Arts, Leisure and Sports
PEORIA, IL. – The Rail Yard Dawgs controlled play for most of the game, but came up inches short to the Peoria Rivermen in a 3-2 Game One Loss at the Peoria Civic Center on Thursday night. Travis Armstrong and Gehrett Sargis scored for Roanoke.
The Dawgs took a few minutes to find their footing in the opening period, but opened the scoring at 13:38 when Mac Jansen dodged a pair of Rivermen skaters and centered the puck for a crashing Armstrong to smash home. Peoria had a 10-8 shots on goal advantage in the opening 20 minutes, but the Dawgs took the one-goal lead into the first intermission.
Roanoke continued to heat up in the second period, as Sargis tipped a shot by Nick Ford into the Peoria net to make it 2-0 Dawgs at 4:11. Then, penalties began to haunt Roanoke. The Rivermen got a rebound goal on their second power play of the period at 12:29 by Mitch McPherson to cut the deficit in half, and another power play goal at 17:24 on a tip by Mike Laidley tied the contest. A scrum at the end of the period would put the Dawgs on the power play to start the third period of the deadlocked 2-2 game.
Roanoke came out firing on the power play, and had another breakout chance after Peoria killed the penalty. Goaltender Jack Berry made about half a dozen incredible saves throughout the period, but four in particular during that sequence proved crucial. Despite being outshot 9-2 in the first six-plus minutes of the frame, Lordanthony Grissom was able to rattle home a puck into the Roanoke net at 6:47 to give Peoria its first lead. The Dawgs had a late power play, and plenty of chances to tie the score, but Berry stood tall. The final 10 seconds featured an all-out scrum for a loose puck in front of the Peoria cage, and somehow the puck stayed out to hand Game One to the hosts.
Roanoke’s Sammy Bernard stopped 21-of-24 shots, while Berry made 34 saves on 36 shots faced. Peoria went 2-for-4 on the power play, while the Dawgs went 0-for-5.
The Rail Yard Dawgs will stay on the road for Game Two against the Peoria Rivermen tomorrow night at 8:15 p.m. EST, and will host Game Three of the President’s Cup Final on Monday, May 2 at Berglund Center at 7:05 p.m. EST. Tickets for Monday’s game are available now online and at the Berglund Center box office, and you can watch the games on the Haley Toyota Rail Yard Dawgs Hockey Network on HockeyTV or listen via Mixlr. The 2022 President’s Cup Playoff run for the Dawgs is sponsored by Haley Toyota.
Bob McGinn (right) and family. 2018 Dawgs photo.
The journey to the first-ever championship series for the five -year-old Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs hockey franchise has had its peaks and valleys. The team’s chairman reflects on that before the SPHL finals open tonight. More from WFIR’s Gene Marrano:
William Byrd High School is the only Virginia school in the top 50 for Vans Custom Culture Contest. The winning team will earn $50,000 for their school. Public voting is open now through May 6th. You can cast a vote for free once a day. Click HERE to vote!
Jane Gabrielle will create the piece “Music is My Freedom.” G Marrano photos
Works of art – created in part from recycled materials stored in warehouses near Dr Pepper Park at the Bridges – will begin making appearance at the music venue in the next few weeks.”Insta-Jammin Rock Art” is coming to Dr Pepper Park says president Waynette Anderson. Recycled vinyl records and CD’s are among the materials that will be used by local artists to create three works for this season at the Park; Anderson hopes to see the program expand in coming years.
ROANOKE, VA. – The Rail Yard Dawgs held onto their two-goal lead throughout the third period, defeating the Huntsville Havoc 5-3 in Game One of the President’s Cup semifinals on Thursday night. Jeff Jones scored twice, while Brant Sherwood, Nick Ford, and Sean Leonard added goals for Roanoke.
The Dawgs opened the scoring at 4:44, when Sherwood and Nick DeVito combined to force a Havoc turnover and DeVito found a streaking Sherwood who scored. Rob Darrar pounded home a power play goal at 7:59 to tie the game at 1-1. Roanoke re-gained the lead at 14:56 on a power play blast of their own for Jones, assisted by Mac Jansen and Brady Heppner. The Dawgs led 2-1 entering the first intermission.
The second period was a shootout, with the Dawgs striking first via a CJ Stubbs feed to Ford, who buried the breakaway shot at 6:50 to extend the lead to two. Huntsville got one back via a Jacob Barber power play goal at 10:45, but a blue-line blast by Leonard just 25 seconds later gave him his first professional goal and put the Dawgs up 4-2. Roanoke tacked on another as Jones once again scored on the power play, with Jansen and Matt O’Dea grabbing assists as the Dawgs led 5-2 at 14:42. Barber answered at 15:30 to close out the scoring, and Roanoke took a 5-3 lead into the final period.
Roanoke was able to keep the Havoc at bay in the final frame, despite being outshot 11-5 in the period. Sammy Bernard saved eight-of-nine shots for Roanoke before an injury forced him out of the action at the end of the first period. Austyn Roudebush came in and stopped 18-of-20 shots in relief for the Dawgs. Huntsville’s Hunter Vorva managed saves on 26-of-31 shots that he faced. The Havoc and Dawgs each went 2-for-7 on the power play.
The Rail Yard Dawgs will travel for Game Two against the Huntsville Havoc, and will play Game Three in Huntsville as well, if necessary. Puck drops on Saturday night for Game Two at 8:00 p.m. EST. You can watch the games on the Haley Toyota Rail Yard Dawgs Hockey Network on HockeyTV, or listen via Mixlr. The 2022 President’s Cup Playoff run for the Dawgs is sponsored by Haley Toyota.
