By Bill Ballou

WORCESTER – Every sport has its numbers, magic or tragic, and “3” is one of them in hockey.

A team that can’t score an average of three goals a game can win occasionally but not consistently. The Railers are scoring an average of 1.9 goals a game so far this season. That accounts for the fact that they have won only occasionally on the way to starting the season with a 2-5-0 record.

They scored four and three goals in the two triumphs.

Their 3-1 loss to the Wheeling Nailers here Saturday was a galling one. Worcester outshot the visitors, 28-20, and spent a lot of time in the Wheeling end of the ice. The Nailers did a better job of converting their chances than the Railers.

The Railers’ goal was on the power play but even that was a little disappointing. Wheeling’s Craig Armstrong went a little daffy in front of the benches early in the third period and wound up being thrown out of the game via a fighting major.

Rookie forward Caige Sterzer scored his first pro goal at 2:22 to tie the game at 1-1, slipping a rebound of Ryan Wheeler’s shot past Nailers goaltender Kasimir Kaskisuo. Worcester still had four minutes left on that power play but could not take advantage.

Wheeling scored the next two goals to take control of things. Dustin Geregach connected on a power play at 10:27 and Justin Taylor was allowed to get behind the defense and score at 13:03.

The game featured the return to the lineup of captain Anthony Repaci, who almost scored 18 seconds after the opening faceoff. He was on a line with Matt DeMelis and Stevie Moses, a threesome that should be dangerous as the season goes on, but were held in check Saturday.

MAKING TRACKS – Repaci’s appearance tied a Worcester pro record for most different seasons played in the city, six. Terry Virtue did it for the IceCats, Frazer McLaren and John McCarthy for the Sharks. … Parker Gahagen stopped 17 shots in the Railers net. … This was the ninth time in Railers history they went into the third period with a 0-0 score. They are 5-4-0 in those games. … The preliminary match was won by the Boston Bruins Alumni, 13-4, over the Why Me team. It was a 4-2 game in favor of the Bruins halfway through. … One of the Bruins’ standout forwards was Jason Zent, on skates for the first time since last year’s Bruins Alum visit. Zent had a 25-goal season for the IceCats in 1997-98 and has settled in the area. He was the first Worcester pro player who grew up in Buffalo. … Jason Payne is one of the Nailers associate coaches. Payne played 11 games for the division champion IceCats in 2000-01 and piled up 46 PIM in that span. … The teams meet again at 3:05 Sunday afternoon. It will be their last rendevous of the regular season. … The Railers suspended forward Matthew Hobbs but not for any transgression. He had played sparingly in Worcester’s early season games and went back to Evansville of the SPHL where he gets a lot of ice time. The Railers retain his ECHL rights. … Railers who did not play included Connor Federkow, Riley Ginnell, Tyson Fawcett, Michael Suda, William Lavallière, and Gabe Blanchard. … Former Railers forward Kolby Johnson saw some ice time, enough to draw a matching roughing penalty with Riley Piercey. … Lincoln Hatten and Denis Smirnov, who scored Wheeling’s first goal, had a lively bout in the third period with Hatten getting the decision. … Attendance was 6,337. The Railers are off to a good start at the gate. They are averaging 5,887 through four home games.

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