Game Story

Trois-Rivieres, QC – The Worcester Railers earned a crucial two points on Saturday night, rallying to force overtime and defeating the Trois-Rivières Lions 5-4 with just 22 seconds left in the extra frame.

John Muse made his third start of the season in goal, with Henrik Tikkanen serving as backup. As part of several roster moves on Saturday, Michael Bullion was placed on 3-day injured reserve. Muse made 36 saves in a solid outing, while Trois-Rivières netminder Hunter Jones stopped 34 of Worcester’s 39 shots.

Scoring for the Railers came from Matt Kopperud, Riley Piercey, and Anthony Repaci, with Piercey and Repaci each notching two goals. Repaci delivered a stellar four-point performance. Trois-Rivières goals were scored by Jakov Novak, who tallied twice, Logan Nijhoff, and Jonathan Yantsis. Repaci’s performance also marked a milestone, as he reached 151 career points as a Railer, surpassing Barry Almeida to become the team’s all-time points leader and the second player in franchise history to hit the 150-point mark.

The Lions struck first at 15:30 of the opening period when Jakov Novak scored on a power-play rush set up by Chris Jandric’s one-timer, capitalizing on a hooking penalty to Connor Welsh. The Lions nearly doubled their lead at 17:33, but Vincent Sevigny’s goal was overturned after video review determined John Muse was impeded in the crease by Charles-Antoine Paiment.

Novak extended the Lions’ lead to 2-0 at 12:13 of the second period with another power-play goal, again assisted by Jandric. However, the Railers responded four minutes later when Matt Kopperud scored on the power play, with Anthony Repaci providing the setup.

Early in the third period, Jordan Kaplan’s hit on Logan Nijhoff led to a fight with Novak. Despite a size disadvantage, Kaplan held his own, and Novak’s instigation penalty gave Worcester a power play. Just eight seconds into the advantage, Riley Piercey tied the game, pouncing on a loose puck in front of Hunter Jones.

The Lions regained control with two quick goals, one at 9:41 on the power play and another at 11:21, giving them a 4-2 lead. But Worcester clawed back. Repaci tapped in a pass from Kaplan at 13:02 to make it 4-3. Later, with a power play and Muse pulled for the extra attacker, Repaci blasted home a one-timer from Connor Welsh to tie the game at 4-4 and force overtime.

In the extra session, Muse made a spectacular save on Xavier Cormier at 4:26 to keep Worcester alive. Then, with just 22 seconds remaining, Riley Piercey broke through one-on-one with Jones, sealing a thrilling 5-4 victory for the Railers.

The three stars of the game were:

  1. Riley Piercey (Worcester) – 2 goals including the game-winner
  2. Jakov Novak (Trois-Rivieres) – 2 goals, 1 assist
  3. Anthony Repaci (Worcester) – 2 goals

On Saturday night, four other games were held around the North Division. The South Carolina Stingrays maintained their stronghold on the division, defeating Maine 6-1 in Portland, boosting their record to 18-3 in North Division matchups this week. The Adirondack Thunder triumphed over the Reading Royals in Glens Falls. The Norfolk Admirals suffered a 6-2 loss to the Toledo Walleye. Meanwhile, the Wheeling Nailers topped the Indy Fuel 5-2. Five of the seven North Division teams are scheduled to play on Sunday.

Railers call-ups Justin Gill, Cam McDonald, and Christian Krygier were all in the lineup for the Bridgeport Islanders in their 5-2 win over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins earlier in the evening, with Gill recording an assist and Krygier finishing with a +1 rating.

The Railers and Lions play again on Sunday at 3 p.m.

