Dawgs Rally Late from Big Deficit, Lose 7-4 to Knoxville
SPHL Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs

Dawgs Rally Late from Big Deficit, Lose 7-4 to Knoxville

Published on November 26, 2025 under SPHL (SPHL)
Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs News Release


ROANOKE, VA. - The Rail Yard Dawgs (6-6-2) responded well after a brutal second period, but fell 7-4 to the Knoxville Ice Bears (6-5-1) on Wednesday night at Berglund Center. Matt O'Dea led the late charge with two goals and two assists, Joe Widmar and Gustav Müller scored goals for Roanoke, and Andrew Stacey added an assist and a massive beatdown of Knoxville's Kyle Soper.

It took a few shifts for Roanoke to settle in, but the Ice Bears would open the score at 5:38 on a rebound goal by Ryan Kuzmich. That woke the Dawgs up a bit, as Roanoke collected seven of the next eight shots on goal in the action. Despite the back-and-forth chances, neither team added on to Knoxville's opening tally, and Roanoke trailed 1-0 after the first 20 minutes.

The second period was one to forget for the Roanoke faithful, as Knoxville scored six unanswered times to seemingly pull away convincingly. After a fight between Roanoke's Fabrice Bourgeois and Knoxville's Eric Olson, the Dawgs were on a power play. The Ice Bears were set to go on a power play at 5:06 after Roanoke had a too many men penalty, but the Ice Bears immediately committed another penalty to set up 4-on-4 action, which eventually did the Dawgs in. Tyler Wiliams scored from the right-wing circle at 5:59, then Ryan Orgel finished off a 2-on-1 rush just 18 seconds later to make it a 3-0 game. A mistake by Roanoke around the net would allow Jared Westcott to add another at 8:14, and the Dawgs pulled goaltender Austyn Roudebush in favor of Brody Claeys. The Ice Bears continued to attack, as Williams added his second of the frame at 11:28 to make it 5-0. A power play rip from long range by Knoxville's Carson Vance made it 6-0 at 16:45. Kuzmich's second of the night roughly two minutes later would make it 7-0 at 18:47. The six goals allowed by Roanoke in the second period set a new franchise-high for most goals surrendered in a single period, and the Dawgs trailed by seven heading to the final 20 minutes, needing to dig deep and show some resolve.

Roanoke would respond well from the nightmarish second period to start the third period, getting a goal from O'Dea on a filthy net-front drive that started from the right-wing wall to get the Dawgs on the board at 5:17. A power play rip by Widmar at 7:59 from the left-wing dot made it 7-2. Roanoke continued to battle despite the tough deficit, making it 7-3 when O'Dea redirected a blue-line snipe from Gehrig Lindberg at 15:22. As the Dawgs celebrated, Knoxville's Soper took a two-handed swing at the back of Stacey's legs for the Dawgs, prompting Stacey to beat down the Knoxville veteran. Roanoke would receive a major power play chance, and did add a fourth goal when Müller's centering feed pinballed off a Knoxville skate to make it 7-4 at 15:51. With the major power play, Roanoke did elect to empty its net and try to take advantage, but the comeback attempt fell three goals short in the defeat.

Roudebush saved 12-of-16 shots, while Claeys turned out 8-of-11 shots faced in relief for the Dawgs. Noah Giesbrecht stopped 35-of-39 shots faced in net for Knoxville. The Dawgs were 2-for-8 on the power play, while the Ice Bears went 1-for-4 on their chances.

The Rail Yard Dawgs will stay home to host the Fayetteville Marksmen on Friday, November 28, at Berglund Center at 7:05 P.M. EST. Season ticket packages and group tickets are on sale by contacting the Rail Yard Dawgs' front office. Single game tickets for the season are on sale now online and at Berglund Center box office.

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