WORCESTER – Worcester suffered a 4-1 loss to the defending Kelly Cup champions Sunday afternoon. The Railers earned just one point of a possible six for the series. They went into the weekend with 12 of a possible 14 points in their seven previous games.
They netted only three goals for the weekend and have 12 in their last seven games. Their power play betrayed them Sunday as they were just one for seven. That included a wasted four-minute man advantage on a high sticking double minor to Mathias Laferriere at 7:02 of the second period.
Worcester put only three shots in the direction of the net in those four minutes.
It was 1-1 going into the third period but the Railers could not beat Hunter Jones, who stopped 29 shots for the game. With the victory, Jones became the first opposing goaltender to beat Worcester in every game of a 3 in 3 series.
The Railers had five power plays in the first period and scored on one of them.
Lincoln Hatten got his 12th goal of the season at 17:03. It was his fifth on the power play and first of any kind since Jan. 24. Jesse Pulkkinen set up Anthony Repaci at the right point and the captain put a shot on net.
There was traffic, a good thing for Hatten, and he popped a rebound home from in close.
After the Railers failed to take advantage of their power play time early in the second period, Trois-Rivieres began to dominate the action. The Lions finally tied it at 12:15 on Joe Dunlap’s goal. He scored on a rebound from the bottom of the left circle.
In the third period, Trois-Rivieres took a 2-1 lead at 2:17, then made it 3-1 at 8:44. Both were doorstep goals. Isaac Dufort had the first one, Cedric Desruisseaux the next one.
Morgan Moisan-Adams, who had a killer series, got the fourth visitors goal at 10:54 on a penalty shot after being hauled down on a breakaway.
While the Lions arrived in town as a sixth place team, not resembling the ECHL defending champion, they are an entirely different team with Jones in goal. Trois-Rivieres improved to 13-5-0 with him as the goaltender of record. The Lions are 21-20-4 overall.
MAKING TRACKS – What a pane — a piece of glass was damaged behind one of the nets before the game. The DCU work crew had to saw a replacement piece and the opening faceoff was delayed by 30 minutes. … Cole Donhauser suffered a bloody nose in the second period and left the ice for repairs. He returned to action after first aid. … The Railers lineup was per usual. Those not in uniform included goalie Thomas Gale and skaters Anthony Hora, Michael Ferrandino, Ross Mitton, Khristian Acosta, Connor Federkow and MacAuley Carson. … Worcester has only home game left this month, Feb. 28 versus the Maine Mariners. … The Star Spangled Banner was performed perfectly by the Blackstone Valley Community Chorus. … Parker Gahagen made 28 saves for Worcester. He and Jones matched up for the second time over the weekend. Both have Kelly Cups on their resumes. Gahagen won it with Florida in 2022, Jones with the Lions last season. … The visit to Rapid City will mean that the Railers will have played 27 of the other 29 teams in the ECHL. Worcester has yet to play Iowa and Tahoe. … Attendance was 3,741. … Moisan-Adams’ penalty shot made the opposition 6 for 10 all-time in those plays.
By Bill Ballou
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