The Worcester Railers dropped their matchups 5-2 Friday against the Reading Royals and 4-1 Saturday against the Adirondack Thunder, but they lost more than just their games this past weekend, with one key piece of the puzzle injured in Reading and another injury coming the following night in Glens Falls.
Goaltender Tristan Lennox was injured during the second period of Friday’s tilt with the Royals. He appeared to tweak something close to the twelve-minute mark of the second but continued to play, leaning on his net for support. The final goal of Shane Sellar’s hat trick finished him off, and he was helped off the ice. With Henrik Tikkanen not dressing Friday, Lennox was replaced by emergency backup Joel Eisenhower.
Tikkanen dressed on Saturday and as the only available goalie, got the start. Don’t let the four goals against fool you; Tikkanen played well as per usual, and there wasn’t much he could do on a couple of those, including Ryan Smith’s fluke goal in the third. Smith’s shot hit the post, but a Railer skated right into the deflection, knocking it into the net.
Forward Ashton Calder took a big hit in the first period of Saturday night’s contest with the Thunder. He headed off with the trainer but returned later. Fellow forward Brendan Robbins was injured late in the middle frame and headed off the ice. He did not return, however.
Despite all the losses over the weekend, there were a couple positives mixed in.
Captain Anthony Repaci continued his consistently strong play, extending his goal-scoring streak to three games with his first-period tally Friday. Unfortunately, that all came to a halt Saturday when the Thunder kept him at bay.
Another highlight this weekend was forward Joey Cipollone, who netted his first pro goal Saturday night.
Although the team was outscored 9-3, the goaltending was still solid over the weekend, especially with the circumstances. From Lennox’s injury to Eisenhower’s impromptu performance to Tikkanen’s showing on Saturday, the netminders had quite a weekend. But they never let the games get out of hand. Eisenhower was particularly impressive, allowing only two goals in a game that he wasn’t supposed to see action in. The Pennsylvania native hadn’t even played a game in two years, but he stepped in and prevented the Railers from being embarrassed in Reading.
Worcester has a pair of home games coming up this weekend, hosting the Trois-Rivières Lions on Friday and the Maine Mariners on Saturday. The league will have a short break for Christmas, then the Mariners return again on December 27, beginning a stretch of four games in five days. The Railers then travel down to Pennsylvania for a three-in-three with the Royals.
With all the upcoming action, all eyes will be on the goaltending situation. If Lennox’s injury is as serious as it initially appeared (he was seen on crutches in Glens Falls Saturday), Worcester will have to find someone to help out Tikkanen. The man is a beast, but even he can’t handle a workload like that.
