The Rail Yard Dawgs won their fourth home game in a row on Thursday night, beating the Fayetteville Marksmen 3-1 at Berglund Center.
Matt O’Dea, Jeff Jones, and Brant Sherwood scored for the Dawgs, and captain Travis Armstrong broke the all-time games played record in franchise history with his 142nd appearance in a Roanoke sweater.
The first period started poorly for Roanoke, but the Dawgs found their composure and ended the period with 10 of the last 11 shots on goal, including O’Dea’s smash after a loose puck in the crease fell to him at the bottom of the right wing circle. The Dawgs led 1-0 at the end of the opening period.
The second period featured more back and forth play, and Shane Bednard tapped home a rebound to tie the score at 15:18 in the period. The Dawgs didn’t wait long to respond, after Mac Jansen kicked the puck across the paint to a wide-open Jones who slammed the puck into the net to reinstate the lead for Roanoke at 17:04. Roanoke held the 2-1 advantage into the final period.
The third period slowed down as the Dawgs tried to kill off the game and earn the victory, but Roanoke did score 22 seconds into their only power play chance of the night – Jones backhanded a pass through the slot to Sherwood who snapped home an insurance score at the 7:25 mark, and the Dawgs eased to their second straight win over Fayetteville, extending their point streak to five games.
Roanoke’s Austyn Roudebush saved 24-of-25 shots faced for Roanoke, while Fayetteville’s Stefano Durante stopped 27-of-30 for Fayetteville.
The Dawgs are back at home tomorrow night for a New Years Eve tilt with the first-place Huntsville Havoc. Puck drop is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. at Berglund Center. Season tickets, packages, group tickets, and single game tickets for home games are on sale now, and you can listen to the games on the Haley Toyota Rail Yard Dawgs Hockey Network via Mixlr or watch it on HockeyTV.