For Immediate Release:
March 17, 2018
DAWGS BEATEN BY BIRMINGHAM, 6-1
Jacob Barber nets a hat trick for the Bulls
PELHAM, AL – The Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs fired 44 shots on net but only cracked the defense for one goal as they were defeated by the Birmingham Bulls, 6-1, Saturday night at the Pelham Civic Complex. Birmingham’s Jacob Barber notched a hat trick to pace the Bulls offense.
Roanoke came out firing in the first period and at one point led the shots on goal battle, 17-3, but was unable to sneak anything past Charlie Millen during its barrage. The Bulls would strike first in the game as Barber beat Brad Barone on the short side late in the period to make it 1-0.
Birmingham picked up steam in the second as Barber struck again just 37 second into the middle period. It added to that lead again later in the frame when Taylor Dickin redirected a shot from the point past Barone to make it 3-0.
At this point, Dan Bremner opted to pull Barone in favor of Matt Zenzola. Barone finished having made 14 saves on 17 shots in just over 27 minutes of game action.
The Bulls kept it rolling against the new goaltender when Mike Davis finished a two-on-one break to push the lead to four.
Roanoke got its lone goal in the third period while working on a power play. Maxime Guyon picked the puck up on the back door and slammed a shot in from close range to get the Dawgs on the board.
Birmingham tacked on two more later in the third though as Barber finished on a breakaway to complete his hat trick and John Rey blasted a slap shot from the point with the Bulls working on a two-man advantage.
Guyon scored the lone goal for the Dawgs and has now registered points in eight of his nine games with Roanoke. Zenzola faced 13 shots in relief and made 10 saves. Millen stopped 43 of 44 shots faced to backstop the Bulls to the win.
The Rail Yard Dawgs fell to 22-23-4 with the loss while Birmingham improved to 22-22-5. The Bulls leapfrogged the Dawgs and moved into seventh place in the SPHL. Thanks to the Mississippi RiverKings’ 5-3 loss to the Evansville Thunderbolts, Roanoke and Mississippi are now tied for eighth.
Roanoke will return to action on Friday night in Huntsville against the Havoc. Puck drop at the Von Braun Center is scheduled for 7:00 PM CDT.
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