3 in the books with a successful 4 out of 6 points over the Growlers, they’ll make a stop in Trois-Rivieres on Wednesday with a 7 PM puck drop. They’ll host the Idaho Steelheads this upcoming weekend for their first 3-in-3 at home.

Saturday Box Score

Scoring 1 2 3 T
4 2 0 6
1 3 0 4
Shots 1 2 3 T
15 7 5 27
16 11 13 40
Score Team Time Scored by Assisted by Type
0 – 1 2:16 – 1st N. Walker (4) B. Budgell, J. Melindy
1 – 1 11:27 – 1st B. Beaudoin (7) N. Vesey, B. Butler PP
2 – 1 12:03 – 1st J. Brandt (3) B. Christensen, J. Quinlivan
3 – 1 12:37 – 1st R. Newkirk (8) C. McCarthy, A. Repaci
4 – 1 15:53 – 1st B. Butler (7) B. Christensen, M. McGurty
5 – 1 2:40 – 2nd M. McGurty (1) Q. Ryan, A. Repaci
6 – 1 5:00 – 2nd Q. Ryan (7) L. Coughlin, P. Beaulieu PP
6 – 2 14:23 – 2nd Z. O’Brien (7) L. Cavallin
6 – 3 16:27 – 2nd Z. O’Brien (8) D. Plouffe, T. Skirving
6 – 4 18:27 – 2nd B. Budgell (6) P. Gogolev

Rosters

# 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 1 0 0 0
F 7 L. Coughlin 0 1 0 3 0
F 8 B. Butler 1 1 -1 2 0
D 9 N. Delmas 0 0 -1 1 2
F 11 N. Vesey 0 1 -2 0 0
F 12 B. Beaudoin 1 0 +1 4 0
F 13 B. Jerry 0 0 -1 0 2
D 15 C. Evers 0 0 0 1 0
F 18 B. Christensen 0 2 0 3 0
F 19 Q. Ryan 1 1 +1 2 0
F 24 J. Quinlivan 0 1 0 0 0
D 25 P. Beaulieu 0 1 -1 0 0
D 26 J. Brandt 1 0 0 2 2
D 27 M. McGurty 1 1 +1 2 0
F 29 Z. Bross 0 0 0 1 5
F 37 R. Newkirk 1 0 +1 3 0
F 81 A. Repaci 0 2 +1 3 0
Team:
Totals: 6 12 -1 27 11
Player MIN SH SVS GA SV%
35 K. Appleby (W) – 40 36 4 –
Totals: – 40 36 4 –
# Player G A +/- SH PIM
G 30 D. McKay 0 0 0 0 0
G 33 L. Cavallin 0 1 0 0 0
D 3 M. Joyaux 0 0 -1 2 0
D 4 S. Kubicek 0 0 +1 0 5
D 5 B. Kapcheck 0 0 0 1 2
F 10 Z. O’Brien 2 0 0 9 0
F 11 D. Plouffe 0 1 -1 6 0
F 14 B. Budgell 1 1 +2 4 0
F 15 T. Skirving 0 1 +1 4 0
F 17 B. Kruse 0 0 0 2 0
F 21 J. Badini 0 0 0 0 0
F 25 N. Walker 1 0 -1 4 0
F 27 K. Suthers 0 0 -1 2 0
D 40 C. Martenet 0 0 0 0 0
D 41 T. Egan 0 0 0 0 0
F 42 J. Escott 0 0 0 2 0
D 43 J. Melindy 0 1 0 3 7
D 45 M. Sredl 0 0 0 0 0
F 46 P. Gogolev 0 1 +1 1 0
Team:
Totals: 4 6 1 40 14
Player MIN SH SVS GJ SV%
30 D. McKay (L) – 17 11 6 –
33 L. Cavallin – 10 10 0 –
Totals: – 27 21 6 –

Penalties

Time Team Player Mins Infraction
6:24 – 1st B. Jerry 2 Tripping – minor (57.2)
10:04 – 1st B. Kapcheck 2 Hooking – minor (55.2)
19:19 – 1st Z. Bross 5 Fighting – Major (46.14)
19:19 – 1st J. Melindy 2 Slashing – minor (61.2)
19:19 – 1st J. Melindy 5 Fighting – Major (46.14)
1:31 – 2nd S. Kubicek 5 Cross-Checking Major (59.3)
1:51 – 2nd N. Delmas 2 Interference – minor (56.2)
0:53 – 3rd J. Brandt 2 Hooking – minor (55.2)

Saturday Notes

  • Railers Scratches: Derek Osik and Jeff Solow
  • Growlers Scratches: Joe Murdaca and Nathan Noel
  • The following players had streaks Saturday:
    • Brent Beaudoin is on a six-game point streak. (2-6-8)
    • Bobby Butler is now on a three-game goal streak and extended his four-game point streak. (3-2-5)
    • Blake Christensen is on an eight-game point streak. (4-8-12)
    • Reece Newkirk is now on a three-game goal streak and extended his point streak to four games. (3-3-6)
    • Phil Beaulieu is on a four-game point streak. (0-4-4)
    • Liam Coughlin scored his first point after being point-less in his last nine games.

