Game Story

St. John’s, NL — The Worcester Railers made their first trip of the season to St. John’s, Newfoundland for the first of three straight games against the Growlers.

Anthony Repaci made his return to the lineup after missing seven games and Collin Adams and Jimmy Lambert were recalled prior to this weekend. Blake Christensen extended his point streak to seven games with a pair of assists. He alongside Repaci had multi-point nights for Worcester. Anthony Repaci, Reece Newkirk, and Bobby Butler each scored for Worcester. Henrik Tikkanen made 36 saves on the night, and the Growlers’ Luke Cavallin stopped 19 of 23 shots made by Worcester Friday night.

Anthony Repaci scored on the power play to give the Railers a 1-0 lead at 10:28, via a setup by Phil Beaulieu. Reece Newkirk would double-up the lead with the puck going through the pads of Luke Callavin at 19:03. In a period that felt largely dominated by the Growlers, the Railers led 2-0 after twenty minutes. Newfoundland outshot Worcester 13-9.

Growlers converted 31 seconds into a power play which had Connor McCarthy sitting in the box for tripping. Zach O’Brien scored the goal, fed from Michael Joyaux at 2:05. Bobby Butler scored in his first game back at 5:04 in the frame, tapping in a puck up front for an easy goal behind Newfoundland goaltender Luke Cavallin. Growlers bounced back on the power play at 13:18. Anthony Repaci scored his second of the night at 15:16, scored at the crease on an open net behind Luke Cavallin. Railers led 4-2 after two and were outshot 14-5 in the period.

Neither team scored in the third period, while the Railers had a power play opportunity with Orrin Centazzo in the box for roughing, they were unable to convert with the final score being 4-2 after 60 minutes. Railers were 1-for-3 on the power play while both the Growlers’ goals came on the power play and were 2-for-5 on the night.

The three stars of Friday’s game were:

  1. Anthony Repaci (Worcester) – 2 goals
  2. Henrik Tikkanen (Worcester) – win, 36 saves, 0.934 SV%
  3. Zach O’Brien (Newfoundland) – 1 goal, 1 assist

Around the North division, Maine beat Adirondack 4-1; Reading beat Norfolk 6-3, and Trois-Rivieres beat Iowa 4-2. The Railers hold a two-point lead over the now-second-place Idaho Steelheads and a four-point lead over the Indy Fuel and Newfoundland Growlers who are tied for third place in the ECHL.

The road trip continues Saturday against the Growlers again with a puck drop at 5:30 EST.

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Box Score

Scoring 1 2 3 T
2 2 0 4
0 2 0 2
Shots 1 2 3 T
9 5 9 23
13 14 11 38
Score Team Time Scored by Assisted by Type
1 – 0 10:28 – 1st A. Repaci (3) P. Beaulieu, B. Christensen PP
2 – 0 19:03 – 1st R. Newkirk (7) B. Beaudoin
2 – 1 2:05 – 2nd Z. O’Brien (6) M. Joyaux, P. Gogolev PP
3 – 1 5:04 – 2nd B. Butler (6) Q. Ryan, B. Christensen
3 – 2 13:58 – 2nd O. Centazzo (13) Z. O’Brien, M. Joyaux PP
4 – 2 15:16 – 2nd A. Repaci (4) R. Newkirk

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 0 +2 2 2
F 7 L. Coughlin 0 0 +1 1 0
F 8 B. Butler 1 0 +1 2 0
D 9 N. Delmas 0 0 0 0 0
F 10 D. Osik 0 0 0 0 0
F 11 N. Vesey 0 0 0 0 0
F 12 B. Beaudoin 0 1 +2 4 0
D 15 C. Evers 0 0 +2 1 2
F 18 B. Christensen 0 2 +1 0 0
F 19 Q. Ryan 0 1 +1 2 0
F 24 J. Quinlivan 0 0 0 0 2
D 25 P. Beaulieu 0 1 0 0 0
D 26 J. Brandt 0 0 +1 1 0
D 27 M. McGurty 0 0 +1 0 2
F 29 Z. Bross 0 0 0 3 0
F 37 R. Newkirk 1 1 +2 3 0
F 81 A. Repaci 2 0 +1 4 2
Team:
Totals: 4 6 15 23 10
Player MIN SH SVS GA SV%
39 H. Tikkanen (W) – 38 36 2 –
Totals: – 38 36 2 –
# 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 2 -1 1 2
D 4 S. Kubicek 0 0 -3 4 0
D 5 B. Kapcheck 0 0 0 2 0
F 10 Z. O’Brien 1 1 -1 5 0
F 11 D. Plouffe 0 0 -2 1 2
F 14 B. Budgell 0 0 -1 3 0
F 15 T. Skirving 0 0 0 2 0
F 16 N. Noel 0 0 0 0 0
F 17 B. Kruse 0 0 0 2 0
F 21 J. Badini 0 0 -1 2 0
F 25 N. Walker 0 0 -1 3 0
F 27 K. Suthers 0 0 -2 2 0
F 29 O. Centazzo 1 0 0 5 2
D 40 C. Martenet 0 0 -1 2 0
D 43 J. Melindy 0 0 -1 1 0
D 45 M. Sredl 0 0 0 1 0
F 46 P. Gogolev 0 1 -1 2 0
Team:
Totals: 2 4 -15 38 6
Player MIN SH SVS GJ SV%
33 L. Cavallin (L) – 23 19 4 –
Totals: – 23 19 4 –

