Railers play well but come up empty on Black Friday

Manchester Monarchs at Worcester Railers HC

November 23, 2018

DCU Center

Meeting 2 of 12 vs. Manchester this season

Railers are 1-1-0-0 vs. the Monarchs this season

Railers play well but come up empty on Black Friday

Barry Almeida scores twice in Worcester’s 4-2 loss to the Monarchs

Worcester, MA –The Worcester Railers HC (6-9-2-0, 14pts) closed out their five-game home-stand with a 4-2 loss to the visiting Manchester Monarchs (8-6-1-1, 18pts) in front of 3,425 fansat the DCU Center on Friday evening. The Railers kick off a three-game road trip with a 2pm start in Brampton, ON vs. the Beast on Sunday afternoon.

Barry Almeida scored both goals for Worcester as the Railers outshout Manchester 37-24 but had a tough time solving netminder Cole Kehler.  Ryan Hitchcock and Tyler Barnes added two assists for the Railers as Evan Buitenhuis made 20 saves as Worcester season long four game point streak came to an end with the regulation loss.

It was a strong first period for the Railers as they outshot the Monarchs 11-6, but it was a broken play in front of the Railers net that allowed Nic Pierog (7th) to snap a quick surprising shot past netminder Evan Buitenhuis at 1:18 for the only score of the opening frame.  Connor Doherty dropped the mitts vs. Eric Schurhamer midway through the period and Ryan Hitchcock led all players with five shots on goal as Worcester headed to the first intermission down 1-0.

Worcester would tie the score midway through the second period as Tyler Barnes won a loose puck behind the net and zipped it in front to Barry Almeida (5th) who then snapped a quick shot from in tight on goaltender Cole Kehler at 9:18.  Manchester would regain the lead again at 16:10 as Nic Pierog (8th) sent a snap shot on the rush down the leftwing side to give Manchester the 2-1 advantage.  Worcester held a 26-15 shot advantage through 40 minutes of play but trailed 2-1.

Barry Almeida (6th) would tie the score again as his feed ahead to Ryan Hitchcock found its way into the net at 4:03 of the third period.  But Manchester would counter with the final two goals of the hockey game as Cory Ward (2nd) netted the game winner on a rebound at 6:47 and Zeb Knutson (3rd) added an insurance strike on the rush at 10:34 to give Manchester their season high fourth straight win.

Notes: Three Stars: 3rd star: Nic Pierog (2-0-2) 2nd star: Barry Almeida (2-0-2) 1st star: Cole Kehler (35 saves, Win) …. final shots were 37-24 in favor of Worcester… Cole Kehler (1-1-0-0) made 35 saves on 37 shots for Manchester…. Evan Buitenhuis (4-4-1-0) made 20 saves on 24 shots for Worcester…. while Mitch Gillam served as the backup…. Worcester went 0-for-4 on the power play while Manchester went 0-for-3…. Tommy Kelley (inj), Yanick Turcotte (inj), Ryan MacKinnon, Alex Vanier, and Malcolm Gould (inj) did not dress for Worcester…. Jeff Kubiak is currently on recall with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers while Ivan Kosorenkov is on recall with the SJ Barracuda… Tyler Barnes extended his point streak to three games (1-4-5) with two assists…Ryan Hitchcock had a game high eight shots on goal for Worcester…the Railers wore BLACK PANTHER themed jerseys during the game.

What’s on tap? – RAILERS HIT THE ROAD!

The Railers hit the road for three straight games beginning with a 2pm start on Sunday in Brampton, Ontario vs. the Beast. Worcester returns home on Sunday, Dec 2 on a KIDS GIVEAWAY SUNDAY with a 3pm faceoff vs. the Mariners!  The first 1,000 kids 12-and-under will receive a mini football courtesy of myOfficeCloud. Score a SUNDAY FUNDAYticket pack which includes four tickets and four beers or four tickets with four sodas and popcorns starting at just $60.

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 Nonna’s (FRI, SAT, SUN) or Railers Tavern (MON-THU) 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 508-365-1750or by visiting www.RailersHC.com.

Railers 2.0….Don’t. Miss. Out!