Game Story

Reading, PA — The Worcester Railers picked up five of a possible six points this weekend, picking up their second big win over the Reading Royals 6-3 on Sunday afternoon.

Henrik Tikkanen made his second start of the weekend, stopping 25 of 28 shots. Tikkanen has now won five straight ECHL games. Nolan Maier stopped 22 shots for Worcester. Eleven different Railers players contributed to the scoresheet, with Ashton Calder, Keeghan Howdeshell, Anthony Callin, Andrei Bakanov, and Trevor Cosgrove (2x) each scoring for Worcester. Joseph Nardi, Jake Smith, and Tag Bertuzzi scored for Reading. Cosgrove’s two goals marked his first multi-goal game of the season and his first since February 24, 2023, when he scored twice against the South Carolina Stingrays. The win snapped Worcester’s five-game losing streak on Sundays, securing their first Sunday victory since December 31, 2023, also against Reading. The Railers now hold a 3-8 record in Sunday games this season.

Reading’s Joseph Nardi put the Royals up with the only goal of the first period, after the puck made some odd bounces, Nardi got a shot past Henrik Tikkanen’s left pad, sending packages of underwear down from the rafters. That would be the only scoring of the first period with Reading outshooting Worcester 9-6.

Worcester would go on to score three times in the third period, starting with Ashton Calder connecting on a pass from Ryan Scarfo at 2:04. Not long after Calder’s goal, Artyom Kulakov fought Kenny Johnson after Johnson missed a hit on Kulakov, Johnson followed suit by missing most of his punches against Kulakov, and sent Worcester back on the power play. Keeghan Howdeshell made it 2-1 at 5:25 after skating down the right side of the ice, and picked his shot from the right circle for his third goal of the weekend. Anthony Callin tallied on another goal at 8:51, scoring above the glove of Nolan Maier for his twelfth of the season.

The Railers extended their lead with their fourth unanswered goal as Andrei Bakanov scored his 11th goal of the season. Bakanov grabbed a loose puck in the slot and fired it past Maier, giving Worcester a 4-1 advantage. Reading responded 1:06 later, as Jake Smith patiently outmaneuvered Henrik Tikkanen and tucked the puck into the open net, narrowing the score to 4-2 for most of the third period. With Reading’s net empty, Trevor Cosgrove seized an opportunity in open ice, receiving a pass from Andrei Bakanov and sending it into the empty net, making it 5-2 Worcester. However, Reading was quick to respond again, scoring again thirty seconds later with a goal from Tag Bertuzzi, beating Henrik Tikkanen’s left arm and bringing the score to 5-3. Cosgrove sealed the win for Worcester with another empty-net goal from far into the Railers’ zone securing a 6-3 victory over Reading on Sunday afternoon.

The three stars of the game were:

  1. Trevor Cosgrove (Worcester) – 2 goals, 1 assist, +3
  2. Joey Cipollone (Worcester) – 2 assists, +3
  3. Jake Smith (Reading) – 1 goal

The Railers find themselves one point out of a playoff spot as the Maine Mariners held-off the Newfoundland Growlers 5-3 on Sunday afternoon, they each hold the third and fourth playoff spot with a point separating them. The Adirondack Thunder fell 6-2 to the Norfolk Admirals, while the bottom five of the division have virtually no chances of catching either of them, things are heating up to decide the first and second seed, Adirondack has 84 points and Norfolk has 78. Trois-Rivieres still remain in the hunt with one game in hand over the Railers, who also have 62 points after falling to the South Carolina Stingrays on Sunday.

Up next, the Railers return home for a 3-in-4 week with the Newfoundland Growlers coming to Worcester as the playoff hunt continues on Wednesday night.

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Box Score


Scoring 1 2 3 T
0 3 3 6
1 0 2 3
Shots 1 2 3 T
6 14 8 28
9 7 12 28

 

Score Team Time Scored by Assisted by Type
0 – 1 13:17 – 1st J. Nardi (16) J. Bouquot, T. Fawcett
1 – 1 2:04 – 2nd A. Calder (16) R. Scarfo, A. Kulakov
2 – 1 5:25 – 2nd K. Howdeshell (9) J. Cipollone, M. Klee
3 – 1 8:51 – 2nd A. Callin (12) Z. White, T. Cosgrove
4 – 1 3:29 – 3rd A. Bakanov (12) J. Cipollone, A. Callin
4 – 2 4:35 – 3rd J. Smith (17) S. Sellar
5 – 2 17:46 – 3rd T. Cosgrove (8) A. Bakanov, J. Pivonka EN
5 – 3 18:16 – 3rd T. Bertuzzi (16) J. Nardi, Y. Mongo
6 – 3 19:05 – 3rd T. Cosgrove (9) A. Callin EN

