Game Story
Glens Falls, NY – The Worcester Railers took their first three-hour bus trip on Wednesday for their inaugural match against the Adirondack Thunder this season. Railers took a loss in their first matchup since last season’s Kelly Cup Playoffs, with a final score of 4-1.
The match was the first of eleven for the 2018-19 season. Mitch Gillam was the starter in net for the Railers, making 42 saves on 46 shots. Adirondack’s Colton Finney made the start for the Thunder, who made 27 saves and allowed a single goal. Former Railer Alex Sakellaropoulos was dressed as the backup goaltender for Adirondack.
Nick Bligh scored his first goal of the season unassisted at 1:57. Adirondack’s James Henry tied it up later in the period after getting the puck from the Railers defense and aiming a top-shelf shot. The game was tied at one with the Thunder outnumbering the Railers in shots 12-11.
Adirondack had a big second period, outshooting Worcester 19-12. The Thunder were able to get a single goal by Desmond Bergin, though with the number of shots being so high the Railers were lucky that only one made its way into the net. Alex Vanier had a number of saves in the period in which he blocked the puck from getting in at the goal line, which brings his unofficial save count this season to 4. Railers trailed 2-1 after 40 minutes, Adirondack led in shots 31-22.
Thunder extended their lead after a shot from Dennis Kravchenko was deflected off of Mike Szmatula and into the net of Mitch Gillam, one minute into the third period. Desmond Bergin put the game away with his second of the night, an empty net goal with a shot from around the Adirondack net.
The three stars of the game were:
- James Henry (ADK) – 1 goal, 1 assist, +3 rating
- Desmond Bergin (ADK) – 2 goals,
- Mike Szmatula (ADK) – 1 goal, 7 shots
Honorable mention to Mitch Gillam, making 42 saves on 46 shots, the most the Railers have given up in Franchise history.
More Hockey This Week: Railers will travel to Manchester on Friday to face the Monarchs for the first time this season. The Railers will dash back to Glens Falls overnight on Friday to face the Adirondack Thunder on Saturday. Puck drop for both games will happen at 7 PM.
Box Score
| Scoring | 1 | 2 | 3 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Worcester Railers | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Adirondack Thunder | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Shots | 1 | 2 | 3 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Worcester Railers | 11 | 11 | 6 | 28 |
| Adirondack Thunder | 12 | 19 | 15 | 46 |
| Railers Roster | # | Name | G | A | +/- | SH | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | 34 | E. Buitenhuis | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| G | 35 | M. Gillam | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| D | 2 | T. Panico | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| D | 3 | A. Vanier | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| D | 4 | R. MacKinnon | 0 | 0 | -1 | 1 | 0 |
| D | 5 | K. McKenzie | 0 | 0 | -1 | 2 | 0 |
| D | 6 | M. Cornell | 0 | 0 | -2 | 2 | 9 |
| F | 7 | T. Barnes | 0 | 0 | -3 | 0 | 0 |
| F | 8 | N. Sorkin | 0 | 0 | -2 | 0 | 2 |
| F | 9 | A. Block | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| F | 11 | D. Willick | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| F | 12 | J. Holmstrom | 0 | 0 | -1 | 1 | 0 |
| F | 18 | B. Arneson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| F | 19 | B. Almeida | 0 | 0 | -2 | 7 | 0 |
| F | 22 | N. Bligh | 1 | 0 | -1 | 4 | 0 |
| F | 23 | W. Hudson | 0 | 0 | -2 | 1 | 0 |
| D | 24 | T. Mueller | 0 | 0 | -1 | 2 | 0 |
| F | 41 | T. Tsicos | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Team: | |||||||
| Totals: | 1 | 0 | -16 | 28 | 13 |
| No | Name | Min | SH | SVS | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 35 | M. Gillam | 58:58 | 45 | 42 | 3 |
| Empty Net | 1 | 1 | |||
| Totals: | 58:58 | 46 | 42 | 4 |
