Worcester Railers HC vs. Reading Royals

March 15th, 2026

Santander Arena

Meeting 7 of 10 vs. Reading this season

Railers are 3-3-0-1 vs. Royals this season

RAILERS SPLIT WEEKEND IN READING IN 4-2 SUNDAY LOSS

Mitton notches fifth goal of the season.

READING, PA — The Worcester Railers HC (26-24-5-2, 59 pts) split the weekend against the Reading Royals (30-20-6-1, 67 pts) by a 4-2 final on Sunday, March 15th, in front of a crowd of 3,066 at Santander Arena. The Railers are back in action this Friday at the DCU Center in Worcester, MA against the Maine Mariners for a 7:05 p.m. puck drop.

Reading came out firing in the first with three unanswered goals. Connor Kurth (1-0-1) kicked things off for the Royals at 2:09 with a slapshot into the top corner of the net (0-1). Connor McMenamin (1-0-1) scored a rebound chip over Thomas Gale as the puck came loose in the crease at 8:29 (0-2). A third goal from Reading at 14:39 closed the period with the Royals up three-nil. Brandon Saigeon (1-1-2) finished off an initial drive from Vincent Sevigny at the outer edge of the zone. Ross Mitton (1-0-1) broke the scoreless drought for the Railers with an early third-period goal off a faceoff (1-3). Michael Suda (1-0-1) narrowed the Royals’ lead down to a single goal with 61 seconds left on the clock with a shot that sent the puck past Keith Petruzzelli (2-3). A final empty net goal from Ben Meehan (1-0-1) at 19:35 in the third extended the Royals’ lead back to two goals and cemented the 2-4 final. 

The Royals openend a three-goal lead in the first frame. Connor Kurth (11th) drove the puck home with a slapshot to the top corner of the net at 2:09 on Reading’s first shot of the afternoon. Connor McMenamin (10th) made the game 2-0 for the Royals as he finished off a rebound along the far side of the crease and chipped the puck high as Gale dove to cover. Brandon Saigeon (12th) closed out the period with a third goal on the power play, another rebound play set up by Vincent Sevigny on the outer edge of the zone. Worcester trailed in shots on goal with six to Reading’s 10. Each team picked up one penalty in the first twenty minutes.

It was a scoreless second period for both sides as neither team was able to break past their respective goaltenders. Despite not finding the back of the net, both teams kept the energy going with continuous conversations and physical blows. Cam McDonald collected a roughing call just as the period turned to its second half. MacAuley Carson dropped the gloves against former-Railer Artyom Kulakov. Both men earned themselves a double minor in the final five minutes of the frame. Reading outshot Worcester by one, nine to eight. Worcester led in penalties with three to Reading’s two. 

The Railers managed to narrow the gap created by Reading in the first, as Ross Mitton (5th) scored the first goal of the game for Worcester at 4:22 in the final frame. Mitton’s shot came from a faceoff win by Ryan Miotto, who maneuvered the puck behind him at the near faceoff dot in the Royals’ zone. Mitton quickly steadied the puck and skimmed the crossbar as he fired high on Keith Petruzzelli (3-1). Worcester continued to chip away in the offensive zone as Gale was called to the bench for the extra attacker. Michael Suda (3rd) nabbed a second goal for the Railers from the left point, his shot sent past Petruzzelli for a narrow 2-3 game. An unexpected turnover in Reading’s zone, as Declan McDonnell’s stick snapped while he tried to maintain puck possession, led Ben Meehan (9th) to a fourth and final goal for the Royals. Meehan sent the puck sailing from along the near boards into the unattended Railers' net as the final seconds of regulation ticked away. Final shots were 29-27 in favor of Reading. Worcester led in shots for the period with 13 to 10. MacAuley Carson and Jacob Frasca earned the sole penalties awarded to each team in the period. 

NOTES: Three stars: 3rd Star: Connor Kurth (1-0-1, +1, 4 shots), 2nd Star: Jake Willets (0-2-2, +1, 0 shots), 1st Star: Brandon Saigeon (1-1-2, +0, 3 shots)… Final shots were 29-27 in favor of Reading… Keith Petruzzelli (15-12-5-0) made 25 saves on 27 shots, while Thomas Gale (1-4-0-0) made 25 saves on 28 shots… Worcester went 0-for-3 on power plays while Reading went 1-for-4… Anthony Hora, Riley Ginnell, AJ Schlepp, Connor Federkow, Cole Donhauser, Tristan Lennox, Drew Callin, and Gabe Blanchard did not dress for Worcester… The Railers are now 3-3-0-1 this season vs. the Royals and 2-2-0-0 at Santander Arena

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