Game Story

North Charleston, SC — The South Carolina Stingrays completed a season-series sweep of the Worcester Railers with a 3-0 shutout at the North Charleston Colosseum on Sunday afternoon.

Hugo Ollas made 34 saves in his second straight start for Worcester, while Garin Bjorklund turned aside all 23 shots he faced to earn his second career shutout. Jamie Engelbert, Alexander Suzdalev, and Tyler Weiss found the back of the net for South Carolina. This marked Worcester’s fourth loss to the Stingrays this season, with all four matchups ending in blowout losses. The Railers were outscored 19-2 across those games and now hold a 2-11-1 all-time record against South Carolina.

The Stingrays held an 11-7 advantage in shots on goal after the opening 20 minutes.

Jamie Engelbert opened the scoring for South Carolina just 2:18 into the second period. He snapped a wrist shot from the left circle that beat Worcester goaltender Hugo Ollas on the glove side. Mason Klee fought Ryan Hofer at 17:24 in the period, and the fight was all Hofer as Klee got brought down to the ice. Railers trailed 1-0 after forty minutes and were outshot 15-4 in the second period.

South Carolina doubled its lead in the third period when Alexander Suzdalev capitalized on a rebound from the goal line on a shot from Jacob Graves. With just over three minutes left in regulation, Tyler Weiss sealed the victory for the Stingrays, making it 3-0 on a pass from Erik Middendorf, who buried the puck into a nearly empty net.

The Three Stars of the Game were:

  1. Garin Bjorklund (South Carolina) – win, shutout, 23 saves
  2. Jamie Engelbert (South Carolina) – 1 goal, +1
  3. Ryan Hofer (South Carolina) – fight

The Trois-Rivières Lions edged out the Adirondack Thunder 3-2 in overtime earlier this afternoon, while the Maine Mariners secured a 3-2 victory over the Norfolk Admirals at the Norfolk Scope. As of this writing, the Reading Royals lead the Wheeling Nailers 3-1 in the third period. Up next, Adirondack travels to Kalamazoo on Wednesday, while Maine heads to Reading to take on the Royals that same night.

In the AHL, the Bridgeport Islanders fell 3-2 in a shootout to the Springfield Thunderbirds on Sunday afternoon in Bridgeport. Goaltender Henrik Tikkanen stopped 17 shots, with Tristan Lennox serving as the backup. Justin Gill and Jack Randl were in the lineup, while Cam McDonald and Riley Piercey were healthy scratches for the second straight game. Bridgeport will host the Providence Bruins on Wednesday night.

Meanwhile, the Worcester Railers return home to face the Bloomington Bison in back-to-back games at the DCU Center on Friday and Saturday, playing under their “Worcester Monkey Wrenches” alternate identity. Puck drops at 7:05 p.m. on Friday night.

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Box Score

Box Score

Scoring 1 2 3 T
0 0 0 0
0 1 2 3
Shots 1 2 3 T
7 4 12 23
11 15 11 37
Score Team Time Scored by Assisted by Type
0 – 1 2:18 – 2nd J. Engelbert (14) E. Middendorf, B. Thompson
0 – 2 8:35 – 3rd A. Suzdalev (10) J. Graves, A. Magera
0 – 3 16:56 – 3rd T. Weiss (14) E. Middendorf, M. Miller

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 0 -1 1 2
D 3 A. Hora 0 0 -1 0 0
F 4 R. Mahshie 0 0 0 1 0
F 9 R. Ginnell 0 0 -1 2 0
F 13 T. Kobryn 0 0 -1 2 2
D 14 M. Rajaniemi 0 0 0 0 0
C 15 J. Dudek 0 0 -2 4 2
F 18 M. Kopperud 0 0 0 1 2
D 22 G. Luce 0 0 -1 0 0
D 24 M. Klee 0 0 -2 0 7
D 25 R. Dickinson 0 0 -2 1 0
D 26 C. Welsh 0 0 0 2 0
F 29 C. Donhauser 0 0 -1 4 12
F 33 L. Hatten 0 0 -1 1 0
F 37 M. DeMelis 0 0 -2 1 0
F 44 A. Callin 0 0 0 3 0
Team:
Player MIN SH SVS GA SV%
30 H. Ollas (L) – 37 34 3 –
Totals: – 37 34 3 –
# Player G A +/- SH PIM
G 33 G. Bjorklund 0 0 0 0 0
G 35 S. Eisele 0 0 0 0 0
D 2 R. Rodzinski 0 0 0 4 0
F 5 A. Magera 0 1 +1 2 2
F 7 C. Combs 0 0 0 1 0
D 9 R. Webb 0 0 0 2 0
F 10 B. Hawerchuk 0 0 0 1 2
F 11 J. Isley 0 0 0 2 0
F 13 D. Loukus 0 0 0 0 2
F 15 J. Wilkins 0 0 +1 4 0
F 17 J. Engelbert 1 0 +1 3 0
F 21 A. Suzdalev 1 0 +1 4 0
F 22 M. Miller 0 1 +2 5 0
D 27 J. Graves 0 1 +1 1 2
F 36 T. Weiss 1 0 +2 2 0
D 42 J. Klimek 0 0 0 1 0
D 44 B. Thompson 0 1 +3 1 2
F 48 E. Middendorf 0 2 +2 1 0
D 74 C. Moore 0 0 0 2 0
F 77 R. Hofer 0 0 +1 1 7
Team:
Player MIN SH SVS GJ SV%
33 G. Bjorklund (W) – 23 23 0 –
Totals: – 23 23 0 –

