Railers Comeback Falls Short Against Royals

Worcester Railers HC vs. Reading Royals

March 23rd, 2022

Santander Arena

Meeting 11 of 12 vs. Reading this season

Railers are 2-7-1-1 vs. the Royals this season

Railers Comeback Falls Short Against Royals

Steve Jandric scores in back-to-back games for the Railers.  

Reading, PA  – The Worcester Railers HC (27-25-4-2, .517) lost to the Reading Royals (36-14-6-2, .690) on Wednesday night by the final score of 3-2 in front of a crowd of 2, 009 at Santander Arena. The Railers are in Glens Falls at Cool Insuring Arena on Friday, March 25nd to take on the Adirondack Thunder at 7:00 p.m.

If you missed the first few minutes of the game you sure missed a lot. Both teams jumped out of the gate on Wednesday, and then settled into a quiet rhythm for the rest of the night. Four of the game’s five goals were all scored within the first 4:22 of play. Steve Jandric (1-1-2) got on the board first for the Railers just 1:19 into play. The Royals came back and scored the next three goals over a span of 2:26 to take the 3-1 lead early in the first. With only 36.4 seconds left in the game, Reece Newkirk (1-0-1) notched one late in the third as Colten Ellis was pulled for the extra attacker. Reading’s defense remained stout over the remaining seconds of play to secure the 3-1 victory for the Royals.

Steve Jandric (2nd) got things started early for Worcester, scoring his second goal in as many days just 1:19 into the game. Reading was quick to respond, as Frank DiChaira (11th), Trevor Gooch (29th) and Thomas Ebbing (25th) all scored across a 2:26 second span on just four total shots, to push the Royals out to a 3-1 lead just 4:22 into the game. Neither team scored the rest of the frame, as Reading would hold the 3-1 lead going into the break. Shots in the period favored Worcester 9-8.

It was a very quiet second period for the Railers. The Royals did get two chances on the powerplay, but were unable to solve Ellis, as the period came to a close with Reading still out in front 3-1. Reading outshot Worcester in the period 9-1.

In the third period with Colten Ellis pulled and the extra attacker on, Reece Newkirk (10th) batted in a rebound from the right side to get Worcester back to within one with just 36.4 seconds left in regulation. Worcester jumped right back into the attacking zone after winning the following draw, but were unable to get another good chance on net as the final buzzer sounded. Reading held on to win by a final score of 3-2. Shots in the third favored Worcester 8-7, while Reading outshot the Railers 24-18 on the game.

Notes:

Three Stars: 3rd Star: Hayden Hawkey (16 saves, 2GA, .888 SV%) 2nd Star: Trevor Gooch (1-0-1, 5 shots) 1st Star: Trevor Gooch (1-0-1, 1 shot) Final shots were 24-18 in favor of Reading… Hayden Hawkey (10-3-1) made 16 saves on 18 shots for Reading… Colten Ellis (14-7-4) made 21 saves on 24 shots for Worcester, while Ken Appleby served as the backup… Worcester went 0-for-3 on the power play while Reading went 0-for-2… Bobby Butler (DNP), Ethan Price (DNP), Ross Olsson (DNP), Blake Christensen (INJ), Felix Bibeau (IR), Liam Coughlin (IR), Chris Ordoobadi (IR), and Grant Jozefek (IR) did not dress for Worcester… Reece Newkirk led the Railers in shots with 3… The Railers are now 18-22-2-1 all-time vs. the Royals and 7-13-1-1 at Santander Arena against Reading.