ROANOKE, VA. – The Rail Yard Dawgs (28-15-8) battled hard on Friday night against the Quad City Storm (29-21-0), but came up short in a 4-3 loss at Berglund Center. Brenden Stanko, Mac Jansen, and Alex DiCarlo tallied goals for Roanoke, as the Dawgs fell despite outshooting the Storm 45-23.
The transition game was lethal for Quad City throughout the first 40 minutes of the game, and it got its offense rolling early. A 2-on-1 rush for the Storm allowed Cole Golka to notch the opening goal at 5:56 to give the visitors the lead. Golka would add the next goal as well on a shorthanded breakaway, firing a missile from the right side to make it 2-0 at 12:36. A rebound goal off of a Josh Nenadal chance would set up Stanko to get the Dawgs on the board on that same power play at 13:11, but Roanoke trailed 2-1 after 20 minutes.
Quad City continued to push the tempo in the middle frame, as a Roanoke turnover behind its own net allowed Tommy Tsicos to slip a pass to the goal mouth from the trapezoid at 1:57 for an easy score. Another transition chance set up by Tsicos led to a rebound chance for Mason Emoff at 9:13, and he hammered the puck into the net to make it 4-1. The Dawgs would pull one back at 12:39, when Tommy Munichiello posted up in the left wing circle and twisted a backhanded pass to Jansen in the slot before the Roanoke captain fired the puck home to make it 4-2. The Dawgs trailed by that score at the second intermission.
The Dawgs would get a plethora of power play chances down the stretch, as several costly Quad City penalties put them on the penalty kill. Roanoke would have five power play chances in the final period, including a five-minute major on a boarding major and game misconduct that was assessed to Doug Blaisdell of Quad City, and a 5-on-3 chance for a full two-minute duration. But the Dawgs struggled to capitalize on their man-advantage chances, as the Storm continued to dig in on the penalty kill. DiCarlo would pull Roanoke within one goal at 15:05 on a rebound chance from close range, and another late power play gave the Dawgs a 6-on-4 once they emptied the net, but Quad City prevailed for the 4-3 victory.
Austyn Roudebush stopped 19-of-23 shots faced in net for the Dawgs, while Brent Moran saved 42-of-45 shots faced in net for Quad City. Roanoke went 1-for-6 on the power play, while Quad City went 0-for-5 on its chances.
The Rail Yard Dawgs will stay home on Saturday night, March 23, to take on the Quad City Storm. Puck drop is slated for 7:05 P.M. EST at Berglund Center, and you can watch the game on Flo or listen for free on Mixlr. Playoff packages are on sale now, and can be purchased by contacting the Rail Yard Dawgs office. Other season ticket packages, 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: Weslie Rouse