Game Story


St. John’s NL — The Worcester Railers dropped the second game in their three-game series this week against the Newfoundland Growlers on Friday night, ultimately being shut out 4-0 when the game was all said and done.

Henrik Tikkanen made his fifth start in net for the Railers, making 27 saves on 31 shots. Jack Quinlivan made a comeback to the Worcester lineup, marking his return for the first time since being diagnosed with cancer in December of 2022. Growlers’ goals were scored by Tate Singleton, Grant Gruikshank, Joe Masonius, and Serron Noel. The Railers had six power plays, all of which were unsuccessful, while successfully killing off all three penalties against them.

With the Railers being shut out twice in their first ten games of the season and given their inconsistent play so far this season, I had to look up a few things regarding shutouts.Β  Turns out this isn’t the quickest to being shut out twice in franchise history. Last year, they managed to avoid shutouts until their 14th game, which also happened in the season before that. In the 2019-20 season, they faced shutouts in the 6th and 8th games. During their first two seasons, they avoided their second shutout until December.

Tate Singleton provided the Growlers with an early 1-0 lead, scoring just 28 seconds into the game on a delayed penalty call against Worcester. Grant Cruikshank gave the Growlers a 2-0 lead with a shorthanded breakaway goal, six minutes later. Joe Masonius extended the lead to 3-0 late in the first period with a precise shot from the point.

Entering the third period, Serron Noel made it 4-0 for the Growlers, capitalizing on a two-on-one with Cruikshank just 43 seconds into the period. Luke Cavallin showcased a stellar performance by stopping all 33 shots he faced, securing a shutout victory with a final score of 4-0 for the Growlers.

The three stars of the game were:

Luke Cavallin (Newfoundland) – win, shutout, 33 saves
Grant Cruikshank (Newfoundland) 1 goal, 2 assists, +3, 7 shots
Tate Singleton (Newfoundland) – 1 goal, +2, 8 shots

With a day off on Saturday, the Railers and Growlers close out their weekend series on Sunday at 2:30 p.m.

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Box Score


Scoring 1 2 3 T
0 0 0 0
3 0 1 4
Shots 1 2 3 T
11 9 13 33
13 6 12 31

 

Score Team Time Scored by Assisted by Type
0 – 1 0:28 – 1st T. Singleton (5) J. Tychonick, G. Cruikshank
0 – 2 6:31 – 1st G. Cruikshank (7) SH
0 – 3 16:16 – 1st J. Masonius (1) N. Shea, A. Dawe
0 – 4 0:43 – 3rd S. Noel (2) G. Cruikshank

Rosters

# Player G A +/- SH PIM
G 30 T. Lennox 0 0 0 0 0
G 39 H. Tikkanen 0 0 0 0 0
D 3 R. Verrier 0 0 -1 0 0
D 4 J. Schultz 0 0 0 0 2
F 5 Z. White 0 0 0 7 0
F 9 Q. Ryan 0 0 0 3 0
D 10 T. Cosgrove 0 0 -2 5 0
F 13 J. Pivonka 0 0 -3 1 0
F 14 A. Goodsir 0 0 0 0 0
F 15 B. Robbins 0 0 -1 1 0
F 16 A. Calder 0 0 -4 1 0
F 17 K. Howdeshell 0 0 -1 1 2
F 19 B. Jenkins 0 0 -3 2 0
F 24 J. Quinlivan 0 0 0 2 2
D 26 C. Welsh 0 0 -3 5 0
D 27 J. Copeland 0 0 0 1 0
F 44 A. Callin 0 0 -1 4 0
D 70 Z. Garat 0 0 -1 0 2
D 88 A. Kulakov 0 0 0 0 0
Team:
Totals: 0 0 -20 33 8
Player MIN SH SVS GA SV%
39 H. Tikkanen (L) – 31 27 4 –
Totals: – 31 27 4 –
# Player G A +/- SH PIM
G 40 L. Cavallin 0 0 0 0 0
G 45 D. McKay 0 0 0 0 0
D 3 J. Modry 0 0 +1 0 4
F 6 B. Caufield 0 0 0 2 0
F 7 J. Berezowski 0 0 +2 1 0
F 8 S. Noel 1 0 +1 2 0
F 9 T. Singleton 1 0 +1 8 0
D 13 J. Masonius 1 0 +1 3 0
F 15 T. Skirving 0 0 +1 1 0
D 16 N. Dillingham 0 0 +2 0 0
F 17 J. Escott 0 0 +2 1 2
F 19 G. Cruikshank 1 2 +3 7 2
D 20 J. Tychonick 0 1 +2 1 0
F 22 N. Shea 0 1 +1 2 0
D 24 J. Victor 0 0 +1 0 4
D 26 L. Erne 0 0 +1 0 2
F 36 T. Weiss 0 0 0 1 0
F 39 A. Koopmeiners 0 0 0 1 0
F 47 A. Dawe 0 1 +1 1 0
Team:
Totals: 4 5 20 31 14
Player MIN SH SVS GJ SV%
40 L. Cavallin (W) – 33 33 0 –
Totals: – 33 33 0 –

