The Rail Yard Dawgs notched their first win of the season on Friday night, beating Vermilion County 6-3 at Berglund Center.
Entering the game with a four-game point streak, Roanoke was able to get over the hump thanks to spectacular offensive production. Brant Sherwood had a hat trick for the Dawgs, Jeff Jones added a pair of goals, CJ Stubbs recorded four assists, and Mac Jansen tallied one goal and two assists in a dominant display.
Jansen got things going for the Dawgs within the first minute of the opening puck drop, finishing off a feed from Stubbs to put Roanoke ahead 1-0. Sherwood scored two goals in the final two minutes of the first period, both assisted by Mac Jansen, to give Roanoke a 3-0 cushion at the first intermission.
A power play goal from Jones after a gorgeous feed from Travis Armstrong extended Roanoke’s advantage to 4-0. Vermilion County was able to take one back at the halfway point of the second period, as Zach White fired the puck by Austyn Roudebush.
The third period saw things get a little sketchy for the Dawgs for the first few minutes, as the Bobcats scored twice in the first 3:12 of the third period to make the score 4-3 in favor of Roanoke. The Dawgs recovered strongly from there, as Sherwood capped off his hat trick with a power play goal, and Jones added his second power play goal of the evening with less than five minutes remaining to round out the scoring.
Austyn Roudebush saved 16-of-19 shots that he faced for Roanoke, while Vermilion County’s Brian Wilson kept out 43-of-49 shot attempts by the Dawgs. Armstrong had two assists, while Brady Heppner, Richie McCartney, Bryce Martin, and Sean Leonard all added one apple each for Roanoke.
Roanoke returns to Berglund Center on Saturday night for the second half of the doubleheader against the Vermilion County Bobcats. The puck drop is scheduled for 7:05 p.m, and the Dawgs will be celebrating Jurassic Bark night with specialty jerseys that will be available for live auction after the game. Season tickets, Wisler Plumbing and Air Family Four Packs, group tickets, and single game tickets are on sale now for future home games, and you can listen to the game on the Haley Toyota Rail Yard Dawgs Hockey Network via Mixlr or watch it on HockeyTV.