HUNTSVILLE, AL. – The Rail Yard Dawgs (5-5-1) couldn’t hold off the comeback made by the Huntsville Havoc (8-2-1) on Friday night, falling 3-2 in the final minutes at the Von Braun Center. Tommy Munichiello and Jacob Kelly had the goals for Roanoke, Austyn Roudebush stopped 36-of-39 shots faced in net for the Dawgs, and Huntsville’s Giovanni Procopio snagged the game-winning goal in the final 90 seconds.
Roanoke took the game to the Havoc in the first period, winning plenty of board battles and loose pucks. The hard work was rewarded on the first power play chance for the Dawgs, as Munichiello worked himself into position to tap home the rebound of a Stephen Alvo shot to open the scoring at 9:35. Later in the period, Munichiello dug out a pass to the Huntsville trapezoid by Alvo, and it found Kelly wide-open in the low slot for a one-timer that gave the Dawgs a two-goal cushion at 16:15. Roanoke led 2-0 heading into the first intermission, despite the Havoc receiving three power plays in the opening 20 minutes.
Huntsville responded in the second period, outshooting the Dawgs 14-2 in the middle frame. More power play chances for the Havoc didn’t lead to their first goal, but they would capitalize on a rebound chance just past the halfway point of the game. Jack Jaunich was able to jam home a puck after a flurry of saves by Roudebush to make it 2-1 at the 12:14 mark. Despite the offense stalling, Roanoke still held a 2-1 lead heading to the final frame.
The third period became a penalty fest, with the Dawgs receiving two power play chances while Huntsville received four more, including two 5-on-3 advantages. After the Havoc dumped the puck into the left corner of the Roanoke zone, rookie Matt Allen found Austin Alger all alone in the slot and Alger tied the game at 2-all at the 6:19 mark. The Dawgs continued to battle on the penalty kill down the stretch, and Roudebush made some great saves, but the Havoc would eventually break through. Just seconds after the Dawgs finally got back to full strength, Procopio’s rebound smash following a few saves by Roudebush gave Huntsville the game-winning goal at 18:34.
Mike Robinson saved 18-of-20 shots faced in net for Huntsville. Huntsville went 0-for-9 on the power play, while Roanoke went 1-for-3 on its chances.
The Rail Yard Dawgs will return home on Wednesday, November 27 against the Macon Mayhem at Berglund Center. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:05 P.M. EST in Roanoke. Single game tickets for the season are on sale now online and at Berglund Center box office.
Photo Credit: Michele Hancock