DAWGS COME UP JUST SHORT IN 3-2 OT LOSS TO BULLS

ROANOKE, VA. – The Rail Yard Dawgs (15-9-3) came up just short in overtime on Friday night, falling 3-2 in the extra frame to the Birmingham Bulls (14-11-3) at Berglund Center. Tommy Munichiello scored twice and Matt O’Dea had two assists for the Dawgs in a game that turned out to be an incredible goaltender duel between Roanoke’s Tyler Roy and Birmingham’s Hayden Stewart, but a goal by Ben Higgins gave the Bulls the win.

The Bulls had the upper hand in the early minutes, registering 10 of the game’s first 12 shots on net. Roanoke’s Nick Ford did drop the gloves within the first five minutes of the night with Birmingham’s Ryan Romeo, and the captain quickly disposed of the Bulls defenseman in the scrap. An early Birmingham man-advantage opportunity yielded a few chances for the visitors with their top-ranked power play in the SPHL, but the Dawgs came away unscathed. Roanoke finally built some momentum late on in the period, and would find the game’s opening goal. Carson Gallagher took a rebounding puck in behind the Birmingham net and wrapped out to the left-wing circle before finding Munichiello in the slot. Munichiello unleashed a missile on a one-time slapshot to give the Dawgs a 1-0 lead at the 17:17 mark. That scoreline would hold to the intermission, with Roanoke registering six of the final seven shots on goal in the frame.

Much like the first period, the Bulls had more momentum in the early stages of the second frame before Roanoke took control later in the period. Roy made several great scramble saves early in the frame to maintain the lead for the Dawgs. At one point, the Bulls outshot the Dawgs 9-7 in the frame, but Roanoke had the last 10 shots on goal before the intermission for a 17-9 advantage at the time the horn sounded. Some big-time stops from both Roy and Birmingham’s Stewart kept the highly-spirited game at 1-0 after 40 minutes of action. 

The third period began with the Dawgs notching the first seven shots on goal of the frame, giving them 17 consecutive shots on goal in the game at one point. Stewart kept the Bulls within one in between the pipes, and they finally found a breakthrough at 7:50. The Dawgs turned the puck over on a defensive zone faceoff and Arkhip Ledziankou fired the puck from the middle of the slot to the top left corner to tie the game at 1-1. Birmingham would then wrestle the lead away, as a centering feed found Higgins on the backside for an easy tap-in finish at 9:40 to make it 2-1. After the Dawgs went shorthanded at 13:38, Birmingham’s Carson Rose received a five-minute major and a match penalty for spearing at 14:22, giving the Dawgs nearly four minutes of a major power play after four-on-four action concluded. It took the Dawgs until the final minute to tie the score, as Munichiello jammed home a rebound chance right at the top of the crease to make it 2-2 at 19:09, and the game would need overtime. Roanoke had more time of possession and more chances seemingly in the extra frame, but kept sending their shots off target from close range. Roy made an incredible save to stop a chance for Troy MacTavish, but the rebound was swatted in by Higgins to give the Bulls the 3-2 win in overtime. Six of the last eight regular season matchups between these two teams have been one-goal contests, and nine of the 28 all-time regular season meetings have gone post-regulation between Roanoke and Birmingham.

Roy stopped 27-of-30 shots faced for the Dawgs, while Stewart stopped 38-of-40 shots faced in net for the Bulls. Birmingham went 0-for-2 for power play, while Roanoke went 1-for-2 on its chances.

The Rail Yard Dawgs stay home on Saturday, January 18 against the Birmingham Bulls at Berglund Center. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:05 P.M. EST in the Star City. Single game tickets for the season are on sale now online and at Berglund Center box office.

Photo Credit: Michele Hancock