Game Story


St. John’s, NL — The Worcester Railers made their first trip up to St. John’s, Newfoundland on Thursday for the first of three meetings in the only scheduled trip to the rock this regular season.

Tristan Lennox was in the rotation Thursday, making 26 saves in his fifth appearance of the season. Former Hobey Baker winner Dryden McKay had 30 saves in his fifth career appearance against Worcester. Railers’ captain Anthony Repaci was back in the lineup after missing five games with a lower-body injury. Blade Jenkins broke a four-game point drought by leading the team with two goals and two assists. Ashton Calder, Blade Jenkins, Jake Pivonka, Quinn Ryan, Brendan Robbins, Adam Goodsir, Trevor Cosgrove, and Connor Welsh contributed to scoring in the 5-4 win on Thursday. Jackson Berezowski, Joe Masonius, Tate Singleton, Neil Shea, Grant Cruikshank, Tyler Weiss, and Cory Dennis each had points for the Growlers.

The Railers played their best game of the season and in this writer’s opinion was probably their best-played game dating back to the middle of last season. The Railers avoided a third straight overtime game with a power play goal late in the third period.

Blade Jenkins initiated the Railers’ evening by scoring the opening goal at 2:58 with a rebound. Later in the first period, Connor Welsh capitalized on a power play with a slapshot from the point, finding the back of the net at 14:29. The Railers dominated the opening twenty minutes, outshooting the Growlers 15-3, with two of the Growlers’ shots coming in the closing seconds of the period.

Blade Jenkins scored his second of the night at 9:34 in the second period. Quinn Ryan intercepted a puck from a Growlers skater and quickly passed the puck to Jenkins as he was rushing to the net to beat Dryden McKay. Just a minute and a half later, Brendan Robbins extended the lead to 4-1 with a precise top-shelf shot from the left circle. Jackson Berezowski then notched his first goal of the night on a breakaway at 12:26, bringing the score to 4-2 as the game headed into the third period.

Jackson Berezowski scored his second of the night at 8:45, landing a top-shelf shot from the right circle. Tate Singleton tied the game up for the Growlers, picking up a turnover from Artyom Kulakov at center ice, and rushed for a breakaway chance to beat Tristan Lennox at 16:13. Exactly two minutes after Singleton’s goal, Ashton Calder would regain the lead for Worcester on the power play. After a few back-and-forth passes from Blade Jenkins in the left circle, he scored off the crossbar to give Worcester their third win of the season.

The Three Stars of the Game were:

  1. Ashton Calder (Worcester) – game-winning goal, 1 assist
  2. Blade Jenkins (Worcester) – 2 goals, 2 assists, +2
  3. Jackson Berezowski (Newfoundland) – 2 goals, +3

The three-game series between the Railers and Growlers extends into Friday, with the puck set to drop at 5:30 p.m. Eastern Time.

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Box Score


Scoring 1 2 3 T
2 2 1 5
0 2 2 4
Shots 1 2 3 T
15 10 10 35
3 18 9 30
Score Team Time Scored by Assisted by Type
1 – 0 2:58 – 1st B. Jenkins (2)
2 – 0 14:29 – 1st C. Welsh (1) B. Jenkins, A. Calder PP
2 – 1 4:47 – 2nd G. Cruikshank (6) J. Masonius, C. Dennis
3 – 1 9:31 – 2nd B. Jenkins (3) Q. Ryan
4 – 1 10:59 – 2nd B. Robbins (2) A. Goodsir, T. Cosgrove
4 – 2 12:26 – 2nd J. Berezowski (4) G. Cruikshank, T. Weiss
4 – 3 8:45 – 3rd J. Berezowski (5) J. Masonius
4 – 4 16:13 – 3rd T. Singleton (4) N. Shea
5 – 4 18:13 – 3rd A. Calder (5) B. Jenkins, J. Pivonka PP

