ROANOKE, VA. – The Rail Yard Dawgs gave people in Roanoke an ‘underdawg’ to believe in this postseason, but were eliminated 3-2 in overtime by the Peoria Rivermen in Game Four on Thursday night. Mac Jansen and Travis Broughman scored for Roanoke, and Peoria won its first President’s Cup in its fourth appearance in the championship series.
The Dawgs took an early lead, as Jansen blasted a circle-to-circle pass by Nick Ford into the net at 2:19 to make it 1-0 Roanoke. That lead held into the first intermission, after the Dawgs kept the Rivermen without a shot on goal for nearly the first 12 minutes of the game.
Roanoke picked up where it left off in the second period, as Broughman tipped a pass by Jansen near the Peoria net to light the lamp on the power play and give the Dawgs a 2-0 lead at 1:56. A tip-goal by Peoria made it 2-1, as Mike Laidley helped along a shot by Nick Neville. Roanoke killed off consecutive 5-on-3 penalties, and entered the third period with a 2-1 lead.
Both teams had chances to grab the all important first goal of the third period, but the season boiled down to one power play per team. Peoria’s power play goal by Marcel Godbout at 12:23 tied the game at 2-2, and a Roanoke power play with less than six minutes to play failed to score. Despite a 33-to-24 shots on goal advantage, the Dawgs and Peoria would need overtime in Game Four.
On Peoria’s first shot of the period, J.M. Piotrowski tipped a long-range shot into the Roanoke net at 1:06 in the first overtime period to capture the President’s Cup for Peoria. Rivermen goaltender Jack Berry was named the Most Valuable Player of the President’s Cup Final.
Roanoke’s Sammy Bernard stopped 22-of-25 shots, while Berry made 31 saves on 33 shots faced. The Dawgs were 1-for-6 on the power play, while the Rivermen went 1-for-5.
The Rail Yard Dawgs would like to thank all of our fans and sponsors for their continued support during the 2021-2022 season, and we hope to see you in the fall. Season tickets for the 2022-2023 campaign are on sale now by contacting the Rail Yard Dawgs office. You can find more information here. The 2022 President’s Cup Playoff run for the Dawgs is sponsored by Haley Toyota.
Photo Credit: Tim Lester Images / Field Pass Hockey