ROANOKE, VA. – The Rail Yard Dawgs led for over 58 minutes on Sunday afternoon, battering the Pensacola Ice Flyers 6-2 at Berglund Center. Mac Jansen netted a hat trick and broke the all-time single season goals record with 23 this year, while Nick Devito, Nick Ford, and Brady Heppner added goals for Roanoke.
The Dawgs asserted themselves from the get-go, as Jansen scored just 94 seconds into the action with assists by Devito and Jeff Jones. Heppner doubled the advantage at the 10:58 mark in the period by clanging home a rebounding puck. In the final two minutes of the period, Jansen added his second goal of the game on a 2-on-1 odd man rush that left him and Ford all alone, before Devito tipped in a feed by Jones just 39 seconds later to give Roanoke a 4-0 lead at the first intermission.
The second period featured just 10 combined shots by both teams, as Roanoke looked to tie down the result with suffocating defense. By the time the horn sounded to end the second period, the win seemed pretty secure for the Dawgs.
The third period turned into a sloppy penalty fest, with both teams getting multiple power play chances and extended 4-on-4 action. Ford made it 5-0 Roanoke at the 4:35 mark, before Pensacola’s Brennan Blaszczak got the visitors on the board with 12:02 remaining in the game. Jansen fired home his record-setting goal that also clinched his hat trick with 5:37 left to play, and Blaszczak added a silver-lining score in the final 74 seconds to round out a 6-2 win by Roanoke.
Henry Dill saved 30-of-32 shots that he faced for Roanoke, while Sean Kuhn stopped 23-of-29 shots for Pensacola. The Ice Flyers went 0-for-7 on the power play, while Roanoke went 1-for-5 on its chances.
The Rail Yard Dawgs are on the road for the next nine games, starting next weekend on Friday and Saturday night against the Knoxville Ice Bears. Wisler Plumbing and Air Family Four Packs, group tickets, 2022-2023 season 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.
Photo Credit: Brian Collett