March 18, 2023 – Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL) – Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs News Release
KNOXVILLE, TN. – The Rail Yard Dawgs (27-17-4) roared to life late, outscoring the Knoxville Ice Bears (29-18-3) by three in the final period for a 7-5 win at Knoxville Civic Coliseum. Mac Jansen notched two goals, Spencer Kennedy had a Gordie Howe Hat Trick, Alex DiCarlo notched his first pro goal, and Nick Ford and CJ Stubbs added goals as well.
Roanoke earned a power play off the opening faceoff, as Kennedy baited Ryan Devine into a penalty early on. At 5:26, DiCarlo tipped a long-range shot by Jarrad Vroman for his first pro tally to open the scoring. Knoxville tied the score at 1-1 on a Bailey Conger goal at 16:34, and the score remained knotted up entering the first intermission.
The second period was a back-and-forth affair, with the Dawgs retaking the lead at 6:32 on Ford’s right-wing laser. Knoxville tied the score at 2-2 just 68 seconds later on a Carter Cowlthorp tally from an odd-man rush. The frame featured 14 combined penalties as the game grinded to a halt, but Jansen notched a power play goal during 4-on-3 play to give the Dawgs a 3-2 lead at 9:03. The Ice Bears tied the game at 11:04 on a Jagger Williamson power play finish. Another power play goal, this time by Knoxville’s Conger, gave the Ice Bears their first lead at 14:19. Roanoke trailed 4-3 after 40 minutes.
The Dawgs roared out of the locker room for the third period, as Kennedy tied the score at 2:26. Valerian finished off a gorgeous feed by Billy Vizzo at the 5:42 mark, and Roanoke went on the power play moments later. Jansen’s left-wing missile at 6:21 gave the Dawgs a 6-4 advantage. Knoxville cut the deficit late on a Rasmuz Waxin-Engback score at 17:05 that made it 6-5. Stubbs capped off the Roanoke win in the final minute with an empty net goal, as Roanoke prevailed to split the weekend in a game that featured 39 combined penalties.
Tyler Roy saved 18-of-23 shots faced in net in his first pro start for Roanoke, while Knoxville’s Kristian Stead stopped 29-of-35 shots. Roanoke went 2-for-9 on the power play, while the Ice Bears were 2-for-5.
Roanoke will return home next Friday night, March 24 at 7:05 p.m. EST against the Fayetteville Marksmen at Berglund Center. Season tickets and single-game tickets are available by calling the Rail Yard Dawgs office, visiting the ‘Tickets’ page on our website, or by visiting the Berglund Center box office.
• Discuss this story on the Southern Professional Hockey League message board…
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
