Railers Open Preseason with 4-2 Loss to Mariners

Worcester Railers HC vs. Maine Mariners 

October 13th, 2023 

Norway Savings Bank Arena 

Meeting 1 of 2 vs. Maine this preseason 

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

Railers Open Preseason with 4-2 Loss to Mariners 

White, Pivonka score first goals for Railers 

Auburn, ME – The Worcester Railers HC (0-1-0-0, 0pts) fell to the Maine Mariners (1-0-0-0, 2pts), on Friday night by the final score of 4-2 at Norway Savings Bank Arena. The Railers are at the Fidelity Bank Worcester Ice Center against the Maine Mariners on Saturday, October 14th at 7:05 p.m. EST. 

Maine started the game with two quick goals in the first from Ethan Keppen (2-0-2) and Wyllum Deveaux (1-0-1) to grab a 2-0 lead through one period. Worcester got on the board in the second thanks to Zach White’s tip in front to make it 2-1. The Railers and Mariners traded goals midway through the second, as Jimmy Lambert (1-1-2) for Maine put the Mariners up 3-1 just before Jake Pivonka (1-0-1) got the Railers back to within one. Keppen scored the only goal of the third, as Maine would go on to beat Worcester 4-2 on Friday night. 

The Mariners poured on the offense in a hurry to open the first, scoring twice in the first 3:06 of the game. Ethan Keppen (1st) finished off a cross-ice passing sequence from Tyler Drevitch  to beat Tikkanen far-side and make it 1-0 Mariners. Wyllum Deveaux similarly capped off an up-ice rush with a backdoor tap-in past Tikkanen off a feed from Reid Stefanson (1^st) to make it 2-0 Mariners. Former Railer Jimmy Lambert was in the lineup for the Mariners and managed to record the secondary assist on Deveaux’s goal. Shots in the first favored Worcester 14-6.  

Zach White (1^st) got Worcester on the board early in the second with his first as a Railer. John Copeland unleashed a shoulder-high shot from the point that White redirected past Starrett to make it 2-1 Maine. Lambert (1^st) recorded his second point of the night as he beat Tikkanen with 8:01 to go in the second, and put Maine back up by two, 3-1. Just 19 seconds later, Jake Pivonka (1^st) got Worcester back to within one off assists from Riley Piercey and Ashton Calder. The second period came to an end at 3-2, with Worcester continuing to outshoot the Mariners 12-11. The Railers led in shots through two at 26-17.  

Intensity & physicality escalated midway through the third period. Mike Higgins and Cole Dubinsky dropped the gloves in response to a check on Worcester’s Artyom Kulakov, which left him slow to get up. Maine scored first in the third when Ethan Keppen (2^nd) found the puck alone far side off a feed from Stefanson to beat Tikkanen and make it 4-2. Worcester went on the power play late in the game with 1:46 remaining as Connor Doherty was sent to the box two minutes for roughing. Kulakov then dropped the gloves with Doherty, with both players ejected for the rest of the game after the fight. Neither team would score to wrap up the third, as the Railers fell 4-2 to Maine to open the preseason.  

Notes: 

Final shots were 36-28 in favor of Worcester… Shane Starrett (1-0-0) made 34 saves on 36 shots for Maine… Henrik Tikkanen (0-1-0) made 24 saves on 28 shots for Worcester, while Josh Boyko served as the backup… Worcester went 1-for-4 on the power play while Maine went 1-for-3… Christian Krygier (DNP), Max Johnson (DNP), Joey Cipollone (DNP), Keeghan Howdeshell (DNP), Blake Christensen (DNP), Blade Jenkins (DNP), Chris Ordoobadi (DNP), Jack Quinlivan (DNP), Nick Pennucci (DNP), Anthony Repaci (DNP), Ryan Verrier (DNP), Jake Schultz (DNP), Zsombor Garat (DNP), Tristan Lennox (DNP), and Conor O’Brien (DNP), did not dress for Worcester… Ashton Calder led the Railers in shots with 6.