The Rail Yard Dawgs completed the weekend sweep of Evansville in spectacular fashion, shutting out the Thunderbolts 4-0 at Berglund Center on Saturday night.
Nick Devito, Chris Vella, Jeff Jones and Mac Jansen scored for Roanoke, while Austyn Roudebush made 25 saves in his second shutout in his last three appearances.
The first period was the sign of things to come, as Devito’s power play goal at 3:39 triggered an early bombardment of stuffed animals to the ice for the Teddy Bear Toss. It was Devito’s first pro goal, assisted by CJ Stubbs and Matt O’Dea. Vella smashed home a rebound at the 11:10 mark to double the advantage for Roanoke. That score held until the first intermission.
Jones scored his 47th goal as a Rail Yard Dawg at the 12:09 mark in the second period by banking his shot off the back of Evansville’s Brian Billett to make it 3-0. Jansen followed three and a half minutes later by poking in a rebound that was lingering along the goal line, and the Dawgs led 4-0 entering the final period
The third period saw the Dawgs enter cruise control, as the result was no longer in doubt – only Roudebush’s shutout remained as a question mark. He made seven more saves in the final period to end the night with his second shutout of the season, following his performance on December 10 in a 3-0 win over Macon.
Evansville went 0-for-3 on the power play, while Roanoke was 1-for-4. Billett saved 22 of 26 shots that he faced for the Thunderbolts.
The Dawgs will be back home Thursday night against the Fayetteville Marksmen. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:05 p.m EST 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.
Photo Courtesy: Brian Collett