RAILERS STEAL OVERTIME POINT IN 4-3 LOSS TO WHEELING

By Bill Ballou

WORCESTER – The Worcester Railers beat the Wheeling Nailers, 3-4 in overtime, Sunday afternoon at the DCU Center.

Not a typo, no. It is just that all things considered, the point Worcester earned was one of the best points a Railers team will ever get out of a hockey game.

They trailed the best team in the league, 3-1, with less than five minutes to go in the third period. Then, at 15:23, Jordan Kaplan converted a shorthanded breakaway to make it a one-goal game.

With goaltender Hugo Ollas on the bench, Worcester took it down to the limit and Anthony Repaci scored with four seconds to go in regulation. He converted a pass from Griffin Loughran and beat Taylor Gauthier from the bottom of the right circle with a low shot.

It was the latest game-tying goal in franchise history.

“I actually thought we had a lot more time than we did,” Repaci said, “maybe something like 20 seconds. That was cutting it close but it was an exciting finish.”

Yes, you might say that.

That Matt Koopman scored for Wheeling to win it just 49 seconds into overtime was a downer, but it did not ruin the day, all things considered.

Even before the opening puck drop the Railers were in a hole.

It was their third game in less than 72 hours, and it was against the team with the best winning percentage in the ECHL. Two of their defensemen, Matias Rajaniemi and Cam McDonald, were called up by Bridgeport before the game. Worcester replaced them with one defenseman, Anthony Hora up from the SPHL and making his ECHL debut. So the Railers dressed only 17 skaters.

With McDonald and Rajaniemi in the American Hockey League, there were no Bridgeport contract players in uniform. The only NHL contract player was goalie Hugo Ollas. He is assigned here by the Rangers.

Worcester responded with a great effort from the start although it took a while for everything to fall into place.

“For us playing a three in three, with the effort they put out, I just wanted them to play to the wire,” coach Nick Tuzzolino said. “If the score had stayed 3-1 I probably would have been just as happy. I thought they played well. That’s a pretty gutsy effort against a really good team.”

Over the last two weekends Worcester took six of a possible eight points versus Wheeling. The Railers extended their overall points streak to eight games. They are 5-0-3 in those games. It is their longest points streak since they won nine in a row to open the 2022-23 season.

It was 0-0 after 20 minutes. David Jankowski scored for Wheeling at 8:55 of the second period. Cole Donhauser answered for Worcester at 14:26, snapping a 12-game goals drought. Manny De St. Phalie’s goal at 15:48 allowed the Nailers to take a 2-1 lead into the third period.

When Chris Ortiz made it 3-1 at 6:21, it seemed unlikely that the Railers would have enough petroleum in the tank to come back. Kaplan changed that perspective, then Repaci wound up rescuing the point.

It allowed Worcester to earn five of a possible six points on the weekend with all three games ending in 4-3 scores.

The All-Star break is here. It will give the Railers time to rest up from their dramatic weekend, but Tuzzolino isn’t going anywhere.

“I can’t,” he said. “I’ve got to go find some players.”

MAKING TRACKS – The roster moves gave Worcester three Anthonys and the Railers risked the rare Too Many Anthonys on the Ice penalty. It did not happen. … The All-Star break ends Thursday. Worcester’s next games are Friday and Saturday at Maine. The Railers’ next home game is Jan. 31 versus Adirondack. … Wheeling’s Peter Laviolette is the son of the longtime NHL coach of the same name. The senior Laviolette was briefly part of things on the 1994-95 IceCats. He went to training camp with Worcester that season but wound up playing for Providence. … Catching up with milestones: Repaci played his 200th game for the Railers Saturday night. He is the 22nd Worcester pro player to reach that level. Connor Welsh has passed Trevor Cosgrove for second place on the Railers all-time points list for defensemen. Welsh is 11-51-62 for his career. Next up is all-time leader Mike Cornell. He was 13-52-65 in a Worcester uniform. … Three of the four longest regulation games in Railers history have happened in the last four weeks. Their game on Dec. 22 lasted 2:51. Friday night was 2:46, Saturday night 2:43. … Nailers goalie Gauthier is, like partner Sergei Murasov, a right-hand glove man. Not many teams have two off-hand goaltenders on the roster at the same time. … Attendance was exactly 3,900. It was a good weekend at the gate for the Railers. They averaged 4,695 for the three games. … Anthony Callin had an assist and is 9-7-16 in the last 12 games. … Defenseman Ryan Dickinson has been plus-1 for five straight games. … Ollas assisted on Kaplan’s goal. The Railers are 15-1-3 all-time when one of their goalies has an assist.

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