ROANOKE, VA. – The Rail Yard Dawgs (19-11-4) took a massive early advantage against the Huntsville Havoc (24-8-4), then coasted to a 5-3 win on Thursday night at Berglund Center. Tommy Munichiello, Carson Gallagher, Nick Ford, Justin Cmunt, and Andrew Harley all scored in the win for Roanoke.
The Dawgs were rolling from the opening puck drop, getting out to an early lead in the first period. Munichiello’s rebound goal after Billy Roche’s shot was initially saved put Roanoke on the board at 3:43. Gallagher was up next for the hosts, as the SPHL’s January Player of the Month tipped in Gehrig Lindberg’s shot from the right-wing point to make it 2-0 at 8:20. Just 48 seconds later, Joe Widmar got out on a 2-on-2 rush with Ford, and Ford won the foot race to the back post to steer home a perfect centering feed by Widmar that made it 3-1. That forced the Havoc to pull star goalie Mike Robinson for their backup, Troy Kobryn, before the first period was even at the halfway point. Huntsville would tally a power play goal at 12:44 on a Phil Elgstam shot from the high slot, but the Dawgs answered 21 seconds later when Cmunt uncorked a missile from above the left-wing circle for his first goal with Roanoke. It was a 4-1 lead for the Dawgs after 20 minutes.
The game would get a bit chippier in the second period, but the Dawgs continued to control the pace of play. A centering feed by C.J. Valerian intended for Widmar was deflected right to Harley, who quickly turned and fired the puck into the next at 8:19 to extend Roanoke’s lead to 5-1. Kobryn made some huge saves to keep the Havoc afloat, but the Dawgs still led comfortably by a margin of four goals heading to the final frame.
The third period saw both teams have additional chances to score, but the Havoc conceded three power play chances to the Dawgs. Roanoke couldn’t add on to its lead, and took the four-goal advantage to the final media timeout of the game. The Havoc would score two late consolation goals via Benito Posa and Cole Reginato, but the result was never in doubt for the Dawgs as they moved their home record to 14-2-3 with the 5-3 win.
Austyn Roudebush stopped 28-of-31 shots faced in net for the Dawgs. Mike Robinson stopped 3-of-6 shots faced before he was relieved by Troy Kobyrn, who stopped 25-of-27 shots faced in net for the Havoc. Roanoke was 0-for-6 on the power play, and Huntsville went 1-for-3 on its chances.
The Rail Yard Dawgs stay home on Friday, February 7 against the Knoxville Ice Bears 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: David Ingraham