Railers Stun Lions With Major Comeback

With just over seven minutes left in the third period, the Worcester Railers looked down and out. The Trois-Rivieres Lions held a 4-1 lead and appeared to be in the driver’s seat.

Fortunately for Worcester, there are 20 minutes in each regulation period, not 13.

The Railers mounted the second-greatest comeback in Worcester hockey history, storming back to stun the Lions 5-4 in overtime. They scored three unanswered goals in a span of five minutes, then Justin Gill netted the overtime winner.

It was a big night not only for the Railers, but Gill, who notched a hat trick to help mount the comeback.

It was a poor start for the Railers, who found themselves down 3-0 after 20 minutes. The Lions took just eight shots and scored on the first one of the game by Chris Jandric. Tyler Hylland and Israel Mianscum tallied the other two.

Gill finally got Worcester on the scoreboard with his first of three goals at 16:29 of the middle frame, a 30-foot power-play rocket that beat Lions netminder Hunter Jones.

Justin Ducharme got the Trois-Rivieres lead back to three at the 2:35 mark of the third period for a 4-1 advantage.

That’s when Railers head coach Nick Tuzzolino pulled starting goaltender Michael Bullion at the 10-minute mark in favor of an extra attacker. A risky move, to be sure, but something needed to change.

It did when Gill lit the lamp with his second goal of the night at 12:49 to cut the margin to 4-2.

Anthony Repaci, who leads the Railers with 12 points against the Lions (5-7-12), knocked in a rebound at 15:16 to make it a 4-3 game.

Matt DeMelis scored the tying goal at the 17:08 mark, also on a rebound, and it was a brand-new game heading into overtime. The last three goals all came with the goaltender pulled for the extra man.

The Railers were never without the puck in overtime. It ended at the 1:17 mark when Gill received it between the circles after Jordan Kaplan fed it to him following a battle along the boards. Gill scored at close range, and the comeback was complete.

The three extra-attacker tallies were a franchise record. The game marked just the third time in team history the Railers have fought back from a three-goal deficit to earn at least a point.

A similar comeback took place on March 30, 2003, when the Worcester IceCats roared back to best the Manchester Monarchs 7-6, after trailing 6-1 following 40 minutes of action.

The two teams meet again Sunday afternoon, with puck drop set for 3:05 Pm ET.