PEORIA, IL. – The Rail Yard Dawgs (5-2-2) couldn’t get the offense rolling, falling 2-1 to the Peoria Rivermen (5-0-1) on Friday night at Carver Arena. Mac Jansen had the lone goal for Roanoke, as the Dawgs were held to an all-time franchise low of 12 shots on goal by the Rivermen.
Peoria was able to capitalize early on in the first period, as the Dawgs were caught in the middle of a change by a Joe Widmar breakaway finish at 2:25 to make the score 1-0. The Dawgs did get a power play late in the frame after an Alec Hagaman elbowing penalty, but Roanoke collected just three shots on goal during the period and trailed 1-0 heading into the intermission.
The second period saw Peoria’s defense continue to stifle the Dawgs, and a bit of a strange play led to the next goal for the Rivermen. A puck that was dumped into the Roanoke zone bounced near the left goal line, and Tristan Trudel was able to bank the puck off of Roanoke’s Brody Claeys at 9:11 to make the score 2-0. The Dawgs trailed by a pair heading to the last period.
Roanoke got a better showing thanks to improved energy shown in the third period, and eventually were able to capitalize. A great feed by Nick Ford to the front of the Peoria net on a Roanoke power play was redirected by Jansen at 7:55 to bring the Dawgs within one score with a lot of time left. A clutch penalty killed off by the Dawgs allowed them to empty the net in the final 71 seconds, but Roanoke couldn’t manage to find the tying goal.
Claeys saved 21-of-23 shots, and Peoria’s Nick Latinovich stopped 11-of-12 shots faced. The Dawgs went 1-for-2 on the power play, while the Rivermen went 0-for-2 on the power play.
The Rail Yard Dawgs will stay on the road tomorrow night, November 18, to take on the Peoria Rivermen. Puck drop is slated for 8:15 P.M. EST at Carver Arena, and you can watch the game on Flo or listen for free on Mixlr. Season tickets, group tickets, and single game tickets are on sale now by contacting the Rail Yard Dawgs office or visiting the Berglund Center box office.
Photo Credit: Paula Greenway