Box Score

Scoring 1 2 3 OT T
0 1 3 1 5
1 1 2 0 4
Shots 1 2 3 OT T
7 11 17 4 39
11 9 17 3 40
Score Team Time Scored by Assisted by Type
0 – 1 15:30 – 1st J. Novak (6) C. Jandric, N. Guay PP
0 – 2 12:13 – 2nd J. Novak (7) C. Jandric, A. Beauregard
1 – 2 16:19 – 2nd M. Kopperud (4) A. Repaci, C. Welsh PP
2 – 2 0:52 – 3rd R. Piercey (5) A. Callin, A. Repaci PP
2 – 3 9:41 – 3rd L. Nijhoff (2) C. Jandric, J. Novak PP
2 – 4 11:21 – 3rd J. Yantsis (1) T. Hylland
3 – 4 13:02 – 3rd A. Repaci (8) J. Kaplan
4 – 4 17:44 – 3rd A. Repaci (9) C. Welsh, M. Kopperud PP
5 – 4 6:38 – 1st OT R. Piercey (6) M. Klee

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 -2 0 2
F 10 J. Kaplan 0 1 0 0 5
F 11 J. Randl 0 0 0 3 0
F 12 K. Johnson 0 0 0 0 0
F 13 A. Bakanov 0 0 0 0 0
F 16 G. Loughran 0 0 0 1 2
D 17 B. Rons 0 0 0 1 0
F 18 M. Kopperud 1 1 0 5 0
F 19 R. Piercey 2 0 0 2 0
D 22 G. Luce 0 0 +1 2 0
D 24 M. Klee 0 1 +1 3 0
D 25 R. Dickinson 0 0 -1 1 0
D 26 C. Welsh 0 2 0 4 2
F 29 C. Donhauser 0 0 0 2 0
F 33 L. Hatten 0 0 0 1 2
F 37 M. DeMelis 0 0 0 2 0
F 44 A. Callin 0 1 -1 5 0
F 81 A. Repaci 2 2 0 7 0
Team:
Player MIN SH SVS GA SV%
40 J. Muse (W) – 40 36 4 –
Totals: – 40 36 4 –
# Player G A +/- SH PIM
G 29 H. Jones 0 0 0 0 0
G 33 L. Cavallin 0 0 0 0 0
D 2 W. McLeod 0 0 0 0 0
D 3 K. Proctor 0 0 0 3 0
D 6 J. Paquette 0 0 +1 2 0
F 7 J. Yantsis 1 0 +1 1 2
D 8 C. Jandric 0 3 +1 2 2
RW 9 N. Guay 0 1 0 3 0
F 15 T. Hylland 0 1 +1 3 0
F 18 X. Cormier 0 0 0 4 2
D 27 C. Thomas 0 0 0 1 0
D 46 V. Sévigny 0 0 0 0 0
F 72 C. Paiement 0 0 0 1 0
C 78 T. Cormier 0 0 +1 1 0
C 86 J. Novak 2 1 0 6 7
F 91 A. Beauregard 0 1 0 5 0
F 92 L. Nijhoff 1 0 0 4 2
F 96 A. Beauchamp 0 0 0 4 2
Team:
Player MIN SH SVS GJ SV%
29 H. Jones (L) – 39 34 5 –
Totals: – 39 34 5 –

Penalties

Time Team Player Mins Infraction
3:52 – 1st A. Beauchamp 2 Slashing – minor (61.2)
15:19 – 1st C. Welsh 2 Hooking – minor (55.2)
19:22 – 1st G. Loughran 2 Slashing – minor (61.2)
15:36 – 2nd J. Yantsis 2 Interference – minor (56.2)
18:06 – 2nd C. Jandric 2 Slashing – minor (61.2)
0:44 – 3rd J. Kaplan 5 Fighting – Major (46.14)
0:44 – 3rd J. Novak 2 Instigating – minor (46.11)
0:44 – 3rd J. Novak 5 Fighting – Major (46.14)
9:35 – 3rd R. Verrier 2 Roughing – minor (51.2)
16:04 – 3rd L. Hatten 2 Roughing – minor (51.2)
16:04 – 3rd X. Cormier 2 Slashing – minor (61.2)

