Game Story

Savannah, GA — The Worcester Railers fell 6-4 to the Savannah Ghost Pirates in the first of back-to-back games at the Enmarket Arena this weekend.

Michael Bulllion made his 25th start of the season in what was his 100th ECHL game, he made 19 saves before being replaced by Hugo Ollas after Savannah’s fifth goal. Ollas made 9 saves in his relief efforts. Evan Cormier made 31 saves for Savannah, playing in all sixty minutes of Friday night’s contest. Tyler Kobryn, Matt Kopperud, who scored twice, and JD Dudek scored for Worcester. Josh Davies, Logan Drevitch, Cameron Buhl, Devon Paliani, Liam Walsh, and Reece Vitelli scored for Savannah.

The Railers were 0-for-6 on the power play and killed all but one of their eight penalties. They have not scored a power play goal in any of their games on this road trip and haven’t had a power play goal since Friday, February 7 against Atlanta, where Anthony Repaci’s power play goal sent the game into overtime, where Anthony Callin gave the Railers a 3-2 win over the Gladiators on a buzzer beater. They have had 20 power plays since Repaci’s goal, obviously they have all been unsuccessful.

The two teams traded goals in the first period, eventually leading to a tie at 2 to conclude the period. Tyler Kobryn opened the scoring at 4:08, capitalizing on a pass from JD Dudek behind the net that deflected off a Savannah skater before slipping past Evan Cormier. Just two minutes later, Josh Davies responded with a breakaway goal from the left side to even the score. Worcester regained the lead at 10:40 when Matt Kopperud struck seconds after a faceoff, but Logan Drevitch’s low shot from the right circle knotted it up again at 2-2 eight minutes later. Worcester outshot Savannah 14-9 in the first frame.

Early in the second, Savannah took its first lead when Cameron Buhl capitalized on a turnover by Griffin Luce at the blue line, finishing over Michael Bullion’s glove at 1:04. Worcester answered at 12:26 when Matt Kopperud and Griffin Loughran broke into the Ghost Pirates’ zone on a two-on-none rush, with Kopperud finishing to tie the game once more. However, late penalties cost the Railers momentum. Though they killed off a slashing penalty to Kopperud, Mason Klee’s cross-checking penalty led to a power-play goal by former Railer Devon Paliani at 17:23. Less than a minute later, Liam Walsh slipped a shot through Bullion’s pads to put Savannah up by two. With 1:41 left in the period, Hugo Ollas replaced Bullion in net as Worcester entered the third trailing 5-3, having been outshot 18-11 in the period.

The third period started with more trouble for the Railers. Kolby Johnson was ejected with a game misconduct initially listed as “Other Infraction” and later updated to “Abuse of Officials.” He was penalized for slashing Tyler Drevitch’s stick after a whistle, then continued arguing with officials as he was escorted off the ice. Minutes later, Jordan Kaplan received a major penalty and a game misconduct for cross-checking two Savannah players, though video review suggested he had taken a high hit beforehand while he skated with the puck into the Ghost Pirates’ zone, which went unpenalized. Evan Nause was penalized for roughing with Kaplan after the play was dead.

Despite the penalties, Worcester successfully killed off all infractions in the third. JD Dudek cut the deficit to one at 13:05, burying a backhander off a feed from Cole Donhauser. With under two minutes remaining, Ollas was pulled for the extra attacker, but Reece Vitelli sealed the win for Savannah with an empty-net goal at 1:03, securing a 6-4 victory.

The Three Stars of the Game were:

  1. Cameron Buhl (Savannah) – 1 goal, 1 assist, +2
  2. Josh Davies (Savannah) – 1 goal, 1 assist, +1
  3. Devon Paliani (Savannah) – 1 goal

The Trois-Rivieres Lions took the first game in a three-game series against the Adirondack Thunder 4-1 earlier in the night. The Norfolk Admirals were shutout by the Maine Mariners at home, 2-0. The Wheeling Nailers were shutout by the Tulsa Oilers, 3-0 in Wheeling. The Reading Royals beat the Fort Wayne Komets 4-2 in Fort Wayne. All seven North Division teams play Saturday. The Bridgeport Islanders were off Friday, but host the Utica Comets on Saturday at 5 p.m.

