Game Story

Worcester, MA — Any remaining playoff hopes for Worcester came to an end on Friday as the team lost their eighth straight game, losing 4-2 to Maine on the road.

Blake Wojtala had his third career start in net, making 18 saves on 22 shots. Worcester and Maine accumulated a total of sixty minutes worth of penalties. Josh Holmstrom (13th) and Matt Schmalz (9th) scored for Worcester, while Maine had four goals including three power play goals in the opening frame.

Mariners had three power-play goals in the first period, one on a Matt Schmalz minor and two on a Yanick Turcotte major and game misconduct. Taylor Cammarata converted at 9:57 and 15:14 while Dillan Fox netted one in between at 14:12. Maine led 3-1 after twenty, outshooting Worcester 12-9.

Yanick Turcotte was ejected from the game at 12:12 in the first period after colliding with Josh Couturier behind the Railers net and was issued a major penalty and a game misconduct for boarding. The major penalty and game misconduct was a bit too much, but Couturier left for the remainder of the period and returned for the second.

Nick Master extended the lead to 4-0 on a pass from Terrance Wallin who had just exited the penalty box some ten seconds before at 9:59. Josh Holmstrom made contact with a Mike Cornell shot from the blue line for his first goal since February 15 at 16:44 to bring the game to 4-1 heading into the third period.

Matt Schmalz scored the only goal of the third period at 13:03 on a shot outside the left circle that bounced into the bottom left corner of the net for his ninth of the season. Blake Wojtala was pulled with about 3:45 left in regulation, despite a handful of shots on goal the Railers were unable to get themselves back in the game. Maine’s Taylor Cammarata came inches away from an empty net goal for the hat trick at the game settled at 4-2 Maine.

As the game concluded and players were heading off the ice and into the locker room, Maine’s Brycen Martin cross-checked Mike Cornell into the boards. He was issued a cross-checking major and the game misconduct for cross-checking, with a suspension likely to come.

The Three Stars of the Game were:

  1. Taylor Cammarata (Maine) – 2 goals
  2. Terrance Wallin (Maine) – 2 assists, +1
  3. Francois Brassard (Maine) – 41 saves, first pro win

The Worcester Railers are officially out of playoff contention with their eighth straight loss. We’ll have to see if they can change the pace and attempt to stay over .500 on the season with two games remaining this season and their season concluding this weekend.

Railers host the Newfoundland Growlers tomorrow at 7:05 PM.

Box Score

Scoring 1 2 3 T
Worcester Railers 0 1 1 2
Maine Mariners 3 1 0 4
Shots 1 2 3 T
Worcester Railers 9 14 20 43
Maine Mariners 12 4 6 22

 

