MOLINE, IL. – The Rail Yard Dawgs won their third straight game on Friday night, taking down the Quad City Storm 5-3 at Vibrant Arena at the Mark. Nick Ford recorded a three-point (1 G, 2 A) Gordie Howe Hat Trick, and Roanoke got other goals from Bruno Kreisz, Billy Roche, CJ Stubbs, and Josh Nenadal.
Quad City eased into the opening minutes of the game a bit easier than Roanoke did, as the Storm recorded five of the game’s first six shots on goal in the early action. Following back-to-back sequences at 13:41 and 13:58 that saw four players from each team head to the box for roughing penalties, the Dawgs finally kicked into gear. A great look by Kreisz allowed him to pick out the top left corner of the net from the high slot for the game’s first goal at 15:13. The Dawgs quickly doubled their lead just over three minutes later, as Ford’s first goal of the season gave Roanoke a 2-0 lead entering the first intermission.
The Dawgs gave up an early power play to the Storm after Michael Greco was whistled for cross-checking, and Quad City did get on the board in the final seconds of that man advantage to make it 2-1. Just over a minute later, Owen McDade snuck behind the Storm net before centering the puck out to the high slot for Roche, who teed up a one-timer that reinstated Roanoke’s lead to 3-1. Ford jumped after Quad City’s Alex Pommerville a few minutes later after Pommerville landed an elbow into Stubbs’s helmet, but the Storm regained momentum late in the frame on a redirect goal at the 19:01 mark that made the score 3-2 heading to the final period.
Roanoke tried to maintain its lead early in the third period, but an awkward bouncing puck landed in front of Quad City’s Matt Ustaski at the 9:45 mark, and he tied the game for the hosts. The Dawgs quickly answered at 11:28, as a 3-on-2 odd-man rush gave Jacob Kelly the chance to shoot the puck, and the rebound was tucked home by Stubbs for a 4-3 lead. The Storm emptied the net at the 17:46 mark, and Nenadal punished them with an empty-net finish at 18:14 to seal Roanoke’s third victory in a row to open the year.
Austyn Roudebush saved 30-of-33 shots faced for Roanoke, while Quad City’s Kevin Resop stopped 30-of-34 shots. The Dawgs were 0-for-2 on the power play, while the Storm went 1-for-4.
The Rail Yard Dawgs will stay in the Quad Cities tomorrow to take on the Storm at 8:10 P.M. EST, and you can watch the game on Flo or listen for free on Mixlr. Season tickets, group tickets, and single game tickets are on sale now by contacting the Rail Yard Dawgs office or visiting the Berglund Center box office.
Photo Credit: Marlee Hunt Turner