By Bill Ballou

WORCESTER – Although they are very much alive in the ECHL’s North Division playoff race, they were — for one night anyway — the late Worcester Railers.

They beat the Norfolk Admirals, 6-2, Wednesday and scored a goal in the closing seconds of all three periods. Worcester got one with two seconds left in the first, 10 seconds go to in the second and 2.1 ticks remaining in the game.

Worcester’s goals were all scored by different players. Ten different players had points. Parker Gahegan continued his wonderful play in net by stopping 31 shots. That included 16 of 17 in the second period when Norfolk desperately tried to get back into a game it trailed, 4-0, after 20 minutes.

That’s right. The Railers had a 4-0 lead going into the second period. That had happened only once before in team history, on Jan. 26, 2019 here, in what became a 5-1 victory over Adirondack.

Prior to this game Worcester had spent most of its first periods in survival mode, especially at the DCU Center.

“I think we really tried to channel our road type of mentality,” coach Nick Tuzzolino said. “When you get into this amount of games you start pre-scouting yourself and I was pre-scouting us I’d probably say ‘pounce on ‘em in the first period.

“That seems to be their weakness.”

Riley Ginnell, Drew Callin, Anthony Repaci and Michael Suda scored the first period goals. Matt DeMelis got one in the second period, Gleb Veremyev in the third.

Drew Callin was 1-2-3. Suda was and Repaci were both 1-1-2 and Anthony Callin had two assists.

Jack O’Leary scored both Norfolk goals. The Railers did something unusual to achieve the triumph. They beat Norfolk goaltender Isaac Poulter, a very good one just down from the American Hockey League. Prior to Friday night Poulter had put together a streak during which he allowed the Railers to score just two goals in three full games.

The first period goals were scored by, in order, Ginnell, Drew Callin, Repaci and Suda.

Ginnell converted a 2 on 1 break with a short side wrist shot from the left circle at 5:39. Drew Callin deflected home a shot by his brother at 10:11, Repaci took advantage of a Norfolk turnover and sizzled a wrist shot past Poulter at 12:26, then Suda blasted a low shot home from 55 feet away with just two seconds left in the period.

Norfolk got one back at 8:10 of the second period as the teams traded 2 on 1 breaks. Worcester’s came first and when Ross Mitton came down the right side missed to the far post on a wrist shot, that set up the Admirals’ 2 on 1. O’Leary scored at 8:10.

The Admirals were all over the Railers for most of the period. Just when it looked like Worcester would escape with the 4-1 lead, DeMelis extended his goals streak to four by putting a 20-footer past Poulter at 19:50 and the Railers were up by four again.

Both teams had someone in the penalty box so it was a 4 on 4 goal.

MAKING TRACKS – Riley Piercey has moved back to play defense and has looked good there in his first three games in the new position. … The victory improved the Railers’ record at the DCU Center to 6-6-1. They are 6-1-0 in their last seven games on home ice. … The game was delayed during the first minute of the first period as the officials checked on a possible roster discrepancy. … Gahagen made just his second career appearance at the DCU Center, first with the Railers. … Worcester had a goal taken away in the first period on one of those dreary goalie interfence replays. No matter — the Railers scored 14 seonds later. … One of the referees was Harrison O’Pray, making his inaugural appearance at the DCU Center. … Longtime DCU Center general manager Sandy Dunn and her assistant, Jim Moughan did the ceremonial puck drop. Both are retiring early next year.

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