Worcester Railers HC vs. Wheeling Nailers

March 28th, 2026

WesBanco Arena

Meeting 7 of 8 vs. Wheeling this season

Railers are 4-3-0-0 vs. Nailers this season

RAILERS FALL 2-1 TO WHEELING IN SATURDAY TILT

Repaci recorded his 20th goal of the season.

WHEELING, WV — The Worcester Railers HC (27-28-5-2, 61 pts) fell short to the Wheeling Nailers (41-16-3-3, 88 pts) in a narrow 2-1 loss on Saturday, March 28th at WesBanco Arena, in front of a crowd of 3,588. The Railers will wrap up their weekend road trip in Wheeling with a final matchup against the Nailers on Sunday, March 29th, with a 4:10 p.m. EDT puck drop. 

Anthony Repaci (1-0-1) got things going for Worcester as he collected a chance bounce off a Nailer’s skate at 7:16 in the first. Wheeling evened the score with a bar-down tally ten minutes later from Connor Lockhart (1-0-1)(1-1). A tip from Matty De St. Phalle (1-0-1) at 19:20 closed out scoring for the first period and put the Nailers ahead by one (2-1). There were no other goals scored for the remainder of the game for a narrow 2-1 final. 

Worcester got themselves on the board early in the first as Anthony Repaci (20th) lit the lamp unassisted at 7:16. Repaci maneuvered the puck out in front after a ricochet off the heel of a Nailer’s skate kept the game alive in the zone. Connor Lockhart (20th) erased the one-goal lead ten minutes later with a bar-down shot sent sailing high over netminder Parker Gahagen. A shot from Brent Johnson was tipped along the way by Matty De St. Phalle (10th) at 19:20 and sent the puck wide of Gahagen to put the Nailers in the lead as the game transitioned into its second frame. Wheeling narrowly led in shots on goal with 14 to Worcester’s 13. The sole penalty of the period was called on Wheeling’s De St. Phalle for tripping at 12:55. 

The middle frame was an action-packed affair of shed gloves and flying fists. Tensions ran high between Max Dorrington and Matt Quercia, who kicked off the stream of penalties to follow. Dorrington and Quercia squared off at center ice and put on a show for the onlooking crowd. The pair skated to their respective penalty boxes for a five-minute stretch as play returned. Lincoln Hatten and Aidan Sutter eagerly kept things going and soon joined their teammates in the box for roughing 25 seconds later. Cole Donhauser and Brent Johnson would complete the trifectas for each side as well, with less than a minute gone from the clock. As the boxes emptied, Riley Piercey and Max Graham took their turn in the ring at 14:08, and much like Dorrington and Quercia, would remain there for the next five minutes. Gleb Veremyev capped off the second period rap sheet with a holding call at 18:36, which handed Wheeling their only power play opportunity of the evening. Shots in the period were 20-10 in favor of Worcester. 

Veremyev’s call from the close of the second carried over for 36 seconds into the third and gave the Nailers an extra man advantage in the final frame. Worcester put on another offensively-dominated performance with three consecutive power play chances that bracketed the split of the period. Neither side found the back of the net, which left the Railers down by one at the close as the Nailers clinched the first spot in the Kelly Cup Playoffs for the North Division. Worcester's shots on goal totaled 50 across the evening to Wheeling's 27. Worcester skated away clean with no penalties in the final frame, while Wheeling collected three. 

NOTES: Three stars: 3rd Star: Matty De St. Phalle (1-0-1, +1, 4 shots), 2nd Star: Brent Johnson (0-2-2, +2, 3 shots), 1st Star: Taylor Gauthier (49 saves, 1GA, .980 SV%)… Final shots were 50-27 in favor of Worcester… Taylor Gauthier (18-7-2-3) made 49 saves on 50 shots for Wheeling, while Parker Gahagen (15-10-4-1) made 25 saves on 27 shots for Worcester… Worcester went 0-for-5 on power plays while Wheeling went 0-for-1… Anthony Hora, Riley Ginnell, Ryan Miotto, Max Ruoho, Dalton Duhart, Jordan Kaplan, Vincent Corcoran, Connor Federkow, Tristan Lennox, and Gabe Blanchard did not dress for Worcester.

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