For Immediate Release:
January 4, 2018
ROANOKE EDGED IN MACON, 3-1
Daniel Vernace scores in Rail Yard Dawgs loss
MACON, GA – The Macon Mayhem scored twice in the first period to take a lead as they held off the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs who fell, 3-1, Thursday night at the Macon Coliseum. Brad Barone made 26 saves in the Dawgs loss.
Macon stuck first early in the first period. Stathis Soumelidis took a shot that was blocked on the way through. He gathered the rebound and fired another shot that was stopped by Brad Barone. Soumelidis stuck with it though and was able to sneak the third shot in to give the Mayhem a 1-0 advantage.
Later, John Siemer carried the puck down the left wing on the attack. He deked around the defense and sent a pass to the back post. Darren McCormick backhanded it past the lunging Barone to extend the Macon lead to two.
Roanoke struck back toward the tail end of the period with a power play goal. Mike Moroso controlled the puck even with the goal line and sent a pass to the left wing where Daniel Vernace was waiting. Vernace snapped a shot over Troy Passingham’s blocker side, making the score 2-1.
That would be it for the Rail Yard Dawgs however as they were unable to cash in on any chances throughout the final two periods. Chris Izmirlian tacked on an empty net goal in the final minute of the period to push the score to its 3-1 final.
Barone stopped 26 of the 28 shots that he faced to take the loss for the Rail Yard Dawgs. Passingham made 25 saves to earn the win for the Mayhem.
Roanoke fell to 7-14-3 with the loss while Macon improved to 13-6-4. The Rail Yard Dawgs will now return home to face the Pensacola Ice Flyers on Friday night. Puck drop at Berglund Center is scheduled for 7:05 PM.
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