For Immediate Release:
March 23, 2018
DAWGS STORM BACK, BEAT HAVOC IN OVERTIME, 3-2
Roanoke vaults back into playoff position in win
HUNTSVILLE, AL – The Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs erased a two-goal deficit to force overtime and Matt Beer buried the game-winning goal as the Dawgs dropped the Huntsville Havoc, 3-2, Friday night at the Von Braun Center.
With Roanoke trailing 2-0 in the second period, Phil Bronner sent a breakout pass to Zach Tatrn who gained the zone on an odd-man rush with Colin Murray. Tatrn and Murray slid the puck back and forth until Murray had an open net to ram the puck in and put the Dawgs on the board.
Later, with the teams skating four-on-four in the waning moments of the second, Chris Porter fed Daniel Vernace along the right wing circle. Vernace carried the puck for a stride and ripped a shot top-shelf over Keegan Asmundson’s glove, tying the game a two.
Meanwhile, Brad Barone was standing on his head. The Havoc managed 11 shots on the Roanoke goalie’s net in the third but nothing found the back of the net. At the end of regulation the game remained tied at two.
Barone made a highlight save on a point-blank chance in the opening minute of OT to keep Huntsville off the board. Just over a minute in, Vernace fired a stretch pass to Beer at center ice who then carried it in on a breakaway. Beer sent a snap shot top-shelf past Asmundson for the game-winning goal and the Dawgs won it, 3-2.
Vernace had a goal and an assist to pace the Roanoke offense and Barone stopped 36 of 38 shots faced to earn the win in net.
The Havoc jumped out to their lead thanks to a first period goal from Nolan Kaiser and a second period breakaway goal by Zach Nieminen.
Roanoke improved to 23-23-4 in the win while Huntsville fell to 27-15-9. The Rail Yard Dawgs now sit in a tie with the Mississippi RiverKings for seventh place in the SPHL and vaulted past the Birmingham Bulls, who fell to ninth after their loss to the Knoxville Ice Bears.
The Dawgs return to action on Saturday night at home against Knoxville. It’s baseball night in Roanoke so the team will be wearing specialty jerseys that will be available at auction postgame and the first 750 fans through the door will receive a baseball giveaway. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:05 PM at Berglund Center.
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