For Immediate Release:
December 22, 2017
DAWGS EDGED BY EVANSVILLE IN OVERTIME, 4-3
Matt Beer records a goal and an assist in first game with Roanoke
ROANOKE, VA – Matt Beer picked up a goal and an assist and Brad Barone made 34 saves but the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs were defeated in overtime by the Evansville Thunderbolts, 4-3, Friday night at the Ford Center.
Trailing 3-2 with just over a minute and a half to play in regulation, Roanoke pulled Barone for an extra attacker prior to an offensive zone faceoff. Steve Mele won the draw to Joe Sova who took a shot from the point. Chris Kravtchouk deflected the shot on net but Tomas Sholl made the initial save. Kravtchouk gathered the rebound and flung another shot off Sholl’s pads that caromed to Beer. He quickly fired the puck on net and put it past Sholl to tie the game and force overtime.
In the first minute of overtime the Rail Yard Dawgs lost the handle of the puck in the neutral zone and Dylan Clarke was sprung for a breakaway. Clarke worked in on Barone, deked to his backhand and just snuck the puck over Barone’s outstretched pad to win the game in overtime.
Evansville got on the board first in the game with a power play goal from John Scorcia in the first period. The Rail Yard Dawgs answered less than a minute later after Mike Moroso banged home a rebound off a Viktor Tiutchenko shot to tie the game at one.
Roanoke took the lead in the second period when Beer worked the puck out of the right wing corner and crammed a shot on net. From the ice he was able to poke the rebound to the back post where Mele roofed it to give the Dawgs a 2-1 lead.
The Thunderbolts fought back to take the lead with a pair of third period rebound goals. Clarke finished off a shot from the point that had squeaked between Barone’s legs, tying the game at two. Scorcia later tucked one in from the back post while working on a power play to make it 3-2 Evansville.
Roanoke moved to 5-11-3 with the overtime loss while Evansville improved to 12-5-2. In their first game under new head coach Dan Bremner, the Rail Yard Dawgs snapped a four-game pointless streak but saw their winless streak extended to five games.
The Dawgs return to action on Saturday night in Peoria against the Rivermen. Puck drop at Carver Arena is scheduled for 7:15 PM CST
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