FAYETTEVILLE, NC. – The Rail Yard Dawgs couldn’t get the offense going, as they lost 5-1 to the Fayetteville Marksmen on Saturday night at Crown Coliseum. Billy Vizzo scored the lone goal for the Dawgs.
Roanoke and Fayetteville were immediately mixing it up, as Bryan Moore of the Marksmen sought out Sean Leonard for a fight within the first half minute of the game. Moore was given an instigator penalty on top of each player earning fighting majors and 10-minute Continuing Altercation misconduct penalties. D-Jay Jerome capitalized on the momentum for the hosts with an early go-ahead goal at 2:41. Fayetteville captain Taylor McCloy made it 2-0 on a shot from nearly the same spot at 10:39. Despite two power plays, Roanoke trailed by a pair at the first intermission.
The Dawgs looked much stronger in the second period, outshooting the Marksmen 10-3. However, a Matt McNair power play snipe at 5:59 extended Fayetteville’s lead to three. Vizzo tipped a long range shot by Jarrad Vroman at 9:06 to trim into the lead for Roanoke, but the Dawgs missed a couple of chances to cut into the deficit even further. They still trailed by two goals entering the final stanza.
After a great second period, Roanoke couldn’t build off the momentum in the third. Fayetteville’s two goals came via Moore on a breakaway finish at 11:14, before Drake Glover closed the scoring on an awkward banked shot off of Roanoke’s Brody Claeys at 16:16.
Brody Claeys stopped 13-of-18 shots for the Dawgs, while Brent Moran made 28 saves on 29 shots faced, moving to 7-0-0 against Roanoke in his career. The Dawgs were 0-for-4 on the power play, while the Marksmen went 2-for-4.
The Rail Yard Dawgs will travel to Macon next weekend to face the Mayhem on Friday and Saturday night. The puck drops at 7:35 P.M. EST both nights, and you can watch the game on HockeyTV or listen for free on Mixlr. Season tickets and single game tickets are on sale now by contacting the Rail Yard Dawgs office or visiting the Berglund Center box office.