KNOXVILLE, TN. – The Rail Yard Dawgs (8-5-1) brought their lunch pails in a gritty performance on Friday night, shutting down the Knoxville Ice Bears (9-7-1) in a 5-1 win at the Knoxville Civic Coliseum. Owen McDade, Johnny Macdonald, Brendan Pepe, and C.J. Valerian scored for the Dawgs, Carson Gallagher had his first goal as a Rail Yard Dawg, and Austyn Roudebush stopped 32-of-33 shots faced in net for Roanoke.
Roanoke had an early power play in the first two minutes of the game, but it was the second man-advantage chance that got the Dawgs rolling. Gallagher slipped the puck from the low slot to the left-side post for an easy tap-in by McDade to open the scoring at 8:52. The Dawgs quickly added on, as Tim Kent zipped a pass from the right point to the left wing to Macdonald, and his long-range snipe made it a 2-0 lead just 28 seconds later at 9:20. Great pressure from the line of McDade, Gallagher, and Tommy Munichiello forced a turnover deep in Knoxville’s zone on their next shift, and Gallagher’s one-timer in the low slot made it 3-0 at 10:17 as the Dawgs scored three times in just 85 seconds. The difference for the visiting Dawgs was the pressure up front, as the defensive work led to their best chances of the period. Roanoke would kill off one Knoxville power play and would concede another in the final second of the period, but it was a 3-0 lead for the visitors at the end of 20 minutes.
That late first period penalty was an omen for the Dawgs for the second frame, as Roanoke would concede three more power play chances to the Ice Bears. Roudebush stood tall for the Dawgs for most of the period, but the tired legs finally caught up to Roanoke. A rebound chance off of a shot by Mitch Atkins found Derek Osik’s stick, and he fired the puck into the net with just seven seconds left on Knoxville’s fifth power play of the game to get the Ice Bears on the board at 19:26. The Dawgs still led 3-1 heading to the final period.
The Dawgs got back to basics in the third period, suffocating the Ice Bears in the first half of the frame with their forechecking pressure. An early fight between Macdonald and Knoxville’s Mitch Atkins was dominated by the Roanoke defenseman, giving the visitors an extra jolt of energy. It finally led to a beautiful fourth goal, as Jimmy O’Kane received a pass after an interception by Kent and proceeded to tee up Pepe perfectly at the blue line. Pepe’s laser from way out found the back of the net to make it 4-1 at 7:43. The Ice Bears would empty their net for the final five minutes of action, but the Dawgs and Roudebush played exceptional defense down the stretch. Valerian’s late clearance found the back of the net with just three seconds left to cap off a 5-1 win for Roanoke, marking the team’s third consecutive win.
Stephen Mundinger saved 19-of-23 shots faced in net for Knoxville. Knoxville went 1-for-5 on the power play, while Roanoke went 1-for-3 on its chances.
The Rail Yard Dawgs will return home on Saturday, December 14 against the Knoxville Ice Bears at Berglund Center. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:05 P.M. EST in the Star City. Single game tickets for the season are on sale now online and at Berglund Center box office.
Photo Credit: David Ingraham