Railers come up empty in Reading 

Worcester Railers HC at Reading Royals

March 24, 2019

Santander Arena

Meeting 6 of 6 vs. Reading this season

Railers went 4-2-0-0 vs. the Royals this season

Railers come up empty in Reading

Tyler Barnes scored team leading 27th goal in 4-1 road loss

Reading, PA – The Worcester Railers HC (30-26-6-4, 70pts) wrapped up a busy 3-in-3 weekend with a 4-1 loss to the host Reading Royals (29-28-4-6,68pts) in front of 2,836 fans at the Santander Arena on Sunday afternoon. With the loss,the Railers are now three points behindMaine for the fourth and final playoff spot in the North Division with six games remaining. Worcester will host the Brampton Beast on a BIG GAME Saturday with a special appearance by the Super Bowl Trophy and the Patriots Street Team at 7pm at the DCU Center.

Tyler Barnes scored his team leading 27th goal for Worcester while Blake Wajtala made 38 saves in net as the Railers scored just a single goal in their third straight game. Brayden Low and Michael Huntebrinker each had a goal and an assist for Reading while Jamie Phillips made 28 saves in net as Worcester dropped their fourth straight games (0-3-1-0).

Tyler Barnes (27th) gave the Railers a 1-0 lead after great work by Barry Almeida and Ryan Hitchcock at 7:05 of the first period.  Reading would tie the score with 60 seconds left as Michael Huntebrinker (16th) snapped a quick shot on the rush from the rightwing side past Blake Wajtala’s blocker.  Reading held a 12-7 shot advantage through 20 minutes of play as the two clubs were tied 1-1.

Reading went ahead 2-1 as Brayden Low (14th) scored through a screen from 20 feet out at 1:54 of the second period.  Play opened up in the middle frame as Reading outshot Worcester 15-11 and took a 2-1 lead into the second intermission.

The Royals added an insurance goal at 11:46 of the third period as Adam Schmidt (23rd) finished a 2-on-1 rush with a wicked shot.  Kevin Goumas (5th) added an empty netter at 17:00 as Jamie Phillips added 11 more saves as the Royals grabbed the 4-1 home victory.

Notes: Three Stars: 3rd star: Michael Huntebrinker (1-1-2) 2nd star: Jamie Phillips (28 saves, Win) 1st star: Brayden Low (1-1-2) …. final shots were 42-29 in favor of Reading…Jamie Phillips (22-11-3) made 28 saves on 29 shots Reading… Blake Wajtala (1-3-0) made 38 saves on 41 shots for Worcester….Mitch Gillam was the backup…. Worcester went 0-for-1 on the power play while Reading went 0-for-4…. Kyle McKenzie (inj), Tommy Panico (inj), Alex Vanier (inj), Evan Buitenhuis (inj), Ross Olsson, and Tommy Kelley did not dress for Worcester….Mike Cornell (BRI) and Nick Sorkin (BNG) are currently in the AHL…. Railers are now 14-16-1-3 on the road this season…Ryan Hitchcock has 36 points (15-21-36) in his last 29 games…. the Railers have 6 games remaining (4 home, 2 road)… Worcester now has 48 fighting majors this season – they had 45 last season….Ryan Hitchcock and Barry Almeida all picked up assists for Worcester…. David Quenneville had seven shots on goal… Worcester has not allowed a power play goal in 10 straight games (22-22)….Yanick Turcotte leads the entire ECHL with 17 fighting major penalties (9 home, 8 away) and added 12 more penalty minutes.

What’s on tap – BIG WEEKEND AT DCU!

On Saturday, March 30  – BIG GAME SATURDAY! – NE Football Specialty jersey to benefit the March of Dimes with a special appearance by the Super Bowl Trophy, NE Patriots Street Team, Pat the Patriot, and Patriots Alumni (TBA)!  Every Saturday night home game is SATURDAY NIGHT SIGNINGSpresented by MidState Auto Group with a Railers player signing autographs during the first intermission. Puck drop is at 7pm vs. the Brampton Beast!

Sunday, March 31 – KIDS GIVEAWAY SUNDAY – 1st 3000 fans will receive a Railers HC team photo presented by Jimmy John’s.  Stick around after the game for a postgame full team autograph session. Score a SUNDAY FUNDAY ticket pack which includes 4 ticket and 4 beers or 4 tickets and 4 sodas/popcorns starting at just $60! Puck drops at 3pm vs. the Brampton Beast!

Individual tickets to a Railers game start as low as $15 by calling 508-365-1750 or visit RailersHC.com.  Save $$$ with a RAILERS 6 PACK which includes six flex tickets and a Railers winter hat starting at $99.

The Railers Tavern located behind the DCU Center provides hockey fans with a great pregame and postgame atmosphere all season long. Watch all road games broadcast live at Railers Tavern or watch on ECHLTV.com for a small fee. Listen to all Railers games live on 98.9 Nash ICON with coverage beginning 30 minutes before puck drop with Eric Lindquist and Tom Matthews. Full season memberships, mini plans, and group tickets are on sale now by calling the Railers front office at 508-365-1750 or by visiting www.RailersHC.com.

Railers 2.0…. Don’t. Miss. Out!