For Immediate Release:
February 18, 2017
ROANOKE FALLS SHORT IN OVERTIME, 4-3
Ice Flyers force OT in final minute of regulation
ROANOKE, VA – The Pensacola Ice Flyers scored with 25.7 seconds remaining in regulation to force overtime and Corey Banfield netted the game-winning goal 35 seconds into overtime as the Rail Yard Dawgs fell to the Ice Flyers, 4-3, Saturday night at the Berglund Center.
With the Dawgs leading, 3-2, late in the third period, the Ice Flyers pulled goaltender John McLean for an extra attacker. They cycled the puck through the zone and Josh Cousineau fired a slap shot from the high slot. The puck deflected off a body on its way to the net and skittered past James Kruger to tie the game at three.
In overtime, the Ice Flyers gathered the puck in their own zone and mounted a rush the other way. Riley Spraggs fired a pass to a charging Banfield who redirected it past the lunging Kruger for the game-winning goal.
Roanoke struck first in the opening period. Skating four-on-four, Michael Turner swiped the puck from an Ice Flyer on the blue line and glided in on a breakaway. He deked to his backhand and roofed a shot past the sprawling McLean to give the Dawgs a 1-0 lead.
Pensacola answered later in the period as Brad Bourke netted a shorthanded goal to tie it at one. The Rail Yard Dawgs regained the lead in the second period when Maxim Chegrintsev poked the puck free for Daniel Vernace on the forecheck. Vernace snapped a shot over McLean’s catching glove, vaulting the Dawgs to a 2-1 advantage.
The Ice Flyers tied the game on the power play later in the second. Off a won faceoff, Spraggs wristed the puck between Ryan de Melo’s pads, evening the score at two.
Roanoke would again snatch the lead late in the second. Chegrintsev gained possession on the right wing and fired a shot that deflected off McLean’s shoulder and bounced into the net.
de Melo did not return to the game or the bench after the second intermission as James Kruger entered in relief. The Dawgs were out-shot, 15-7, in the third period and Kruger made 14 saves on 16 shots in the third and in overtime. de Melo stopped 19 of 21 shots against over his 40 minutes.
The Rail Yard Dawgs moved to 13-20-6 in the overtime loss while Pensacola won its fifth-straight game and improved to 17-15-6. Roanoke will hit the road for its next eight games, beginning on Friday against the Mississippi RiverKings. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 PM CST in Southaven.
2017-18 Rail Yard Dawgs season tickets are on sale now! Seats can be reserved by visiting the Rail Yard Dawgs office inside of the Berglund Center or over the phone at 540-344-3294.
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