Game Story


Trois-Rivieres, QC – The Worcester Railers kicked off the final weekend of the regular season with two points over the Trois-Rivieres Lions with a final score of 3-2 on Friday night.

Henrik Tikkanen made his 19th start of the season, stopping 32 of 34 shots. Strauss Mann made his second career start against the Railers, saving 16 out of 19 shots from Worcester. Worcester’s goals were scored by Ashton Calder, Reece Newkirk, and Trevor Cosgrove, with assists from Jake Pivonka, Connor Welsh, Zach White, and Anthony Callin. All players who made the scoresheet, except for White, are riding point streaks of three games or longer. Zach White has seven points (4-3-7) in his last six games. Jonathan Yantsis and Miguel Tourigny scored for Trois-Rivières. Reece Newkirk played his 100th game as a Railer, becoming the 14th player in franchise history to reach that milestone. Anthony Repaci was a +2 in his return to the lineup after missing 17 games due to an injury sustained during the Florida road trip in February. Matt Kopperud made his ECHL debut after being signed on an ATO earlier in the week and a three-game stint with the Bridgeport Islanders.

It was neck-and-neck throughout the first two periods. Trois-Rivieres scored first when Jonathan Yantsis scored on a snipe from the left circle at 6:06 which beat Henrik Tikkanen glove side. Asthon Calder equalized it after picking up a loose puck from Jake Pivonka, he quickly fired it past Strauss Mann glove side.

It would remain tied until 11:31 in the second period, when Miguel Tourigny skated down the right side and shot past Artyom Kulakov, picking his shot on the right side of the Railers net. Lion’s Justin Ducharme would go off for slashing call at 14:58, putting the Railers on their second power play of the night. Reece Newkirk would tie the game back up 38 seconds into the power play, for the fourth goal between the two teams scored on the goaltender’s right side.

At 9:41 in the third period, Trevor Cosgrove scored the go-ahead goal for the Railers, which turned out to be the game-winner, threading a shot through traffic. Despite intense pressure from the Lions, who fired 19 shots in the third period alone (equaling the Railers’ total for the entire game), Henrik Tikkanen’s outstanding performance kept the Railers in the lead. Tikkanen made several remarkable saves, including three crucial stops in the final minute when the Lions had pulled Strauss Mann for an extra attacker.

The three stars of the game were:

  1. Henrik Tikkanen (Worcester) – 32 saves, win, 0.941 SV%
  2. Justin Ducharme (Trois-Rivieres) – 1 assist
  3. Jonathan Yantsis (Trois-Rivieres) – 1 goal

Following their win on Friday, the Railers have the opportunity to secure their playoff spot with a victory tomorrow afternoon. The Adirondack Thunder secured the division title and the first playoff seed on Friday with a thrilling 5-4 comeback win against the Maine Mariners.

The Railers and Lions meet again on Saturday at 3 PM.

—

Stay in the loop and never miss an update on Worcester Railers hockey by following Woo Hockey on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. You can also get involved and connect with other fans of the team in the Worcester Railers Fan Club Facebook group, where you can share your thoughts on the team and discuss all things hockey.

Box Score


Scoring 1 2 3 T
1 1 1 3
1 1 0 2
Shots 1 2 3 T
7 6 6 19
4 11 19 34
Score Team Time Scored by Assisted by Type
0 – 1 6:09 – 1st J. Yantsis (1) A. Beauregard, B. Martin
1 – 1 13:17 – 1st A. Calder (23) J. Pivonka, T. Cosgrove
1 – 2 11:31 – 2nd M. Tourigny (9) J. Ducharme, C. Thomas
2 – 2 15:36 – 2nd R. Newkirk (8) C. Welsh, Z. White PP
3 – 2 9:41 – 3rd T. Cosgrove (12) C. Welsh, A. Callin

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 0 0 0
F 5 Z. White 0 1 -1 2 0
D 8 C. Krygier 0 0 0 2 0
D 10 T. Cosgrove 1 1 +2 1 0
F 11 A. Bakanov 0 0 0 1 0
F 13 J. Pivonka 0 1 +2 1 0
F 15 B. Robbins 0 0 -1 0 0
F 16 A. Calder 1 0 0 4 0
F 17 K. Howdeshell 0 0 -1 0 0
F 19 B. Jenkins 0 0 -1 1 0
F 21 M. Kopperud 0 0 -1 1 0
D 26 C. Welsh 0 2 +2 1 0
F 37 R. Newkirk 1 0 0 1 0
F 44 A. Callin 0 1 +1 1 0
D 70 Z. Garat 0 0 -2 0 2
F 81 A. Repaci 0 0 +2 3 2
D 88 A. Kulakov 0 0 -2 0 2
Team:
Totals: 3 6 0 19 6
Player MIN SH SVS GA SV%
39 H. Tikkanen (W) – 34 32 2 –
Totals: – 34 32 2 –
# Player G A +/- SH PIM
G 1 Z. Émond 0 0 0 0 0
G 38 S. Mann 0 0 0 0 0
D 2 C. Thomas 0 1 0 0 0
D 3 K. Proctor 0 0 0 1 0
D 6 J. Paquette 0 0 -1 2 0
F 7 J. Yantsis 1 0 0 2 2
D 14 B. Martin 0 1 +1 0 0
F 15 T. Hylland 0 0 0 2 0
D 18 C. Ortiz 0 0 +1 2 0
F 19 A. Voyer 0 0 +1 5 0
C 21 C. Montminy 0 0 0 1 0
F 24 N. Yaremko 0 0 0 3 2
C 47 M. Kohn 0 0 0 0 0
F 71 J. Ducharme 0 1 0 1 4
RW 85 J. Parker-Jones 0 0 0 1 2
C 86 J. Novak 0 0 0 7 0
D 89 M. Tourigny 1 0 -1 3 0
RW 91 N. Guay 0 0 -1 2 0
F 92 A. Beauregard 0 1 0 2 0
Team:
Totals: 2 4 0 34 10
Player MIN SH SVS GJ SV%
38 S. Mann (L) – 19 16 3 –
Totals: – 19 16 3 –