The Railers and Ghost Pirates meet again on Saturday night for a 7 p.m. puck drop at the Enmarket Arena.

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Box Score

Box Score

Scoring 1 2 3 T
2 1 1 4
2 3 1 6
Shots 1 2 3 T
14 11 10 35
9 18 7 34
Score Team Time Scored by Assisted by Type
1 – 0 4:08 – 1st T. Kobryn (5) J. Dudek, M. DeMelis
1 – 1 6:00 – 1st J. Davies (5) K. Pehrson, C. Buhl
2 – 1 10:40 – 1st M. Kopperud (9) G. Loughran, A. Callin
2 – 2 18:40 – 1st L. Drevitch (8) K. Schwindt
2 – 3 1:04 – 2nd C. Buhl (4) J. Davies, D. Paliani
3 – 3 12:26 – 2nd M. Kopperud (10) G. Loughran, A. Callin
3 – 4 17:23 – 2nd D. Paliani (22) L. Drevitch, R. Vitelli PP
3 – 5 18:19 – 2nd L. Walsh (11) A. Anania, K. Jeffers
4 – 5 13:05 – 3rd J. Dudek (2) C. Donhauser, K. Dunn
4 – 6 18:57 R. Vitelli (12) R. Hughes EN

Rosters

# Player G A +/- SH PIM
G 30 H. Ollas 0 0 0 0 0
G 32 M. Bullion 0 0 0 0 0
D 2 K. Dunn 0 1 0 1 0
F 4 R. Mahshie 0 0 0 0 2
F 9 R. Ginnell 0 0 -2 2 0
F 10 J. Kaplan 0 0 -1 2 15
F 12 K. Johnson 0 0 -1 0 12
F 13 T. Kobryn 1 0 0 3 0
D 14 M. Rajaniemi 0 0 +1 1 0
C 15 J. Dudek 1 1 +1 2 0
F 16 G. Loughran 0 2 0 3 0
F 18 M. Kopperud 2 0 0 3 2
D 22 G. Luce 0 0 0 2 2
D 24 M. Klee 0 0 -1 3 2
D 25 R. Dickinson 0 0 0 2 0
D 26 C. Welsh 0 0 -1 2 0
F 29 C. Donhauser 0 1 0 3 0
F 33 L. Hatten 0 0 -2 0 2
F 37 M. DeMelis 0 1 0 2 0
F 44 A. Callin 0 2 0 4 0
Team:
Player MIN SH SVS GA SV%
32 M. Bullion (L) – 24 19 5 –
30 H. Ollas – 9 9 0 –
Empty Net – 1 1 –
Totals: – 34 28 6 –
# Player G A +/- SH PIM
G 30 K. Kinkaid 0 0 0 0 0
G 34 E. Cormier 0 0 0 0 2
D 2 D. Cesana 0 0 0 4 0
D 4 C. Lovie 0 0 -1 2 0
D 6 A. Anania 0 1 +2 2 2
D 7 Z. Uens 0 0 +2 0 0
F 8 B. Saigeon 0 0 +1 2 0
F 9 R. Vitelli 1 1 -1 4 0
F 12 P. Guay 0 0 -2 1 0
F 15 N. Granowicz 0 0 0 0 0
F 16 K. Schwindt 0 1 +1 0 0
F 18 C. Buhl 1 1 +2 5 0
F 19 J. Davies 1 1 +1 1 0
D 20 K. Pehrson 0 1 -1 1 0
F 22 L. Drevitch 1 1 0 4 0
F 23 K. Jeffers 0 1 +1 0 0
D 26 E. Nause 0 0 0 1 4
F 27 L. Walsh 1 0 +1 1 0
F 28 R. Hughes 0 1 -2 2 0
F 77 D. Paliani 1 1 +1 4 6
Team:
Player MIN SH SVS GJ SV%
34 E. Cormier (W) – 35 31 4 –
Totals: – 35 31 4 –

