Rail Yard Dawgs Dominate Huntsville 6-2 (12-30-23)

By: Joey Raymond

Headline Photo Credit: Katie Lovell-LMS Network

Roanoke, VA –Roanoke and Huntsville are set to fight it out for the second time in as many nights. Last night was a game where we saw the Huntsville Havoc pull out a slim 4-3 win. The game was rough on both sides with several fights occurring and a plethora of penalties. The officiating of that game was so bad that the SPHL determined that the officials were not going to officiate tonight’s game as a result. After last night’s matchup, Roanoke sits with a 21-11-7 record and sits firmly in sixth place. Meanwhile, the Huntsville Havoc are towering over the Dawgs sitting in fifth place with a 24-11-9 record. These teams are only separated by 1 point in the standings, however, as they sit with 26 and 25 points respectively. The result of this game will either have the Dawgs moving up to fifth, or having the Havoc tighten their grip on that spot in the standings.

First Period Recap:

​Not even two minutes after the puck drop, we see Huntsville power the puck up to the net and fire one past the diving Roudebush, giving them a quick 0-1 lead. Huntsville looked strong out of the gate in this game. Then another 2 minutes would pass and Roanoke would respond with a goal of their own. Alex DiCarlo would get a rebounder that he’d send into the goalkeeper’s weak side to tie us up at 1-1. Roanoke wouldn’t stop there though, the Dawgs would only take a minute and thirty seconds off the clock before sneaking a shot under the goalie and into the back of the net, giving them a 2-1 lead. With the clock sitting at just over 10 minutes left in the first period, we’d see a hit so hard it sends a Havoc player to the locker room. No penalties would be assessed on the hit, as the officials determined it to be a clean hit. The game would resume and roughly 3 minutes would pass when we’d see our first penalty of the game. Roanoke’s Xavier Fillion would fling a punk over the net, getting called for a delay of the game. Thanks to some nifty skating the Dawgs would fight off the Havoc power play, keeping the score at 2-1. Though we’d see several shots on goal, the period would end quietly, with the score at 2-1.

Second Period Recap:

​Coming out of the first-period break we see Huntsville on the attack, firing off two shots on goal within the first twenty seconds of the period. Roanoke’s defense would hold strong though, and as soon as they’d get an opportunity, they’d seize it. Roanoke would rattle off several shots after a Havoc turnover and eventually find Josh Nenadal’s stick. That puck would find the back of the net, giving the Dawgs a 3-1 lead. Roanoke would then lay on the pressure, only letting 4 minutes pass before finding the net again. CJ Stubbs would find himself on a breakaway with the puck and would fire it on the goalkeeper’s stick side and find the back of the net, stretching the lead to 4-1. Huntsville, clearly feeling some frustration would get called for a holding penalty only 2 minutes later. Roanoke would have several puck mishandling mishaps though, allowing Huntsville to kill the penalty fairly easily. Huntsville would take that momentum and with a minute and forty-five seconds fired a shot past Austin Roudebush, bringing the score to 4-2. The rest of the time in the period would be silent in terms of action, ending the period with a score of 4-2.

Third Period Recap:

​It only takes 2 minutes into the third period before the Dawgs find themselves on a breakaway, and find the back of the net. Roanoke’s Owen McDade buries one on the goalkeeper’s glove side, extending the Dawgs’ lead to 5-2. 3 minutes later, the Dawgs would find gold again, as Owen McDade would find the net for the third time in this game. Roanoke’s lead would look like a mountain afterward, as they firmly controlled a 6-2 lead. The game would come to just over 10 minutes left when Roanoke would get a chance to head on the power play once again. Huntsville would get to spend two minutes in the box for elbowing. Unfortunately for Roanoke, they wouldn’t manage to score during the power play, as Huntsville would kill the penalty. Not too long would pass before Roanoke would take a seat in the penalty box. John McDonald would get called for a hooking penalty. Only 1:22 into the penalty a fight would break out between Sean Leonard and Dylan Stewart. As a result, Lenored of Roanoke and Stewart of Huntsville would both be assessed game misconduct and would be ejected from the game. This would also put Huntsville on a two-man advantage. Roanoke would successfully kill both penalties, finding themselves back at full strength with a 6-2 lead. Huntsville would lead an offensive onslaught to finish the period but wouldn’t muster any goals as time expired. The Dawgs would win impressively, 6-2.

What’s Next:

​In large part thanks to a hat trick performance from Owen McDade the Dawgs won a big one at home. Huntsville struggled to get past Roanoke’s stout defense in this game. After this game, the Dawgs get to host the much anticipated ‘New Year’s Eve’ game against Knoxville. This is a game that the Dawgs have cherished and been fairly successful in. As for Huntsville, they won’t play again until January 5th, when they get to play host to the Peoria Rivermen. They’ll play two back-to-back against the Rivermen on both the 5th and the 6th. This win will inevitably move the Dawgs into at least fifth place in the standings, leapfrogging the Huntsville Havoc. If Pensacola wins, they’ll be in fifth, but if they lose Roanoke will jump up to fourth place in the standings. That goes to show just how tight the standings in the SPHL are.