Game Story


Portland, ME — The Worcester Railers made the trip to Portland on Wednesday, but a slow start in the first period proved costly as they fell 5-2 to the Maine Mariners, marking their first loss of the season to the team.

Henrik Tikkanen made his fifth start of the season, stopping 33 shots. Opposing him was Ryan Bischel, who made 27 saves in his first career start against Worcester. Maine’s scoring came from Drew Bischel, Patrick Guay, Bennett Stockdale, Wyllum Deveaux, and Evan Vierling. For Worcester, Lincoln Hatten and Cole Donhauser scored, with Hatten’s goal ending a seven-game point drought. Donhauser’s assist on the goal broke his own six-game pointless streak, while Ryan Dickinson also recorded an assist, snapping a four-game dry spell. The game highlighted the importance of playing a full 60 minutes, as the Railers’ poor first period ultimately left them with too much ground to cover.

The opening 20 minutes were among the worst in Worcester hockey history. The Railers had just two shots compared to Maine’s 21. Kolby Johnson registered the Railers’ first shot at 10:59, followed by Anthony Repaci’s at 14:27. Meanwhile, Maine dominated, starting with Drew Bavaro’s first goal at 6:30 while Worcester was shorthanded. Patrick Guay made it 2-0 at 9:02, Bennett Stockdale added his first of the season at 10:13, and Wyllum Deveaux capped the period at 16:23, giving Maine a 4-0 lead. Henrik Tikkanen had 17 saves in the period, while Ryan Bischel had no trouble stopping either of Worcester’s two shots.

The second period saw a shift in momentum, with the Railers showing more energy. Lincoln Hatten scored his first goal of the season at 3:35, following a failed power play opportunity that began at 1:24. Worcester had another power play 1:01 after Hatten’s goal but couldn’t convert for their second. At 9:29, Griffin Luce put the puck in the net and it was immediately waved off, as Andrei Bakanov was in Bischel’s crease and made contact with him. No video review was used, with a clear as day goaltender interference. The Railers trailed 4-2 after two periods, but the shot count stood at 16-6 in their favor for the second period.

The third period remained quiet until late. Henrik Tikkanen was pulled for the extra attacker with 5:04 remaining. Just six seconds later, Matt Kopperud was called for a four-minute penalty after high-sticking Brooklyn Kalmikov, drawing blood. 1:38 into Maine’s power play, Evan Vierling scored to make it 5-1. With 31 seconds left in the game, Cole Donhauser netted his first goal of the season and Worcester’s second shorthanded goal, bringing the final score to 5-2.

The three stars of the game were:

  1. Evan Vierling (Maine) – 1 goal, 2 assists
  2. Bennett Stockdale (Maine) – 1 goal
  3. Drew Bavaro (Maine) – 1 goal

Elsewhere in the division on Wednesday night, the Adirondack Thunder were shut out 4-0 by the Jacksonville Icemen in the opening game of their four-game southern road trip. The Norfolk Admirals defeated the Reading Royals 3-1 at home. The Thunder will travel to Savannah for a game on Thursday, while Norfolk and Reading will face off again on Friday in Reading.

The bus returns back to Worcester, where the Railers will host the Trois-Rivieres Lions in the first of back-to-back games on Saturday at 6:05 p.m The Railers will wear specialty jerseys to honor the ‘Worcester 6’ Jersey proceeds will benefit the Worcester Firefighters 6K, supporting NEADS World Class Service Dogs, Genesis Club, and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. The annual Guns N’ Hoses game will take place before the Railers game, with a puck drop at 2:30 p.m.

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Box Score


Scoring 1 2 3 T
0 1 1 2
4 0 1 5
Shots 1 2 3 T
1 17 11 29
21 6 11 38
Score Team Time Scored by Assisted by Type
0 – 1 6:30 – 1st D. Bavaro (1) J. Lambert, E. Vierling PP
0 – 2 9:02 – 1st P. Guay (5) J. Lambert, B. Kalmikov
0 – 3 10:13 – 1st B. Stockdale (1) C. Berger, J. Willets
0 – 4 16:23 – 1st W. Deveaux (4) C. Sarlo, E. Vierling
1 – 4 3:35 – 2nd L. Hatten (1) C. Donhauser, R. Dickinson
1 – 5 16:40 – 3rd E. Vierling (3) S. Vidmar, J. Lambert PP
2 – 5 19:29 – 3rd C. Donhauser (1) SH

