video: Railers Edge Manchester 4-3 in Inaugural Game at DCU Center

Sunday, October 15, 2017

GoLocalWorcester Sports Team

Tonight was incredible thanks to everyone that came out tonight to celebrate @RailersHC Home opener. Hockey is back. pic.twitter.com/Kdqe78Fdv3
— Tom Matthews (@writtenbytom) October 15, 2017

Frankie DiChara

The Worcester Railers opened up their inaugural season with a 4-3 win over the Manchester Monarchs in front of the largest opening night crowd in DCU Center history, 12,135 people.

The Railers start the season 1-0, while Manchester begins 0-1.

Railers Edge Monarchs

With the game tied at three in the third period, Frankie DiChara fired a loose puck from the right slot with 12:12 left in the game that found the back of the net to give the Railers a 4-3 lead.

DiChara is a rookie out of Ronkonkoma, New York and played his college hockey at Yale University.

Worcester outshot Manchester 14-8 in the third period to hang on for the win.

Worcester’s Fast Start

In front of a sold-out crowd, the Railers got off to a fast start.

Wade Murphy scored the first goal in franchise history on a breakaway at 10:13 of the first period to give the Railers a 1-0 lead.

Worcester led 1-0 after 20 minutes and led 11-9 in shots on goal.

Railers Captain Ashton Rome made it 2-0 at 5:43 of the second period with a blast from 30 feet past Manchester goaltender Evan Cowley.

However, the Monarchs scored three straight in under six minutes to grab a 3-2 lead midway through the second period.

The Railers would get the game tied when defenseman Patrick McNally took the puck end to end on the power play with just a couple of minutes left in the second tie the score at 3-3

Opening Night Festivities

Massachusetts Governor Baker and LT Governor Polito dropped the puck before the game.

Internet sensation Joe Everson sang the national anthem.

Next up

The Worcester Railers return to action Saturday, October 21 when they visit the Manchester Monarchs.

Puck drop is set for 6 p.m.

Hey @RailersHC, welcome to the ECHL! pic.twitter.com/Y3jBeDcEiT
— ECHL (@ECHL) October 14, 2017

Related Slideshow: A History of Hockey in Worcester

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1954-55

Worcester's 1st Pro Hockey Team, Worcester Warriors

The Worcester Warriors played their first season as part of the Eastern Hockey League (EHL). The Warriors played their games at Worcester (Webster Square) Arena.

In their first season, under Head Coach John "Hans" Marsden, the Warriors went 3-17 and finished in last place.

Other Teams in the EHL that season included the Washington Lions, Clinton Comets, New Haven Blades and Baltimore Clippers.

Photo is of Harold Songin, courtesy of EHL.com

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1955-56

Warriors Join Atlantic Hockey League

After just one season in the EHL, the Warriors joined the Atlantic Hockey League for the 1955-56 season.

However, the 1956 season would be the last season for the Atlantic Hockey League and in turn, the last season for the Warriors.

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1978

Worcester Crusaders Youth Hockey is Established

The Worcester Crusaders served as one of the oldest youth hockey organizations in the Massachusetts.

The Crusaders competed in the New England Hockey League, one of the best youth hockey leagues in North America.

For the 2011/12 season, the Crusaders sponsored 9 teams ranging from mite division to midget division.

Photo courtesy of Crusaders website

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1994

The IceCats Come to Worcester

The IceCats came to Worcester prior to the 1994-95 season and played their games at the Worcester Centrum.

The IceCats went 24-45-11 in their first season and finished in 6th place in the conference.

However, the IceCats would turn it around and make the playoffs in every season after that, except 2004-2005, but would never advance past the second round.

Notable players from the IceCats include goaltender Dwayne Roloson, enforcer Sylvain Blouin, Steve Staios, Dennis Wideman, Ladislav Nagy and Terry Virtue.

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2005

Worcester IceCats are Moved to Illinois

After the St. Louis Blues announced the sale of the IceCats in 2004, the team was moved prior to the 2005-2006 season to Peoria Illinois.

The team was known was the Peoria Riverman from 2005-2013, and is currently known as the Utica Comets, the AHL affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks.

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

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2006-07

Sharks Arrive in Worcester

The Cleveland Barons were moved to Worcester and became the Sharks, the AHL Affiliate of the San Jose Sharks.

The Sharks played their first home game on October 14 in front of a sold out DCU Center.

In their first season, Worcester went 41-28-3 (OT Loss)- 8 (shootout Loss) and made the playoffs. The Sharks lost to the Manchester Monarchs in the first round.

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2009-10

Sharks Have Most Successful Season

Sharks had their best season in 2009-10 when they went 49-25-3-3 and finished in first place in the Atlantic Division.

The Sharks made the playoffs but lost in the second round to the Manchester Monarchs.

The captain of the team was Ryan Vescue and the Head Coach was Roy Sommer.

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2012

Worcester Crusaders Merge With the Worcester Junior Sharks

The two organizations combined bring in more than 550 kids and just over 92 USA Hockey certified coaches.

The Worcester Junior Sharks program is structured to allow each player to develop and test their skills at three distinct levels of competition (House, Travel and AAA Elite)

For more information on the Junior Sharks, click here.

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Jan. 29, 2015

AHL Announces Sharks are Moving to San Jose

The American Hockey League announced that at seasons end, the Worcester Sharks would be packing up and going across country to become the San Jose Barracuda.

The move was made so that the San Jose Sharks would be able to call up and send down players easier.