ROANOKE, VA. – The Rail Yard Dawgs (1-1) couldn’t find their finishing touch on Friday night, falling 2-0 in Game Two of their first round series to the Knoxville Ice Bears (1-1) at Berglund Center. Knoxville’s Stephen Mundinger stopped all 44 shots he faced in net to help tie this best-of-three series at 1-1, while Austyn Roudebush kept the Dawgs in the game with 16 saves on 18 shots faced for Roanoke.
Despite outshooting Knoxville 14-5 in the first period, the Dawgs found themselves trailing at the first intermission. A laser beam by Liam McCanney off of an offensive zone faceoff win at 2:29 put the Ice Bears on the board first in a very physical first 20 minutes. Roanoke killed off one Knoxville power play, and some fireworks at the end of the period would give the Dawgs a power play to start the second period.
The early power play in the second period set off a consistent theme in the middle frame, as the Dawgs ended up with five total power play chances. During 5-on-5 action, Knoxville’s Ryan Kuzmich blocked a shot to spring McCanney on a breakaway, and the rookie potted his second goal of the game at the 9:00 mark. It appeared that the Dawgs had brought one back shortly after going down by two goals, but the puck somehow stayed out when Austen Swankler redirected a shot during one of Roanoke’s power plays. Through 40 minutes, the Dawgs had outshot Knoxville 29-15, yet trailed by a pair of goals heading to the final frame of regulation.
Roanoke kept the pressure on down the stretch in the third period, outshooting Knoxville 15-3 in the closing frame. The Dawgs would concede two power play chances and receive two of their own, but Mundinger continued to bail out Knoxville in the big moments. Despite outshooting the Ice Bears by 26 attempts on net throughout the game, Roanoke came up short as Knoxville’s win forces Game 3 back in the Star City tomorrow night to decide the best-of-three series.
Roanoke went 0-for-7 on the power play, while the Ice Bears went 0-for-3 on their power play chances.
The Rail Yard Dawgs will host Game Three against the Knoxville Ice Bears on Saturday, April 12 at Berglund Center. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:05 P.M. EST in the Star City. Single game tickets for the postseason are on sale now online and at Berglund Center box office, and season ticket packages for the 2025-2026 season are on sale now through the Rail Yard Dawgs’ front office. Roanoke’s 2025 President’s Cup Playoffs run is sponsored by Haley Toyota.
Photo Credit: Michele Hancock