For Immediate Release:
November 17, 2016
RAIL YARD DAWGS FALL IN SHOOTOUT, 5-4
Roanoke scores three times in the third to force overtime
ROANOKE, VA – Bryan Dallaire scored to force overtime with 2:27 to go in the third period but the Rail Yard Dawgs were defeated in a shootout by the Evansville Thunderbolts, 5-4, Thursday night at the Berglund Center.
With Roanoke trailing 4-2 in the third, Cody Walsh sent a backhander to net from the corner that Evansville goaltender Michael Doan blocked with his pad. Jackson Brewer crashed the net and knocked the rebound past Doan to make it 4-3.
Later, with the Dawgs still down one, Dallaire received a pass at the point and snapped a wrist shot through traffic. The puck cleared the bodies and beat Doan over his left shoulder to tie the game at four and eventually force overtime.
After a scoreless overtime period, the game proceeded to a shootout. David Gandara scored on Roanoke’s first attempt but the Dawgs were shut out by Doan on their next seven turns. Eventually, in the eighth round, Josh Harris beat Ryan de Melo blocker side and the Thunderbolts took the game and the extra standings point, 5-4.
Tommy Fiorentino opened the scoring for the Thunderbolts in the first period on Evansville’s first shot of the game. Garrett Vermeersch fired a wrister that beat de Melo but hit the post and bounced outside of the crease. Fiorentino followed and slid it into the net to make it 1-0.
The Dawgs answered quickly however just over three minutes later. Massimo Lamacchia sent a pass to the slot that caromed off a skate and came to rest in the high slot. Cory Melkert sprinted in from the blue line and fired a slap shot that beat Doan on the glove side to tie it at one.
In the second, the Thunderbolts struck twice, first thanks to tic-tac-toe passing that left Ryan Patsch open in front of the net. Later, Vermeersch carried the puck into the high slot and blistered a wrist shot top shelf, extending the Evansville lead to 3-1.
Roanoke brought itself within one in the third on Dallaire’s first goal. Working on the power play, he took a pass at the point and fired a wrist shot through traffic, beating Doan to cut the lead to one. Evansville quickly answered with a power play goal of its own as Dave Williams netted the fourth Thunderbolt goal.
de Melo made 22 saves on 26 shots and took the loss. Dallaire scored twice and Brewer and Melkert each notched a goal and an assist.
The win was Evansville’s first of the season and first in franchise history. It ended an 11-game winless streak, the third longest in SPHL history and the longest ever to begin a season.
Roanoke moved to 4-3-2 with the shootout loss and Evansville improved to 1-8-3. The Dawgs and the Thunderbolts will each take the night off on Friday before returning to the Berglund Center on Saturday for a 7:05 PM puck drop.
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