By Bill Ballou

WORCESTER – When the puck was dropped here Friday night, the two opponents were one letter apart in their names, 15 points apart in the standings.

The alphabetical difference never changed but the Worcester Railers closed the points gap to 13 with a 6-3 victory over the Wheeling Nailers.

It was a vice-versa kind of night. The fifth place team played like a first place team. And vice-versa.

Worcester had a strong first period and led, 3-0, after 20 minutes. Wheeling got to within two goals twice and it was 4-2 going into the third period. The Railers kept extending their lead, though, until the visitors got a power play goal late in the game.

Eleven Worcester skaters had points. Michael Suda and Cole Donhauser both had two points, all via assists. The home team got single goals from, in order, Ryan Miotto, Riley Ginnell, Drew Callin, Anthony Callin, Nikita Susuyev and Anthony Repaci.

Parker Gahagen made 24 saves in net to record the win.

It is a hockey truth — the team that scores the first goal usually wins. Make that the first three goals and it becomes PowerBall odds for that team that trails.

“I think it’s a mentality thing,” Railers coach Nick Tuzzolino said of the first-goal advantage. His team has not scored the first goal very often this season. The Railers are 10-2 when they do.

“If your bench doesn’t have confidence,” he added, “being down by 1-0 can seem like climbing a mountain.”

The Railers’ first period goals came from Miotto at 1:37, Ginnell at 16:07 and Drew Callin at 19:21. All were scored against Wheeling goaltender Maxim Pavlenko, who stayed in net for the duration. He has allowed 13 goals in two games versus Worcester this year.

It was the Railers’ first appearance on home ice in 12 days. There have been a lot of roster happenings since then.

Worcester has added Khristian Acosta and Hunter Hall as signings. Hartford recalled Case McCarthy while Springfield loaned Nikita Susuyev. Bridgeport recalled Gleb Veremyev and sent back Calle Odelius. Laz Kaebel and Matthew Myers were released and Riley Ginnell returned from a stint on the injured list.

“There has been a lot of movement, yes,” said Tuzzolino, who is also the general manager, “but through all of that our top three lines have pretty much stayed the same.”

It shows. Worcester has won three straight and is 5-2-1 in its last eight games. The Railers have scored 29 goals in those eight games.

If he sticks around for a while, Susuyev looks like a game-changing player. He is just 20 but has magical offensive gifts. Susuyev scored Worcester’s fifth goal on a breakaway where he looked like the calmest man on the ice.

With that goal, Susuyev became the third player this season to score in his first game in a Worcester uniform. All three have come this month, from Cam Berg, Acosta and now Susuyev.

The Nailers got goals from David Breazeale, Matty De St. Phalle and Max Graham. They also got two assists from former Railer Ryan Mahshie.

MAKING TRACKS – Saturday is Sharks Night with all the nostalgia that goes with it. The Nailers are the opposition again. Puck drop is 6:05. … Worcester improved to 38-27-4 in the first game of a 3 in 3 weekend. … Gabe Blanchard got an assist on Miotto’s goal. It was his first point in 21 games with Worcester. … Two of the four teams ahead of the Railers in the standings won, Adirondack and Reading. The Railers are four points behind the fourth-place Maine Mariners.

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