| Thunder Roster | # | Name | G | A | +/- | SH | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | 1 | A. Sakellaropoulos | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| G | 40 | C. Phinney | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| D | 6 | M. Cleland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| D | 7 | J. Linhart | 0 | 0 | +1 | 4 | 0 |
| D | 8 | B. Thompson | 0 | 0 | +2 | 2 | 0 |
| F | 10 | C. Bradshaw | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| F | 13 | N. Olsson | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 |
| F | 15 | J. Henry | 1 | 1 | +3 | 3 | 0 |
| LW | 16 | P. MacArthur | 0 | 1 | +2 | 2 | 0 |
| F | 17 | A. Carrier | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| F | 19 | S. Conacher | 0 | 0 | +1 | 2 | 0 |
| F | 22 | B. Ward | 0 | 0 | +1 | 6 | 0 |
| F | 24 | D. Kravchenko | 0 | 1 | +1 | 1 | 2 |
| D | 27 | K. Summers | 0 | 0 | +2 | 4 | 0 |
| D | 37 | D. Bergin | 2 | 0 | +1 | 4 | 0 |
| F | 44 | C. Riley | 0 | 0 | +1 | 2 | 0 |
| F | 51 | J. Reichert | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 |
| F | 91 | M. Szmatula | 1 | 0 | +1 | 7 | 0 |
| Team: | |||||||
| Totals: | 4 | 3 | 15 | 46 | 11 |
| No | Name | Min | SH | SVS | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | C. Phinney | 60:00 | 28 | 27 | 1 |
| Totals: | 60:00 | 28 | 27 | 1 |
| P | T | Player | M | Offense | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | H | M. Cleland | 2.00 | Hooking – minor (55.2) | 1:52 |
| 1st | V | N. Sorkin | 2.00 | Hooking – minor (55.2) | 10:07 |
| 1st | V | B. Arneson | 2.00 | Cross-Checking Minor (59.2) | 19:35 |
| 1st | H | D. Kravchenko | 2.00 | Roughing – minor (51.2) | 19:35 |
| 3rd | V | M. Cornell | 2.00 | Interference – minor (56.2) | 14:17 |
| 3rd | V | M. Cornell | 2.00 | Roughing – minor (51.2) | 18:55 |
| 3rd | V | M. Cornell | 5.00 | Fighting – Major (46.14) | 18:55 |
| 3rd | H | J. Reichert | 2.00 | Roughing – minor (51.2) | 18:55 |
| 3rd | H | J. Reichert | 5.00 | Fighting – Major (46.14) | 18:55 |
Notes
- Railers Scratches: Tommy Kelley (14-day IR), Yanick Turcotte (lower body), David Quenneville (undisclosed injury), Ivan Kosorenkov (immigration issues), and Connor Doherty.
- Thunder Scratches: Matt Salhany, Andrew Tessier, Michael Sdao, John Edwardh, and Jordan McNaughton.
- It was announced on the pre-game show that Yanick Turcotte is expected to be out a couple of weeks after sustaining a lower-body injury in last Saturday’s home opener. A transaction putting him on 14-day injury reserve is expected in the near future, giving the Railers an opportunity to sign another skater in the meantime.
- Speaking of the 14-day injured reserve list, Tommy Kelley is eligible to return to the ice as today was the 14th day he was listed on injured reserve. That’s not to say that he’s ready to return.
- Tommy Tsicos and Bryan Arneson made their Railers debuts on Wednesday. For Tsicos, it was his ECHL debut as well. Arneson made his debut last season with the Wheeling Nailers.
- Evan “Boots” Buitenhuis is expected to start in either of the games on Friday or Saturday.
- As I and other sports writers around the ECHL had wondered last week, we can confirm that home teams will be wearing dark jerseys for the first half and will switch to white jerseys on January 21, 2019. Home teams will switch back to dark jerseys for the Kelly Cup Playoffs.
Railers Lines (Observed by order in which they appeared):
| LW | C | RW | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward Line 1 | B. Almeida #19 “A” | N. Sorkin #8 | T. Barnes #7 |
| Forward Line 2 | N. Bligh #22 | J. Holmstrom #12 “A” | W. Hudson #23 |
| Forward Line 3 | T. Tsicos #41 / B. Arneson #18 | D. Willick #11 | A. Block #9 |
| LD | RD | |
|---|---|---|
| Defense Line 1 | K. McKenzie #5 | M. Cornell #6 “C” |
| Defense Line 2 | T. Panico #2 | R. MacKinnon #4 |
| Defense Line 3 | T. Mueller #24 | A. Vanier #3 |
| G | |
|---|---|
| Starting Goaltender | Mitch Gillam #35 |
| Backup Goaltender | Evan Buitenhuis #34 |