By Bill Ballou

WORCESTER – They trailed after 20 minutes again Saturday night, 2-1, and wound up losing 4-2 to the Greensboro Gargoyles despite a third-period surge.

The loss snapped the Railers’ four-game winning streak. If Worcester had won it would have vaulted over the Gargoyles and out of the North Division cellar. In fact, the lower half of the standings are so close that if Saturday night’s results had all fallen the right way, Worcester could have found itself in fourth place.

Also, if the Railers had played as well in the first and second periods as it did in the third, they would have won. Down by 3-2, Worcester outshot Greensboro, 12-3, in the final 20 minutes and one of those Gargoyles shots was an empty net goal.

The Railers had an array of fabulous chances in the third but were stymied by goaltender Nikita Quapp, playing his first ECHL game after starting the season with the AHL Chicago Wolves.

Anthony Repaci had a breakaway at 3:30, Anthony Callin was stopped at the top of the crease at 3:56 and the same for Riley Piercey at 7:12. Cole Donhauser just missed from outside the post at 13:45 and Max Dorrington could not convert from in close shortly after that.

If just one of those had gone in Worcester would probably gone on to win.

“I agree with that 100 percent,” coach Nick Tuzzolino said.

Lincoln Hatten and Repaci had the Railers goals. Tristan Lennox made 22 saves in net. Ryan Richardson, Trevor Zins, Anthony Rinaldi and Ethan Leyh had the Greensboro goals.

Richardson gave the visitors an early lead with his power play goal at 5:17. It was the Gargoyles’ first shot on goal of the game. The shot came from just above the left circle and rang off the post, then in.

Worcester had a chance, two chances actually, to make it 1-1 a bit more than a minute later. Both were bids by Piercey from in close. Both the original shot and the rebound were stopped by Quapp.

The Railers eventually tied it, though, with Hatten scoring at 15:25. Michael Suda and Matt DeMelis got the assists. It did not take all that long for Greensboro to regain the lead. Zins got his first of the season with a 50-footer from the right side.

Rinaldi put the Gargoyles ahead at 10:50 of the second period on what was essentially a power play goal. He scored three seconds after Anthony Hora’s tripping penalty expired, snapping a rebound home from the bottom of the left circle.

Worcester closed to within one goal once again as Repaci put a short shot past Quall from just outside the crease at 15:48. He took a pass from Drew Callin with Anthony Callin getting the other assist.

The goal snapped a 10-game drought for Repaci during which he compiled 44 shots on goal. Hatten extended his points streak to six games. He is 5-3-8 during the streak and did not score his fifth goal last year until his 48th game.

“We had all those Grade A chances in the third period,” Tuzzolino said, “but in this game you earn your bounces.”

The Railers didn’t put any good fortune in the bank with their passive first period, as has often been the case this season.

MAKING TRACKS – The Fire Department extinguished the Police Department, 9-2, in the afternoon match before the ECHL game. … Piercey returned to the lineup after serving his seven-game suspension. …  Brendan Dowler made his Railers debut, wearing Number 28. … Neither Cam McDonald nor Tanner Schachle were in the Worcester lineup. … There are two former Railers are on the Greensboro roster, Wade Murphy and Noah Delmas, although Delmas did not play in this game. Murphy scored the first goal in Railers history in 2017-18 and had been back previously when he played for Idaho. He had two assists Saturday … Quapp is the first goalie the Railers have faced whose last name begins with “Q.” … The teams play again here at 3:05 Sunday afternoon. It will be the final game of the Railers’ eight-game homestand. … Attendance was 3,820.

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