Railers win first overtime game in franchise history with 2-1 victory in Manchester

Worcester Railers HC at Manchester Monarchs

January 12, 2018

SNHU Arena

Meeting 10 of 15 vs. Manchester this season

Worcester is 5-5-0-0 vs. the Monarchs this season

Railers win first overtime game in franchise history with 2-1 victory in Manchester

Worcester now 3-2-0-0 on six game road trip

Manchester, NH – Matt Lane scored at 3:34 of the overtime period to give the Worcester Railers HC (15-15-3-2, 35pts) a 2-1 overtime win over the first place Manchester Monarchs (21-12-2-1, 46pts) in front of 1,498 fans at the SNHU Arena on Friday evening.  The Railers are now 3-2-0-0 on their six-game road trip which concludes on Saturday at 6pm in Manchester against the Monarchs.

Matt Lane and Barry Almeida scored for Worcester while Mitch Gillam made 30 saves in net for his 7th win of the season.  Kellen Jones and Mike Cornell added assists as the Railers won their first overtime game in franchise history on their 7th try.

Manchester scored the only goal in the opening frame as Spencer Watson (4th) was able to break down the right wing and cut across the crease before sliding the puck past an outstretched Mitch Gillam at 5:50. The Railers tied the score at 17:04 after Barry Almeida (10th) snapped a quick shot from the left circle past the glove of Charles Williams at 17:04.  Shots were 13-9 in favor of Worcester through 20 minutes of play with the score tied at 1-1.

Neither team found the back of the net in the second period as Manchester outshot Worcester 10-6 in the middle frame.  The two clubs headed into the second intermission with each scoring a goal on 19 shots on net.

Shots were 10-9 in the third period in favor of Manchester with both Mitch Gillam and Charles Williams making some big saves to force the game to overtime.

Both teams played a relatively conservative overtime period until Matt Lane (3rd) snapped a quick shot down the leftwing side on the rush for the game winner at 3:44 to give the Railers a 2-1 victory on the road.

Notes: Three Stars: 3rd star: Matt Schmalz (Goal) 2nd star: Spencer Watson (Goal) 1st star: Matt Lane (OT Goal) …Final shots were 31-31… Charles Williams (13-6-3) made 29 saves on 31 shots for Manchester…. Mitch Gillam (7-7-0) made 30 saves on 31 shots for Worcester… Eamon McAdam was the backup goalie …. Worcester went 0-for-4 on the power play while Manchester went 0-for-3… Matty Gaudreau (inj), Josh Monk (inj), Ashton Rome (inj), Brian Bowen, Connor Doherty, and Sean Gammage did not dress for Worcester…. Mike Cornell returned to the lineup after getting loaned back from the Bridgeport Sound Tigers earlier in the day and added an assist… Chris Langkow wore the captain C for the Railers as Ashton Rome was put on the reserve list before the game….Barry Almeida now has nine points (5-4-9) in his last 11 games.

What’s on track?

The Railers six game road trip concludes in Manchester on Saturday at 6pm vs. the first place Monarchs.

The Railers host an 11- game home stand at the DCU Center beginning on a 2-3-4 Friday vs. the Jacksonville IceMen on Jan 19 at 7pm.  Enjoy $2 popcorn, $3 hot dogs, and $4 bud lights in the Bud Light Zone at every Friday game.  Tickets as low as $15!

The Railers Tavern, located behind the DCU Center provides hockey fans with a great pregame and postgame atmosphere all season long. Watch all road games broadcast live at Railers Tavern or watch on ECHLTV.com for a small fee. Listen to all Railers games live on 98.9 Nash ICON with coverage beginning 30 minutes before puck drop with Eric Lindquist and Tom Matthews. Full season memberships, mini plans, and group tickets are on sale now by calling the Railers front office at 508-365-1750 or by visiting www.RailersHC.com.