WORCESTER, Mass.- Saturday evening, the Worcester Railers closed out their two-game weekend series with a 3-2 win over the Maine Mariners. For their annual “Pink In The Rink” night game, the Railers wore Pink In The Rink specialty jerseys, which were auctioned online (during) and live (following) the game, benefitting the Worcester “Cup Crusaders” organization.
In the first period, neither team would get on the score sheet, with both goaltenders John Muse for Worcester and Shane Starrett for Maine turning away all scoring chances. Worcester held a 10-5 shot advantage in the first period.
In the second period, Artyom Kulakov of the Railers would put Worcester up 1-0 at 5:52. Worcester captain Anthony Repaci would light the lamp with a shorthanded goal coming at 15:04, pushing the second-period lead to 2-0 entering the third period.
The Mariners would get their first goal at 12:57 of the third period, with William Provost making it a one-goal game. Worcester defenseman Trevor Cosgrove would be assessed a high-sticking penalty at 17:50, and shortly after, Maine would pull goalie Shane Starrett for a sixth skater, giving the Mariners a six-on-four advantage. But Worcester’s Jake Pivonka would send a rink long clear from between the two circles into an empty net, giving the Railers a 3-1 lead with 1:06 left to play. The goal by Pivonka ended up being the game-winner, as Maine defenseman Ethan Ritchie would score a six-on-four power play goal with 37 seconds to play in regulation. The game’s three stars were all from Worcester: 1- Anthony Repaci, 2- John Muse, 3-0 Artyom Kulakov.
Check out this photo gallery from Inside The Rink’s Rich LeBlanc for highlights from the game.
