Rail Yard Dawgs Win The 2023 SPHL President’s Cup 3-1 Over The Birmingham Bulls (5-2-23)

By: Joey Raymond

Headline Photo Credit: Katie Lovell-LMS Network

ROANOKE, VA–After the game last night that can only be described as hard-fought, physical, and most of all epic; the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs have the opportunity to win the series tonight against the Birmingham Bulls. For those just jumping in, let’s set the stage; Game One and game two were in Birmingham. In game one we saw the Dawgs struggle to stay out of the penalty box, despite that they managed to pull off a steal of a win on the road winning 4 to 2. Then in game two, we see a hard-fought defensive battle where the Bulls didn’t allow a single goal, ultimately winning a tight one 2 to 0. Then we have last night, game three in Roanoke where the Dawgs and Bulls entered a slugfest/boxing match style of game that runs into overtime. When we got into overtime you could tell both squads were kind of gassed and tired. Regardless the Dawgs put up an onslaught of shots on goal. The shot that sealed it was a wild one. Dominiks Marcinkevics fired a shot to the stick side of the goalie and it winds up in the air, falling on the goalkeeper’s shoulder, and slides behind the goalie and into the net. Berglund Center erupted, causing one of the most deafening and insane scenes I’ve ever seen. Which brings us to tonight, the Dawgs hope to win the series at home and the Bulls will try to force game five back in Birmingham.

Period One Recap…
Puck drops in front of a loud and rowdy crowd on this Tuesday night, here at the Berglund Center. Roanoke starts with puck possession off of the faceoff and we’re off in game four. Not even 30 seconds into the game we get our first skirmish which is broken up quickly. We make it to 7:16 left on the clock and whereas we see a ton of large hits, 8 shots on goal for the Dawgs, and 2 for the Bulls, we have yet to see a penalty or a goal. The clock strikes zero on the clock and essentially the theme of this game can be summed in one word so far, turnovers. Both teams turned the ball over a ton. The Dawgs shot more at the net with 10, versus the Bulls’ 2. The score remains tied at no goals for either side.

Period Two Recap…
​The faceoff begins, the puck drops and we see Birmingham take possession. The game goes a while with some big hits and the Bulls get 3 more shots on goal before the Dawgs commit a penalty at roughly the 17-minute mark. Austyn Roudebush is the culprit for high sticking, this is served by Jason Lavallee. As the Dawgs are on the penalty kill, the Bulls commit a penalty of their own. Jordan Martin gets called for interference. This means we have 26 seconds of 4 on 4 then the Dawgs go on the power play for just over a minute. The Dawgs get another Bull to commit a penalty, this one for slashing, and go 5 on 3 for 8 seconds, then back to 5 on 4 for the rest of the 2-minute penalty. It doesn’t last long though as the Dawgs get penalized 28 seconds into the power play by Nick Ford for high sticking. This brings us back to 4 on 4 hockey. Both the Dawgs and the Bulls can’t capitalize on the penalties, as both expire with no results. The Dawgs score on a slap shot that barely sneaks by the goalkeeper for the Bulls, giving the Dawgs a 1 to 0 lead. Josh Nenadal is the goal scorer for the Dawgs, with assists from Gehrett Sargis and Jarrad Vroman. The clock hits the 2:36 minute mark when Jake Pappalardo of the Bulls commits a penalty for holding, resulting in the Dawgs going on another power play. Nothing fruitful comes off of the power play though, as the Bulls successfully kill off the penalty with relative ease. The period expires with a loud cheer from the Berglund Center as the Dawgs lead it 1 to 0.

Period Three Recap…
​The third period begins and this is it! The first action we see in this period comes at the 17:42 mark when Stephen Alvo commits an interference penalty, sending the Bulls on the power play. The Dawgs’ penalty kill is successful again, keeping the score at 1 to 0, the Dawgs in the lead. As soon as the penalty is over, the Bulls commit a penalty, giving the Dawgs a turn on the power play. Taylor Brierley is the culprit, getting the 2 minutes in the box for slashing. The Bulls successfully kill the penalty, as goalie Hayden Stewart puts on an absolute show, saving puck after puck fired at him. The next piece of action comes at the 6-minute mark when a massive fight breaks out between Joe Colatarci and Stephan Alvo. Colatarci was the instigator as Alvo looked to be skating away when the fight started. The play results in a Dawgs power play, as the referees called a 2-minute roughing penalty on Colatarci. During the power play the Dawgs get penalized for holding, which means the Bulls now get a turn to go on the power play again. Both teams kill their respective penalties and go back to full strength. “We want the cup” chants fill the air as the clock hits the one-minute mark. The Bulls pull their goalkeeper and the Dawgs try to close it out. The Berglund Center gets the air sucked out of it with force as the Bulls score a goal with 10 seconds left. We’ll head to overtime as time expires on the third.

Overtime Recap…
​As stated in my last article, overtime works like sudden death. The first team to score a goal wins the game. The puck drops and we begin the overtime period. Cj Valerian gets a massive hit to open the period, as the Dawgs try to pull a miracle. Hits and turnovers galore as we move throughout this overtime period. The Dawgs make moves in the Bulls’ zone as they move the puck over to Mac Jansen who scores! The puck snuck under the goalkeeper and into the net. The Dawgs win the President’s Cup as Berglund Center erupts. The sound is ear-piercing as the crowd goes ballistic. The Dawgs get to hoist the trophy on home ice.

Final Thoughts…
​First and foremost as someone who had covered this series, and watched every game of the season, the first thought that comes to mind is perseverance. The Dawgs gave up a goal in the final seconds and still managed to come back, and pull the miracle win to give the Dawgs their first-ever President’s Cup. Now, credit where credit is due the Bulls had a fantastic season. They came out in this game and gave it their all. The problem they had was it seemed like they were playing with their brains. What I mean by that is they played with a lot of strategy and intuitiveness. They played, in a way, like they were trying not to lose. The Dawgs though? They played with their hearts. The Dawgs came out with a swagger and you could tell from the beginning they just looked more comfortable. They came out and put everything they had felt on that ice. From losing last season in this same series against a really good Peoria Rivermen team, to now, you could tell how badly they wanted this win.