Lions Come Back, Take Down Railers 5-2

By Bill Ballou

WORCESTER – With 21st Century technology being what it is there are letters, numbers and abbreviations for almost everything that happens in hockey.

Almost everything, anyway. There is nothing on the stat sheets for an M.O. That is what the Railers would have registered here Sunday afternoon, a Missed Opportunity.

Worcester led the Trois-Rivieres Lions, 2-0, after the first period then gave up five straight goals over the final 40 minutes and was beaten, 5-2.

The Railers remain in fourth place in the North Division, both in terms of points and winning percentage. They have no cushion, though, and will play at Maine Tuesday morning with a one-point lead on Reading and a two-point edge on the Mariners.

Trois-Rivieres is four points out, not eight, thanks to its victory Sunday.

Worcester got goals from Zach White and Reece Newkirk. It also got 41 saves from John Muse, third most for a Railers goaltender this season.

Nolan Yaremko led the Lions with a hat trick, the second of the season against Worcester. He scored two goals 1:24 apart in the second period then converted a 5 on 3 power play chance at 19:01 of the third period. Jakov Novak and Nicolas Lariviere had the other goals for the visitors.

Joe Vrbetic made 25 saves for Trois-Rivieres in posting his first win in four starts against the Railers this season.

The four Trois-Rivieres goals in the second were scored by, in order:

Novak at 3:18, Lariviere at 4:17, and Yaremko at 11:26 and 12:50. Yaremko’s first goal was on a power play.

The Lions had the better of play in the game’s early going as the Railers were careless in their own zone. With the first period nine minutes old, Trois-Rivieres had an 11-3 edge in shots on goal.

Muse kept it scoreless.

Worcester finally broke through at 17:35 with White scoring his seventh goal of the season. He had been flying throughout the period and outbattled a Lions defenseman in the left corner, then skated into the circle and beat Vrbetic along the ice.

It was White’s first point after an eight-game scoreless drought.

With 1:47 to go in the period, the Lions’ Anthony Beauregard was called for interference by referee Hunter Mottinger. Teammate Brycen Martin was apparently uncivil in his remarks to Mottinger and wound up with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

Newkirk made it 2-0 with 21 seconds left in the period, 34 seconds left on the 5-on-3. It was just the Railers’ second 5-on-3 goal of the season.

Worcester was held to nine shots the rest of the way and wound up with a game, and opportunity, lost.

MAKING TRACKS – Worcester and Trois-Rivieres play five more times in the regular season. All five games will be at Trois-Rivieres. That may be a good thing. Through the years in this series the road team has won more often than the home team no matter where the games were played. … Attendance was 4,205. The Railers have averaged 4,706 for their last six home games. … Anthony Callin had another assist and has had at least one in four straight games. He is 1-6-7 in his last six games. … Newkirk has 69 all-time points, sixth on the Railers’ career lists. He is one point ahead of Blade Jenkins, one behind Jacob Hayhurst

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