WORCESTER— While Artificial Intelligence appears to be a permanent fixture, let’s hope we never witness the emergence of something like Artificial Charisma. Such a creation would rob future hockey fans of the opportunity to witness players of exceptional skill and charisma such as Worcester Railers’ leading goal scorers Anthony Repaci and Barry Almeida.
Repaci scored his 61st goal in a Railers uniform Saturday, breaking the tie with Almeida. It is fitting that the two forwards have almost identical totals because they were almost identical players in the way they produced, and the energy they created on and off the ice.
Fan favorites is the condensed term.
With the Railers 2023-24 season just hitting the halfway point in Fort Wayne this weekend, Repaci should get a good chance to add to his lead in the Railers rankings and move up substantially in the overall Worcester rankings.
His 61 goals are seventh-best in that category, tied with IceCats forward Stephane Roy. The six players ahead of him include five IceCats and one Shark. Moving up the ladder the list is Jeff Panzer, IceCats, 62; Jame Pollock, IceCats, and John McCarthy, Sharks, 63; Justin Papineau, IceCats, 66; Eric Boguniecki, IceCats, 69; and Marc Brown, IceCats, 79.
If he stays with the Railers and continues his current pace, Repaci should become just the 2nd player in Worcester pro history to score 70 or more goals before the season ends.
How did Repaci accumulate these 61 goals?
His first was scored on Nov. 24, 2021 in Maine against Jeremy Brodeur, the first goal in a game Worcester eventually lost, 4-2.
He has been sort of a late starter in most games. Repaci has scored 13 goals in the first period, 24 in the second, 21 in the third and three in overtime. The three OT goals are tied with Collin Adams for the most in team history. His earliest goal is 56 seconds into the first period on March 10, 2023 at the DCU Center versus Adirondack. Repaci’s latest goal was at 5:46 of overtime against Maine at the DCU Center, the winner in a 7-6 game.
Repaci’s most productive games have been against the Adirondack Thunder. He has scored 19 goals against them. Next in line are Maine and Reading with 10 each. All told Repaci has scored against 12 different opponents. That includes two against Fort Wayne, Worcester’s opposition this weekend; two against Utah and South Carolina; and one apiece versus Idaho, Jacksonville and Kalamazoo.
He has scored 35 goals at the DCU Center, 26 on the road. His favorite road destination has been Adirondack with 10 goals. Next is Reading with five. Repaci has victimized two different goalies five times, the most of any opponent. They are Nolan Maier of Reading and ex-Railer Alex Sakellaropoulos.
His prime setup man has been Brent Beaudoin and by a lot. Beaudoin has assisted on 19 Repaci goals. No one else is even in double figures. His current coach, Jordan Smotherman, has two assists. So does goaltender Colten Ellis.
Repaci has six multi-goal games including two hat tricks. The Railers’ all-time leader in multi-goal games is Smotherman with nine. He also has two hat tricks. They are among several players tied with second place on the city’s all-time list. The only Worcester player with more than two is Fred Knipscheer of the IceCats. He had four, all in the 1995-96 season.
Thirty-three of Repaci’s goals have either tied the game or put Worcester ahead. The Railers are 33-16-4 when he scores at least one goal. Repaci has two unassisted goals, 16 on the power play, two shorthanded, six first goals, three into an empty net, two with the goalie pulled, 21 in clutch situations — close games in the third period or overtime.
Both Repaci and Almeida have had their career totals affected by Covid. It cut Almeida’s last season short by 11 games. Repaci was originally signed by David Cunniff — one of his best moves — before the 2020-21 season, but the North Division canceled its schedules that year and Repaci played in Orlando, where he scored 12 goals.
Through the last homestand, Repaci’s point totals were remarkably consistent with 61 goals and 62 assists. The 123 points are tied for 16th on the city’s all-time list with Mike Iggulden of the Sharks. The 62 assists are tied for 24th with Beaudoin.
There is a lot of time, and a lot games, left for Repaci to move up the lists in the 2024 part of the schedule. Doing so should also help Worcester move up in the North Division standings.
Bill Ballou covered the Red Sox for the Worcester Telegram from 1997 through 2018. He has covered pro hockey in Worcester since 1994 and currently does a weekly column for the Worcester Red Sox. Ballou can be reached at vetgoalie@aol.com
