Railers Lose to Thunder, Season Comes to an End

Worcester Railers HC at Adirondack Thunder

April 16th, 2023

Cool Insuring Arena

Meeting 17 of 17 vs. Adirondack

Railers Lose to Thunder, Season Comes to an End

Railers are 8-9-0-0 vs The Thunder

Game 72 of 72

Glen Falls, NY – The Worcester Railers HC (34-34-4-0, 72 points) lost their regular season finale against the Adirondack Thunder (32-29-9-2, 75 points) with a 4-3 loss in front of 4,753 people at Cool Insuring Arena.

Shawn Weller (1-0-1) scored two minutes and thirty seconds into the contest giving Adirondack the lead. Worcester scored the next three goals, the first came from Nick Fea (1-0-1) and the second from Trevor Cosgrove (1-0-1). Anthony Repaci (1-0-1) scored the third Worcester goal and the first goal of the second. Patrick Grasso (1-0-1) got the Thunder back on the board later in the period. Matt Stief (1-0-1) scored on the powerplay halfway through the third to tie the game at three. Brady Fleurent  (1-0-1) scored an empty net goal to make 4-3.

The Thunder scored first in the most important game of the season for both teams. The Thunder were moving the puck down ice, Ryan Smith found Shawn Weller (14th) out in front of Railers net-minder Ken Appleby, and Weller shot and scored. The Railers got their first of the day when Nick Fea (8th) tapped one in after some beautiful puck movement between Callin and McGurty. Worcester took their first lead when Trevor Cosgrove (5th) loaded up his cannon and fired one past Adirondack goalie, Mike Robinson. The Railers went ahead by one at the end of twenty.

Anthony Repaci (27th) scored the third Railers goal midway through the second period. He scored at from the right circle off a feed from Nolan Vesey. After conceding three straight goals the Thunder responded when Patrick Grasso (36th) got the puck past Appleby making it a one goal game.

With twenty minutes left in the game, Worcester entered the final period up by one, chasing their second ever playoff berth by playing for a regulation win. Worcester was whistled for a high stick halfway through the third period, putting them on the penalty kill. The Thunder took advantage as Matt Stief (5th) fired one past Appleby seconds into the power play, tying the game 3-3. Worcester got their own power play opportunity with four minutes and thirty seconds to play. Worcester wasn’t able to score on the powerplay. Needing a regulation, Worcester opted to pull Appleby in an attempt to get back ahead and win without overtime. The Thunder grabbed the puck from their own zone and cleared it out as Brady Fleurent (9th) skated it into the net, ending the Railers season by a final of 4-3 on the final day of the regular season.

Notes: Jacob Hayhurst and Trevor Cosgrove led the team with four shots. Matt Jennings led the Thunder with five shots. Ken Appleby had 31 saves on 34 shots for Worcester. Mike Robinson had 28 saves on 31 shots for Adirondack.

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