Worcester Drops Final Game in Glens Falls 5-2

Worcester Railers vs. Adirondack Thunder

March 20th, 2024

Cool Insuring Arena

Meeting 11 of 11 vs. Adirondack this season

Railers are 4-4-1-2 vs. the Thunder this season

Worcester Drops Final Game in Glens Falls 5-2

Austin Heidemann makes his professional debut

Glen Falls, NY – The Worcester Railers HC (25-28-4-3, 57pts) lost to the Adirondack Thunder 37-15-5-3, 82pts), on Wednesday night by the final score of 5-2 in front of 3,034 fans at Cool Insuring Arena. The Railers will travel down to Reading for their final three-game series against the Reading Royals at Santander Arena on Friday, March 22nd at 7:00 pm.

Adirondack created a lot of offense through their speed and keeping the puck in their offensive zone. The Thunder scored three unanswered goals in the first period by forwards Tristan Ashbrook (23rd), Jace Isley (6th), and Andre Ghantous (2nd). Railers forward Andrei Bakanov (10th) answered shortly after on the Railers’ only power play opportunity of the night. Both teams would trade goals with a slap blast from Travis Broughman (12th) in the second and a net-front goal by Jack Quinlivan (6th) in the third period. The game was closed out by an empty net goal from Thunder Defenseman Ryan Wheeler (5th).

The Thunder would score three unanswered goals against the Railers to open the game. The first was a 2-on-1 goal where forward Andre Ghantous slid a pass across from the left circle to the right circle to forward Tristan Ashbrook who finished it past Railers goaltender John Muse, sliding in an effort to make the save. The second came from Forward Jace Isley who scored on a wraparound attempt after a one-touch pass along the boards by forward Travis Broughman. Lastly, Ghantous would score off a backhand tip through the legs that beat Muse five-hole. The Railers scored a power-play goal just before the end of the period. Forward Andrei Bakanov attempted a cross-ice pass to Forward Ashton Calder on the right side but caught a piece of Thunder Goaltender Vinny Purpura and slid past him. The Thunder would lead the period with shots on goal 10-7.

The second period was uneventful compared to the first. The Thunder kept applying pressure to the Railers while keeping the puck in their offensive zone. But with seven minutes remaining in the period, both sides would get some great chances on the net. Adirondack would capitalize on one of their chances after a dump into the zone. Ghantous tipped a puck coming around the boards to an open Travis Broughman at the right circle. Broughman would blast it past Muse’s high blocker side to make it a 4-1 Thunder lead. Adirondack led the period in shot-on-goal, 17-4, and the game, 27-11.

The Railers looked to climb out of a major deficit in the third. With a dump into the zone, defenseman Zsombor Garat cycled the puck from the left side boards to forward Brendan Robbins at the left point. Robbins snapped a well-placed shot off Purpura’s glove side pad to give it to Forward Jack Quinlivan to send the puck home and cut the deficit to two. Unfortunately, the late-game heroics from the Railers weren’t enough against the Adirondack Thunder as Defenseman Ryan Wheeler tossed in the empty netter to close out the game 5-2. The Railers led the period in shots on goal, 14-6, while Adirondack led the game, 33-25.

Notes:

Third Star: Travis Broughman (1-1-2)

Second Star: Tristan Ashbrook (1-1-2)

First Star: Andre Ghantous (1-2-3)

Railers Forward Austin Heidemann made his professional debut tonight… Railers Goaltender John Muse made 28 saves on 32 shots faced (.875SV%)… Thunder Goaltender Vinny Purpura made 23 saves on 25 shots faced (.920SV%)… The Railers were perfect on special teams, 1-for-1 on the power play and 3-for-3 on the penalty kill… Forward Ashton Calder led the Railers in shots on goal with 5.

#RailersHC