By Bill Ballou

WORCESTER – February has been cold, dark, snowy, rainy, icy, windy and generally miserable.

Too bad it is over, at least for this city’s ECHL team.

The new Monkey Wrenches made their debut Friday night with a 3-1 victory over the Bloomington Bison. Add this triumph to the Railers’ record for the month and Worcester was 8-4-0 for February. 

The race for the final playoff spot in the North Division has evolved into a two-team battle between Worcester and Reading. Both teams won Friday night. The Wrenches are still in control of fourth place but with little margin for error.

They are three points ahead of the Royals. Reading has a game in hand.

Friday, the home team got goals from Matthew Kopperud, Lincoln Hatten and Jordan Kaplan. Kopperud scored at 9:02 of the first period, immediately turning him into the Monkey Wrenches’ all-time leading goal scorer.

That changed soon enough. Hatten made it a 2-0 game 29 seconds into the second period. Kaplan scored on a deflection at 4:53 of the third and it was 3-1, which it remained through the end.

Some, maybe a lot, of the credit for that goes to Worcester goaltender Hugo Ollas. He stopped 23 of 24 shots and continues to a stalwart presence in net. The locals have earned points in 10 of his 13 starts. The team as a whole has scored one goal total in his three losses.

This is the time of year when alternating goaltenders to keep them rested is not much of a factor.

“It’s about the game ratio,” coach Nick Tuzzolino said. “I’m trying to make sure my goalie has his confidence. On a night like tonight, where he is basically unstoppable and has a chance to close out his old team….he is here to be a starter, so he’ll probably come back (Saturday) night.”

Kopperud has five goals in four games since returning from Bridgeport. He has shown no signs of a letdown.

“He’s playing the same game,” Tuzzolino said. “Guys go up there and play certain roles, and come here and then they’re on the first power play unit and are relied on a little more like their college days or junior days.

“We’ve got a really good group here, he loves being here when he’s here and he wants to get a chance to play in the post-season. So when he plays, he plays really hard.”

Connor Welsh and newcomer Tanner Schachle both had two assists for Worcester, which put three past Bison goaltender Yaniv Perets. That’s a lot. Perets headed into the night with the ECHL’s best saves percentage at .935.

Ollas, who started the season in Bloomington, had the better night. Perhaps that gave him a little incentive.

“It’s a game like any other game,” he said but Ollas, who is always smiling, seemed to have a wider one as he spoke.

MONKEYPUCKS – The Bison and Wrenches play again here at 6:05 Saturday night. Bloomington is the 30th different ECHL opponent to face Worcester through the years. … Casey Terreri was part of the referee crew with Chazz Knoche. Terreri, one of the ECHL’s best through the years, spends most of his time in the AHL these days. … Schachle played his first home game in a Railers uniform … Kolby Johnson’s suspension ended with Friday’s game. Anthony Repaci, Matt Ustaski, Mark Cheremeta, and Anthony Hora are on the injured list. Kabore Dunn and Riley Ginnell each did not play as Worcester once again had a short roster due to the suspension. … The Wrenches had a very strong third quarter of the season at 11-6-1 for 23 points. It is the second-best third quarter in team history. The Railers were 10-4-4 in 2021-22 … Attendance was 3,466.

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