ROANOKE, Va. – The Rail Yard Dawgs (22-10-5) dominated the Macon Mayhem (9-23-5) all night in a 7-3 beatdown at Berglund Center on Friday night. Jacob Kelly had a hat trick, John Macdonald scored two goals and added an assist, CJ Stubbs had one goal and two assists, and Bailey Morrissette potted a goal for the Dawgs.
It was a forechecking masterclass by the Dawgs in the first period, as Roanoke’s pressure in the Macon zone quickly proved to be too much for the Mayhem. Kelly quickly got things started at 2:35, taking a Brendan Pepe pass from the blue line straight to the Macon net before uncorking a shot for the game’s first goal. Kelly would tap in a rebound off of a Macdonald shot exactly four minutes later to make it a 2-0 game. Macdonald got on the board next, as a low-to-high pass out to the left wing set up a long-range rip from the Roanoke defenseman at 12:18. A Macon turnover after the Mayhem had won a neutral zone faceoff set up Morrissette on a breakaway, and he popped the water bottle for Roanoke’s fourth goal at 15:54. The Dawgs took that 4-0 lead into the first intermission, as Macon elected to swap goaltenders.
The second period saw Roanoke’s dominance continue. Macdonald banked a shot off of the back wall from the blue line, and then it rattled off of Macon’s William Lavalliére and into the net to make it a 5-0 game at 9:03. Stubbs was able to tap home the centering feed by Owen McDade on a beautiful transition play at 11:46 to make it a 6-0 game. Macon would get on the board in the final 23 seconds of the frame on a Billy Jerry goal, but the Dawgs took a five-goal lead into the final frame.
It didn’t take long for Kelly to complete his hat trick, as a rebound goal just 44 seconds into the period sent hats flying down onto the ice. Macon added a power play goal by Justin Cmunt at 10:07 and a breakaway finish by Alex Laplante at 11:40 to make it a 7-3 game, but Roanoke comfortably ended its four-game losing streak.
Austyn Roudebush saved 27-of-30 shots faced for Roanoke, while Jimmy Poreda saved 11-of-15 shots faced for Macon before he was relieved by Lavalliére, who stopped 20-of-23 shots faced. Roanoke went 0-for-1 on the power play, while Macon went 1-for-2 on its chances.
The Rail Yard Dawgs will stay home tomorrow night, February 10, to take on the Knoxville Ice Bears for Superhero Night sponsored by Wisler. Puck drop is slated for 7:05 P.M. EST at Berglund Center.