Rosters

# Player G A +/- SH PIM
G 39 H. Tikkanen 0 0 0 0 0
G 40 J. Muse 0 0 0 0 0
D 3 R. Verrier 0 0 +1 0 0
F 5 Z. White 0 1 0 1 0
D 7 M. Klee 0 1 +1 0 0
F 9 R. Scarfo 0 1 -1 1 0
D 10 T. Cosgrove 2 1 +2 4 0
F 11 A. Bakanov 1 1 +1 1 0
F 12 J. Cipollone 0 2 +3 3 0
F 13 J. Pivonka 0 1 +2 1 2
F 15 B. Robbins 0 0 +2 1 2
F 16 A. Calder 1 0 +2 4 0
F 17 K. Howdeshell 1 0 +1 2 0
D 18 C. Regula 0 0 -1 0 0
F 20 A. Heidemann 0 0 -1 4 0
F 21 M. Gildon 0 0 -1 2 0
F 44 A. Callin 1 2 +2 3 0
D 70 Z. Garat 0 0 +1 1 2
D 88 A. Kulakov 0 1 +1 0 7
Team:
Totals: 6 11 15 28 13
Player MIN SH SVS GA SV%
39 H. Tikkanen (W) – 28 25 3 –
Totals: – 28 25 3 –
# Player G A +/- SH PIM
G 1 A. Thornton 0 0 0 0 0
G 73 N. Maier 0 0 0 0 0
F 7 J. Bouquot 0 1 -1 7 0
D 8 P. Connor 0 0 +1 0 0
F 13 C. Brand 0 0 0 0 0
F 16 S. Sellar 0 1 0 0 0
F 17 T. Fawcett 0 1 -2 0 0
F 18 J. Nardi 1 1 +1 2 0
F 19 C. McMenamin 0 0 -2 0 0
F 21 T. Bertuzzi 1 0 -1 2 0
D 23 D. Brady 0 0 -1 4 0
F 24 J. Smith 1 0 -2 3 0
D 25 R. Devine 0 0 -4 0 2
D 29 K. Wilson 0 0 -1 2 0
D 39 T. Malinowski 0 0 -1 2 0
D 57 K. Johnson 0 0 +2 0 7
F 59 T. Gratton 0 0 -3 4 0
F 77 D. Paliani 0 0 -2 1 0
F 91 Y. Mongo 0 1 -1 1 0
Team:
Totals: 3 5 -17 28 9
Player MIN SH SVS GJ SV%
73 N. Maier (L) – 26 22 4 –
Empty Net – 2 2 –
Totals: – 28 22 6 –

Penalties

Time Team Player Mins Infraction
2:23 – 2nd A. Kulakov 5 Fighting – Major (46.14)
2:23 – 2nd K. Johnson 2 Roughing – minor (51.2)
2:23 – 2nd K. Johnson 5 Fighting – Major (46.14)
8:51 – 2nd R. Devine 2 Roughing – minor (51.2)
11:12 – 2nd Z. Garat 2 Delay of Game (63.2)
17:45 – 2nd J. Pivonka 2 Tripping – minor (57.2)
19:21 – 2nd B. Robbins 2 Hooking – minor (55.2)
8:54 – 3rd A. Kulakov 2 Tripping – minor (57.2)


Notes

  • Worcester Scratches: Anthony Repaci, Christian Krygier, Connor Welsh, Jack Quinlivan, John Copeland, Riley Piercey, Ryan Dickinson, and Tristan Lennox.
  • Reading Scratches: Adam Brubacher, Austin Master, Dajon Mingo, Jake Bricknell, Justin Michaelian, Max Kouznetsov, Ryan Chyzowski, and Ryan Cox.
  • Following Sunday’s game, the Railers have the following streaks and droughts:
    • Ryan Scarfo snapped a five-game point drought with an assist.
    • Michael Gildon is without a point in three games.
    • Artyom Kulakov snapped a five-game point drought with an assist.

Railers Lines

Forward Lines LW C RW
Forward Line 1 Andrei Bakanov #11 Anthony Callin #44 Zach White #5
Forward Line 2 Keeghan Howdeshell #17 Jake Pivonka #13 Ashton Calder #16
Forward Line 3 Michael Gildon #21 Ryan Scarfo #9 Brendan Robbins #15
Rotated Forwards – Joey Cipollone #12 Austin Heidemann #20
Defensive Pairings LD RD
Defense Pair 1 Trevor Cosgrove #10 Mason Klee #7
Defense Pair 2 Ryan Verrier #3 CJ Regula #18
Defense Pair 3 Zsombor Garat #70 Artyom Kulakov #88
Rotated Defensemen – –
Goalie Tandem G
Starting Goaltender John Muse #40
Backup Goaltender Henrik Tikkanen #39

On-Ice Officials

– –
Referee Chad Ingalls (15)
Referee JR Stragar (2)
Linesman Jarrett Burton (91)
Linesman Cameron Campbell (67)


Highlights


Notable Tweets as the Game Happened


Railers Lines


Joseph Nardi goal


Ashton Calder goal


Artyom Kulakov vs Kenny Johnson fight


Keeghan Howdeshell goal


Anthony Callin goal


Andrei Bakanov goal


Jake Smith goal


Trevor Cosgrove goal


Tag Bertuzzi goal


Trevor Cosgrove goal