Roanoke defeats Knoxville 4-2, Stays Hot (1-6-24)

By: Joey Raymond

Headline Photo Credit: Katie Lovell-LMS Network

Roanoke, VA –We find ourselves in the Star City once again and the red-hot Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs welcome the Knoxville Ice Bears once again. After an incredible three-goal deficit comeback last night, the Dawgs are now 9-3-1 in their last 13 games. On the other side of the ice, the Knoxville Ice Bears have dropped seven straight games. They’ve struggled the last several games and will look to right the ship in this matchup against arch-rival Roanoke. To do that they’ll have to stop the almost unstoppable Dominiks Marcinkevicks. He’s picked up three goals and five assists for eight total points in the last three games. That’s not going to be an easy feat. On the bright side for the Ice Bears, the Roanoke defense has struggled the last five games defensively, giving up 17 goals in that time. Despite that, Roanoke keeps finding ways to win. That makes them especially dangerous if they can figure the defensive side of the ice out.

First Period Recap:

​As soon as the puck drops Roanoke takes the puck and doesn’t let up. During the first 4 minutes, the puck would only spend a few seconds in the Roanoke zone. The Dawgs would get 2 shots on goal but it felt like significantly more if you’re the Ice Bears. That would only last for so long though as Knoxville had enough. They would push the puck into the Roanoke zone only a couple of minutes later and fire shot after shot at Austin Roudebush. Davis Kirkendall would be the Ice Bear that finally would break through and give Knoxville a 0-1 lead. We’d have a clean, quiet rest of the period until 4.5 seconds left. Knoxville and Roanoke would drop gloves from multiple players, which would lead to a Roanoke power play. They’d run out of time in this period to make anything of it, but they’ll get a chance to make the most of it when the next period starts.

Second Period Recap:

​Knoxville would come out strong in the second period and kill the penalty with little to no issue. We’d have a peaceful couple of minutes but knowing these two teams it didn’t last forever as 6 minutes in we’d get our next brawl, this time landing Roanoke in the penalty box. This is to much dismay of Dawgs fans who chant “Refs you suck” until they would resume play. A minute into the power play, Knoxville would commit their penalty, getting called for tripping. That meant 4 4 hockey for about a minute and then a minute-long Roanoke power play. Due to some unfortunate puck handling the Dawgs wouldn’t be able to make anything out of their man advantage. They would get another chance to redeem themselves not too long after as Knoxville would get called for holding. The Ice Bears would hold strong again though, killing the penalty once again. With 30 seconds left in the period Roanoke and Knoxville would both take another seat in the penalty box. Both teams would be penalized for roughing once again, and we’d play 4 4 hockey for the rest of this period and to open the next. The period would come to a close with Knoxville still leading 0-1.

Third Period Recap:

The period starts with 4 on 4 hockey and almost as soon as we start the boys are back at it again. Both teams meet at the boards for a shoving match, which leads to Knoxville once again finding themselves in trouble. That would mean 3-on-4 hockey until the previous penalties would run out. Not even 40 seconds in, Knoxville would get called for yet another penalty. The Dawg House would be rocking after that call and Roanoke would take advantage of it quickly. Roanoke would find open space and fire the puck into the back of the net to tie the game at 1-1. Roanoke wouldn’t take their feet off the gas though, scoring another goal in a matter of seconds to give themselves a 2-1 lead. At this point, the Berglund Center is losing its mind, as the crowd is ear-piercingly loud. Only a few minutes would pass before the Ice Bears would get yet another penalty. Roanoke would strike again a minute into the penalty, stretching their lead to 3-1. The Dawgs get called for roughing shortly after their goal and have to sit in the penalty box again. Taking all the momentum they’ve built, Roanoke would kill the penalty masterfully. Roanoke would get called for another penalty a few minutes later but would kill that penalty as well. The game would be fairly quiet until about 4:30 left in play when the Dawgs would get a breakaway chance and take full advantage, as Xavier Fillion would bury it off the crossbar to give the Dawgs a 4-1 lead. With only a minute left in the game, the Dawgs would sit in the penalty box once again. Knoxville almost immediately scores, wasting absolutely zero time, and bringing the score to 4-2. The last seconds of the game would come to a close with Knoxville essentially conceding the game, giving the Rail Yard Dawgs their second win in as many days.

What’s Next?

​After what can only be described as a game of disappointment and frustration for Knoxville, both of these squads will travel down to Knoxville to play again tomorrow, January 7th. The Ice Bears struggled with penalties in this game, gathering up eight penalties in totality. When put on the penalty kill Knoxville struggled to defend and it cost them. After this game, Roanoke solidifies their position in fourth place in the SPHL standings, while the Ice Bears stay firm in ninth place, only 2 points away from being in last place in the SPHL. That title currently belongs to the Macon Mayhem. If Roanoke can win again in the Sunday matchup between these two squads they’ll inch themselves closer to third place. Currently, they sit 4 points out of third, so a couple more wins and they could be right in it.