PELHAM, AL. – The Rail Yard Dawgs struggled on the penalty kill on Thursday night, falling 6-1 to the Birmingham Bulls at Pelham Civic Complex. Gehrett Sargis scored the lone goal for Roanoke, as the Bulls notched four power play goals on seven chances..
Birmingham opened the scoring at the 3:15 mark on a power play goal by Mike Davis, then followed with another power play goal just 81 seconds later via Coltyn Bates to make it 2-0 Bulls within the first five minutes. A goal by Troy MacTavish made it 3-0 at the 9:06 mark, before a tip-shot by Sargis off of the initial blast by C.J. Valerian made it 3-1 with 6:01 left in the period. A third power play goal within the first frame by Carson Rose put the Dawgs down 4-1 at the first intermission.
The second period was an offensive struggle for Roanoke, as the Dawgs were outshot 11-5 in the middle stanza. A Jake Pappalardo shot made it 5-1 for the Bulls at the 12:05 mark, and Roanoke trailed by that score entering the final period.
Roanoke’s offense came to life in the third period, outshooting the Bulls 15-4 in the final 20 minutes, but couldn’t find the back of the net. A fourth power play goal, the second by Rose, made it 6-1 at the 2:25 mark in the period.
Roanoke’s Mac Berglove stopped three-of-six shots that he faced before he was relieved by Austyn Roudebush, who saved 19-of-22 shots. Birmingham’s Hayden Stewart had a great third period, and made 29-of-30 possible saves.
The Rail Yard Dawgs will take on the Pensacola Ice Flyers on Friday and Saturday night in west Florida. 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.