EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs (1-3) saw their season come to an end Thursday night, falling 4-1 to the Evansville Thunderbolts (3-1) at the Ford Center in Game Four of the best-of-five semifinal series.
Evansville, which took a 2-1 series lead with a Game Three win, closed out the series in four games to advance, while Roanoke was eliminated in the semifinal round.
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Roanoke generated early chances in the first period but was unable to capitalize. Just 1:11 into the game, Jordan Simoneau was assessed a roughing minor, giving the Dawgs an early power-play opportunity that came up empty.
The Dawgs were later awarded a penalty shot at 14:53 after Ethan Lund slashed Tim Manning from behind. Manning was unable to convert, losing control of the puck before getting a shot off.
Evansville outshot Roanoke 13-11 in a scoreless opening period.
The Thunderbolts broke through in the second. After Noah Finstrom was called for interference at 11:24, Evansville capitalized on the power play. Aidan McIntosh’s shot was stopped by Austyn Roudebush, but Scott Kirton collected the rebound and tucked it in to give Evansville a 1-0 lead.
Roanoke trailed by one entering the third period, with Evansville holding a 26-25 edge in shots.
Facing elimination, the Dawgs looked to respond but fell behind further when Alex Wilkins was called for tripping at 6:27. Myles Abbate converted on the ensuing power play, extending the Thunderbolts’ lead to 2-0.
Roanoke answered late in regulation. After Isaac Chapman went to the box for tripping, Gustav Müller scored his sixth goal of the postseason on the power play, cutting the deficit to 2-1 with 7:04 remaining.
The comeback attempt stalled there, as Evansville sealed the win with a goal from Evan Miller and an empty-netter from Simoneau in the final minutes.
Roanoke was eliminated in four games, falling short in its pursuit of the President’s Cup.