ROANOKE, VA. – The Rail Yard Dawgs won their fifth consecutive game on Saturday night, as they took down the third-place Birmingham Bulls 5-3 at Berglund Center. Nick DeVito and Mac Jansen scored twice, Sean Leonard had a goal and an assist, and CJ Stubbs had three assists for Roanoke.
The first period saw the Dawgs come out as the stronger side, outshooting the Bulls 14-7 in the frame. DeVito scored the opener at 9:54 to spring the toys from the stands on Teddy Bear Toss Night for the second consecutive season, but Birmingham answered quickly. Two goals by the Bulls in just eight seconds from 11:19 to 11:27 turned a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 lead for the visitors. Birmingham held that lead entering the first intermission.
Roanoke started off red-hot in the second period, as Jansen blasted a long-range shot from the right wing half-wall to tie the score at 2-all at the 0:42 mark. DeVito tallied a wraparound goal at 1:55 to push Roanoke back in front 3-2. That was the last shot the Dawgs had on net until early in the third period, as Birmingham completely took control of the game. The Bulls struggled to break down Roanoke’s Austyn Roudebush in net, but finally tied the score on a Nick Fea goal at 17:44. The Bulls outshot the Dawgs 16-4 in the period, but the game was tied at 3-3 after two periods.
The Dawgs wrestled control of the game back early in the third period, outshooting the Bulls 20-10 overall in the frame. A go-ahead power play score by Leonard at 5:53 put the Dawgs ahead for good. Jansen tallied a rebound goal at 7:11 to add some insurance, and Roanoke’s defense stiffened up against Birmingham’s last-gasp attempts late in regulation.
Roudebush stopped 30-of-33 shots for Roanoke, while Hayden Stewart made 33-of-38 saves for Birmingham. The Dawgs were 1-for4 on the power play, while the Bulls came up empty on their four chances.
Roanoke will hit the road next weekend starting on Friday, December 16 at 7:30 p.m. EST against the Macon Mayhem at Macon Coliseum. Season tickets and single-game tickets are available by calling the Rail Yard Dawgs office, visiting the ‘Tickets’ page on our website, or by visiting the Berglund Center box office.
Photo Credit: Brian Collett / BC Captures