Game Story


Wichita, KS — The Worcester Railers fell to the Wichita Thunder 6-2, concluding their Kansas trip with four out of a possible six points

John Muse made 26 saves on 31 shots as Worcester struggled to contain Wichita’s offense. Meanwhile, Wichita’s Trevor Gorsuch had a standout performance, stopping 48 of 50 shots and improving his record against the Railers to 2-1-0-1. The Railers’ goals came from Colin Jacobs and Anthony Repaci, both of whom scored for the second consecutive game. Wichita’s offensive efforts were led by Jeremie Bucheler, Joe Carroll, Nolan Kneen, Nolan Burke, Michal Stinil, and Braden Hache. This loss ended a three-game point streak (2-0-0-1), earning five points, which had been the Railers’ best run of the season so far.

Worcester outshot Wichita 22-12 in the first period but couldn’t solve Gorsuch. Wichita took an early 2-0 lead with goals from Bucheler and Carroll, while Jacobs responded for Worcester to make it 2-1. However, late goals from Kneen and Burke gave Wichita a 4-1 advantage by the end of the first. In the second period, Repaci scored on the power play with less than a second remaining to cut the lead to 4-2, with Worcester outshooting Wichita 12-8.

In the third, with 21 seconds left on a power play for Worcester due to an interference call on Jordan Kaplan, Stinil scored to make it 5-2. With John Muse pulled for the extra attacker, Hache added an empty-net goal to seal the win for Wichita, making it 6-2. At the final buzzer, Wichita held a 50-32 shot advantage, with Worcester outshooting them 16-12 in the third period.

The three stars of Saturday night’s game were:

  1. Trevor Gorsuch (Wichita) – 48 saves, win, 0.960 SV%
  2. Jay Dickman (Wichita) – 3 assists
  3. Nolan Kneen (Wichita) – game-winning goal

Elsewhere in the North Division, the Adirondack Thunder edged out the Reading Royals 3-2 in Glens Falls, while the Norfolk Admirals swept the Maine Mariners with a 4-1 victory at the Norfolk Scope. The Wheeling Nailers dominated the Cincinnati Cyclones at home, cruising to a 7-1 win. Wheeling is riding a nine-game point streak (9-0-1-0), and Norfolk has extended its win streak to four games. Both teams lead the division with 25 points, though Wheeling holds two games in hand. Three of the seven North Division teams are in action on Wednesday.

The Railers head to Glens Falls for their next stop on their four-game road trip on Wednesday, puck drops at 7 p.m.

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Box Score


Scoring 1 2 3 T
1 1 0 2
4 0 2 6
Shots 1 2 3 T
22 12 16 50
12 8 12 32
Score Team Time Scored by Assisted by Type
0 – 1 1:08 – 1st J. Bucheler (4) P. Bates, M. Stinil
0 – 2 6:01 – 1st J. Carroll (7) B. Hache, J. Dickman
1 – 2 11:55 – 1st C. Jacobs (2) R. Piercey
1 – 3 17:20 – 1st N. Kneen (1) J. Dickman, L. Grainger
1 – 4 18:40 – 1st N. Burke (3) A. Heidemann, K. Walker
2 – 4 19:59 – 2nd A. Repaci (14) C. Welsh, M. Kopperud PP
2 – 5 16:15 – 3rd M. Stinil (10) J. Dickman, T. Lloyd PP
2 – 6 17:46 – 3rd B. Hache (1) J. Bucheler, N. Burke EN

Rosters

# Player G A +/- SH PIM
G 39 H. Tikkanen 0 0 0 0 0
G 40 J. Muse 0 0 0 0 0
F 10 J. Kaplan 0 0 -2 1 2
D 14 M. Rajaniemi 0 0 0 2 0
F 16 G. Loughran 0 0 0 4 0
D 17 B. Rons 0 0 -1 0 0
F 18 M. Kopperud 0 1 -3 6 4
F 19 R. Piercey 0 1 -1 2 0
D 22 G. Luce 0 0 -1 2 0
C 23 C. Jacobs 1 0 0 2 0
D 24 M. Klee 0 0 -2 3 0
D 25 R. Dickinson 0 0 +1 2 2
D 26 C. Welsh 0 1 -2 2 0
F 29 C. Donhauser 0 0 -2 3 0
F 33 L. Hatten 0 0 -1 1 0
F 37 M. DeMelis 0 0 0 3 0
F 44 A. Callin 0 0 -3 7 0
D 55 A. Nielsen 0 0 -3 1 0
F 81 A. Repaci 1 0 -1 9 0
Team:
Player MIN SH SVS GA SV%
40 J. Muse (L) – 31 26 5 –
Empty Net – 1 1 –
Totals: – 32 26 6 –
# Player G A +/- SH PIM
G 32 A. Dell 0 0 0 0 0
G 33 T. Gorsuch 0 0 0 0 0
D 4 J. Bucheler 1 1 +3 1 0
D 6 T. Lloyd 0 1 0 3 0
F 10 D. Boucher 0 0 0 2 2
F 12 P. Bates 0 1 0 2 2
F 17 R. Finnegan 0 0 0 4 0
F 18 K. Walker 0 1 +2 1 0
F 19 J. Carroll 1 0 +2 1 0
F 21 J. Dickman 0 3 +2 1 2
F 22 M. Stinil 1 1 0 3 2
F 23 M. Russell 0 0 0 0 0
D 25 B. Hache 1 1 +1 3 0
D 27 N. Kneen 1 0 +1 2 0
F 29 L. Grainger 0 1 +2 5 0
F 43 A. Heidemann 0 1 +2 0 2
D 44 D. Dockery 0 0 +2 0 0
D 81 T. Jette 0 0 +1 1 0
F 83 J. Wahlin 0 0 0 1 0
F 86 N. Burke 1 1 +2 2 2
Team:
Player MIN SH SVS GJ SV%
33 T. Gorsuch (W) – 50 48 2 –
Totals: – 50 48 2 –

