Roanoke Sneaks Past Quad City To Force A Game Three (4-12-24)
By: Joey Raymond
All Photo Credit: Katie Lovell-LMS Network
Roanoke, VA —The Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs are finding themselves in a precarious situation being down 1 game early. In a three-game series, every single game matters. The SPHL playoffs are upon us and the ‘Dawg House’ is locked and loaded and ready for game 2 of this 3-game set against the Quad City Storm. After letting a 2 goal lead slip away in game one, the Storm are in a position to close things out on the road in an extremely hostile environment. The Berglund Center has built a reputation for being loud, exuberant, and slightly obnoxious and It’s become a tremendous advantage for the Dawgs. This game was no exception.
Quad City would ultimately come out and set the tone early in the first period. The Storm’s Micheal Morant would show off some incredible stickhandling and skating skills to finesse the puck behind Austin Roudebush, and into the back of the net. Roanoke wouldn’t leave the first period without a response though. With 6 minutes left, Quad City’s Logan Nelson would get called for Hooking, sending Roanoke to the power play. Thanks to a slick pass from Dominicks Marcinkevics, Roanoke would fire a slap shot off the stick of Brenden Pepe, tying the game at 1-1.
The second period would be where Quad City would shine. They would come out and dominate from a physicality standpoint and put the pressure on Roanoke early. Only 4 minutes would pass before Quad City would find themselves in a 2 on 1 breakaway situation. Weiland Parish and Michael Moran would show off some nifty skating, as they managed to trick Austin Roudebush, allowing Parish to score. That score would be a huge momentum shift in this game, virtually silencing the Berglund Center. Despite giving Roanoke several chances on the power play, Quad City would manage to escape the second period with the lead of 2 goals to 1.
In the third period, the Dawgs would need to make a splash, and for the majority of the period, it didn’t look like it was coming. Quad City was giving Roanoke seemingly chance after chance on the power play and nothing was coming through for the Dawgs. Finally, goalkeeper Brent Moran would crack. After Savva Smirnov exchanges some words with the goalie, play would resume after a timeout and the Dawgs would set up the play of the game. Steven Alvo would get an open look and rocket it into the back of the net to tie the game up at 2 goals a piece. Not even seconds later, Alex DiCarlo would find himself in the right place at the right time, smacking a rebound off the goalie into the back of the net to give the Dawgs a 3-2 lead. At this point, the Berglund Center explodes, reaching an absolute fever pitch as the Dawgs celebrate grabbing the lead for the first time tonight.
The last 5 minutes of the game would be a chess match. The ‘Dawg House’ would make sure that the Storm would feel their presence as they try to tie it back up. Quad City would find themselves with several really good looks but thanks to Austin Roudebush, Roanoke would maintain the lead. With 1:15 left in the game, the Storm pulled their goalie. The clock ticks ticking away as every second brings more and more importance. Then Roanoke would make a critical mistake with only 33.7 left on the clock. Austin Roudebush would get called for a delay of the game, giving the Storm one last bit of hope. Leaving their goalie on the bench, Quad City would come out with now a 4 to 6-man advantage with just mere seconds to go. As the Dawgs hung on for dear life, they managed to clear the puck with 3 seconds left, sealing the game for the Dawgs and forcing a game 3. That game will be played in the Berglund Center on Saturday, April 13th. It’ll be a winner-take-all game to get into the next round of the SPHL playoffs.
