ROANOKE, VA. – The Rail Yard Dawgs (28-11-4) roared to life down the stretch against the Pensacola Ice Flyers (14-24-9) in front of a second consecutive sellout crowd on Saturday night, recording a 4-0 win at Berglund Center for the team’s tenth consecutive victory.
Austyn Roudebush stopped all 23 shots faced in the net, and his 105th career SPHL win gives him sole possession of second place all-time in league history, only trailing Peter Di Salvo’s 111 career SPHL victories. Mac Jansen scored twice, Tommy Munichiello and Brenden Stanko added goals, and Nick Ford added two assists for Roanoke. The Dawgs broke a franchise record for longest-ever winning streak, which was previously nine games in a row from November 25-December 23, 2022. The 8,062 fans in attendance also set a new team record, breaking the mark of 8,035 from the previous night on February 28.
The game was chippy from the opening puck drop, but only one penalty was called throughout the first period – a roughing minor to Roanoke’s Cory Doney. The Dawgs outshot the Ice Flyers 12-7 in the first 20 minutes and had the higher quality chances, but it was a scoreless tie at the first intermission.
Roanoke took control of the game in the middle frame, scoring within the first minute of the second period. Ford won a faceoff at the left-wing circle towards his right to Munichiello, and Munichiello turned and fired the puck to the top-right corner of the net just 54 seconds into the period. Roanoke’s C.J. Valerian and Pensacola’ Lukas Jirousek had a spirited fight at 12:11 that left both of them bloodied up by the end of the scrap, but the momentum only seemed to aid the Dawgs. Roanoke found its second goal of the game on the power play, as Stanko tipped a shot from the high slot by Joe Widmar at 17:22 to make it 2-0. In the final 16 seconds of the period, a spinning shot at the right-wing dot by Munichiello teed up a rebound finish by Jansen, making it 3-0 for Roanoke. The Dawgs outshot the Ice Flyers 15-9 during the middle period and took the three-goal cushion to the second intermission.
The Dawgs added on early in the third period, as Jansen and Johnny Macdonald pulled off a slick give-and-go that allowed Jansen to rip the puck at the right-wing side for his second goal of the game at 5:38. The game would get more physical and chippy at times down the stretch, but it was all about Roudebush as he continued to shut down the Ice Flyers throughout the night. Roanoke’s tenth win in a row moved their league-best home record to 19-2-3.
AJ Ruskowski stopped 34-of-38 shots faced in net for the Ice Flyers. Roanoke went 1-for-3 on the power play, and Pensacola went 0-for-2 on its chances.
The Rail Yard Dawgs hit the road again on Friday, March 7 against the Birmingham Bulls at the Pelham Civic Complex. Puck drop is scheduled for 8:00 P.M. EST in Alabama. Single game tickets for the season are on sale now online and at Berglund Center box office.