Rail Yard Dawgs rally to topple Fayetteville in overtime

Dawgs’ CJ Stubbs nets game-winner

RoanokeROANOKE, Va. – The Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs erased a three-goal deficit and stormed back to take out the Fayetteville Marksmen in overtime, 4-3, Friday night at Berglund Center. CJ Stubbs buried the game-winner as the Dawgs opened 2020 with a win.

With Roanoke trailing, 3-0, early in the second period, Brad Riccardi came charging through the neutral zone. He went give-and-go with CJ Stubbs who fed him alone in front of the net. Riccardi pulled the puck to his backhand and slit it five-hole on Trevor Gorsuch to make the score 3-1.

The Dawgs would keep chipping away at that deficit in the third. Just shy of the halfway point, Brandon Wahlin won a race to the puck in the right-wing corner and threw it towards the net. It was blocked but Colton Wolter poked it back to Wahlin who snapped a shot low through Gorsuch and the Fayetteville lead was one.

With just over two minutes to play in the third, Lincoln Griffin pulled a puck out of a scrum in the left-wing corner. He carried it to the slot, brought it to his backhand and roofed a shot just under the crossbar for the game-tying goal.

Late in overtime, the Dawgs had a shot blocked in their attacking end that caromed back toward the neutral zone. Fayetteville’s Shane Bednard was first to it and sprinted in with a potential breakaway but was caught from behind by Chris Lijdsman, negating the scoring chance.

The Dawgs eventually organized their attack and Matt O’Dea hit Jeff Jones in the neutral zone. Jones turned on the jets and got an edge on the Marksmen defender as he carried the puck to the net. His initial shot was blocked but Stubbs followed the shot and knocked it in with a backhand for the game-winning goal.

Stubbs and Riccardi each finished with a goal and an assist, Jones snapped a five-game pointless streak and Wolter extended his point streak to six games with an assist.

Fayetteville took its 3-0 lead with a pair of Brian Bowen goals in the first period and a Max Cook power play tally in the first minute of the second. Henry Dill made 32 saves on 35 shots and earned his first win of the season in the Dawgs net.

The Rail Yard Dawgs improved to 6-13-4 in the win while Fayetteville settled for a point and moved to 14-3-5. Roanoke and Fayetteville will finish their home-and-home set on Saturday night in North Carolina. Puck drop is set for 6:00 PM at the Crown Coliseum. The Dawgs’ next home game will be Nickelodeon Double Dare Night with Q99 radio on Friday, January 10. Fans can vote on which Rail Yard Dawg celebrity they would like to see get slimed during the first intermission for $1, with proceeds going to West End Center in Roanoke.