Railers drop series opener in Royal fashion

WORCESTER – The Worcester Railers HC (12-17-1-3 28 points) lost to the Reading Royals (11-17-4-0, 26 points) on Friday night by the final score of 4-3 in front of a crowd of 3,305 at the DCU Center.

The Railers are back on the ice next at the DCU Center, taking on the Reading Royals on Saturday at 6:05 p.m.

The scoring started early tonight as Justin Gill (1-0-1) gave Worcester the lead 1-0 just 45 seconds into the first period. Shortly after Reading tied the game with a goal from Lou-Félix Denis 2:18 into the first. The Railers extended their lead to 3-1 heading into the second period with goals from Anthony Callin (1-1-2) and Matt DeMelis (1-0-1).

Reading scored the only two goals in the second period, coming off the sticks of Jake Smith (1-1-2) and Matt Brown (1-1-2), to tie the score at 3-3 heading into the third period. Neither team could score in the third period, which led us to overtime. Neither team scored the game-winner through seven minutes of overtime, leaving it up to a shootout. Matt Miller scored the winning shootout goal for Reading, giving them the 4-3 win.

Worcester struck first 45 seconds in on Friday as Justin Gill (2nd) scored to give Worcester the 1-0 lead. Reading evened the score 2:18 into the first with a goal from Lou-Félix Denis (5th). Anthony Callin (7th) put Worcester back on top with his one-timer goal at 11:59 in the first period. Matt DeMelis (1st) finished the first period scoring off with his own goal to give Worcester the 3-1 lead heading into the second period.

Shots favored Worcester 13-10 in the first.

Reading started the scoring in the second period with a goal from Jake Smith (6th) 9:40 into the second. Reading then tied this one up at 3-3 with a goal from Matt Brown (6th) on the power play for the Royals with 21 seconds to go in the third. Shots were even at 8-8 in the second.

The 3-3 tie remained for the entirety of the third period. The Railers got two opportunities to regain the lead with power play chances but could not cash in on either. Reading had a chance when Matt Brown skated in front of the net but could not get his shot by Worcester’s Michael Bullion leading into overtime.

Shots favored Worcester 9-3 in the third.

Neither team scored the game-winner through seven minutes of overtime play. The Royals spent the final two minutes of overtime on the power play, but the Railers and Michael Bullion, who made six saves in overtime, were able to hold firm, forcing a shootout to decide Friday’s winner. Miller scored the shootout-winning goal in the top of the second round for Reading.

Shots favored Reading 6-2 in overtime and Worcester 32-27 in regulation.

Notes

Three Stars: 3rd Star: Matthew Kopperud (0-2-2, +2, 2 Shots), 2nd Star: Anthony Callin (1-1-2), 25, +2, 4 Shots), 1st Star: Matt Miller (0-1-1, SOWG, -2, 2 shots)…

Final shots favored Worcester 32-27… Vinnie Purpura (5-2-0-0) made 29 saves on 32 shots for Reading… Michael Bullion (5-10-0-2) made 24 saves on 27 shots for Worcester, while Hugo Ollas served as the backup…

Worcester went 0-for-4 on the power play, while Reading went 1-for-8…

Matthew Boudens (IR), JD Dudek (DNP), Ryan Dickinson (DNP), Dante Giannuzzi (IR), and Brenden Rons (IR) did not dress for Worcester… Anthony Repaci led the Railers in shots with 5…

The Railers are now 27-32-5-3 all-time vs. the Royals and 14-15-2-2 at the DCU Center against Reading.