FAYETTEVILLE, NC. – The Rail Yard Dawgs (29-12-5) prevailed with just 1.1 seconds left on the board in overtime on Wednesday, taking a 5-4 win over the Fayetteville Marksmen (23-18-5) at the Crown Coliseum. Tommy Munichiello notched the game-winning goal for his team-leading 23rd goal of the season, Billy Roche, Joe Widmar, Bryce Martin, and Jacob Kelly all added goals, and Tyler Roy stopped 33-of-37 shots faced in net for the Dawgs to earn his third win in his last three starts.
Fayetteville jumped on the Dawgs out of the gate, registering 11 of the game’s first 14 shots on goal and scoring within the first 100 seconds. A broken clearance in the defensive zone by Roanoke enabled a half-breakaway chance for rookie Chance Gorman, who potted his first pro goal at 1:32 to put the Marksmen ahead 1-0. At 15:16, a similar sequence where Roanoke failed to clear its zone allowed Ryan Lieth to cross from the right-wing side towards the left, only to backhand the puck back across the face of the net to the top-left corner of the net to give Fayetteville a 2-0 lead. The Dawgs would respond well from there with a couple of chances late in the period, and a board battle won by Matt O’Dea and Carson Gallagher ended up springing Roche down the right-wing side of Marksmen territory. Roche crossed into the slot and smashed the puck home at 17:01 to bring the Dawgs back within one goal heading to the first intermission.
The second period belonged to Roanoke, as the visitors quickly tied the score after the intermission. Widmar struck from close range after Mac Jansen and Brendan Pepe had worked the puck through neutral ice to the Roanoke centermen, as Widmar made it a 2-2 game at 2:02. The Dawgs would outshoot Fayetteville 10-8 in the frame and had other chances to take the lead, but couldn’t capitalize. A late slashing penalty to Roanoke’s Tim Manning would have the Dawgs shorthanded heading to the third period of the tied contest.
Roanoke took its first lead of the day early in the third period, as a rebound chance came out to the right-wing circle after a scramble in the Fayetteville crease. Martin smashed the puck home at 2:38 to make it 3-2 for the Dawgs, but the lead was short-lived. Another defensive zone turnover by the Dawgs enabled Kyler Head to tie the game back at 3-3 just 24 seconds later at the 3:02 mark. Roanoke would capitalize on its first power play of the game, creating another chaotic net-front situation that Kelly eventually finished off at 9:08. A late Fayetteville power play came up empty, but the Marksmen would force overtime once they emptied their net for the extra attacker. Khristian Acosta cleaned up a rebound chance with 65 seconds remaining, and the score was tied 4-4 at the end of regulation. Roanoke outshot Fayetteville 7-1 in the overtime frame, but it took until the final seconds to find the winner. Nick Ford’s shot was saved, but Munichiello stuffed the puck home with just 1.1 seconds left to give Roanoke the second standings point.
Ryan Kenny stopped 25-of-30 shots faced in net for the Marksmen. The Dawgs went 1-for-1 on the power play, while the Marksmen went 0-for-2 on their chances.
The Rail Yard Dawgs stay on the road on Friday, March 14 against the Macon Mayhem at the Macon Coliseum. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 P.M. EST in Georgia. Single game tickets for the season are on sale now online and at Berglund Center box office, and playoff packages for the 2025 President’s Cup Playoffs are on sale now through the Rail Yard Dawgs’ front office.
Photo Credit: David Ingraham