Worcester Railers HC vs. Adirondack Thunder

January 7th, 2026

Harding Mazzotti Arena

Meeting 6 of 11 vs. Thunder this season

Railers are 2-3-1-0 vs. Thunder this season

RAILERS DROP 4-1 WEDNESDAY NIGHT DECISION TO THUNDER

DeMelis tallies lone Worcester goal.

GLENS FALLS, NY — The Worcester Railers HC (13-13-1-1) fell to the Adirondack Thunder (17-8-3-1) on Wednesday, January 7th, in front of a crowd of 2,835, by a final score of 4-1 at Harding Mazzotti Arena. The Railers will play next at home against the Florida Everblades at the DCU Center on Friday, January 9th at 7:05 p.m.

Brian Carrabes (1-0-1) scored the first goal of the night for Adirondack early in the first period, assisted by Ryan Wheeler (0-1-1) and Jeremy Hanzel (0-1-1) at 3:44 (0-1). The Thunder extended their lead to two goals with Brandon McManus (3-0-3) unassisted at 11:03 in the second. McManus scored again for Adirondack at 17:04 into the second period. Worcester broke Adirondack’s scoring streak with a goal of their own in the third period from Matt DeMelis (1-0-1) on a power play, assisted by Lincoln Hatten (0-1-1) and Ryan Miotto (0-1-1). Brandon McManus secured the hat trick for the evening at 18:10 into the third on an empty net to give the game its final score of 4-1.

The first period focused on special teams for the Railers, as they had two early power plays within the first half of the period. Two minor penalties on Adirondack’s Jacob Graves at just 0:57 gave Worcester their first man-advantage of the night. After Worcester failed to convert, the Thunder picked up the first goal of the game at 3:44 after Graves’ penalty ran out. A shot from Brian Carrabes (6th) beat Railers goaltender Parker Gahagen to put the Thunder ahead by one. Another infraction from Benjamin Lindberg placed the Railers back on the power play just under halfway through the first. Worcester outshot Adirondack 10-6 in the first.

Adirondack stretched their one-goal lead to three across the span of the second period. Brandon McManus (11th & 12th) scored two goals for the Thunder within a span of six minutes, the first of which came from the Thunder’s third power play of the night with Max Dorrington in the box for slashing. McManus took advantage of a Worcester turnover and scored his second of the night to make it 3-0 Adirondack. Worcester narrowly outshot the Thunder for a second consecutive time with six shots to Adirondack’s five. Worcester had one full two-minute power play chance from a call on Conner Hutchison for hooking.

Worcester opened the third still in search of their first goal of the night. A chance to narrow the gap came on a mid-period power-play, a hooking call on Adirondack’s Hutchison that sent Ryan Miotto into the Thunder’s net. With just eight seconds left on Hutchison’s penalty, Lincoln Hatten threaded the needle to Matt Demelis (10th), who scored back-door for the Railers to narrow the Thunder’s lead to two. The Railers pulled Gahagen for the chance at another goal with the extra man up front, but McManus took advantage and capped off a hat trick for the evening at 18:10 into the third to make it 4-1 Adirondack. Final shots were 31-17 in favor of the Railers. Final penalties were 11 for Worcester and nine for Adirondack. 

NOTES: 

Three stars: 3rd Star: Brian Carrabes (1-0-1, +1, 2 shots), 2nd Star: Jeremy Brodeur (30 saves, 1GA, .968 SV%), 1st Star: Brandon McManus (3-0-3, GWG, +2, 4 shots)… Final shots were 31-17 in favor of Worcester… Jeremy Brodeur (12-3-2) made 30 saves on 31 shots, while Parker Gahagen (6-2-1) made 13 saves on 16 shots… Worcester went 1-for-4 on the power-play while Adirondack went 1-for-5… Michael Ferrandino, Lazarus Kaebel, Tanner Schachle, Porter Schachle, Connor Federkow, Thomas Gale, and MacAuley Carson did not dress for Worcester…

#RailersHC