Three Railers Record Multi-Point Night in 4-3 in Preseason Loss to Maine

Worcester Railers HC at Maine Mariners

October 11th, 2024 

Sidney J. Watson Arena 

Meeting 1 of 2 vs. Maine this preseason

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

Three Railers Record Multi-Point Night in 4-3 in Preseason Loss to Maine 

Worcester scored in the first minute of both the first and second. 

Brunswick, ME – The Worcester Railers HC (0-1-0-0) lost to the Maine Mariners (1-0-0-0) on Friday night by the final score of 4-3 in front of a crowd of 1,000 at Sidney J. Watson Arena. The Railers head back to Worcester to take on the Mariners in their preseason finale at the Fidelity Bank Worcester Ice Center on Saturday, October 12th at 7 p.m.  

One of Worcester’s newest pieces in Cole Donhauser (1-1-2) jumped on the board just eleven seconds into the first to give Worcester the early lead. Maine got two goals back late in the first, starting with Evan Vierling (1-0-1) converting on a two-on-one rush. Bennett Stockdale (1-0-1) followed suit with 1:41 remaining in the first to make it 2-1 Mariners. Worcester tacked on another early goal when Matthew Kopperud (1-1-2) ripped a wrist shot glove-side past Maier to tie the game 41 seconds into the second. Patrick Guay (1-0-1) notched his first of the preseason and put Maine back in the lead 3-2 5:24 into the period. The two teams swapped goals in the third to make it 4-3. Worcester had a power play for the final 1:44 of regulation, but couldn’t convert as the horn signaled a 4-3 final.  

Worcester’s starting line of Cole Donhauser (1st), Matthew Kopperud, and Jack Randl wasted no time crashing into the attacking zone off of the opening draw. The three combined to score on the rush just eleven seconds into the contest, beating Maine’s Nolan Maier in net. With 5:11 to go in the first, Maine sped down the ice on a two-on-one rush. Evan Vierling (1st) finished off a cross-ice pass from Owen Pederson and beat Worcester’s John Muse to tie the game. With 101 seconds left in the frame and Maine in the attacking zone, Alex Sheehy passed the puck to the weak side for an open Bennett Stockdale (1st) who slammed it home and gave Maine the 2-1 lead going into the first intermission. Shots in the first period were even at 11-11. 

The two teams exchanged blows early in the second, with Matthew Kopperud (1st) scoring for Worcester and Patrick Guay (1st) for Maine. Kopperud found the puck alone on the left side thanks to Mason Klee. He then released a heavy wrist shot past the glove of Maier and tied the game 2-2 at the :41 mark of the second. The Mariners came back 4:43 later when Patrick Guay scored on the rush and regained the lead for Maine and made it 3-2. Shots in the second favored Worcester 8-5, while they led 19-16 on the game. 

Worcester went on the power play early in the third but failed to capitalize as the game remained 3-2. Maine extended their lead to 4-2 when Christian Sarlo (1st) got on the board 4:56 into the third. Jack Randl (1st) got Worcester back within one off a three-man rush with Cole Donhauser and Nick Pennucci with 8:03 left in the game. The Railers had another man-advantage with 1:44 remaining in regulation with Muse’s net empty after a holding call against Maine’s Xander Lamppa, but Worcester fell short in the six-on-four sequence, losing 4-3 in their preseason opener.  

Notes: 

Three Stars: 3rd Star: Cole Donhauser (1-1-2, +1, 4 shots), 2nd Star: Jake Willets (0-2-2, +1, 2 shots), 1st Star: Owen Pederson (0-2-2, 3 shots)… Final shots were 33-25 in favor of Worcester… Nolan Maier made 15 saves on 17 shots while Brad Arvanitis (1-0-0) made 15 saves on 16 shots for the Mariners… John Muse (0-1-0) made 21 saves on 25 shots for Worcester, while Joe Spagnoli served as the backup… Worcester went 0-for-4 on the power play while Maine went 0-for-4… Justin Gill (DNP), Jordan Kaplan (DNP), Colin Jacobs (DNP), Anthony Callin (DNP), Cole Crowder (DNP), Anthony Repaci (DNP), Christian Krygier (DNP), Griffin Luce (DNP), Connor Welsh (DNP), and Michael Bullion (DNP) did not play for Worcester… Cole Donhauser, Cam McDonald, Mason Klee, Austin Heidemann, and Andrei Bakanov each led the Railers in shots with 4… 

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