HUNTSVILLE, AL. – The Rail Yard Dawgs had plenty of chances to tie the score in the final period, but Huntsville held on for a 3-2 win on Friday night at Propst Arena.
Josh Nenadal and Billy Vizzo scored for Roanoke, while Rob Darrar scored the game-winning goal for the Havoc. Bair Gendunov had two goals in his professional debut for Huntsville.
The first period was a ‘feeling out’ period, with not a ton of end to end action. Roanoke did take the lead when Nenadal bounced a puck underneath the legs of Huntsville goalie Hunter Vorva at the 6:18 mark. Gendunov tied the score for the hosts at 9:29, and that score held entering the first intermission.
Roanoke took the lead again when Vizzo finished off a rebound created by Chris Vella’s shot. Vizzo has seven points in his last four games, and the Dawgs led 2-1 just over three minutes into the middle period. At 14:01, Gendunov once again tied the score for Huntsville, and just over two and a half minutes later Darrar fired a shot into the Roanoke net from the slot for the game’s final goal.
The third period featured big penalty kills by both teams, with Roanoke committing two minors and Huntsville committing one. The Dawgs had plenty of chances on their power play but didn’t capitalize, and once they got back to even strength with less than three minutes left they had a chance. Roanoke fired plenty of shots into Vorva, but couldn’t find the equalizer as Huntsville outlasted the Dawgs for the 3-2 victory.
Roanoke went 0-for-1 on power play chances, and killed off all three penalty opportunities by the Havoc. Henry Dill made 22 saves on 25 shots faced for the Dawgs, while Vorva was credited with 24 saves on 26 shots for Huntsville.
The Dawgs will play the Huntsville Havoc again on Saturday night at Propst Arena, with puck drop scheduled for 8:00 p.m. EST. Wisler Plumbing and Air Family Four Packs, group tickets, and single game tickets for home games are on sale now, and you can listen to the game on the Haley Toyota Rail Yard Dawgs Hockey Network via Mixlr or watch it on HockeyTV.
Photo Credit: Mark Sawyer