Penalties

Time Team Player Mins Infraction
9:06 – 1st A. Kulakov 2 Roughing – minor (51.2)
9:06 – 1st J. Ducharme 2 Roughing – minor (51.2)
19:56 – 1st J. Yantsis 2 Hooking – minor (55.2)
2:41 – 2nd Z. Garat 2 Roughing – minor (51.2)
14:58 – 2nd J. Ducharme 2 Slashing – minor (61.2)
1:16 – 3rd N. Yaremko 2 Roughing – minor (51.2)
5:40 – 3rd J. Parker-Jones 2 Cross-Checking Minor (59.2)
12:53 – 3rd A. Repaci 2 Hooking – minor (55.2)


Notes

  • Worcester Scratches: Austin Heidemann, CJ Regula, Jack Quinlivan, Joey Cipollone, John Copeland, Riley Piercey, Ryan Dickinson, and Tristan Lennox.
  • Trois-Rivières Scratches: Charles-Antoine Paiement, Joe Vrbetic, Keenan MacIsaac, Lukash Matthews, Matthew Boucher, Nicolas Lariviere, and Zachary Bouthillier.
  • Ryan Scarfo was released and the Railers signed forward Matt Kopperud to an ATO on Tuesday. Scafro had four assists in eleven games for the Railers and wasn’t the worst we’ve seen in that time frame, those four assists came in his last six games. Kopperud didn’t look too bad in his ECHL debut Friday, he posted a -1 and had a shot on goal, but broke up a few of the Trois-Rivieres plays leading to a Railers possession.
  • Following Friday night’s game, the Railers have the following scoring streaks and droughts:
    • Ryan Verrier’s point streak was snapped at three games. (2-1-3)
    • Trevor Cosgrove extended his point streak to five games. (3-3-6)
    • Jake Pivonka is on a three-game point streak. (1-4-5)
    • Ashton Calder extended his point streak to five games and is now on a three-game goal streak. (7-5-12)
    • Connor Welsh is on a three-game point streak. (1-3-4)
    • Reece Newkirk is on a four-game point streak. (3-2-5)
    • Anthony Callin is on a four-game point streak. (1-3-4)
    • Artyom Kulakov is without a point in his last four games.

Railers Lines

Forward Lines LW C RW
Forward Line 1 Reece Newkirk #37 Blade Jenkins #19 Anthony Callin #44
Forward Line 2 Anthony Repaci #81 Jake Pivonka #13 Ashton Calder #16
Forward Line 3 Matthew Kopperud #21 Zach White #5 Brendan Robbins #15
Rotated Forwards Keeghan Howdeshell #17 – Andrei Bakanov #11
Defensive Pairings LD RD
Defense Pair 1 Connor Welsh #26 Trevor Cosgrove #10
Defense Pair 2 Ryan Verrier #3 Christian Krygier #8
Defense Pair 3 Zsombor Garat #70 Artyom Kulakov #88
Rotated Defensemen – –
Goalie Tandem G
Starting Goaltender Henrik Tikkanen #39
Backup Goaltender John Muse #40

Opponent Lines

Forward Lines LW C RW
Forward Line 1 Tyler Hylland #15 Nicolas Guay #91 Alex-Olivier Voyer #19
Forward Line 2 Cedric Montminy #21 Nolan Yaremko #24 Jakov Novak #86
Forward Line 3 Justin Ducharme #71 Anthony Beauregard #92 Jonathan Yantsis #7
Rotated Forwards – Mason Kohn #47 John Parker-Jones #85
Defensive Pairings LD RD
Defense Pair 1 Brycen Martin #14 Chris Ortiz #18
Defense Pair 2 Kirby Proctor #3 Jacob Paquette #6
Defense Pair 3 Cory Thomas #2 Miguël Tourigny #89
Rotated Defensemen – –
Goalie Tandem G
Starting Goaltender
Backup Goaltender

On-Ice Officials

– –
Referee Andrew Bell (24)
Referee Marc-Olivier Phaneuf (23)
Linesman Maxime Bedard (65)
Linesman Philippe Pilon (68)




Notable Tweets as the Game Happened


Railers Lines


Lions Lines


Jonathan Yantsis goal


Ashton Calder goal


Miguel Tourigny goal


Reece Newkirk goal


Trevor Cosgrove goal


Henrik Tikkanen save