Worcester Railers come from behind to take down Mariners 3-2 in a shootout from the DCU Center

Maine Mariners at Worcester Railers HC

October 18, 2019

DCU Center

Meeting 1 of 18 vs. Maine this season

Railers are 1-0-0-0 vs. the Mariners this season

Worcester Railers come from behind to take down Mariners 3-2 in a shootout from the DCU Center

Nic Pierog nets winner in shootout

Worcester, MA– The Worcester Railers HC (2-0-0-0, 4pts) prevailed with a come from behind 3-2 shootout victory over the Maine Mariners (0-1-0-1, 1pt) in front of 2,722 fans at the DCU Center on Friday evening. The Railers hit the road for four straight games starting Saturday night in Glens Falls vs. the Adirondack Thunder at 7pm.

Worcester got a goal from Kyle Thomas at 17:51 of the third period to tie the game at 2-2 to send the contest to overtime. Nic Pierog would score the lone goal of the three round shootout for the Railers while 19-year-old Jakub Skarek made 24 saves on 26 shots in net for his second career win. Connor LaCouvee made 32 saves in net for the Mariners and Dillan Fox  scored both goals for Maine as Worcester opened the season a perfect 2-0.

The Maine Mariners would come out of the gates hot as Dillan Fox (1st) would score from behind the net just 56 seconds in giving the opposing team a 1-0 lead. Then at 12:46 Fox (2nd) would net his second goal of the game firing a shot from the top of the right circle beating Railers netminder Jakub Skarek blocker side increasing the Maine lead 2-0. Tanner Pond (1st) would strike at 12:53 his first as a Railer as he was all alone in the high slot and received a feed from Cody Payne decreasing the deficit to 2-1. The Railers headed into the dressing room down 2-1 after the opening frame with shots tied at 8-8.

The second period saw no goals scored as the Railers were able to generate some scoring chances on the penalty kill in route to killing off both Maine power plays. Jakub Skarek was perfect in next stopping all nine shots he faced but the Railers still trailed 2-1 through 40 minutes of play.

Back and forth action in the third period there was no scoring until just 2:09 left in the game when Kyle Thomas (2nd) jammed home the puck at the side of the net with netminder Jakub Skarek on the bench for the extra attacker.

A seven-minute overtime period was not enough to provide a winner as the contest needed a shootout to decide who would skate to victory. Nic Pierog was the only player to score in the shootout while Jakub Skarek stopped all three shots he faced as Worcester took home the 3-2 shootout win on home ice.

Notes: Three Stars: 3rd star: Nic Pierog (shootout winner) 2nd star: Kyle Thomas (1-0-1) 1st star: Dillan Fox (2-0-2) …. final shots were 35-26 in favor of Worcester…Connor LaCouvee (0-0-0-1) made 32 saves on 34 shots for Maine… Jakub Skarek (2-0-0) made 24 saves on 26 shots for Worcester and went three for three in the shootout while Evan Buitenhuis served as the backup…. Worcester went 0-for-5 on the power play while Maine went 0-for-3…. Anthony Florentino (inj), Henrik Samuelsson (inj), Chris Rygus, Jake Bolton and Ross Olsson did not dress for Worcester….. Jordan Samuels-Thomas, Nic Pierog and Justin Murray led Worcester with four shots on goal….forward Cody Payne made his professional debut for the Railers adding an assist…. Barry Almeida wore the C while Mike Cornell and Connor Doherty wore A’s for the Railers….Worcester dressed four rookies and four veterans…Ryan Hitchcock, Connor Doherty, and Kyle Thomas all finished +1 ….5 different Railers recorded a point….. the Railers will play the Mariners 18 times this season….Worcester is now 5-4-3-3 all-time vs. the Mariners.

What’s on tap – Riding the Bus!

The Railers hit the road for four straight games beginning on Saturday with a 7pm faceoff in Glens Falls, NY vs. the Adirondack Thunder. Coverage begins at 6:30pm on 98.9 Nash Icon. The Railers return home on Nov 1 on HOCKEY FIGHTS CANCER NIGHT followed by a W6 TRIBUTE NIGHT with a GUNS N HOSES DOUBLEHEADER featuring RAY BOURQUE presented by Berkshire Bank on Nov 2.

Still and Stir located behind the DCU Center provides hockey fans with a great pregame and postgame atmosphere all season long. Watch all road games broadcast live 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 Cam McGuire. Full season memberships, mini plans, and group tickets are on sale now by calling the Railers front office at 508-365-1750or by visiting www.RailersHC.com.

Worcester Railers Hockey….Ride the Train!