Dawgs, Alvo Come Through in the Clutch Again for 3-2 OT Win at Knoxville

Sports stats



SPHL Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs

Dawgs, Alvo Come Through in the Clutch Again for 3-2 OT Win at Knoxville

April 4, 2025 - SPHL (SPHL)
Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs News Release


KNOXVILLE, TN. - The Rail Yard Dawgs (33-17-5) won a thriller on the road on Friday night, taking a 3-2 overtime win over the Knoxville Ice Bears (25-23-7) at the Knoxville Civic Coliseum. Stephen Alvo scored the game-winning goal just 58 seconds into the extra frame for his second overtime winner in the last seven days. Daniel Chladek and Nick Ford also scored goals, and Austyn Roudebush stopped 28-of-30 shots faced in net for the Dawgs.

The game began with a major call that went against Knoxville's Jimmy Soper, as the captain was given a game misconduct for verbal abuse of an official just 2:03 into the action. Roanoke and Knoxville each had an early power play chance come up empty in the first frame, but another late penalty by the Ice Bears would carry to the other side of the intermission for Roanoke. The Dawgs were outshot 9-8 in the opening 20 minutes, but would begin the second period on the man-advantage in the scoreless game.

Despite starting the period on that power play, the Dawgs failed to convert on the chance and would soon give Knoxville its second power play chance. Shortly after Roanoke successfully killed off the man-advantage chance for the Ice Bears, a broken stick for the Dawgs at the Knoxville blue line would spring a breakaway chance. Knoxville rookie Ryan Kuzmich raced away and potted his first pro goal at 6:35 to open the scoring. At 13:37, Roanoke would answer after Jacob Kelly played a perfect cross-ice pass to Johnny Macdonald at the left-wing point of the offensive zone. Macdonald's shot at the left-point was tipped in by Chladek to tie the game at 1-1 at the 13:37 mark. After a brief four-on-four stint late in the period saw both teams generate solid chances, the score would remain 1-1 heading to the final frame of regulation.

Both teams would continue their special teams struggles early in the third period, as another stretch of four-on-four action and a power play chance for either team did not alter the scoring. Finally at 7:42, a shot from the right-wing wall by Roanoke's Jake Stevens was kept alive in the low slot by Bryce Martin, and Martin's drop pass to the high slot found Ford for a laser beam that gave the Dawgs their first lead of the night during the game's third passage of four-on-four competition. The Ice Bears wouldn't go quietly though, as a transition sequence sprung a great one-time snipe by Dawson McKinney at 17:00 to tie the game at 2-2. The game would go to overtime, where Roanoke's Tommy Munichiello had a shot saved while driving the right-wing side of the Knoxville zone. The puck stopped right in the low slot, and Alvo chipped a backhanded shot to the roof of the net to give Roanoke the second point. It marked the 33rd win of the season for the Dawgs, matching a franchise record for a single-season set by the 2023-2024 team.

Stephen Mundinger stopped 26-of-29 shots faced in net for the Ice Bears. Both teams went 0-for-3 on their power play chances.

The Rail Yard Dawgs wrap up their regular season with one final road game on Saturday, April 5 against the Knoxville Ice Bears at the Knoxville Civic Coliseum Center. Puck drop is scheduled for 6:00 P.M. EST in Tennessee. Single game tickets for the postseason are on sale now online and at Berglund Center box office, and season ticket packages for the 2025-2026 season are on sale now through the Rail Yard Dawgs' front office. Roanoke's 2025 President's Cup Playoffs run is sponsored by Haley Toyota.

Check out the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs Statistics

• Discuss this story on the SPHL message board...

SPHL Stories from April 4, 2025


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.

Other Recent Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central