Penalties

Time Team Player Mins Infraction
5:43 – 1st J. Escott 2 Tripping – minor (57.2)
7:12 – 1st L. Erne 2 Cross-Checking Minor (59.2)
9:29 – 1st K. Howdeshell 2 Hooking – minor (55.2)
6:01 – 2nd Z. Garat 2 Cross-Checking Minor (59.2)
12:33 – 2nd J. Victor 2 Tripping – minor (57.2)
16:13 – 2nd J. Modry 2 Hooking – minor (55.2)
11:13 – 3rd J. Schultz 2 Hooking – minor (55.2)
14:11 – 3rd J. Modry 2 Delay of Game (63.2)
17:38 – 3rd G. Cruikshank 2 Roughing – minor (51.2)
19:39 – 3rd J. Quinlivan 2 Slashing – minor (61.2)
19:39 – 3rd J. Victor 2 Cross-Checking Minor (59.2)


Notes

  • Worcester Scratches: Andrei Bakanov, Anthony Repaci, Christian Krygier, Joey Cipollone, and Riley Piercey.
  • Newfoundland Scratches: Cory Dennis, Dan Cadigan, Isaac Johnson, Jake Hamilton, James Melindy, Keenan Suthers, and Zach O’Brien.
  • Jack Quinlivan made his season debut after playing just 10 games last season after being diagnosed with Thyroid cancer.
  • The Railers had the following scoring streaks and droughts following Friday’s game:
    • Ryan Verrier is without a point in all eight games he has played this season.
    • Jake Schultz is without a point in all six games he has played this season.
    • Zach White is without a point in his last three games.
    • Trevor Cosgrove snapped a three-game point streak. (0-4-4)
    • Jake Pivonka snapped a four-game point streak. (2-2-4)
    • Ashton Calder snapped a three-game point streak. (3-1-4)
    • Keeghan Howdeshell is without a point in his last six games.
    • John Copeland is without a point in all eight he has played this season.
    • Zsombor Garat is without a point in his last four games.
    • Artyom Kulakov is without a point in all five games he has played this season.

Railers Lines

Forward Lines LW C RW
Forward Line 1 Blade Jenkins #19 Jake Pivonka #13 Ashton Calder #16
Forward Line 2 Adam Goodsir #14 Anthony Callin #44 Quinn Ryan #9
Forward Line 3 Keeghan Howdeshell #17 Brendan Robbins #15 Zach White #5
Rotated Forwards – Jack Quinlivan #24
Defensive Pairings LD RD
Defense Pair 1 Connor Welsh #26 Trevor Cosgrove #10
Defense Pair 2 Ryan Verrier #3 Zsombor Garat #70
Defense Pair 3 Artyom Kulakov #88 John Copeland #27
Rotated Defensemen Jake Schultz #4 –
Goalie Tandem G
Starting Goaltender Tristan Lennox #30
Backup Goaltender Henrik Tikkanen #39

Opponent Lines

Forward Lines LW C RW
Forward Line 1 Jordan Escott #17 Grant Cruikshank #19 Jackson Berezowski #7
Forward Line 2 Tate Singleton #9 Brock Caufield #6 Serron Noel #8
Forward Line 3 Neil Shea #22 Todd Skirving #15 Adam Dawe #47
Rotated Forwards Alex Koopmeiners #39 Tyler Weiss #36 –
Defensive Pairings LD RD
Defense Pair 1 Jonny Tychonick #20 Nolan Dillingham #16
Defense Pair 2 Jacob Modry #3 Joe Masonius #13
Defense Pair 3 Josh Victor #24 Lincoln Erne #26
Rotated Defensemen – –
Goalie Tandem G
Starting Goaltender Luke Cavallin #33
Backup Goaltender Dryden McKay #45

On-Ice Officials

– –
Referee Brendan Schreider (12)
Referee Will Kelly (7)
Linesman Brian Lambert (57)
Linesman Mark Day (93)




Notable Tweets as the Game Happened


Railers Lines


Growlers Lines


Tate Singleton Goal (1-0 Growlers)


Grant Cruikshank Goal (2-0 Growlers)


Joe Masonius Goal (3-0 Growlers)


Serron Noel Goal (4-0 Growlers)