🔒School children pack the DCU Center for Worcester Railers’ annual School Day Game
Students celebrate as the Worcester Railers score one of four goals, as the home team cruised to victory during the annual School Day Game. PHOTO COURTESY OF ADRIEN GOBIN, WORCESTER RAILERS
The Worcester Railers held their annual School Day Game on Tuesday, with a special 10 a.m. puck drop to accommodate a record-setting crowd of area school children. Around 7,500 students from across Worcester were in attendance, the highest number to attend the annual event in the team’s history, according to Stephanie Ramey, vice president of special projects at Rucker Investments, the owner of the Railers. Over 100 buses lined the roads surrounding the DCU Center, with over 1,000 more tickets distributed than the previous record-setting School Day Game during the 2021-22 season. The Worcester Railers Foundation provided transportation for students to be able to attend.Worcester Railers mascot Trax greets a young fan outside the DCU Center before the game. PHOTO COURTESY OF BEN SCHENCK, WORCESTER RAILERSIncluding season ticket holders and other attendees, the game drew 8,512 fans, the highest-attended game of the nine hosted by the Railers so far this season, according to ECHL stats. It was the fifth-highest attended game in franchise history, according to the team. "The energy that these kids bring into the arena makes putting this game on worth-while each and every year," Railers Team President Kim Golinski said in the post-game press release. "We appreciate Worcester Public Schools, the city of Worcester, Hanover Insurance Group, Worcester Police, the DCU Center, the EcoTarium, and the bus companies for all helping to grow this game and create an accessible environment for the kids of the Worcester Public School system."The Railers’ four goals and instructions on the scoreboard for patrons to make some noise brought instant waves of piercing screams from the young crowd, with the Railers mascot Trax helping whip them into a frenzy.But perhaps the loudest reaction of the game was brought about by a video featuring Trax and Railers players giving tribute to the six-seven meme. It’s a recent and hard-to-explain cultural phenomenon among youth, where mentioning the two numbers results in enthusiastic gestures where kids move their hands up and down with upward-facing palms, according to the New York Times.
Playing in front of a crowd of mostly school children, players were on their best behavior. The game saw zero fights and only four penalties between the Railers and their opponents, the Maine Mariners, the fewest amount of penalties of any Railers home game this season. The Railers won 4-0.Eric Casey is the managing editor at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the manufacturing and real estate industries.
