ROANOKE, Va. – It was a weekend full of hockey at the Berglund Center. The Birmingham Bulls would split the weekend with the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs. Friday night, it was the Bulls who took the win, 3-2. Saturday night it was the Dawgs with a 2-1 win.
Friday night, it was clear that it was going to be a tense weekend. Within the first five minutes, Birmingham’s Ryan Romeo and Roanoke’s Nick Ford dropped the gloves. This was just the start! Both goalies were on fire with their blocks. Roanoke took an early lead 1-0 at the end of the first period. Birmingham took the lead in the second and didn’t look back. They probably should’ve, as Roanoke tied it up 2-2 with less than a minute to go. In overtime, it was the Bulls who got one past Roanoke goalie Tyler Roy on the rebound. Roy stopped 27 of 30 shots, and Birmingham’s Hayden Stewart stopped 38 of 40 shots.
Saturday night, it wasn’t just the ice that was cold. Roanoke came out strong the first period, with a crowd of 6,000+ behind them. It was NASCAR night, and Roanoke wanted that checkered flag. Both of the two goals from Roanoke came in the first period, while Birmingham netted their goal in the second. Bull’s goaltender Austin Lotz held off the Dawgs the rest of the night, stopping 27 of 29 shots. Roanoke’s defense stepped it up a notch in the third, holding off the Bulls the rest of the game. Dawgs goalie Austyn Roudebush stopped 24 of 25 shots.
Check out this photo gallery from Inside The Rink’s Michele Hancock, for highlights from the game.
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