Railers Roster # Name G A +/- SH PIM
G 31 B. Wojtala 0 0 0 0 0
G 35 M. Gillam 0 0 0 0 0
D 4 R. MacKinnon 0 0 0 2 0
D 6 M. Cornell 0 1 +2 7 6
F 7 T. Barnes 0 1 0 6 0
F 8 N. Sorkin 0 0 0 2 0
F 11 D. Willick 0 0 0 2 0
F 12 J. Holmstrom 1 0 +1 7 2
F 15 B. Brauer 0 0 0 1 0
F 17 M. Schmalz 1 1 +2 1 2
F 18 D. Callin 0 0 +1 1 2
F 19 B. Almeida 0 0 -1 3 0
D 20 D. Quenneville 0 0 -1 4 0
D 24 T. Mueller 0 0 +1 3 2
F 27 R. Hitchcock 0 0 -1 2 0
D 28 C. Doherty 0 1 +1 0 2
D 41 R. Powers 0 0 0 2 0
F 51 Y. Turcotte 0 0 0 0 15
Team:
Totals: 2 4 5 43 31
No Name Min SH SVS GA
31 B. Wojtala (L) 56:16 22 18 4
Totals: 56:16 22 18 4
Mariners Roster # Name G A +/- SH PIM
G 30 C. Nell 0 0 0 0 0
G 35 F. Brassard 0 0 0 0 0
D 2 J. Couturier 0 0 0 0 2
F 6 N. Master 1 0 +1 2 0
D 8 R. Culkin 0 0 -1 4 0
F 10 G. Chase 0 1 -1 1 2
D 11 J. Coughlin 0 1 0 1 0
F 12 D. Tschantz 0 0 -1 0 0
F 13 D. Fox 1 0 0 3 0
D 14 B. Martin 0 1 0 1 17
F 17 T. Ronning 0 0 0 2 0
F 20 T. Wallin 0 2 +1 0 4
F 21 Z. Knutson 0 0 -1 1 0
F 22 J. McInnis 0 0 -1 1 0
F 24 M. McNicholas 0 2 0 0 2
F 26 T. Cammarata 2 0 -1 6 2
D 27 Z. Tolkinen 0 1 -1 0 0
D 29 G. Cecere 0 0 0 0 0
Team:
Totals: 4 8 -5 22 29
No Name Min SH SVS GA
35 F. Brassard (W) 60:00 43 41 2
Totals: 60:00 43 41 2
P T Player M Offense Time
1st V M. Schmalz 2.00 High-sticking – minor (60.2) 9:48
1st V Y. Turcotte 5.00 Boarding – Major (41.3) 12:11
1st V Y. Turcotte 10.00 Game misconduct – Boarding (41.5) 12:11
1st V D. Callin 2.00 Hooking – minor (55.2) 16:35
1st H T. Wallin 2.00 Diving/Embellishment (64.2) 16:35
2nd H B. Martin 2.00 Bench Minor – Interference (56.3) 0:31
2nd H T. Wallin 2.00 Tripping – minor (57.2) 7:49
2nd V M. Cornell 2.00 Slashing – minor (61.2) 13:17
3rd V J. Holmstrom 2.00 Roughing – minor (51.2) 2:56
3rd H T. Cammarata 2.00 Slashing – minor (61.2) 2:56
3rd V T. Mueller 2.00 Slashing – minor (61.2) 3:33
3rd V M. Cornell 2.00 Interference – minor (56.2) 4:01
3rd V C. Doherty 2.00 Holding the stick – minor (54.2) 4:59
3rd H G. Chase 2.00 Roughing – minor (51.2) 4:59
3rd H J. Couturier 2.00 Tripping – minor (57.2) 5:56
3rd V M. Cornell 2.00 Cross-Checking Minor (59.2) 10:26
3rd H M. McNicholas 2.00 Hooking – minor (55.2) 10:43
3rd H B. Martin 5.00 Cross-Checking Major (59.3) 20:00
3rd H B. Martin 10.00 Game misconduct – Cross-checking (59.5) 20:00

Notes

  • Railers Injuries: Evan Buitenhuis, Kyle McKenzie, Tommy Panico, Alex Vanier
  • Railers Scratches: Ivan Chukarov, Matt Gaudreau, Tommy Kelley, Ross Olsson
  • Mariners Injuries: Jon Jutzi, Blake Kessel, Louie Rowe, Branden Troock
  • Mariners Scratches: Ryan Ferrill, Drew Melanson, Wade Murphy
  • Mariners held a moment of silence prior to puck drop for the Humboldt Broncos. The team placed sixteen hockey sticks against the glass during the opening ceremonies as a tribute to the sixteen who passed exactly one year ago tomorrow.
  • As mentioned in the pre-game show, Ryan Hitchcock received eight stitches after leaving Wednesday’s game early. Word is his lip was cut open by a skate. He’ll wear a protective face shield for the remainder of his season.
  • Tyler Barnes made his return to the lineup after missing Wednesday’s game due to illness. Barnes appeared to be a little more mobile compared to his last few games.
  • Railers host their fan appreciation night tomorrow with the Orange Regular Season jerseys being auctioned off during the game. The auction can be found here.
  • For up-to-date news on all things Worcester Hockey, Like us on Facebook at Woo Hockey – Worcester Hockey News, Follow us on Twitter @WooHockeyNews, and join our Facebook Group – Worcester Railers Fan Club.

Railers Lines (Observed by order in which they appeared):

LW C RW
Forward Line 1  B. Almeida #19 “A”  R. Hitchcock #27  Tyler Barnes #7
Forward Line 2  J. Holmstrom #12  D. Callin #18  N. Sorkin #8
Forward Line 3  M. Schmalz / Y. Turcotte #51  D. Willick #11  B. Brauer #15
LD RD
Defense Line 1  M. Cornell #6 “C”  T. Mueller #24
Defense Line 2  R. MacKinnon #4  R. Powers #41
Defense Line 3  D. Quenneville #20  C. Doherty #28
G
Starting Goaltender  Blake Wojtala #31
Backup Goaltender  Mitch Gillam #35

Highlights