For Immediate Release:
December 12, 2019
DAWGS DROP MARKSMEN, 3-1
Jake Theut stops 26 of 27 in winning effort
ROANOKE, Va. – Jake Theut made 26 saves on 27 shots and a pair of power play goals put the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs in the driver’s seat as they dropped the Fayetteville Marksmen, 3-1, Saturday night at Berglund Center. The win was Roanoke’s second in a row and third in its past four games.
The Dawgs opened the scoring while on a power play in the second period. Austin Daae dug the puck out of the boards below the net and fed Brandon Wahlin for a one-timer in the slot. That shot was blocked but Wahlin tracked down the rebound and sent a pass towards Daae on the back post. He slammed it into the open net past a scrambling Blake Wojtala and Roanoke took a 1-0 lead.
It added to that lead in the third, again on the power play. Jeff Jones took a pass below the goal line and snapped it quickly to Lincoln Griffin in the slot. Griffin stepped into a one-timer that he blasted top shelf past Wojtala. The goal was Griffin’s first as a professional and the Rail Yard Dawgs lead swelled to two.
Fayetteville got one back late in the third when Nick LeSage took a shot from the point that Brian Bowen deflected in front. The puck snuck through Theut and Fayetteville cut its deficit in half.
The Marksmen pulled Wojtala for an extra attacker with just under a minute and a half to play in the third and mounted pressure in the attacking end but Theut was up to the test. After the puck was knocked loose off a faceoff in the final ten seconds, Josh Nenadal grabbed it and fired a shot from behind his own blue line that hit the empty net, pushing the score to its 3-1 final.
Theut made 26 saves on 27 shots, Griffin’s goal was his first of the season and first as a pro and Daae netted his first goal as a Rail Yard Dawg. Roanoke won for the second straight game and the third time in its last four. The Dawgs improved to 4-10-2 in the win while Fayetteville dropped to 11-3-1.
Roanoke will return to action on Saturday night at home against the Knoxville Ice Bears. It’s Teddy Bear Toss Night sponsored by Gillespie Allstate Agencies with K92 Radio and puck drop is scheduled for 7:05 PM at Berglund Center. The pregame show on the Haley Toyota Rail Yard Dawgs Hockey Network begins at 6:50 PM and can be accessed via the new Rail Yard Dawgs app, available now in the App Store and on Google Play.
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