FAYETTEVILLE, NC. – The Rail Yard Dawgs pounded the Fayetteville Marksmen 6-2 on Friday night at Crown Coliseum. Sean Leonard had a Gordie Howe Hat Trick with one goal, two assists, and a fight, Billy Vizzo added two goals, and Travis Broughman, Dillon Radin, and Nick DeVito also scored for Roanoke.
The first period saw both teams enjoy stretches of dominance. The Dawgs looked better early on, and a left-wing laser by Broughman gave Roanoke the opening power play goal at 7:20. A fight between Roanoke’s Sean Leonard and Fayetteville’s Bryan Moore followed quickly after, and gave the Marksmen their first power play. A Dominick Sacco rebound tally knotted the score at 1-1 at 9:03. Roanoke struggled for a few minutes, but caught a lifeline from a pure effort score by Radin via the third line’s hustle with just eight seconds left in the period. It was 2-1 Dawgs entering the intermission.
Roanoke found its groove in the middle frame, with two beautifully worked goals. DeVito scored the third for the Dawgs on an incredible feed by Nick Ford at 9:13 to make it 3-1. Ford and DeVito combined to find Vizzo at 12:50 to make it a three-goal lead. The Dawgs outshot the Marksmen 17-4 in the frame, and led 4-1 entering the final period.
The Dawgs kept their foot on the gas pedal in the third period, as Leonard finished off a Ford feed for another goal at 2:44. Fayetteville recorded a shorthanded rebound goal by Nick Mangone at 7:22 to make it a 5-2 game. Vizzo’s rebound goal at 11:04 capped the scoring for Roanoke, as the Dawgs won at Fayetteville for the first time since January 14.
Austyn Roudebush stopped 27-of-29 shots for Roanoke, while Jason Pawloski saved 26-of-32 shots faced for the Marksmen. The Dawgs were 1-for-6 on the power play, while Fayetteville went 1-for-5.
Roanoke will stay on the road tomorrow night, December 3 at 6:00 P.M. EST to face the Fayetteville Marksmen at Crown Coliseum. Season tickets and single-game tickets are available by calling the Rail Yard Dawgs office, visiting the ‘Tickets’ page on our website, or by visiting the Berglund Center box office.
Photo Credit: Ashlie Brammer