KNOXVILLE, TN. – The Rail Yard Dawgs (34-17-5) controlled the tempo all game long on Saturday night, sweeping their final weekend series of the regular season with a 3-1 win over the Knoxville Ice Bears (25-24-7) at the Knoxville Civic Coliseum. Tommy Munichiello, Nick Ford, and Tim Manning all scored goals, Austen Swankler had two assists, and Tyler Roy stopped 22-of-23 shots faced in net for the Dawgs.
The tempo was quick between both teams from the opening puck drop on Saturday night, with each team generating plenty of chances in the first 20 minutes. Roanoke had an advantage in the quality of its chances and overall puck possession, and would get the game’s first power play chance, but it would take until after the Dawgs killed off two separate Knoxville power plays for the visitors to strike first. Roanoke’s Mac Jansen gained the Knoxville zone at the right-wing point, put the brakes on, then found Swankler streaking into the slot. Instead of shooting, Swankler decided to deaden the puck back across the face of the net to Munichiello, who blasted in his 28th goal of the year at point-blank range at 15:56. The Dawgs would carry that 1-0 advantage into the intermission.
The second period featured more special teams struggles for both teams. Roanoke had three power plays in total, including 100 seconds on a 5-on-3 advantage, and Knoxville had a power play chance of its own. There was also a 4-on-4 sequence after a pair of Dawgs and a pair of Ice Bears all went to the penalty box for a quartet of roughing penalties. It wasn’t until the final minute of the period that Roanoke would extend its lead. After great hustling on the forecheck enabled the Dawgs to start a line change, Brendan Pepe would chip the puck to the high slot to the freshly-on Swankler. Swankler made one extra pass to the backdoor to Ford, and the Roanoke captain hesitated and baited the Knoxville netminder before roofing the puck from point-blank range at 19:27. The Dawgs took that two-goal advantage into the final frame of regulation.
The Ice Bears kept hanging around in the third period, and a double-minor for high-sticking against the Dawgs would give Knoxville its best chance to pull the game tighter. A tip-in by Eric Olson on a shot from the blue line by Carson Vance would bring the game back to 2-1, but Roanoke’s sound defense would help to keep the Ice Bears at bay. After an ugly hit by Knoxville’s Lucas Helland was called for a five-minute major boarding penalty at 16:26, the Dawgs would end the game on the power play. In the final 23 seconds, Ford and Matt O’Dea combined out of the Roanoke zone and sprung the puck to the left-wing circle to Manning. The Roanoke rookie hammered his shot to the back of the net for his second professional goal, sealing the 3-1 result. The win also marked the 34th win of the season for the Dawgs, setting a new franchise record for a single season after the team won 33 games in the 2023-2024 team.
Hunter Virostek stopped 27-of-30 shots faced in net for Knoxville. Roanoke went 1-for-5 on the power play, while the Ice Bears went 1-for-4 on their power play chances.
The Rail Yard Dawgs will have to await the remainder of tonight’s results around the SPHL to find out their opponent for the first round of the 2025 President’s Cup Playoffs. Regardless of opponent, Roanoke is set to host Game Two and Game Three (if necessary) on Friday, April 11, and Saturday, April 12. Both games are scheduled to begin at 7:05 P.M. EST at Berglund Center. Single game tickets for the postseason are on sale now online and at Berglund Center box office, and season ticket packages for the 2025-2026 season are on sale now through the Rail Yard Dawgs’ front office. Roanoke’s 2025 President’s Cup Playoffs run is sponsored by Haley Toyota.
Photo Credit: Michele Hancock