ROANOKE, Va. – The Rail Yard Dawgs (12-8-3) nearly came up with a great comeback on Saturday night, but came up short against the Birmingham Bulls (5-11-5) in a 6-5 overtime loss on Teddy Bear Toss Night at Berglund Center. Joe Widmar had four points, Travis Broughman had three points, Andrew Harley’s goal sent the Teddy Bears flying, Ricky Boysen added a goal, and Bryce Martin’s tying goal late in the third period forced overtime. Austyn Roudebush stopped 22-of-25 shots faced in relief in the net for the Dawgs.
Birmingham got off to a hot start in the first period, with two goals before the first media timeout. Matt Wood finished off a centering feed in the low slot at 1:27, and Drake Glover slotted the puck home on a 2-on-1 rush at 5:09 to give the Bulls a 2-0 lead. Two quick Birmingham penalties gave Roanoke a 5-on-3 power play chance, and the hosts quickly took advantage. Harley’s one-time blast from the bottom of the right-wing circle sent the Teddy Bears flying, making it a 2-1 game at 7:20. A rebound tally from the left-wing circle by Broughman on the remaining 5-on-4 power play time at 8:22 tied the game at 2-2. Tensions began to rise with several roughing penalties and a fight between Roanoke’s Gehrig Lindberg and Birmingham’s Damon Zimmer. The Bulls would regain the lead on a power play goal by Shawn Kennedy at 13:15, which would prompt the Dawgs to swap Brody Claeys and go to Roudebush in net the rest of the way. Roanoke trailed 3-2 heading to the first intermission.
The bad blood continued to spill into the second period, with both teams receiving three more power play chances. After a save by Birmingham, Chris Mott slipped the puck from the trapezoid to the low slot to Boysen, as Boysen roofed the puck into the net to make it a 3-3 game for the Dawgs at 8:11. That lasted all of nine seconds, as a shot from the right point in the Roanoke zone by Connor Scahill found its way to the back of the net to make it 4-3 at 8:20. Another power play finish on an incredible move by Glover made it a 5-3 game at 11:20, as the game quickly turned into a run-and-gun shootout. The Dawgs trailed by two heading to the final frame.
The penalties continued into the third period, as the two teams ended up with 15 combined power play chances. The Dawgs were able to keep the game within two goals, and eventually would find the looks needed to tie the game. It started when Widmar smashed home a rebound chance in the low slot at 12:54 to make it a 5-4 game. A late Roanoke power play chance would entice the hosts to empty the net with over three minutes left, but the Dawgs couldn’t take advantage of the 6-on-4 opportunity. A late icing call against the Bulls gave Roanoke one last chance in regulation. The Dawgs threw the puck to the front of the net, and Martin jabbed home the loose puck with only 15 seconds left to force the game into overtime. Both teams had chances in overtime, but a long bounce would spring an unassisted breakaway for MacGregor Sinclair at 2:32 in the extra frame, as he lifted the puck into the net to give the Bulls a 6-5 victory. Out of 33 combined all-time meetings in the regular season and postseason between Roanoke and Birmingham, 12 have gone beyond 60 minutes. Ten of the last 13 meetings have been decided by just one goal.