Rosters

# Player G A +/- SH PIM
G 32 M. Bullion 0 0 0 0 0
G 39 H. Tikkanen 0 0 0 0 0
D 3 R. Verrier 0 0 0 2 0
F 10 J. Kaplan 0 0 -2 0 2
F 11 J. Randl 0 0 -1 2 0
F 12 K. Johnson 0 0 -1 1 0
F 13 A. Bakanov 0 0 0 0 0
F 16 G. Loughran 0 0 0 0 2
D 17 B. Rons 0 0 +1 0 0
F 18 M. Kopperud 0 0 0 2 4
F 19 R. Piercey 0 0 0 3 0
D 22 G. Luce 0 0 -2 0 0
D 24 M. Klee 0 0 0 3 0
D 25 R. Dickinson 0 1 +1 2 0
D 26 C. Welsh 0 0 -2 0 0
F 29 C. Donhauser 1 1 +2 2 0
F 33 L. Hatten 1 0 0 4 0
F 37 M. DeMelis 0 0 0 3 0
F 44 A. Callin 0 0 0 2 2
F 81 A. Repaci 0 0 -2 3 0
Team:
Player MIN SH SVS GA SV%
39 H. Tikkanen (L) – 38 33 5 –
Totals: – 38 33 5 –
# Player G A +/- SH PIM
G 1 B. Arvanitis 0 0 0 0 0
G 30 R. Bischel 0 0 0 0 0
D 2 Z. Massicotte 0 0 0 1 0
D 3 M. Underwood 0 0 0 0 2
F 4 W. Deveaux 1 0 +1 6 0
D 6 J. Willets 0 1 +1 3 0
F 9 B. Kalmikov 0 1 0 2 2
F 10 C. Sarlo 0 1 +1 3 0
F 11 S. Vidmar 0 1 0 1 0
F 15 B. Stockdale 1 0 +1 4 2
F 17 M. Philip 0 0 0 1 0
F 19 X. Lamppa 0 0 +1 2 0
F 20 N. Jermain 0 0 0 1 0
D 21 D. Bavaro 1 0 0 2 0
F 23 J. Lambert 0 3 -1 4 0
D 25 C. Berger 0 1 +1 0 0
D 26 J. Bean 0 0 +1 3 0
F 27 P. Guay 1 0 -1 2 2
F 41 E. Vierling 1 2 0 3 0
Team:
Player MIN SH SVS GJ SV%
30 R. Bischel (W) – 29 27 2 –
Totals: – 29 27 2 –

Penalties

Time Team Player Mins Infraction
4:43 – 1st J. Kaplan 2 Hooking – minor (55.2)
1:24 – 2nd B. Kalmikov 2 Slashing – minor (61.2)
4:36 – 2nd B. Stockdale 2 Delay of Game (63.2)
19:41 – 2nd P. Guay 2 Tripping – minor (57.2)
1:29 – 3rd G. Loughran 2 Diving/Embellishment (64.2)
1:29 – 3rd M. Underwood 2 High-sticking – minor (60.2)
15:02 – 3rd M. Kopperud 4 High-sticking – double minor (60.3)
19:07 – 3rd A. Callin 2 Cross-Checking Minor (59.2)


Notes

  • Worcester Scratches: Cole Crowder, Colin Jacobs, JD Dudek, John Muse, and Matias Rajaniemi.
  • Maine Scratches: Alex Sheehy, Carter Johnson, Chase Zieky, Jacob Hudson, Jason Horvath, Nolan Maier, and Owen Pederson.
  • On Tuesday, the Railers made several roster changes: Michael Bullion was activated from the 3-day injured reserve, while John Muse was placed on reserve and Matias Rajaniemi was moved to the 3-day injured reserve.
  • Following Wednesday night’s game, the Railers had the following streaks and droughts:
    • Ryan Verrier is without a point in his last four games.
    • Jack Randl is without a point in his last four games.
    • Kolby Johnson is without a point in his last seven games.
    • Andrei Bakanov is without a point in his last five games.
    • Griffin Loughran is without a point in his last five games.
    • Brenden Rons is without a point in his last five games.
    • Griffin Luce is without a point in his last eight games.
    • Ryan Dickinson snapped a four-game pointless streak with an assist.
    • Cole Donhauser snapped a six-game pointless streak with an assist.
    • Lincoln Hatten snapped a seven-game pointless streak with a goal.
    • Matt DeMelis is without a point in his last nine games.
    • Anthony Repaci’s point streak came to an end after three games. (3-3-6)

Railers Lines

Forward Lines LW C RW
Forward Line 1 Jack Randl #11 Jordan Kaplan #10 Anthony Repaci #81
Forward Line 2 Riley Piercey #19 Anthony Callin #44 Griffin Loughran #16
Forward Line 3 Matthew Kopperud #18 Matt DeMelis #37 Cole Donhauser #29
Forward Line 4 Kolby Johnson #12 Andrei Bakanov #13 Lincoln Hatten #33
Defensive Pairings LD RD
Defense Pair 1 Griffin Luce #22 Connor Welsh #26
Defense Pair 2 Brenden Rons #17 Mason Klee #24
Defense Pair 3 Ryan Verrier #3 Ryan Dickinson #25
Rotated Defensemen – –
Goalie Tandem G
Starting Goaltender Michael Bullion #32
Backup Goaltender John Muse #40

On-Ice Officials

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Referee Casey Terreri (14)
Referee Austin Rook (11)
Linesman Jack McQuesten (53)
Linesman Matthew Heinen (93)


Highlights

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Notable Tweets as the Game Happened


Railers Lines


Drew Bavaro goal


Patrick Guay goal


Bennett Stockdale goal


Wyllum Deveaux goal


Lincoln Hatten goal


Evan Vierling goal


Cole Donhauser goal