KNOXVILLE, TN. – The Rail Yard Dawgs (27-17-4) roared to life late, outscoring the Knoxville Ice Bears (29-18-3) by three in the final period for a 7-5 win at Knoxville Civic Coliseum. Mac Jansen notched two goals, Spencer Kennedy had a Gordie Howe Hat Trick, Alex DiCarlo notched his first pro goal, and Nick Ford and CJ Stubbs added goals as well.
Roanoke earned a power play off the opening faceoff, as Kennedy baited Ryan Devine into a penalty early on. At 5:26, DiCarlo tipped a long-range shot by Jarrad Vroman for his first pro tally to open the scoring. Knoxville tied the score at 1-1 on a Bailey Conger goal at 16:34, and the score remained knotted up entering the first intermission.
The second period was a back-and-forth affair, with the Dawgs retaking the lead at 6:32 on Ford’s right-wing laser. Knoxville tied the score at 2-2 just 68 seconds later on a Carter Cowlthorp tally from an odd-man rush. The frame featured 14 combined penalties as the game grinded to a halt, but Jansen notched a power play goal during 4-on-3 play to give the Dawgs a 3-2 lead at 9:03. The Ice Bears tied the game at 11:04 on a Jagger Williamson power play finish. Another power play goal, this time by Knoxville’s Conger, gave the Ice Bears their first lead at 14:19. Roanoke trailed 4-3 after 40 minutes.
The Dawgs roared out of the locker room for the third period, as Kennedy tied the score at 2:26. Valerian finished off a gorgeous feed by Billy Vizzo at the 5:42 mark, and Roanoke went on the power play moments later. Jansen’s left-wing missile at 6:21 gave the Dawgs a 6-4 advantage. Knoxville cut the deficit late on a Rasmuz Waxin-Engback score at 17:05 that made it 6-5. Stubbs capped off the Roanoke win in the final minute with an empty net goal, as Roanoke prevailed to split the weekend in a game that featured 39 combined penalties.
Tyler Roy saved 18-of-23 shots faced in net in his first pro start for Roanoke, while Knoxville’s Kristian Stead stopped 29-of-35 shots. Roanoke went 2-for-9 on the power play, while the Ice Bears were 2-for-5.
Roanoke will return home next Friday night, March 24 at 7:05 p.m. EST against the Fayetteville Marksmen at Berglund Center. Season tickets and single-game tickets are available by calling the Rail Yard Dawgs office, visiting the ‘Tickets’ page on our website, or by visiting the Berglund Center box office.
Photo Credit: Ashlie Brammer