Railers finish six game roadie with 3-1 loss in Manchester

Worcester Railers HC at Manchester Monarchs

January 13, 2018

SNHU Arena

Meeting 11 of 15 vs. Manchester this season

Worcester is 5-6-0-0 vs. the Monarchs this season

Railers finish six game roadie with 3-1 loss in Manchester

Worcester to host an eleven game homestand at DCU Center beginning on Friday, Jan 19

Manchester, NH – The Worcester Railers HC (15-16-3-2, 35pts) finished the first half of the season with a 3-1 loss to the first place Manchester Monarchs (22-12-3-1, 48pts) in front of 3,145 fans at the SNHU Arena on Saturday evening.  The Railers concluded their six-game road trip with a 3-3-0-0 record and return home to the DCU Center on Friday, Jan 19 vs. the Jacksonville IceMen to kick off an eleven game home stand.

Kellen Jones scored a second period goal for the Railers and Mitch Gillam made 21 saves in net but Worcester allowed a shorthanded goal, a powerplay goal, and an empty net goal in the loss.  Branden Komm made 30 saves for the Monarchs as Manchester broke out of a four-game losing skid with the home win.

Yanick Turcotte (11th FM) picked up his team leading 11th fighting major with a long tussle vs. Martin Nemcik at 3:22 to set the tone for a physical opening 20 minutes.  With the Railers on their second power play, Zac Lynch (17th) was able to flip the puck past goaltender Mitch Gillam who came sliding out of his net 20 feet on top of his crease to try to grab the loose puck, but Lynch was able to fire a shot from a tough angle with Gillam out of the cage at 15:14.

Mike Cornell made quick work on Matt Marcinew with a scrap at 4:45 of the second period as the rough play continued. The Railers got the only goal of the middle frame as Kellen Jones (9th) buried in his own rebound with a screen in front of goaltender Branden Komm at 7:13. The two teams headed into the second intermission tied 1-1 with Worcester leading the shot clock 22-17.

Manchester would net the game winner just five seconds after Chris Langkow was sent to the box for interference at 13:18. Manchester won the draw deep in the Worcester end and a quick shot from the point by Colton Saucerman hit Matt Buckles (6th) stationed on top of the Railers crease at 13:23 to give Manchester the 2-1 lead.  Zac Lynch (18th) added an empty netter at 18:44 to give the Monarchs a 3-1 home victory.

Notes: Three Stars: 3rd star: Branden Komm (30 saves, Win) 2nd star: Matt Buckles (GWG) 1st star: Zac Lynch (2-0-2) …Final shots were 31-24 in favor of Worcester… Branden Komm (5-5-2) made 30 saves on 31 shots for Manchester…. Mitch Gillam (7-8-0) made 21 saves on 23 shots for Worcester… Eamon McAdam was the backup goalie …. Worcester went 0-for-5 on the power play while Manchester went 1-for-3… Matty Gaudreau (inj), Josh Monk (inj), Ashton Rome (inj), TJ Syner, Connor Doherty, and Sean Gammage did not dress for Worcester…. forward Brian Bowen made his pro debut for the Railers after signing with the club after 2 ½ years with the Univ. of Vermont and fired a game high five shots on goal…..Chris Langkow wore the captain C for the Railers as Ashton Rome was put on the reserve list….Barry Almeida now has ten points (5-5-10) in his last 12 games…Kellen Jones now has eight points (4-4-8) in his last 10 games….the game featured three fights and 46 total penalty minutes….Ben Masella picked up his 1st pro fighting major with a third period tussle vs. Jordan Smotherman…tonight’s game marked the 20th straight game vs. a divisional opponent for Worcester…the Railers finished the first half of the season with a 15-16-3-2 record and have 36 games remaining.

What’s on track?

The Railers host an 11- game home stand at the DCU Center beginning on a 2-3-4 Friday vs. the Jacksonville IceMen on Jan 19 at 7pm.  Enjoy $2 popcorn, $3 hot dogs, and $4 bud lights in the Bud Light Zone at every Friday game.  Tickets as low as $15!

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.