ROANOKE, VA. – The Rail Yard Dawgs (14-7-2) bounced back in fashion on Saturday night, taking a 4-3 victory over the Huntsville Havoc (19-5-3) at Berglund Center. Mac Jansen scored twice, Billy Roche and Carson Gallagher each notched one goal and one assist, Stephen Alvo added two assists, and Austyn Roudebush made 28 saves as the Dawgs split the weekend with the first-place Havoc.
The first period was a back-and-forth battle, as Huntsville took the lead three times only for Roanoke to answer on each occasion within 100 seconds. Early four-on-four action led to a chance for Huntsville’s Craig McCabe, and he potted his own rebound chance after his first shot was saved to open the scoring at 3:02. A breakout by the Dawgs sprung Roche, and his give-and-go with Reid Perepeluk out to the right wing enabled him to backhand the centering feed home in the low slot to tie the game at 4:41. Huntsville netted a power play goal next, as a rebound tally by Matt Allen pushed the visitors back ahead at 6:34. The lead wouldn’t last long, as a blue-line blast by Alvo was tipped along by Matt O’Dea and then Gallagher, and the multiple tips changed the direction of the puck enough on its way towards the Huntsville net would tie the scorea t 2-2 at 7:55. Another bout of four-on-four action led to another Huntsville goal, as Buster Larsson’s breakaway finish made it 3-2 at 17:39. The Dawgs would get a power play late in the frame, and Jansen’s snipe from the left-wing circle would tie the game once again at 3-all. That scoreline held into the first intermission.
Roanoke took over the game during the second period, outshooting Huntsville by a margin of 21-3 after the first intermission. The Dawgs were snakebitten on a few chances and hit the post or crossbar on a couple of occasions, but a rebound finish by Jansen at 10:33 finally gave Roanoke its first lead of the night. There were other chances throughout the period for the hosts, as most of the action stayed in the Huntsville end, but the Havoc defense hung in until the end of the period. Roanoke took a 4-3 lead to the final frame of regulation.
It was Roanoke’s turn to hang in defensively down the stretch, as Huntsville outshot the Dawgs 15-7 in the final 20 minutes. Both teams would get one more power play chance, but Roudebush came up with some big stops in the closing moments of the game to give Roanoke its third win in nine days against the SPHL’s top-ranked team.
Brian Wilson stopped 38-of-42 shots faced in net for the Havoc. Huntsville went 1-for-3 on the power play, while Roanoke went 1-for-3 on its chances.
The Rail Yard Dawgs will hit the road on Friday, January 10 against the Quad City Storm at the Vibrant Arena at the Mark. Puck drop is scheduled for 8:10 P.M. EST in Illinois. Single game tickets for the season are on sale now online and at Berglund Center box office.
Photo Credit: David Ingraham