For Immediate Release:
January 21, 2019
DAWGS EDGE ICE BEARS, 3-2
Brad Barone stops 32 in Roanoke win
ROANOKE, Va. – Brad Barone made 32 saves, Cody Dion, Ben Bauer and Mac Jansen each scored and the Rail Yard Dawgs edged the Knoxville Ice Bears, 3-2, Monday afternoon at Berglund Center.
Roanoke opened the scoring less than five minutes into the game. Zach Nieminen forced a turnover in the attacking zone and Oleksandr Liulchuk fired a shot from the left wing. The initial save was made by Hayden Stewart but Dion crashed the net for the rebound and slid it in to give the Dawgs a 1-0 lead.
They carried momentum and added to that lead early in the second. After Colin Murray was stymied by the Ice Bears defense off a rush, he worked the puck to the point where Bauer fired it on net. The shot navigated traffic and beat a screened Stewart, pushing the score to 2-0.
Later in the second, Bauer poked a puck loose in the neutral zone and Jansen sped after it. He picked it up just inside the blue line and walked in with a breakaway. Jansen snapped a wrist shot past Stewart’s glove and the Dawgs lead swelled to 3-0.
Knoxville fought back with a pair of goals later in the second, first when Eric Ylitalo got a bouncing puck in front and slid it under a lunging Barone. The Ice Bears brought themselves within one after Ylitalo picked up a rebound and fed Gehrett Sargis on the back door for a tap in that made it 3-2.
The Ice Bears and Dawgs traded chances in the third but neither goaltender yielded anything further. Barone faced 10 shots in the final period and turned them all away, helping Roanoke hold on for a 3-2 win.
Bauer had a goal and an assist, Jansen’s goal was the game-winner and Barone stopped 32 of 34 shots to earn the win in net. The Rail Yard Dawgs record improved to 16-15-0 while the Ice Bears fell to 15-12-4.
Roanoke will return to the ice on the road in Alabama on Friday night for the first of two weekend games against the Birmingham Bulls. Puck drop at the Pelham Civic Complex is scheduled for 7:30 PM CST and the pregame show on the Haley Toyota Rail Yard Dawgs Hockey Network begins at 7:15 PM CST.
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