ROANOKE, Va. – The Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs started the game aggressive and never really let up Saturday night in a 4-3 home win over Knoxville.
The first period was fast-paced, but the Dawgs got off to another strong start. Martin was able to snap home a rebound goal in the low slot after McDade had been denied on a wraparound, and the first goal of Martin’s career as a Dawg made it 1-0 at 5:17. At 13:17, Müller would tip in a shot from the center-point by McDade to make it a two-goal lead. The Ice Bears would answer in the final half of a minute in the first frame, as Jimmy Soper blasted home a one-time shot on a cross-crease pass to make it 2-1 at 19:30. Despite being outshot 12-7, the Dawgs led 2-1 at the first intermission.
The Dawgs continued to have success in the second period, starting on the penalty kill. A breakaway chance for Mac Jansen led to a second opportunity for Roanoke, and Ford banked a pass to himself off of the Knoxville net and wrapped the puck back out to the low slot before firing home a shorthanded goal at 4:25. The Dawgs would notch another tally thanks to McDade’s third primary assist, as he found Kelly in the slot and Kelly’s low shot found the five-hole of Knoxville’s Stephen Mundinger to make it 4-1 for the Dawgs at 10:40. Roanoke led 4-1 at the second break, despite being outshot 25-17.
Knoxville wouldn’t go quietly, as a quick chance off of an offensive zone faceoff win teed up a Dalton Skilly laser from the blue line at 2:44 that made it a 4-2 game. A controversial late power play off of a call against Müller would allow Knoxville to dig into the deficit even more, as a Daryk Dube-Plouffe finish on the man advantage made it 4-3 game with less than six minutes left in the game. Roudebush made some timely late saves, and Roanoke held on to win its fourth consecutive game and the eighth win in the last 10 games overall for the Dawgs.
Mundinger saved 13-of-17 shots faced in net for Knoxville before he was relieved by backup Talor Joseph, who stopped all 10 shots he faced in the third period. Knoxville went 1-for-2 on the power play, while Roanoke didn’t receive a power play chance.