The Rail Yard Dawgs scored with just 4:26 remaining in the third period, and ran out the clock to earn their fourth straight win over the Fayetteville Marksmen on Saturday night at Berglund Center.
Nick Devito tallied the winning score for Roanoke at the 15:34 mark in the final period, and CJ Stubbs and Jeff Jones added goals for the Dawgs. Henry Dill earned his fourth consecutive win in the net with 33 saves on 35 Fayetteville shots.
The first period featured end to end action, with both teams registering 11 shots on goal. After batting at a loose puck in the crease multiple times, Stubbs finally tapped it over the goal line to give the Dawgs the lead. That 1-0 score held into the first intermission.
Fayetteville got a goal back at the 12:27 mark in the second period when Drake Glover beat Dill to tie the score at 1-1. Jones put Roanoke back in front with a power play score on a rebound finish in the final minute of the period to give the Dawgs a 2-1 lead entering the final period of regulation. Dill made 16 saves in that middle period of play.
The third period was a battle, with game misconducts handed to Roanoke’s Vojtech Zemlicka (boarding) and Fayetteville’s assistant coach Jason Binkley (undisclosed). After the Marksmen tied the score thanks to a Taylor Best backhanded shot at the 12:50 mark in the third period, it was Devito who fired a shot from the bottom of the right wing circle that gave the Dawgs the game-winning score. Dill and the Roanoke skaters held off a late barrage of shots by Fayetteville to secure their fourth consecutive win over their rivals to the south.
Roanoke went 1-for-4 on power play chances, and killed off all four penalty opportunities by the Marksmen. Fayetteville’s Matt Williams made 22 saves on 25 shots faced in the contest.
The Dawgs will travel to play the Huntsville Havoc next Friday and Saturday night at the Von Braun Center. Both games are scheduled to start at 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 games on the Haley Toyota Rail Yard Dawgs Hockey Network via Mixlr or watch it on HockeyTV.
Photo Courtesy: Brian Collett