Railers Lines

Forward Lines LW C RW
Forward Line 1 Blake Christensen #18 Quinn Ryan #19 Bobby Butler #8 “C”
Forward Line 2 Reece Newkirk #37 Brent Beaudoin #12 Anthony Repaci #81
Forward Line 3 Nolan Vesey #11 Liam Coughlin #7 “A” Zack Bross #29
Rotated Forwards – Billy Jerry #13 Jack Quinlivan #24
Defensive Pairings LD RD
Defense Pair 1 Jared Brandt #26 Myles McGurty #27 “A”
Defense Pair 2 Philip Beaulieu #25 Noah Delmas #9
Defense Pair 3 Christian Evers #15 Connor McCarthy #2
Rotated Defensemen – –
Goalie Tandem G
Starting Goaltender Ken Appleby #35
Backup Goaltender Henrik Tikkanen #39

Growlers Lines

Forward Lines LW C RW
Forward Line 1 Derian Plouffe #11 Jack Badini #21 Zach O’Brien #10
Forward Line 2 Pavel Gogolev #46 Brett Budgell #14 Nolan Walker #25
Forward Line 3 Keenan Suthers #27 Todd Skirving #15 Brandon Kruse #17
Rotated Forwards Jordan Escott #42 – –
Defensive Pairings LD RD
Defense Pair 1 Michael Joyaux #3 Brennan Kapcheck #5
Defense Pair 2 Matt Sredl #45 Simon Kubicek #4
Defense Pair 3 Chris Martenet #40 James Melindy #43
Rotated Defensemen Taylor Egan #41 –
Goalie Tandem G
Starting Goaltender Dryden McKay #30
Backup Goaltender Luke Cavallin #33

On-Ice Officials

– –
Referee Brendan Schreider (12)
Referee –
Linesman Joe Maynard (92)
Linesman Mark Day (93)

Sunday Box Score

Scoring 1 2 3 T
0 1 1 2
0 1 2 3
Shots 1 2 3 T
4 7 8 19
9 19 19 47
Score Team Time Scored by Assisted by Type
0 – 1 13:34 – 2nd K. Suthers (2) B. Kapcheck, B. Kruse PP
1 – 1 14:04 – 2nd J. Quinlivan (2) R. Newkirk, L. Coughlin
1 – 2 11:39 – 3rd T. Skirving (6) B. Budgell, P. Gogolev
2 – 2 13:00 – 3rd L. Coughlin (2) J. Brandt, A. Repaci
2 – 3 14:52 – 3rd B. Budgell (7) J. Escott, N. Walker

Rosters

# Player G A +/- SH PIM
G 30 D. Pippy 0 0 0 0 0
G 39 H. Tikkanen 0 0 0 0 0
D 2 C. McCarthy 0 0 0 1 2
F 7 L. Coughlin 1 1 +1 2 0
F 8 B. Butler 0 0 -2 0 0
D 9 N. Delmas 0 0 -1 0 0
F 10 D. Osik 0 0 0 1 0
F 12 B. Beaudoin 0 0 +1 1 0
F 13 B. Jerry 0 0 +1 1 0
D 15 C. Evers 0 0 -1 2 0
F 18 B. Christensen 0 0 0 1 0
F 19 Q. Ryan 0 0 0 0 0
D 22 J. Solow 0 0 0 1 0
F 24 J. Quinlivan 1 0 +1 2 0
D 26 J. Brandt 0 1 +1 1 0
D 27 M. McGurty 0 0 0 1 2
F 29 Z. Bross 0 0 0 0 0
F 37 R. Newkirk 0 1 0 2 0
F 81 A. Repaci 0 1 0 3 0
Team:
Totals: 2 4 1 19 4
Player MIN SH SVS GA SV%
39 H. Tikkanen (L) – 47 44 3 –
Totals: – 47 44 3 –
# Player G A +/- SH PIM
G 30 D. McKay 0 0 0 0 0
G 33 L. Cavallin 0 0 0 0 0
D 3 M. Joyaux 0 0 +1 4 0
D 4 S. Kubicek 0 0 0 5 0
D 5 B. Kapcheck 0 1 0 4 0
F 11 D. Plouffe 0 0 -1 4 0
F 14 B. Budgell 1 1 +1 3 4
F 15 T. Skirving 1 0 0 4 0
F 17 B. Kruse 0 1 0 2 0
F 25 N. Walker 0 1 0 1 0
F 27 K. Suthers 1 0 0 5 0
D 40 C. Martenet 0 0 0 0 0
D 41 T. Egan 0 0 0 0 0
F 42 J. Escott 0 1 0 2 0
D 43 J. Melindy 0 0 0 4 0
F 44 K. McGrath 0 0 0 3 0
D 45 M. Sredl 0 0 -1 1 2
F 46 P. Gogolev 0 1 0 5 4
– – – – – – – –
Team:
Totals: 3 6 0 47 10
Player MIN SH SVS GJ SV%
33 L. Cavallin (W) – 19 17 2 –
Totals: – 19 17 2 –

