PELHAM, AL. – The Rail Yard Dawgs (28-12-4) had their 10-game winning streak snapped on the road against the Birmingham Bulls (22-18-5) on Friday night, falling in a 5-3 loss at the Pelham Civic Complex. Brenden Stanko scored twice, Carson Gallagher scored on the power play, C.J. Valerian had two assists, and Nick Ford’s assist earned him his 60th point of the season to tie Mac Jansen’s single-season franchise record for most points from the 2021-22 campaign.
It was a strong start for Roanoke on the road, registering seven of the game’s first nine combined shots on goal, including several solid scoring chances. Instead, it was the Bulls who would open the scoring at the 7:12 mark with one of their patented odd-man rush chances. A turnover by Roanoke at the Birmingham blue line quickly led to a 3-on-2 back the other way, and Carson Rose teed up Taylor Brierley in the slot from the right-wing circle as Brierley opened the scoring. The Dawgs would kill off a double-minor penalty against rookie Tim Manning for high-sticking, and would have another penalty carry over to the second period after Bryce Martin was called for tripping at 19:50, but the score remained 1-0 at the end of 20 minutes.
It wouldn’t take the Bulls long to capitalize on that power play chance to start the second period, as Rose fired in a shot from the right-wing circle just 29 seconds in to make it 2-0. A mishandled puck at the Roanoke blue line gave a breakaway to Birmingham’s Andrew Bellant at 7:56 that he potted to make it 3-0. A defensive zone turnover led to another goal for Birmingham at 9:13, as Kolten Olynek roofed his shot from the slot to make it 4-0. That would prompt a goaltending change, as Tyler Roy stepped into the Roanoke net for Austyn Roudebush. The Dawgs would get on the board during a 5-on-3 power play chance, as Gallagher tipped in Ford’s shot at 12:03 to make it 4-1. A perfectly placed pass by Filimon Ledziankou found Bellant again at 14:44 for another easy finish, as Birmingham would take a 5-1 lead to the second intermission.
Roanoke wouldn’t go down without a fight, outshooting the Bulls 18-5 in the final frame alone. Stanko would chip into the deficit at 7:42 when he redirected a perfect backdoor pass by Valerian into the back of the net to make it 5-2. Stanko would add another with 7.6 seconds left on a rebound chance that made it 5-3, extending Stanko’s point streak to five games.
Roudebush stopped 13-of-17 shots in net, while Roy stopped 11-of-12 shots faced in relief for Roanoke. Hayden Stewart stopped 45-of-48 shots faced in net for the Bulls. Roanoke went 1-for-4 on the power play, and Birmingham went 1-for-3 on its chances.
The Rail Yard Dawgs stay on the road on Saturday, March 8 against the Birmingham Bulls at the Pelham Civic Complex. Puck drop is scheduled for 8:05 P.M. EST in Alabama. Single game tickets for the season are on sale now online and at Berglund Center box office.
Photo Credit: David Ingraham