Penalties

Time Team Player Mins Infraction
7:37 – 2nd R. Mahshie 2 Tripping – minor (57.2)
8:17 – 2nd G. Luce 2 Roughing – minor (51.2)
8:17 – 2nd D. Paliani 2 High-sticking – minor (60.2)
8:17 – 2nd D. Paliani 2 Roughing – minor (51.2)
14:03 – 2nd E. Cormier 2 Slashing – minor (61.2)
14:41 – 2nd M. Kopperud 2 Slashing – minor (61.2)
16:33 – 2nd M. Klee 2 Cross-Checking Minor (59.2)
0:32 – 3rd E. Nause 2 Hooking – minor (55.2)
3:10 – 3rd K. Johnson 2 Unsportsmanlike conduct – minor (75.2)
3:10 – 3rd K. Johnson 10 Game Misconduct – Other Infraction (23.9)
4:22 – 3rd D. Paliani 2 Roughing – minor (51.2)

Notes

  • Worcester Scratches: Anthony Hora, Anthony Repaci, Benjamin Lindberg, Mark Cheremeta, Matt Ustaski, and Matthew Boudens.
  • Savannah Scratches: Graham McPhee, Liam Arnsby, Mack Guzda, and Rylan Van Unen.
  • On Thursday, the Railers placed Matt Ustaski on 3-day injured reserve, moved Mark Cheremeta from 3-day injured reserve to 14-day injured reserve, and suspended Matt Boudens to protect his ECHL playing rights.
  • Matias Rajaniemi and Matt Kopperud were returned to the Railers from the Bridgeport Islanders on Thursday.
  • The Railers acquired forward Bennett Stockdale from the Indy Fuel for cash on Friday. Stockdale has 17 points (4-13-17) in 55 games, 32 of those games were played with the Maine Mariners. Stockdale had six points (2-4-6) against Worcester in six games across the past two seasons.
  • Following Friday Night’s game, the Railers had the following scoring streaks and droughts:
    • Kabore Dunn snapped his point streak after 7 games with an assist
    • Kabore Dunn snapped his point streak after 7 games
    • Ryan Mahshie is without a point in his last 6 games.
    • Riley Ginnell is without a point in his last 3 games.
    • Kolby Johnson is without a point in his last 3 games.
    • Griffin Luce is without a point in his last 8 games.
    • Mason Klee is without a point in his last 4 games.
    • Ryan Dickinson is without a point in his last 3 games.
    • Connor Welsh is without a point in his last 3 games.

Railers Lines

Forward Lines LW C RW
Forward Line 1 Cole Donhauser #29 Jordan Kaplan #10 Ryan Mahshie #4
Forward Line 2 Benjamin Lindberg #17 Anthony Callin #44 Griffin Loughran #16
Forward Line 3 Tyler Kobryn #13 Matt DeMelis #37 JD Dudek #15
Forward Line 4 Riley Ginnell #9 Lincoln Hatten #33 Kolby Johnson #12
Defensive Pairings LD RD
Defense Pair 1 Griffin Luce #22 Mason Klee #24
Defense Pair 2 Connor Welsh #26 Kabore Dunn #2
Defense Pair 3 Tyler Kobryn #13 Ryan Dickinson #25
Rotated Defensemen – –
Goalie Tandem G
Starting Goaltender Michael Bullion #32
Backup Goaltender Hugo Ollas #30

Opponent Lines

Forward Lines LW C RW
Forward Line 1 Patrick Guay #12 Reece Vitelli #9 Riley Hughes #28
Forward Line 2 Cameron Buhl #18 Josh Davies #19 Devon Paliani #77
Forward Line 3 Josh Davies #19 Reece Vitelli #9 Logan Drevitch #22
Forward Line 4 Liam Walsh #27 Nick Granowicz #15 Kyle Jeffers #23
Defensive Pairings LD RD
Defense Pair 1 Evan Nause #26 Dennis Cesana #2
Defense Pair 2 Connor Lovie #4 Keaton Pehrson #20
Defense Pair 3 Andre Anania #6 Zach Uens #7
Rotated Defensemen – –
Goalie Tandem G
Starting Goaltender Evan Cormier #34
Backup Goaltender Keith Kinkaid #30

On-Ice Officials

– –
Referee Brendan Schreider (12)
Referee Yannick Jobin-Manseau (30)
Linesman Tyler Willie (78)
Linesman Jake Paugh (88)


Highlights

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Notable Tweets as the Game Happened


Railers Lines


Tyler Kobryn goal


Josh Davies goal


Matt Kopperud goal


Logan Drevitch goal


Matt Kopperud goal


Devon Palliani goal


Liam Walsh goal


JD Dudek goal