Penalties

Time Team Player Mins Infraction
8:41 – 1st D. Plouffe 2 Tripping – minor (57.2)
15:05 – 1st J. Quinlivan 2 Slashing – minor (61.2)
1:34 – 2nd C. McCarthy 2 Tripping – minor (57.2)
11:57 – 2nd M. McGurty 2 Tripping – minor (57.2)
13:48 – 2nd C. Evers 2 Tripping – minor (57.2)
17:16 – 2nd A. Repaci 2 Slashing – minor (61.2)
17:27 – 2nd M. Joyaux 2 Interference – minor (56.2)
8:45 – 3rd O. Centazzo 2 Roughing – minor (51.2)

Notes

  • Railers Scratches: Billy Jerry and Jeff Solow.
  • Growlers Scratches: Joe Murdaca, and Taylor Egan.
  • Collin Adams and Jimmy Lambert were recalled to Bridgeport on Thursday morning. 4 of Worcester’s 5 scoring leaders are now on recall to the AHL. Both Adams and Lambert were the remaining two players to play in every Railers game this season. With both players out of Worcester’s line-up this weekend, there will be no iron man on the roster this season. Billy Jerry was announced as joining the team later that day, a sign this was late and a bit unexpected on the Railers’ part heading into this weekend.
  • The following players received nominations for ECHL awards:
    • Blake Christensen was Worcester’s nominee for ECHL Player of the Week for November 21-27. Christensen had three goals and two assists (3-2-5) in three games last week. Jeremy McKenna of the Kansas City Mavericks received the nod with four goals and two assists in three games last week.
    • Henrik Tikkanen was nominated for ECHL Goalie of the Week for November 21-27. Tikkanen was 1-0-0 with a 1.00 goals-against average and a save percentage of .966. Tyler Parks of the Atlanta Gladiators received the award this week, going 2-0-0 with a 1.89 goals-against average and a save percentage of .953 in two appearances last week.
    • Collin Adams was nominated for ECHL Player of the Month for November. Adams scored 14 points (5-9-14) in the month. Newfoundland’s Zach O’Brien was named player of the month, scoring four goals, adding 17 assists, and was a +13 in 11 games during the month. Also nominated and named runners-up were Lincoln Griffin, Cincinnati (10 gp, 8g, 5a, 13 pts.), and Eddie Matsushima, Tulsa (12 gp, 10g, 7a, 17 pts.).
    • Jimmy Lambert was nominated for ECHL Rookie of the Month for November. Lambert had six goals, and seven assists in 12 games during the month. Iowa Heartlanders forward Michael Pastujov received the honor, posting 14 points in 14 games (4-10-14) in 10 games last month.
    • Jimmy Lambert was the Worcester Railers’ Top-Plus performer of the month of November, posting a plus-8 during the month. Idaho Steelheads’ defenseman Darren Brady was the ECHL’s Plus Performer of the Month for November after posting a league-best +17 rating in just eight games.
  • The following players are on streaks:
    • Brent Beaudoin is on a four-game point streak. (1-4-5)
    • Blake Christensen is on a three-game goal streak and a six-game point streak. (4-4-8)
    • Jeff Solow is on a three-game point streak. (0-3-3)
    • Zack Bross has yet to score a point in six games.
    • Liam Coughlin is without a point in his last nine games.

Railers Lines

Forward Lines LW C RW
Forward Line 1 Quinn Ryan #19 Blake Christensen #18 Bobby Butler #8 “C”
Forward Line 2 Reece Newkirk #37 Brent Beaudoin #12 Anthony Repaci #81
Forward Line 3 Nolan Vesey #11 “A” Liam Coughlin #7 Zack Bross #29
Rotated Forwards Jack Quinlivan #24 Derek Osik #10 –
Defensive Pairings LD RD
Defense Pair 1 Myles McGurty #27 “A” Jared Brandt #26
Defense Pair 2 Noah Delmas #9 Philip Beaulieu #25
Defense Pair 3 Christian Evers #15 Connor McCarthy #2
Rotated Defensemen – –
Goalie Tandem G
Starting Goaltender Henrik Tikkanen #39
Backup Goaltender Ken Appleby #35

Growlers Lines

Forward Lines LW C RW
Forward Line 1 Orrin Centazzo #29 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 Nathan Noel #16 Derian Plouffe #11
Defensive Pairings LD RD
Defense Pair 1 Chris Martenet #40 Michael Joyaux #3
Defense Pair 2 Todd Skirving #15 Brennan Kapcheck #5
Defense Pair 3 Taylor Egan #41 James Melindy #43
Rotated Defensemen – –
Goalie Tandem G
Starting Goaltender Luke Cavallin #33
Backup Goaltender Dryden McKay #30

On-Ice Officials

– –
Referee Brendan Schreider (12)
Referee –
Linesman Sheldon Keough (47)
Linesman Mark Day (93)

Notable Tweets as the Game Happened


Repaci Goal


Newkirk Goal


Zach O’Brien Goal


Butler goal


Newfoundland Second Goal


Repaci Second Goal