Game Story
Wheeling, WV – Coming off a weekend that had two wins against the Wheeling Nailers at home; the Worcester Railers traveled on Monday to Wheeling, West Virginia chasing the North Division’s last playoff spot.
Wheeling’s Freddie Tiffels scored with a rebound off a Railers skate to give them an early lead at 1:16. Nick Saracino would tie the game on the power play, tipping in a puck from Matt Gaudreau. Ross McMullin would score on a one-timer set up right in front of the Railers net finding its way past Mitch Gillam. Worcester outshot Wheeling 13-8 while Wheeling outscored Worcester 2-1 in the opening frame.
Railers scored the only goal in the second on the power play on a tip-in by Chris Langkow. Railers outshot the Nailers 14-7 in the second period, tallying up a 27-15 shot lead and a game tied at 2 heading into the third.
Garrett Meurs put the Nailers up for their third lead of the day with a one-timer from the point putting Wheeling up 3-2 with 6:56 left in the regulation. Mitch Gillam was pulled during the timeout with 2:29 left in the game. Matt Gaudreau tripped up Cody Wydo who was on a breakaway on an empty net which resulted in Wheeling being awarded the fourth goal in principle that he would’ve scored on the empty net if he wasn’t tripped. Freddie Tiffels put the game away with his second goal of the game, scored from the left circle off the faceoff.
Railers fall back to 8 points as their number needed to tie for a playoff spot. They will be back to three games in hand when they play their next game.
Railers will return to Worcester overnight and will have a three-day break before facing the Adirondack Thunder at the DCU Center on Sunday. Puck drops at 3 PM.
Box Score
| Scoring | 1 | 2 | 3 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Worcester | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Wheeling | 2 | 0 | 3 | 5 |
| Shots | 1 | 2 | 3 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Worcester | 13 | 14 | 8 | 35 |
| Wheeling | 8 | 7 | 10 | 25 |
| Railers Roster | # | Name | G | A | +/- | SH | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | 29 | W. King | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| G | 35 | M. Gillam | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| D | 4 | R. MacKinnon | 0 | 2 | -2 | 1 | 0 |
| D | 5 | K. McKenzie | 0 | 0 | -3 | 0 | 0 |
| F | 8 | M. Gaudreau | 0 | 1 | -1 | 1 | 0 |
| C | 10 | M. Lane | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| F | 14 | T. Syner | 0 | 0 | -3 | 4 | 0 |
| F | 16 | J. Kubiak | 0 | 0 | -3 | 1 | 0 |
| LW | 17 | F. DiChiara | 0 | 0 | -2 | 4 | 0 |
| LW | 18 | N. Saracino | 1 | 0 | -2 | 7 | 0 |
| F | 19 | B. Almeida | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| F | 21 | C. Langkow | 1 | 0 | -2 | 3 | 0 |
| D | 22 | J. Hamonic | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| F | 23 | W. Hudson | 0 | 0 | -1 | 3 | 0 |
| D | 24 | J. McArdle | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| D | 28 | C. Doherty | 0 | 0 | -4 | 2 | 0 |
| F | 37 | T. Kelley | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| D | 41 | B. Beukeboom | 0 | 0 | -1 | 1 | 0 |
| Team: | |||||||
| Totals: | 2 | 4 | -24 | 35 | 2 |
| Nailers Roster | # | Name | G | A | +/- | SH | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | 29 | A. Morrison | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| G | 31 | M. O’Connor | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| D | 2 | N. Descoteaux | 0 | 0 | +2 | 2 | 2 |
| D | 3 | R. McMullan | 1 | 0 | +2 | 3 | 2 |
| D | 4 | J. Laakso | 0 | 0 | +2 | 1 | 0 |
| D | 5 | D. Fick | 0 | 0 | +1 | 2 | 2 |
| D | 6 | D. Milan | 0 | 0 | +2 | 0 | 0 |
| F | 7 | F. Tiffels | 2 | 0 | +2 | 4 | 0 |
| F | 8 | N. Sorkin | 0 | 0 | +1 | 0 | 0 |
| F | 9 | A. Schmit | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| F | 10 | T. Josephs | 0 | 2 | +2 | 2 | 0 |
| F | 11 | C. Wydo | 1 | 1 | +2 | 2 | 0 |
| D | 12 | A. Valente | 0 | 0 | +1 | 1 | 0 |
| F | 14 | R. Bourbonnais | 0 | 1 | +1 | 0 | 2 |
| F | 15 | C. Francis | 0 | 1 | +2 | 0 | 0 |
| F | 23 | G. Meurs | 1 | 0 | +1 | 6 | 2 |
| F | 24 | R. Gardiner | 0 | 1 | +2 | 1 | 0 |
| F | 32 | D. Tedesco | 0 | 0 | +1 | 1 | 0 |
| Team: | |||||||
| Totals: | 5 | 6 | 24 | 25 | 10 |
| P | T | Player | M | Offense | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | H | N. Descoteaux | 2.00 | Tripping – minor (57.2) | 7:03 |
| 1st | V | M. Lane | 2.00 | Holding – minor (54.2) | 14:24 |
| 1st | H | G. Meurs | 2.00 | Hooking – minor (55.2) | 14:24 |
| 2nd | H | D. Fick | 2.00 | Tripping – minor (57.2) | 3:29 |
| 2nd | H | R. McMullan | 2.00 | Holding – minor (54.2) | 4:42 |
| 2nd | H | R. Bourbonnais | 2.00 | Slashing – minor (61.2) | 11:33 |
Notes
- Railers Scratches: Justin Agosta, Brian Bowen, Ben Masella (day-to-day/lower body), Josh Monk (21-day injury reserve), and Yanick Turcotte.
- Nailers Scratches: Marcus Basara, JC Campagna, Dalton Reum, Kenny Ryan, Colin Stevens, and Zach Tolkinen.
- Railers announced the signing of former Brown University Captain Defenseman Josh McArdle on Monday. McArdle made his pro debut against the Nailers on Wednesday.
- Defenseman Vinny Muto was released on Monday.
- Railers traded Captain Ashton Rome on Monday to the Manchester Monarchs in exchange for Defenseman Justin Agosta. Agosta did not travel with the team in order to move from Manchester to Worcester.
- The game was held at 10:45 in the morning, as Wheeling held their education day like the Railers did earlier this season.
- Wheeling goaltender Adam Morrison wore the team’s Golden Goalie jersey during the game. Railers’ Eamon McAdam will wear the team’s Golden Goalie jersey if/when he returns to the team later this season.
- Cody Wydo wore the Meigray Fantasy Team jersey for Wheeling.
- Ryan MacKinnon is on a four-game point streak with two assists in Wednesday’s game, scoring 5 points in 4 games.
- Barry Almeida has 8 points in his last seven games.
Railers Lines (Observed by order in which they appeared):
| LW | C | RW | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward Line 1 | M. Gaudreau #8 | J. Kubiak #16 | W. Hudson #23 |
| Forward Line 2 | N. Saracino #18 | C. Langkow #21 “C” | B. Almeida #19 “A” |
| Forward Line 3 | T. Syner #14 | M. Lane #10 | F. DiChiara #17 / T. Kelley #37 |
| LD | RD | |
|---|---|---|
| Defense Line 1 | K. McKenzie #5 | B. Beukeboom #41 |
| Defense Line 2 | J. Hamonic #22 “A” | J. McArdle #24 |
| Defense Line 3 | R. MacKinnon #4 | C. Doherty #28 |
| G | |
|---|---|
| Starting Goaltender | Mitch Gillam #35 |
| Backup Goaltender | Will King #29 |