Dante Dante Railers win overtime thriller in Adirondack 5-4

Worcester Railers HC at Adirondack Thunder

December 27, 2019

Cool Insuring Arena

Meeting 8 of 14 vs. Adirondack this season

Railers are 4-4-0-0 vs. the Thunder this season

Dante Dante Railers win overtime thriller in Adirondack 5-4

Dante Salituro ties game late and wins game in overtime

Glens Falls, NY – The Worcester Railers HC(10-17-1-0, 21pts)returned from the holiday break with an entertaining back-and-forth 5-4 overtimewin over the host Adirondack Thunder (11-14-3-5,30pts) in front of 3,148 fans at the Cool Insuring Arena on Friday evening. The Railers are back in action on a BIG GAME Saturday on Home for the Holidays Night at the DCU Center with a 7pm start vs. the Maine Mariners as the first 2,000 fans receive Railers holiday socks presented by UniBank.

Shane Walsh and Dante Salituro each netteda pair of goals to lead the way offensively and Evan Buitenhuis made 31 saves on 35 shots in net for his sixth win of the season. Jack Stander also scored for Worcester as the Railers won back-to-back road games for the first time this season. Rookie Joe Murdaca made 27 saves in net for the Thunder as Adirondack dropped their season high 11thstraight game and their 8thstraight loss on home ice.  Ross Olsson, Barry Almeida, and Nic Pierog all added two assists for Worcester as Salituro tied the score late in the third period with the extra attacker before winning the game at 1:53 of overtime.  Justin Murray was spectacular on the blue line adding an assist and picked up his third fighting major in the win.

Shane Walsh netted a pair of goals in a feisty first period to kick things off.  Walsh (8th) found the back of the net assisted by Barry Almeida at 4:51 to give Worcester a 1-0 lead.  Adirondack tied the score at 11:07 as Ara Nazarian (5th) fired home a rebound past Evan Buitenhuis.  The Railers struck on the power play and went ahead 2-1 after Walsh (9th) deflected a Jordan Samuels-Thomas centering feed past netminder Joe Murdaca at 12:39.  Jake Linhart (3rd) was the late man in on a rush and tied the score at 2-2 for the Thunder at 15:33.  Justin Murray (3rdFM) went toe-to-toe with Alexandre Carrier at 12:32 and Gabriel Verpaelst left the bench to instigate a fight with Cody Payne (1stFM) at 16:40 in a physical first frame that saw Worcester outshot the Thunder 14-11 through 20 minutes of play.

Each team fired 11 shots in an evenly played second period but the only score came of the stick of Railers defenseman Jack Stander (2nd) as he scored his first goal of a Railer with a 30 foot blast from the center slot after a feed from behind the net by Ross Olsson at 8:11 to give Worcester a 3-2 advantage.  Shots were 25-23 in favor of the Railers through 40 minutes of play.

Adirondack scored twice in a 4:08 span in the third period to take a 4-3 lead as Alex Tonge (3rd) tied the score at 10:10 and Mike Szmatula (12th) gave the Thunder their first lead at 14:18 with a power play tally.  With Evan Buitenhuis on the bench for the extra attacker, Dante Salituro (6th) sent a shot through a screen that snuck through the netminders pads at 18:09 to tie the score at 4-4.

In overtime, the Railers controlled the play before Dante Salituro (7th) tapped home a wrap around pass through the crease by Barry Almeida at 1:53 to give Worcester their first overtime win of the season.

Notes: Three Stars: 3rd star: Dante Salituro (2-0-2) 2nd star: Mike Szmatula (1-1-2) 1st star: Shane Walsh (2-0-2) …. final shots were 35-32  in favor of Adirondack…Joe Murdaca (0-0-3) made 27 saves on 32 shots Adirondack… Evan Buitenhuis (6-9-0) made 31 saves on 35 shots for Worcester while Ian Milosz served as the backup…. Worcester went 1-for-5 on the power play while Adirondack went 1-for-4…. Yanick Turcotte (susp ECHL) and Tanner Pond (IR) did not dress for Worcester….Jordan Samuels-Thomas returned to the lineup after missing the last game due to injury and added an assist….Mike Cornell, David Quenneville, and Jakub Skarek are all currently on recall with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers…. Kyle Thomas signed a PTO with the San Diego Gulls (AHL) on Dec 26….before the game Anthony Florentino was suspended by the club in order for him to pursue other opportunities….Connor Doherty is the only Railers player to play in the first 28 games this season…Shane Walsh (5-0-5), Barry Almeida (1-4-5), Nic Pierog (1-3-4), Jack Stander (1-1-2) and Dante Salituro (2-3-5) all have two game point streaks for Worcester…..Worcester now has 13 fighting majors this season as Justin Murray (3rd) and Cody Payne (1stpro fight) dropped the mitts…..the Railers are now 6-7-0-0 under coach Cunniff. ….Worcester is now 19-10-2-0 all-time vs. the Thunder and 12-5-1-0 at the Cool Insuring Arena….it was the first overtime win of the season for the Railers.

What’s on tap – Home for the Holidays!

On Saturday, Dec 28 the Railers host the Maine Mariners at 7pm on a BIG GAME SATURDAYon HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS NIGHTwith the first 2,000 fans receiving a pair of Railers holiday socks presented by UniBank. Saturday Night Signingswill feature a Railers player(s) signing autographs during the first intermission in the Fallon Health Pavilion. Tickets start at just $15!

Bring a group of 10 or more people to the game and save BIG $$$$ off Box Office pricing and receive a Railers hat for everyone in your group! Plus, score a Railers experience…Zamboni rides, High-Five Tunnel, post-game photo on ice, and more! Call 508-365-1750 for your customized group experience!

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.comfor a small fee. Listen to all Railers games live on 98.9 Nash ICONwith coverage beginning 30 minutes before puck drop with Eric Lindquistand Cam McGuire. 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.

Worcester Railers Hockey….Ride the Train!