Game Story
Portland, ME — The Worcester Railers and Maine Mariners met for the fourth time this season and for the first of two match-ups this weekend on Friday. Coming off a big overtime win over the Brampton Beast on Tuesday, the Railers came into the game with four points out of the playoff spot, which was held by the Reading Royals with 20 points.
Mitch Gillam made his third-straight start for the Railers on Friday. Brandon Halverson was in net for the Mariners. Ryan Hitchcock made his return to the line-up after being assigned to Worcester on Friday morning. Tyler Barnes and Ryan Hitchcock picked up a pair of assists on Friday. Tommy Panico picked up his first professional goal, supplemented with goals by Barry Almeida and Dylan Willick in Friday’s 4-2 win.
Yanick Turcotte picked up his second fighting major of this season in a scrap against Morgan Adams-Moisan at ten seconds into the game. Dylan Willick picked up his fourth goal of the season, redirecting a shot from Mike Cornell from the right circle that made its way to the left corner of the net at 14:28. Mariners’ Morgan Adams-Moisan would tie it up less than a minute later with a shot that made its way in from behind the goal line. With the game tied at one, Railers led in shots 14-8 in the opening period.
Tommy Panico scored his first pro goal with a shot from the blue line that made its way through the pads of Brandon Halverson at 1:09. Barry Almeida extended the Railers lead to two with a shot that went top-shelf at 8:06. Connor Doherty picked up his third fighting major of the season against Ryan Ferril, which ended with no punches and was nothing more than a tug-of-war to see who could get the jersey over the head of the other guy first. Mitch Gillam faced his second penalty shot in the past two games with a chance by Michael McNicholas, which ended with the puck hitting the post. Maine would pick things back up, bringing the game back to within one with a goal by Sean Day at 13:53. After forty minutes, Railers led with the game at 3-2, outshooting Maine 23-21.
Josh Holmstrom scored the Railers fourth goal of the night at 16:46 in the third, tapping a shot from Nick Sorkin. Maine pulled Halverson for the extra attacker with two minutes left in regulation, but it wasn’t enough for them to complete the comeback. Worcester brought home another win 4-2, shots 34-32 Worcester.
With a win Friday, the Railers are now 8-10-2 (18 pts) on the season. They are tied with Manchester for sixth place in the North Division and are a point behind Maine for fifth place. Fans should keep an eye out for the results of the Mariners vs Monarchs game taking place tomorrow night up in Manchester. There’s still a ton of hockey left in the season and a lot of ground to make up with 12 division games in December.
The Three Stars of the Game Were:
- Tyler Barnes (Worcester) – 2 assists
- Morgan Adams-Moisen (Maine) – 1 goal, fight
- Ryan Hitchcock (Worcester) – 2 assists
Sunday, Sunday, Sunday: Mariners and Railers will head to Worcester for Sunday’s matchup at the DCU Center. Railers will wear their Alternate orange jerseys for the second time this season. Puck drops at 3 PM.
Box Score
| Scoring | 1 | 2 | 3 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Worcester Railers | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| Maine Mariners | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Shots | 1 | 2 | 3 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Worcester Railers | 14 | 9 | 11 | 34 |
| Maine Mariners | 9 | 12 | 11 | 32 |
| 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 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 1 | 0 |
| D | 4 | R. MacKinnon | 0 | 0 | +3 | 2 | 0 |
| D | 6 | M. Cornell | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| F | 7 | T. Barnes | 0 | 2 | +2 | 2 | 0 |
| F | 8 | N. Sorkin | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| F | 11 | D. Willick | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| F | 12 | J. Holmstrom | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| F | 19 | B. Almeida | 1 | 0 | +2 | 3 | 0 |
| D | 20 | D. Quenneville | 0 | 0 | -1 | 3 | 0 |
| F | 21 | M. Gaudreau | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| F | 22 | N. Bligh | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| F | 23 | W. Hudson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| D | 24 | T. Mueller | 0 | 1 | +1 | 3 | 0 |
