PELHAM, Ala. – The Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs opened the 2026 SPHL President’s Cup Playoffs in dominant fashion Thursday night, defeating the Birmingham Bulls 7-1 at the Pelham Civic Complex.
Roanoke (1-0) took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series, continuing a postseason rivalry between the two teams that includes the Dawgs’ four-game victory in the 2023 President’s Cup Finals.
Recommended Videos
Birmingham (0-1) struck first despite going 0-for-3 on the power play in the opening period. Drake Glover gave the Bulls a 1-0 lead at 14:17, beating goaltender Austyn Roudebush. At the time, Birmingham held an 8-2 advantage in shots.
The momentum quickly shifted as Roanoke responded with the next 12 shots. Joe Widmar tied the game at 16:53 of the first period, scoring off assists from Khristian Acosta and Gustav Müller. Less than a minute later, Ryan Reifler redirected an Acosta shot from the blue line to give the Dawgs a 2-1 lead at 17:53.
The teams entered the first intermission tied at eight shots apiece.
Roanoke seized control in the second period, opening with the first nine shots and adding two early goals. Travis Broughman made it 3-1 at 2:49, finishing a one-timer from Müller. Alex Wilkins extended the lead to 4-1 at 9:42 with a shot from the high slot.
Müller added his first goal of the night with 3.1 seconds remaining in the period, tipping in a shot from Bryce Martin to push the advantage to 5-1. Roanoke outshot Birmingham 14-5 in the second and carried the four-goal lead into the final period.
The Dawgs continued their offensive surge in the third. Tim Manning scored at 8:02 off assists from Reifler and Acosta, and Müller capped the scoring with his second goal of the game, finishing with four points.
Roudebush stopped 17 shots to earn his 14th career postseason win, becoming the SPHL’s all-time leader in playoff victories. Head coach Dan Bremner recorded his 20th postseason win, becoming the fifth coach in league history to reach the milestone.
Six Roanoke players scored goals, and 11 recorded at least one point. Müller led the way with four points, Acosta tallied three assists and Broughman added a goal and two assists.
The Dawgs will host Game 2 of the series this weekend at Berglund Center.