Railers Come From Behind Twice in 3-2 Win Over Lions

Worcester Railers vs. Trois-Rivières Lions

April 12th, 2024

Colisée Vidéotron

Meeting 12 of 14 vs. Trois-Rivières this season

Railers are 7-5-0-0 vs. the Lions this season

Railers Come From Behind Twice in 3-2 Win Over Lions

Worcester can clinch playoff spot with win Saturday

Trois-Rivières, QC – The Worcester Railers HC (32-30-5-3, 72pts) picked up an important two points against the Trois-Rivières Lions (29-30-5-3, 66pts), on Friday night by the final score of 3-2 in front of 2,285 fans at the Colisée Vidéotron. The Railers will play the Lions again at the Colisée Vidéotron on Saturday, April 13th, at 3:00 pm.

Both teams exchanged goals in the first and second periods. Those goals came from Lions forward Jonathan Yantsis (1st), Railers forward Ashton Calder (23rd), Lions defenseman Miguël Tourigny (9th), and Railers forward Reece Newkirk (8th). The Railers got their first lead of the game from a screened shot from the point by defenseman Trevor Cosgrove (12th). Tikkanen would close out the 3-2 game with a series of highlight reel saves while the Lions had their goalie pulled and swarmed with a 6-on-5 advantage.

In the first period, the Lions did a good job cycling the puck after a clearing attempt from the Railers. Forward Anthony Beauregard made a nice pass from behind the net to the left slot to a wide-open Yantsis, who made a hard shot that went past Railers goaltender Henrik Tikkanen’s glove side. The Railers would bounce back later in the period with some high-danger opportunities on Lions goaltender Strauss Mann. The Railers would even up this game after a puck battle on the far-side corner boards. The puck squirted out to red-hot Railers forward Ashton Calder who sneaked a goal past Mann’s high glove side. The Railers led the period in shots on goal 7-4.

The second period was uneventful for the first 10 minutes despite both teams trading opportunities back and forth. The Lions regained their lead after a snipe on the rush from defenseman Miguël Tourigny that went past Tikkanen’s glove. The Railers looked to make the game even on a power play opportunity thanks to a slashing call on forward Justin Ducharme. Railers Forward Reece Newkirk would score on a beautiful shot from the top of the left circle after faking the initial shot to freeze Mann and beat him on his glove again. The Lions would lead the period and game in shots on goal 11-6 and 15-13.

The game was heading down to the wire when defenseman Trevor Cosgrove broke the deadlock with a shot from the point and bodies out in front. The shot came after a few passes back and forth to defenseman Connor Welsh at the top of their blue line that went by the blocker side of Mann. Tikkanen made some phenomenal saves down the stretch including a cross-ice one-timer from Tourigny. The Railers ended up with the 3-2 win picked up two points. The Lions led the final period and game with shots on goal 19-6 and 34-19.

Notes:

Third Star: Jonathan Yantsis (1-0-1) Second Star: Justin Ducharme (0-1-1) First Star: Henrik Tikkanen (.941 SV%)… Railers Goaltender Henrik Tikkanen made 32 saves on 34 shots faced (.941 SV%)…. Lions Goaltender Strauss Mann made 16 saves on 19 shots faced (.842 SV%)… Railers Captain Anthony Repaci returned from injury… Railers Forward Reece Newkirk played in his 100th game with the Railers… The Railers went 1/4 on the power play and 2/2 on the penalty kill

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