ROANOKE, VA. – The Rail Yard Dawgs scored four third period goals en route to a 6-1 beatdown of the Macon Mayhem on Friday night at Berglund Center. Nick Ford scored twice for Roanoke, while Brady Heppner, Dillon Hill, C.J. Valerian, and Jeff Jones added goals for the Dawgs.
The Dawgs took a few minutes to take over the pace of the game in the first period, as both teams had power play chances denied. At the 11:00 mark, Ford scored his first goal of the night via assists by Jones and Travis Armstrong to give Roanoke the lead. It was 1-0 for the Dawgs entering the first intermission.
The Mayhem grabbed a goal back in the second period, as Joseph Drapluck turned a Roanoke turnover into an unassisted goal at 4:24. Just 56 seconds later, Heppner buried a pass by Gehrett Sargis to reinstate the advantage for the Dawgs. The 2-1 lead held entering the final period.
Roanoke went on the penalty kill early in the third period, but just 10 seconds after Mac Jansen came out of the box the winger found Hill for his first professional goal to make it 3-1 with 17:30 left to play. That energized the Dawgs, and from the 6:39 mark to the 8:09 mark, Roanoke reeled off three goals in 90 seconds. Valerian’s long-range effort gave him his first goal on home ice, followed quickly by Ford’s second tally of the night on the power play just 33 seconds later to make it 5-1. Jones added on another less than a minute later to make it 6-1 Dawgs, with Jarrad Vroman notching his first pro point with an assist.
Sammy Bernard made 18 saves on 19 shots faced for the Dawgs, and Roanoke went 1-for-2 on the power play. The Mayhem failed to capitalize on their eight power play chances, and Michael Stilliadis was chased from the Macon net after stopping 28-of-34 shots. Gregg Hussey made all nine saves for Macon in relief.
The Rail Yard Dawgs are back at home Saturday night to face the Macon Mayhem at 7:05 p.m. EST at Berglund Center. The Wiener Dawg Races sponsored by Carilion Clinic with 94.9 Star Country FM will take place during the first intermission. Wisler Plumbing and Air Family Four Packs, group tickets, 2022-2023 season tickets, and single game tickets for home games are on sale now, and you can listen to the games on the Haley Toyota Rail Yard Dawgs Hockey Network via Mixlr or watch it on HockeyTV.