Penalties

Time Team Player Mins Infraction
11:21 – 1st B. Budgell 2 Slashing – minor (61.2)
0:29 – 2nd P. Gogolev 4 High-sticking – double minor (60.3)
5:26 – 2nd M. Sredl 2 Cross-Checking Minor (59.2)
12:12 – 2nd C. McCarthy 2 Slashing – minor (61.2)
9:27 – 3rd M. McGurty 2 High-sticking – minor (60.2)
16:04 – 3rd B. Budgell 2 Hooking – minor (55.2)

Sunday Notes

  • Railers Scratches: Phil Beaulieu, Ken Appleby, and Nolan Vesey.
  • Growlers Scratches: Jack Badini, Joe Murdaca, and Nathan Noel.
  • Doug Pippy was signed as the Railers emergency back-up goaltender (EBUG) Sunday afternoon. Ken Appleby was a scratch for Sunday’s game though there was no clear reason why Appleby was out for this game.
  • The following players had streaks Sunday:
    • Anthony Repaci is now on a three-game point streak. (2-3-5)
    • Reece Newkirk extended his point streak to five games and snapped his goal streak at three games. (3-4-7)
    • Brent Beaudoin snapped his six-game point streak. (2-6-8)
    • Bobby Butler snapped his three-game goal streak and his four-game point streak. (3-2-5)
    • Blake Christensen snapped his eight-game point streak. (4-8-12)
    • Phil Beaulieu snapped his four-game point streak. (0-4-4)

Railers Lines

Forward Lines LW C RW
Forward Line 1 Blake Christensen #18 Quinn Ryan #19 Bobby Butler #8 “C”
Forward Line 2 Anthony Repaci #81 Brent Beaudoin #12 Billy Jerry #13
Forward Line 3 Reece Newkirk #37 Liam Coughlin #7 “A” Jack Quinlivan #24
Rotated Forwards – Derek Osik #10 Zack Bross #29
Defensive Pairings LD RD
Defense Pair 1 Jared Brandt #26 Myles McGurty #27 “A”
Defense Pair 2 Jeff Solow #22 Noah Delmas #9
Defense Pair 3 Christian Evers #15 Connor McCarthy #2
Rotated Defensemen – –
Goalie Tandem G
Starting Goaltender Henrik Tikkanen #39
Backup Goaltender Doug Pippy #30

Growlers Lines

Forward Lines LW C RW
Forward Line 1 Derian Plouffe #11 Todd Skirving #15 Pavel Gogolev #46
Forward Line 2 Jordan Escott #42 Brett Budgell #14 Nolan Walker #25
Forward Line 3 Brandon Kruse #17 Keenan Suthers #27 Brandon Kruse #17
Rotated Forwards – – –
Defensive Pairings LD RD
Defense Pair 1 Michael Joyaux #3 James Melindy #43
Defense Pair 2 Chris Martenet #40 Brennan Kapcheck #5
Defense Pair 3 Matt Sredl #45 Simon Kubicek #4
Rotated Defensemen Taylor Egan #41 –
Goalie Tandem G
Starting Goaltender Luke Cavallin #33
Backup Goaltender Dryden McKay #30

On-Ice Officials

– –
Referee Brendan Schreider (12)
Referee –
Linesman Joe Maynard (92)
Linesman Brian Lambert (57)

Highlights

The highlights from Saturday’s game can be found on the ECHL website.

The highlights from Sunday’s game can be found on the ECHL website.

Notable Tweets From Saturday’s Game


Nolan Walker goal (1-0 Growlers)


Brent Beaudoin goal (1-1)


Jared Brandt goal (2-1 Worcester)


Reece Newkirk goal (3-1 Worcester)


Bobby Butler goal (4-1 Worcester)


Myles McGurty goal (5-1 Worcester)


Phil Beaulieu goal (6-1 Worcester)


Cavallin save, followed by Zach O’Brien first goal (6-2 Worcester)


Zach O’Brien second goal (6-3 Worcester)


Brett Budgell goal (6-4 Worcester)

Notable Tweets From Sunday’s Game


Keenan Suthers goal (1-0 Newfoundland)


Jack Quinlivan goal (1-1)


Todd Skirving goal (2-1 Newfoundland)


Liam Coughlin goal (2-2)


Brett Budgell goal (3-2 Newfoundland)