Notes

  • Worcester Scratches: Cole Crowder, Colin Jacobs, JD Dudek, Matias Rajaniemi, and Michael Bullion.
  • Trois-Rivières Scratches: Brycen Martin, Israel Mianscum, Mathieu Boislard, Morgan Adams-Moisan, William Provost, and Zachary Émond.
  • Anthony Repaci’s first goal marked his 150th point as a Railer, making him the second player in franchise history to reach the milestone, with Barry Almeida being the first. Almeida’s 150 points remain the franchise record, though Repaci achieved the feat in 18 fewer games.Repaci now holds the record for most points in franchise history with his second of the night.
  • Trois-Rivières played with just 16 skaters against Worcester due to the suspensions of Brycen Martin, sidelined for elbowing in a game against Maine, and Morgan Adams-Moisan, suspended for an unpenalized cross-checking infraction in a game against Wheeling. Both players were suspended for two games, Brycen Martin missed Saturday and will miss Sunday, while Adams-Moisan served one game on Friday and Saturday was the second game.
  • The Lions wore a camouflage specialty jersey in honor of Rememberance Day and the Railers were in their white jerseys. These were the first specialty jerseys the team has worn in their existence.
  • Per ECHL transactions on Saturday afternoon, the Railers activated John Muse and Lincoln Hatten from reserve. Michael Bullion was been placed on the 3-day injured reserve, Cole Crowder was moved from the 3-day to the 14-day injured reserve, and Colin Jacobs has been placed on reserve.
    By Sunday at 3:00 PM ET, ECHL teams must reduce their active rosters to 20 players, with the option to carry 2 players on reserve, 1 on 3-day injured reserve, and unlimited players on 14-day injured reserve. With Cole Crowder and JD Dudek on 14-day injured reserve and Michael Bullion on 3-day injured reserve, there should be another transaction tomorrow adding a second player on reserve to be within the roster limits.
  • The Railers had the following scoring streaks:
    • Jordan Kaplan is on a three-game point streak with an assist.
    • Kolby Johnson is without a point in all five games he’s played in this season.
    • Andrei Bakanov is without a point in his last three games.
    • Griffin Loughran is without a point in his last three games.
    • Brendan Rons is without a point in his last three games.
    • Griffin Luce is without a point in his last six games.
    • Ryan Dickinson is without a point in his last three games.
    • Cole Donhauser is without a point in his last five games.
    • Lincoln Hatten is without a point in his last six games.
    • Matt DeMelis is without a point in his last seven games.
    • Anthony Callin snapped a five-game pointless drought with an assist.
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Railers Lines

Forward Lines LW C RW
Forward Line 1 Jack Randl #11 Jordan Kaplan #10 Anthony Repaci #81
Forward Line 2 Riley Piercey #19 Anthony Callin #44 Griffin Loughran #16
Forward Line 3 Matthew Kopperud #18 Matt DeMelis #37 Cole Donhauser #29
Forward Line 4 Kolby Johnson #12 Andrei Bakanov #13 Lincoln Hatten #33
Defensive Pairings LD RD
Defense Pair 1 Griffin Luce #22 Connor Welsh #26
Defense Pair 2 Brenden Rons #17 Mason Klee #24
Defense Pair 3 Ryan Verrier #3 Ryan Dickinson #25
Rotated Defensemen – –
Goalie Tandem G
Starting Goaltender John Muse #40
Backup Goaltender Henrik Tikkanen #39

Opponent Lines

Forward Lines LW C RW
Forward Line 1 Logan Nijhoff #92 Anthony Beauregard #91 Jakov Novak #86
Forward Line 2 Xavier Cormier #18 Nicolas Guay #9 Anthony Beauchamp #96
Forward Line 3 Charles-Antoine Paiement #72 Tyler Hylland #15 Jonathan Yantsis #7
Forward Line 4 Tommy Cormier #78 – –
Defensive Pairings LD RD
Defense Pair 1 Chris Jandric #8 Jacob Paquette #6
Defense Pair 2 Cory Thomas #27 Vincent Sévigny #46
Defense Pair 3 Kirby Proctor #3 Wyatt McLeod #2
Rotated Defensemen – –
Goalie Tandem G
Starting Goaltender Hunter Jones #29
Backup Goaltender Luke Cavallin #33

On-Ice Officials

– –
Referee Emile Charron (43)
Referee Ben Betker (56)
Linesman Maxime Carre (77)
Linesman Ben Fortin (44)

Highlights

Notable Tweets as the Game Happened

 


Railers Lines


Lions Lines


Jakov Novak goal


Jakov Novak goal


Matt Kopperud goal


Riley Piercey goal


Logan Nijhoff goal


Jonathan Yantsis goal


Anthony Repaci goal


Anthony Repaci goal


Riley Piercey goal