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SPHL Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs

Santa Brings Dawgs A 4-0 Shutout Win Over Bulls On Teddy Bear Toss Night

December 21, 2024 - SPHL (SPHL)
Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs News Release


ROANOKE, VA. - The Rail Yard Dawgs (10-6-1) dominated the Birmingham Bulls (9-7-3) on Teddy Bear Toss Night, winning 4-0 on Saturday at Berglund Center. Mac Jansen's Teddy Bear Toss goal marked his 200th career point as a Dawg, Owen McDade had one goal and two assists, Billy Roche and Tommy Munichiello added goals for the Dawgs, and Roanoke's Austyn Roudebush had a 22-save shutout en route to his 90th career SPHL victory.

An early power play sent the stuffed animals cascading down to the ice in Roanoke at the 7:13 mark. Carson Gallagher slipped a pass through the Birmingham penalty killers from the right-wing dot to the left-wing circle, and Jansen's one-time rocket put the Dawgs up 1-0. The Dawgs had another power play chance that came and went, then conceded a power play to Birmingham's top-ranked power play unit after a cross-checking whistle against McDade. Roanoke killed the penalty, and Jansen found McDade leaking out in transition after he came out of the box. McDade waited for the trailing help to arrive, found a wide-open Roche, and Roche smashed the shot to the top left corner of the net to make it 2-0 at 19:19. The Dawgs led by a pair at the first intermission.

The second period saw Roanoke seize control of the game, holding Birmingham to just five shots on goal despite allowing two more power play chances to the Bulls. Roanoke's own power play would add on another goal, as McDade tipped along a shot by Carson Gallagher at 5:26 to make it a 3-0 game. The Dawgs led 3-0 heading to the final frame.

The game became very chippy in the third period, starting with a tilt between former teammates Johnny Macdonald and Tobias Odjick at 10:54. Stephen Alvo and Matt Clark would also drop the gloves less than two minutes later. Roanoke would notch its fifth power play chance of the night late in the game, and a Munichiello rebound tally off of a shot by McDade made it 4-0 at 13:28. The fireworks continued late in regulation, as Birmingham's Jamie Dorsey went after Gallagher of Roanoke. Dorsey ended up with two 10-minute game misconducts (slashing and fighting-aggressor), and two five-minute major penalties for 30 total penalty minutes at 14:29, and the Dawgs used the five-minute major power play to kill the game off down the stretch.

Austin Lotz stopped 26-of-30 shots faced for the Bulls. Birmingham went 0-for-4 on the power play, while Roanoke went 3-for-6 on its chances.

The Rail Yard Dawgs will hit the road on Thursday, December 26 against the Huntsville Havoc at the Von Braun Center. Puck drop is scheduled for 8:00 P.M. EST in Alabama. Single game tickets for the season are on sale now online and at Berglund Center box office.

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