For Immediate Release:
November 29, 2019
DAWGS SNAP SKID, BURY ICE BEARS, 7-4
Jeff Jones nets shorthanded game-winner in the third
KNOXVILLE, Tn. – Jeff Jones’ shorthanded goal broke a tie in the third period and the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs went on to drop the Knoxville Ice Bears, 7-4, Friday night at the Knoxville Civic Coliseum. The Rail Yard Dawgs snapped a nine-game winless streak with the win.
With the game tied at four and the Dawgs shorthanded, Josh Nenadal burned after a rolling puck at the Knoxville blue line. Joseph Murdaca sprinted out of the net and poked the puck past Nenadal but Jones was trailing the play. He caught the puck, carried it for a stride and snapped a shot past the out-of-position Murdaca to put the Dawgs on top, 5-4.
Two minutes later the Dawgs grabbed an insurance marker when a poke check in the neutral zone sent the puck down the wall with Bobby Watson streaking after it. He picked it up in stride and snapped a shot over Murdaca’s shoulder to push the lead to 6-4.
CJ Stubbs then buried an empty net goal from his own blue line a minute later to cement the victory as the Dawgs dropped the Ice Bears, 7-4.
Roanoke struck first in the game when Jones fed Mac Jansen in front of the net on the power play. Jansen sent the puck over Hayden Stewart’s glove to put the Dawgs on top, 1-0.
Knoxville answered with a power play tally of its own but the Dawgs took the lead back as Brad Riccardi deflected a Kyle Gonzalez shot over Stewart’s shoulder to make it 2-1.
Roanoke struck again less than two minutes into the second period. Nenadal fed Colton Wolter in front for a chip shot that went over Stewart’s blocker side and under the crossbar to push the lead to 3-1. After a power play goal from Knoxville’s Anthony McVeigh and a backdoor tap in for Scott Cuthrell tied the game, Jones buried a rebound and put Roanoke back on top, 4-3.
The Ice Bears tied the game early in the third on Jacob Benson’s second of the game.
Jones had two goals and an assist, Stubbs put up a goal and three assists and Ian Sylves made 27 saves on 31 shots in his first start as a Rail Yard Dawgs.
Roanoke improved to 2-9-2 with the win and the Ice Bears loss dropped them to 9-3-1 and snapped a six-game winning streak. The Rail Yard Dawgs will hit the ice at home on Saturday night against the Birmingham Bulls. Puck drop at Berglund Center is scheduled for 7:05 PM and the pregame show on the Haley Toyota Rail Yard Dawgs Hockey Network begins at 6:50 PM.
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