Penalties

Time Team Player Mins Infraction
14:23 – 1st J. Dickman 2 Slashing – minor (61.2)
19:35 – 1st R. Dickinson 2 Roughing – minor (51.2)
19:35 – 1st N. Burke 2 Roughing – minor (51.2)
10:36 – 2nd M. Kopperud 2 Hooking – minor (55.2)
11:59 – 2nd P. Bates 2 Roughing – minor (51.2)
14:54 – 2nd D. Boucher 2 Unsportsmanlike conduct – minor (75.2)
15:56 – 2nd M. Kopperud 2 Slashing – minor (61.2)
18:57 – 2nd A. Heidemann 2 Interference – minor (56.2)
12:58 – 3rd M. Stinil 2 Tripping – minor (57.2)
14:36 – 3rd J. Kaplan 2 Interference – minor (56.2)


Notes

  • Worcester Scratches: Jack Randl, JD Dudek, Kolby Johnson, and Michael Bullion.
  • Wichita Scratches: Artem Guryev, Carter Jones, Declan Smith, Gannon Laroque, and Nico Somerville.
  • Following Saturday night’s game, the Railers had the following scoring streaks and droughts:
    • Jordan Kaplan’s point streak came to an end at four games. (0-4-4)
    • Matias Rajaniemi is without a point in all fifteen games played this season.
    • Griffin Loughran is without a point in his last three games.
    • Brendan Rons is without a point in all nine games he’s played in this season.
    • Riley Piercey ended a six-game scoring drought with an assist.
    • Griffin Luce is without a point in his last four games.
    • Mason Klee is without a point in his last three games.
    • Cole Donhauser is without a point in his last five games.
    • Anthony Callin is without a point in his last seven games.
    • Andrew Nielsen is without a point in his last four games.

Railers Lines

Forward Lines LW C RW
Forward Line 1 Anthony Repaci #81 Jordan Kaplan #10 Griffin Loughran #16
Forward Line 2 Matthew Kopperud #18 Anthony Callin #44 Cole Donhauser #29
Forward Line 3 Riley Piercey #19 Colin Jacobs #23 Matt DeMelis #37
Forward Line 4 Brenden Rons #17 – Lincoln Hatten #33
Defensive Pairings LD RD
Defense Pair 1 Griffin Luce #22 Connor Welsh #26
Defense Pair 2 Andrew Nielsen #55 Mason Klee #24
Defense Pair 3 Matias Rajaniemi #14 Ryan Dickinson #25
Rotated Defensemen – –
Goalie Tandem G
Starting Goaltender John Muse #40
Backup Goaltender Henrik Tikkanen #39

Thunder Lines

Forward Lines LW C RW
Forward Line 1 Michal Stinil #22 Peter Bates #12 Mitchell Russell #23
Forward Line 2 Jay Dickman #21 Luke Grainger #29 Joe Carroll #19
Forward Line 3 Austin Heidemann #43 Nolan Burke #86 Kobe Walker #18
Forward Line 4 Jake Wahlin #83 Ryan Finnegan #17 Dillon Boucher #10
Defensive Pairings LD RD
Defense Pair 1 Braden Hache #25 Nolan Kneen #27
Defense Pair 2 Dominic Dockery #44 Jeremie Bucheler #4
Defense Pair 3 Tyler Jette #81 T.J. Lloyd #6
Rotated Defensemen – –
Goalie Tandem G
Starting Goaltender Trevor Gorsuch #33
Backup Goaltender Aaron Dell #32

On-Ice Officials

On-Ice Officials

– –
Referee Tyler Hascall (8)
Referee David Elford (49)
Linesman Kyle Gaspari (67)
Linesman Ryan Bray (54)


Highlights

Notable Tweets as the Game Happened


Railers Lines


Thunder Lines


Jeremie Bucheler goal


Joe Carroll goal


Nolan Kneen goal


Colin Jacobs goal


Nolan Burke goal


Anthony Repaci goal


Michal Stinil goal


Braden Hache goal