WORCESTER COMEBACK FALLS SHORT IN 6-4 LOSS TO SAVANNAH

Worcester Railers HC vs. Savannah Ghost Pirates

February 21, 2025

Enmarket Arena

Meeting 1 of 2 vs. Savannah this season

Railers are 0-1-0-0 vs. the Ghost Pirates this season

WORCESTER COMEBACK FALLS SHORT IN 6-4 LOSS TO SAVANNAH

Matthew Kopperud grabs two goals in his return to Worcester.

Savannah, GA – The Worcester Railers HC (23-22-2-4 52pts) lost against the Savannah Ghost Pirates (24-23-2-0, 50pts), on Friday night by a final score of 6-4 in front of a crowd of 7,485 at Enmarket Arena. The Railers are back on the ice next at Enmarket Arena taking on the Savannah Ghost Pirates on Saturday, February 22nd at 7:00 p.m. EST.

The two teams combined for four goals in the first, as Tyler Kobryn (1-0-1) and Matthew Kopperud (2-0-2) for Worcester grabbed the tallies. Josh Davies (1-1-2) and Logan Drevich (1-1-2) had Savannah's goals. The second again saw four combined goals as the Railers grabbed one from Kopperud, while Cameron Buhl (1-1-2), Devon Paliani (1-1-2), and Liam Walsh (1-0-1) gave Savannah a 5-3 advantage going into the third. Worcester stood tall on the penalty kill in the third as JD Dudek (1-1-2) got Worcester back to within one late, but the Ghost Pirates' Reece Vitelli finished an empty netter to cap off the game 6-4 in favor of Savannah.

Worcester's Tyler Kobryn (5th) took just 4:08 to give Worcester the 1-0 lead. He received. a feed in the slot from JD Dudek below the net and drilled a shot past Cormier to make it 1-0 Worcester. Davies (5th) came back up ice for Savannah 2:08 later on the rush to beat Bullion low and tie the game 1-1. Worcester's Matthew Kopperud (9th), in his first game back for Worcester, ripped a shot top shelf to beat Cormier thanks to assists from Loughran and Callin and put Worcester back in front 2-1. Savannah's Logan Drevitch (8th) came down the right wing for Savannah as the Ghost Pirates once again tied the game heading into the second at 2-2.

Savannah carried the brunt of the scoring in the second, getting two more goals on the rush from Buhl (4th) and Walsh (11th), while Paliani (22nd) tallied one on the power play. Worcester's lone goal in the second came from Matthew Kopperud (10th) on a two-on-none rush with Griffin Loughran. Michael Bullion was pulled in net for Worcester after the fifth Savannah goal, as the Railers brought in Hugo Ollas in relief. The score was 5-3 Savannah heading into the third.

Worcester withstood multiple Ghost Pirates power plays in the third, denying Savannah the chance to extend their lead. JD Dudek (2nd) jammed in a loose puck on the doorstep with just under seven minutes to go in regulation, giving Worcester a chance to tie things down the stretch. The Railers comeback fell short when Ollas was pulled to the bench for the extra attacker and Vitelli for Savannah (12th) finished off an empty net chance to wrap up the game at 6-4.

Notes:

Three Stars: 3rd Star: Cameron Buhl (1-1-2, +2 5 shots), 2nd Star: Josh Davies (1-1-2, +1, 1 shot), 1st Star: Devon Paliani (1-1-2, +1, PPG, 4 shots)… Final shots favored Worcester 35-34… Evan Cormier (12-9-1-0) made 31 saves on 35 shots for Savannah… Micahel Bullion (10-13-0-2) made 19 saves on 24 shots for Worcester, while Hugo Ollas made 9 saves on 9 shots… Worcester went 0-for-6 on the power play while Savannah went 1-for-8… Mark Cheremeta (DNP), Anthony Hora, (DNP), Benjamin Lindberg (DNP), Anthony Repaci (IR), and Matt Ustaski (DNP) did not dress for Worcester… Anthony Callin led the Railers in shots with 4… The Railers are now 1-1-0-0 all-time vs. the Ghost Pirates and 1-1-0-0 at Enmarket Arena against Savannah.

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