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 0 1 0
D 4 J. Schultz 0 0 0 2 0
F 5 Z. White 0 0 -1 1 0
F 9 Q. Ryan 0 1 0 3 2
D 10 T. Cosgrove 0 1 +1 2 0
F 13 J. Pivonka 0 1 -1 2 0
F 14 A. Goodsir 0 1 0 2 0
F 15 B. Robbins 1 0 0 3 2
F 16 A. Calder 1 1 0 6 0
F 17 K. Howdeshell 0 0 -3 4 0
F 19 B. Jenkins 2 2 +2 2 0
D 26 C. Welsh 1 0 +1 2 0
D 27 J. Copeland 0 0 0 0 0
F 44 A. Callin 0 0 0 1 0
D 70 Z. Garat 0 0 -3 2 0
F 81 A. Repaci 0 0 0 1 0
D 88 A. Kulakov 0 0 -1 1 0
Team: 2
Totals: 5 7 -5 35 6
Player MIN SH SVS GA SV%
30 T. Lennox (W) 30 26 4
Totals: 30 26 4
# Player G A +/- SH PIM
G 33 L. Cavallin 0 0 0 0 0
G 45 D. McKay 0 0 0 0 0
D 3 J. Modry 0 0 -2 2 0
F 6 B. Caufield 0 0 0 1 0
F 7 J. Berezowski 2 0 +3 2 0
F 9 T. Singleton 1 0 0 2 0
D 13 J. Masonius 0 2 +1 3 4
F 15 T. Skirving 0 0 -1 4 0
D 16 N. Dillingham 0 0 +1 1 0
F 17 J. Escott 0 0 0 2 0
F 19 G. Cruikshank 1 1 +1 3 0
D 20 J. Tychonick 0 0 +1 1 0
F 22 N. Shea 0 1 0 2 0
F 27 K. Suthers 0 0 0 1 0
F 36 T. Weiss 0 1 +2 0 0
D 38 C. Dennis 0 1 0 3 2
F 39 A. Koopmeiners 0 0 -1 0 0
D 43 J. Melindy 0 0 +1 3 4
F 47 A. Dawe 0 0 -1 0 0
Team:
Totals: 4 6 5 30 10
Player MIN SH SVS GJ SV%
45 D. McKay (L) 35 30 5
Totals: 35 30 5

Penalties

Time Team Player Mins Infraction
9:45 – 1st Q. Ryan 2 Delay of Game (63.2)
13:10 – 1st J. Masonius 2 Interference – minor (56.2)
19:34 – 1st B. Robbins 2 Interference – minor (56.2)
19:34 – 1st J. Melindy 2 Roughing – minor (51.2)
5:27 – 2nd C. Dennis 2 Slashing – minor (61.2)
7:23 – 2nd Served by Q. Ryan 2 Bench minor – Too many men (74.2)
13:34 – 2nd J. Masonius 2 High-sticking – minor (60.2)
17:06 – 3rd J. Melindy 2 Hooking – minor (55.2)


Notes

  • Railers Scratches: Andrei Bakanov, Christian Krygier, Jack Quinlivan, Joey Cipollone, and Riley Piercey.
  • Growlers Scratches: Dan Cadigan, Isaac Johnson, Jake Hamilton, Josh Victor, Lincoln Erne, and Serron Noel.
  • Anthony Repaci was back in the lineup after missing five games and last played in the first game on the Railers road trip to Norfolk. Jack Quinlivan was activated from injured reserve and is eligible to make his season debut. Christian Krygier was placed on injured reserve on Wednesday.
  • The Railers had the following scoring droughts and streaks following Thursday’s game:
    • Ryan Verrier is without a point in all seven of his games played this season.
    • Jake Schultz is without a point in all five of his games played this season.
    • Trevor Cosgrove is now on a three-game point streak. (0-4-4)
    • Jake Pivonka extended his point streak to four games. (2-2-4)
    • Ashton Calder is now on a three-game point streak. (3-1-4)
    • Keeghan Howdeshell is without a point in his last five games.
    • Blade Jenkins snapped a four-game scoring drought with two goals and two assists.
    • John Copeland is without a point in all seven of his games played this season.
    • Anthony Callin snapped a three-game point streak. (1-4-4)
    • Zsombor Garat is without a point in his last three games.
    • Artyom Kulakov is without a point in all four of his games 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 Joey Cipollone #12 Anthony Callin #44
Forward Line 3 Keeghan Howdeshell #17 Brendan Robbins #15 Zach White #5
Rotated Forwards Quinn Ryan #9
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 Tyler Weiss #36 Grant Cruikshank #19 Jackson Berezowski #7
Forward Line 2 Neil Shea #22 Keenan Suthers #27 Tate Singleton #9
Forward Line 3 Todd Skirving #15 Brock Caufield #6 Jordan Escott #17
Rotated Forwards Alex Koopmeiners #39 Adam Dawe #47
Defensive Pairings LD RD
Defense Pair 1 Jonny Tychonick #20 Nolan Dillingham #16
Defense Pair 2 Joe Masonius #13 James Melindy #43
Defense Pair 3 Cory Dennis #38 Jacob Modry #3
Rotated Defensemen
Goalie Tandem G
Starting Goaltender Dryden McKay #45
Backup Goaltender Luke Cavallin #33

On-Ice Officials

Referee Brendan Schreider (12)
Referee Will Kelly (7)
Linesman Sheldon Keough (47)
Linesman Darryl Butt (70)




Notable Tweets as the Game Happened


Railers Lines


Growlers Lines


Blade Jenkins Goal (1-0 Railers)


Connor Welsh Goal (2-0 Railers)


Jackson Berezowski Goal (2-1 Railers)


Blade Jenkins Goal (3-1 Railers)


Brendan Robbins Goal (4-1 Railers)


Jackson Berezowski Goal (4-2 Railers)


Tate Singleton Goal(4-3 Railers)


Ashton Calder Goal (5-4 Railers)