Dawgs fall to Marksmen 6-3

ROANOKE, Va. –

Courtesy: Brian Gardner/Rail Yard Dawgs

   The Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs scored a pair of shorthanded goals but were bested by the Fayetteville Marksmen, 6-3, Thursday night at the Berglund Center. David Gandara, Colin Murray and Mike Moroso each found the net for the Rail Yard Dawgs in the loss.

Roanoke got on the board first in the opening period while on the penalty kill. Murray swooped in on a forecheck and intercepted a Fayetteville pass attempt. He fired a wrist shot five hole through Matt Zenzola and put the Dawgs on top, 1-0.

The lead did not last long however as Fayetteville cashed in at the tail end of the first. Jake Hauswirth set up Myles McCauley for a one-timer in the slot, evening the game at one.

Fayetteville took command in the second period thanks to a shorthanded goal of its own. While working on a three-on-one break, Ludlow Harris set up Chris Porter who banged a shot past Brad Barone to put the Marksmen on top, 2-1.

They added to that lead early in the third on a sharp angle shot by Joe Kalisz that snuck through Barone. Later, while working on a power play, Porter set up Jake Wood in the slot for a snap shot that hit the net and extended the advantage to 4-1.

Gandara then got one back for the Dawgs as he burned down the left wing with a shorthanded break. He let loose a snap shot from the left wing circle that bested Zenzola, cutting the deficit back to two.

Fayetteville countered quickly with Porter’s second goal, putting the game out of reach. Former Rail Yard Dawg Cody Walsh hammered a rebound home with about a minute and a half remaining to push the score to 6-2. Moroso stuffed in a rebound in the final minute for the Dawgs third tally.

Barone took the loss with 38 saves on 44 shots faced. Zenzola earned the win in net after stopping 21 of the 24 shots he saw. The Rail Yard Dawgs fell to 3-5-1 with the loss while Fayetteville improved to 3-7-1. Roanoke will return to action on Friday night in Knoxville against the Ice Bears. Puck drop at the Knoxville Civic Coliseum is scheduled for 7:35 PM.