Reading Royals at Worcester Railers HCDecember 20, 2017DCU CenterMeeting 4 of 14 vs. Reading this seasonWorcester is 3-1-0-0 vs. the Royals this season

Railers win season high third straight in 1-0 home win over the RoyalsMitch Gillam makes 26 saves in shutout win

Worcester, MA – Barry Almeida scored the only goal late in the first period as the Worcester Railers HC (11-9-2-2, 26pts) picked up their season high third straight win in a 1-0 victory over the visiting Reading Royals (14-11-2-0, 30pts) in front of 2,511 fans at the DCU Center on Wednesday night.

Mitch Gillam picked up his second shutout of the season with 26 saves in net while Barry Almeida picked up the only score with his sixth goal of the season. Worcester picked up a season high third straight win and improved to 3-1-0-0 vs. the Royals this season.

Shots were 9-6 in the opening frame as the Railers scored the only goal with 24 seconds left in the period as Frankie DiChiara sent a shot from the left wall up high that was deflected in front by Barry Almeida (6th) past goaltender Mark Dekanich. Each team went 0-1 on the power play as Mitch Gillam made six saves for Worcester.

Worcester outshot Reading 11-7 in a scoreless middle period as neither team really had any grade A scoring chances. The Railers led 1-0 through 40 minutes and held a 21-13 shot advantage through two periods of play.

The Royals turned up the heat in the third period as Mitch Gillam made 13 saves to preserve the 1-0 win. Nick Saracino was denied on a breakaway midway through the period as Worcester fired eight more shots in the period.

Notes: Three Stars: 3rd star: Mark Dekanich (28 saves) 2nd star: Barry Almeida (Goal) 1st star: Mitch Gillam (26 saves, Shutout) …Final shots were 29-26 in favor of Worcester… Mark Dekanich (8-7-1) made 28 saves on 29 shots for Reading…. Mitch Gillam (5-4-0) made 26 saves on 26 shots for Worcester…. Joe Spagnoli (E-bug) was the backup goalie…. Worcester went 0-for-2 on the power play while Reading went 0-for-4…. Wade Murphy, Matt Lane, Matty Gaudreau (inj), Josh Monk (inj), and Connor Doherty did not dress for Worcester…. Ashton Rome returned after missing three games due to injury – earlier in the day Ashton and his wife MacKenzie welcomed their third child Easton Verrette Lawrence Rome…. Nick Saracino returned after missing two games with injury…. Frankie DiChiara (0-4-4) has a two-game point streak.

What’s on tap?On Friday, Dec 22 the Railers host the Adirondack Thunder at 7:05pm on a 2-3-4 Friday! Score $2 popcorn, $3 hot dogs, and $4 bud lights in the Bud Light Zone!

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.