Trailblazers Take 4-1 Win on Rebrand Night over Macon
Published on January 10, 2026 under SPHL (SPHL)
Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs News Release
ROANOKE, VA. - The Appalachian Trailblazers (16-12-3) controlled the game from start to finish on Saturday night, as the Blazers scored a 4-1 home win over the Macon Mayhem (11-12-4) on 'Rebrand Night' at Berglund Center. Joe Widmar had two goals and an assist, Trey Deloury tallied his first SPHL goal, Marcus Fechko had a power play goal, and Austyn Roudebush turned away 31-of-32 shots in net for the Trailblazers.
It was a hot start for the Trailblazers, as they potted the game's first goal just over two minutes into the action. Deloury was fed the puck at the bottom of the right-wing circle by Tim Manning, and slotted in his first SPHL goal at 2:16 to give Appalachia the lead. The Blazers got a 5-on-3 power play chance quickly after the opening goal and would double the advantage. Fechko roofed his rebound chance after Matt O'Dea's shot was saved to make it a 2-0 game at 6:07. Gehrig Lindberg dropped the mitts with Macon's Jonathan Bartuccio-Pereira at 7:36, and that seemed to give the Mayhem some life. Macon would cut the deficit in half on a one-time redirect finish by Drew Welsch at 10:02 on the centering pass by John Kaljian to make it 2-1. Andrew Stacey received a game misconduct for the Blazers when he dropped the gloves against Macon's Nick Dineen while Dineen kept his on, but Appalachia killed off a three-minute major power play chance in favor of Macon. The Blazers would take a 2-1 lead and 32 seconds of their third power play of the game into the first intermission.
There were several great looks for the Trail Blazers to add on to their lead early in the middle frame, namely a chance played from Manning to Fechko and a good opportunity for Fabrice Bourgeois set up by Deloury, but Macon was able to keep the game within one. Both teams had a power play chance in the period that came up empty-handed, and the Mayhem ended up with a 13-11 shots on goal advantage. It was still 2-1 in favor of Appalachia when the horn sounded at the end of the third period.
The Trailblazers got rolling to start the third, with two power play chances and 10 of the first 13 shots on net between the teams in the final frame of regulation. Macon continued to stay in the game with great defensive work, and challenged Roudebush and the Appalachian defense with opportunities as the period progressed. The Trailblazers had to come up with their fourth big penalty kill of the night when Lindberg committed a penalty at 10:27, and they did prevail in a pivotal moment in the game. Lindberg quickly received the puck after he came out of the box, rounded the Macon zone on his own while all four of the Appalachian penalty-killers changed, then the defenseman zipped a pass to Widmar that led to a snipe from the team's leading scorer to make it 3-1 at the 12:53 mark. Another empty-net shot by Widmar from his own blue line at 18:09 sealed the victory for the Trailblazers, ending a three-game losing streak and bringing Macon's four-game winning streak to a close.
Sebastian Resar stopped 33-of-36 shots faced in net for Macon. The Trailblazers went 1-for-6 on the power play, while the Mayhem went 0-for-5 on their chances.
The Rail Yard Dawgs will stay home to host the Fayetteville Marksmen on Friday, January 16, at Berglund Center at 7:05 P.M. EST. Roanoke rebranded tonight for one night only against Macon as the Appalachian Trailblazers, with the Dawgs returning to their normal branding at the conclusion of tonight's game. 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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