For Immediate Release:
January 7, 2017
ROANOKE DROPPED BY HUNTSVILLE, 6-3
Massimo Lamacchia tallies three assists in the loss
ROANOKE, VA – The Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs fell behind, 4-1, in the second period and could not climb out of the hole as they were defeated by the Huntsville Havoc, 6-3, Saturday night at the Berglund Center. Massimo Lamacchia had three assists and recorded his second straight multi-point game.
Huntsville started fast as Nolan Kaiser beat Ryan de Melo with a wrist shot in the second minute of the first period to give the Havoc a 1-0 lead.
The lead would last for just over ten minutes as the Rail Yard Dawgs struck seconds after a power play expired. Nick Schneider intercepted a clearing attempt in the neutral zone and snapped a pass to Lamacchia on the right wing. He cranked a slap shot on net that Tyler Steel blocked but David Gandara corralled the rebound and beat Steel to even the game at one.
Huntsville answered two minutes later though while working on the power play. Andy Willigar took a slap shot from the left point that Lou Educate deflected past de Melo to make it 2-1.
The Havoc kept the momentum going in the second as Sy Nutkevitch found Christian Powers who deflected the pass into the net. Just 35 seconds later, Kaiser kept a puck in at the blue line and sent a slap pass to Powers who again guided it past de Melo, extending the advantage to 4-1.
Roanoke fought back later in the period however as Lamacchia won a draw to Mike Moroso who had backskated to the front of the net. He sent a backhander over Steel’s glove to cut the deficit to two.
Later, with the Dawgs on the power play, Lamacchia lunged for a loose puck to the left of Steel’s crease and slid it to Gandara on the opposite post as he fell to the ice. Gandara collected the pass and slung it into the net, bringing the Dawgs within one.
As the clock wound down towards the second intermission, Tyler Gjurich found himself alone with the puck in front of Steel. He deked to his backhand and lifted a shot that Steel was able to deflect with the handle of his stick, keeping the Havoc up, 4-3.
Huntsville would add a pair in the third as Tyler French beat de Melo short side on a power play and Powers later tucked a puck into the empty net to complete his hat trick and cement the 6-3 win. The Havoc extended their winning streak to eight games and their point streak to 12, representing a new franchise record.
Lamacchia finished with three assists, Gandara scored twice and de Melo made 35 saves on 41 shots. Powers’ hat trick was the third surrendered by the Rail Yard Dawgs this season.
Roanoke dropped to 6-13-4 with the loss while Huntsville improved to 20-4-1. The Rail Yard Dawgs will return to home ice on Thursday against the Mississippi RiverKings. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:05 PM at the Berglund Center.
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