Worcester Railers HC at Newfoundland GrowlersDecember 30, 2019Mile One CentreMeeting 6 of 9 vs. Newfoundland this seasonRailers are 1-5-0-0 vs. the Growlers this season
Late Rally Not Enough as Worcester Falls 6-3 in Newfoundland
Nic Pierog and Barry Almeida both score on the power-play
Saint John’s, NFLD – The Worcester Railers HC (10-19-1-0, 21pts) score first goal of game but fall 6-3 loss to the Newfoundland Growlers(21-10-0-0, 42pts) in front of 3,969 fans at Mile One Centre on Monday evening. The Railers close out the 2019 calendar year on Tuesday vs. the Growlers.
Nic Pierog (10th) and Barry Almeida (8th) each scored power-play goals for Worcester while Ian Milosz made 25 saves in net for the loss. Shane Walsh (0-2-2) continued his hot streak adding two assists. Former Holy Cross Crusader Scott Pooley scored four goals for the Growlers while Parker Gahagen made 29 saves in Newfoundland’s eleventh straight win at the Mile One Centre.
Worcester received three power-plays in the first period and it would be Nic Pierog (10th) at 3:20 who would capitalize receiving a feed from the left circle courtesy of Shane Walsh who found Pierog at the top of the right circle who let one blast past the blocker of Parker Gahagen giving the Railers a 1-0 lead. Newfoundland scored a power-play goal of their own at 10:57 on a rebound finished off by Marcus Power (14th) to tie it up at 1-1. With under a minute the Growlers took the lead on a goal from Matt Bradley (4th) and the home team went into the dressing room up 2-1 after 20 minutes of play.
At 8:27 of the second period Scott Pooley (13th) drove down the left wing and rose a backhand shot from the left dot overt the shoulder of Ian Milosz to give the Growlers a 3-1 lead. It would be Scott Pooley (14th) notching his second of the game this time short-handed on a breakaway increasing Newfoundland’s lead to 4-1. Worcester held the edge in shots 19-17 through 40 minutes of play.
Scott Pooley (15th) scored his third of the night this time coming on the power-play at 14:34 to give the Growlers a 5-1 lead. Off a beautiful drop pass from Dante Salituro, Drew Callin (3rd) snapped one of from the high slot beating Gahagen at 15:32 to decrease the deficit to 5-2. The Railers on the power-play for the seventh time of the net it would be Barry Almeida (8th) notching the second power-play score of the night with just 2:22 to cut the lead to 5-3. Despite having the goaltender pulled at the end of the game Newfoundland found the back of the net as time expired from Scott Pooley (16th) to give Newfoundland the 6-3 win.
Notes: Three Stars: 3rd star: Giorgio Estephan (0-1-1) 2nd star: Parker Gahagen (29 saves, Win) 1st star: Scott Pooley (4-0-4, 7 shots) …. final shots were 32-31 in favor of Worcester…Parker Gahagen (3-1-0) made 29 saves on 32 shots Newfoundland… Ian Milosz (1-2-0) made 25 saves on 30 shots for Worcester while Evan Buitenhuis served as the backup…. Worcester went 2-for-7 on the power play while Newfoundland went 2-for-4…. Yanick Turcotte (susp ECHL), Kyle McKenzie (inj,), JD Dudek (inj) and Tanner Pond (IR), did not dress for Worcester…. Mike Cornell, David Quenneville, Linus Soderstrom, 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…. Connor Doherty is the only Railers player to play in the first 30 games this season….. Nic Pierog (1-1-2) recorded his sixth multi-point performance of the season…. Shane Walsh (0-2-2) recorded his third multi-point performance of the year and now has (8-3-11) in his last nine games….the Railers are now 6-9-0-0 under coach Cunniff…. Worcester is now 4-10-0-0 vs. the Growlers all time and 1-6-0-0 at the Mile One Centre.
What’s on tap – Closes out 2019 on the road!
The Railers hit the road now for three more straight games including one more in Newfoundland vs. the Growlers to close out 2019. On Tuesday the puck drops at 2:30pm (EST). After two games in Reading vs. the Royals to kick off 2020, Worcester returns home on Sunday, Jan 5 as the Railers host the Jacksonville IceMen at 3pm on a KIDS GIVEAWAY SUNDAY with the first 1,000 kids 12-and-under receiving Railers mini sticks presented by AvZ Promotions. Score a SUNDAY FUNDAY ticket pack which includes four tickets and four beverage vouchers (beer/soda) for just $60!
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.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 508-365-1750 or by visiting www.RailersHC.com.
Worcester Railers Hockey….Ride the Train!