ROANOKE, VA. – The Rail Yard Dawgs (3-2) roared out of the gate on Friday night, but barely held on for a 5-4 victory over the Huntsville Havoc (3-1) in Game Two of the 2024 President’s Cup Semifinals at Berglund Center. Jacob Kelly had two goals, Aidan Girduckis tallied his first pro goal, and Owen McDade and Josh Nenadal also scored for Roanoke. The win by Roanoke forces Game Three tomorrow, with the winner advancing to the President’s Cup Final. The Dawgs outscored the Havoc 5-0 in the first 24:05 of the game, only for Huntsville to tally four unanswered goals in the final 21:43 of regulation.
The Dawgs didn’t wait long to get rolling in the first period. At 1:50, Kelly ripped a shot from above the right-wing circle to open the scoring. On his next shift at 3:24, Kelly weaved through the neutral zone to the right-wing dot and uncorked another shot into the net to double the advantage. Roanoke’s Matt O’Dea and C.J. Valerian assisted on each of Kelly’s goals. McDade’s tally came on a back door tap-in off of the feed of Alex DiCarlo at 12:19, and the Dawgs led 3-0 after the first period came to a close.
Huntsville had six of the first seven shots on goal to start the middle frame, but the Dawgs continued to fire on all cylinders. Girduckis’s blast from the blue line at 3:37 bounced off a Havoc defenseman to make it 4-0 during 4-on-4 action. That would end the night for Huntsville goalie Mike Robinson, as he was relieved by Brian Wilson. Just 28 seconds later, Dom Marcinkevics turned a Huntsville turnover into a 2-on-1 rush. Nenadal hammered home the centering feed to make it 5-0 at 4:05. Huntsville would get on the board late in the period when Buster Larsson backhanded a rebound into the top corner of the Roanoke cage, but the Dawgs led by four entering the final frame.
A sloppy third period by the Dawgs allowed the Havoc to hang around and make it a game again. A power play redirect by Kyle Clarke at 4:17 trimmed Roanoke’s lead to 5-2. Just 80 seconds later, a shorthanded goal by Matt Doran squeaked home to make it a 5-3 game at 5:37. The Havoc pulled Wilson and would make it a one-goal game with 35.7 seconds left on a Doran shot from the high slot. The Dawgs prevailed for a one-goal win, forcing a Game Three tomorrow night for a chance to make it back to the President’s Cup Final for the third consecutive season.
Austyn Roudebush stopped 36-of-40 shots faced for Roanoke, while Robinson saved eight-of-12 shots faced in net and Wilson stopped 18-of-19 shots in relief for Huntsville. The Dawgs went 0-for-6 on the power play, while the Havoc went 1-for-5 on the power play.
Roanoke will host the Huntsville Havoc for Game Three on Saturday, April 20, at 7:05 P.M. EST at Berglund Center. Single-game playoff tickets are on sale now, and can be purchased online or by visiting the Berglund Center box office. Other season ticket packages and group tickets are on sale now by contacting the Rail Yard Dawgs office. Roanoke’s President’s Cup Playoffs run is sponsored by Haley Toyota.
Photo Credit: Michele Hancock