Penalties

Time Team Player Mins Infraction
3:38 – 1st J. Graves 2 Tripping – minor (57.2)
13:46 – 1st M. Kopperud 2 Hooking – minor (55.2)
15:31 – 1st B. Thompson 2 Holding the stick – minor (54.2)
15:50 – 1st K. Dunn 2 Holding – minor (54.2)
19:57 – 1st M. Klee 2 Tripping – minor (57.2)
12:31 – 2nd R. Hofer 2 Kneeing – minor (50.2)
17:24 – 2nd M. Klee 5 Fighting – Major (46.14)
17:24 – 2nd R. Hofer 5 Fighting – Major (46.14)
2:33 – 3rd D. Loukus 2 Tripping – minor (57.2)
3:29 – 3rd J. Dudek 2 High-sticking – minor (60.2)
14:54 – 3rd T. Kobryn 2 Hooking – minor (55.2)

Notes

  • Worcester Scratches: Anthony Repaci, Benjamin Lindberg, Griffin Loughran, Jordan Kaplan, Kolby Johnson, Mark Cheremeta, and Matt Ustaski.
  • South Carolina Scratches: Jayden Lee, Mitchell Gibson, Troy Murray, and Zac Funk.
  • The Railers unsuspended Matt Boudens on Sunday and traded him to the Fort Wayne Komets for future considerations.
  • Jordan Kaplan served game two of his suspension and is eligible to return. Kolby Johson will have a hearing with the ECHL’s Department of Player Safety to determine if his suspension will go on more than the two games he’s already served.
  • Following Sunday afternoon’s game, the Railers had the following scoring streaks and droughts:
    • Anthony Hora is without a point in his last 6 games.
    • Ryan Mahshie is without a point in his last 8 games.
    • Riley Ginnell is without a point in his last 5 games.
    • Matias Rajaniemi is without a point in his last 3 games.
    • Matthew Kopperud snapped his goal and point streaks after 3 games. (3-1-4)
    • Griffin Luce is without a point in his last 10 games.
    • Mason Klee is without a point in his last 6 games.
    • Ryan Dickinson is without a point in his last 5 games.
    • Lincoln Hatten is without a point in his last 4 games.

Railers Lines

Forward Lines LW C RW
Forward Line 1 Cole Donhauser #29 Anthony Callin #44 Matthew Kopperud #18
Forward Line 2 Tyler Kobryn #13 Matt DeMelis #37 Ryan Mahshie #4
Forward Line 3 Riley Ginnell #9 JD Dudek #15 Lincoln Hatten #33
Forward Line 4 Anthony Hora #3 – –
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 Matias Rajaniemi #14 Ryan Dickinson #25
Rotated Defensemen – –
Goalie Tandem G
Starting Goaltender Hugo Ollas #30
Backup Goaltender Michael Bullion #32

Opponent Lines

Forward Lines LW C RW
Forward Line 1 Charlie Combs #7 Jamie Engelbert #17 Josh Wilkins #15
Forward Line 2 Erik Middendorf #48 Austin Magera #5 Alexander Suzdalev #21
Forward Line 3 Tyler Weiss #36 Ryan Hofer #77 Micah Miller #22
Forward Line 4 Jace Isley #11 Dean Loukus #13 Ben Hawerchuk #10
Defensive Pairings LD RD
Defense Pair 1 Jordan Klimek #42 Connor Moore #74
Defense Pair 2 Blake Thompson #44 Jacob Graves #27
Defense Pair 3 Romain Rodzinski #2 Reilly Webb #9
Rotated Defensemen – –
Goalie Tandem G
Starting Goaltender Garin Bjorklund #33
Backup Goaltender Seth Eisele #35

On-Ice Officials

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Referee David Lilly (25)
Referee Jarrett Burton (5)
Linesman Quinn Schafer (49)
Linesman Zach Carson (61)


Highlights

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Notable Tweets as the Game Happened


Railers Lines


Stingrays Lines


Jamie Engelbert


Mason Klee vs Ryan Hofer Fight


Alexander Suzdalev goal


Tyler Weiss goal