| F | 27 | R. Hitchcock | 0 | 2 | +2 | 3 | 0 |
| D | 28 | C. Doherty | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| F | 51 | Y. Turcotte | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Team: | |||||||
| Totals: | 4 | 8 | 10 | 34 | 12 |
| No | Name | Min | SH | SVS | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 35 | M. Gillam (W) | 60:00 | 32 | 30 | 2 |
| Totals: | 60:00 | 32 | 30 | 2 |
| Mariners Roster | # | Name | G | A | +/- | SH | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | 35 | B. Halverson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| G | 40 | C. LaCouvee | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| D | 4 | S. Savage | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 |
| F | 6 | J. Kalisz | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 |
| F | 9 | D. Melanson | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 |
| F | 10 | R. Bourbonnais | 0 | 0 | -1 | 1 | 0 |
| D | 13 | V. Pedrie | 0 | 0 | -1 | 3 | 0 |
| F | 15 | L. Stork | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| F | 16 | M. Adams-Moisan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| F | 17 | T. Ronning | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| F | 18 | R. Ferrill | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| F | 19 | A. Baer | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| D | 21 | J. Furgele | 0 | 0 | -1 | 4 | 0 |
| F | 23 | A. Kile | 0 | 1 | -1 | 1 | 0 |
| F | 24 | M. McNicholas | 0 | 0 | -2 | 2 | 0 |
| D | 27 | Z. Tolkinen | 0 | 0 | -1 | 2 | 0 |
| D | 29 | G. Cecere | 0 | 0 | +1 | 1 | 0 |
| D | 41 | S. Day | 1 | 0 | -2 | 3 | 0 |
| Team: | |||||||
| Totals: | 2 | 2 | -10 | 31 | 12 |
| No | Name | Min | SH | SVS | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 35 | B. Halverson (L) | 58:35 | 34 | 30 | 4 |
| Totals: | 58:35 | 34 | 30 | 4 |
| P | T | Player | M | Offense | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | V | Y. Turcotte | 5.00 | Fighting – Major (46.14) | 0:10 |
| 1st | H | M. Adams-Moisan | 5.00 | Fighting – Major (46.14) | 0:10 |
| 1st | H | S. Savage | 2.00 | Hooking – minor (55.2) | 10:35 |
| 2nd | V | C. Doherty | 5.00 | Fighting – Major (46.14) | 8:59 |
| 2nd | H | R. Ferrill | 5.00 | Fighting – Major (46.14) | 8:59 |
| 3rd | V | W. Hudson | 2.00 | Holding – minor (54.2) | 6:05 |
Notes
- Railers Injuries: Malcolm Gould, Tommy Kelley, Kyle McKenzie
- Railers Scratches: Austin Block, Alex Vanier
- Ryan Hitchcock was reassigned to the Worcester Railers on Friday morning. He was in the line-up for Bridgeport on November 24 against Springfield while on his recall.
- ECHL transactions listed Kyle McKenzie being put on the injured reserve list retroactive to November 28. The earliest he can be activated is on December 12.
- Tommy Panico picked up his first professional goal in Friday’s game. Heading into the game he had 0.09 points per game in 23 games, the second-lowest average of any Railers skater that has played more than five games. (Lowest: Josh Monk – 0.08 in 13 games).
- To date, there are four forwards (Austin Block, Ryan Hitchcock, Nick Sorkin, and Yanick Turcotte) and three defensemen (Connor Doherty, Kyle McKenzie, and Alex Vanier) that are looking for their first goals of the season.
- Upcoming Promotions for the month of December include: Boston Bruin Ryan Donato appearance on December 7, Ugly Sweater specialty jersey on December 15, and an appearance by Boston Bruins legend Rick Middleton on December 21.
- All fans are encouraged to check out Woo Hockey’s Worcester Railers Fan Club group on Facebook. It is quickly approaching 400 members and is a great way to connect with fellow fans and discuss all things related to Worcester Hockey.
Railers Lines (Observed by order in which they appeared):
| LW | C | RW | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward Line 1 | B. Almeida #19 “A” | R. Hitchcock #27 | T. Barnes #7 |
| Forward Line 2 | N. Sorkin #8 | J. Holmstrom #12 “A” | M. Gaudreau #21 |
| Forward Line 3 | N. Bligh #22 / Y. Turcotte #51 | D. Willick #11 | W. Hudson #23 |
| LD | RD | |
|---|---|---|
| Defense Line 1 | T. Panico #2 | M. Cornell #6 “C” |
| Defense Line 2 | R. MacKinnon #4 | C. Doherty #28 |
| Defense Line 3 | D. Quenneville #20 | T. Mueller #24 |
| G | |
|---|---|
| Starting Goaltender | Mitch Gillam #35 |
| Backup Goaltender | Evan Buitenhuis #34 |
Highlights
Highlights will be posted upon completion of the game.