ROANOKE, Va – It was opening night for the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs at the Berglund Center, with 5800 faithful fans in attendance. With a 3-2 overtime loss to the Fayetteville Marksmen, it was not the start to the season that fans had wanted. It was not from a lack of trying, with Marksmen goalie Ryan Kenny stopping 52 of 54 shots, compared to Dawgs goalie Austyn Roudebush stopping 25 of 28 goals.
With so many new faces, a new team captain, and an evenly matched rival, it was a tug of war throughout most of the game. Roanoke’s Nick Ford was prominent on the ice, in his new role as Captain. Former captain Mac Jansen got the momentum flowing with the first goal of the season in the third period, quickly followed by Timmy Kent with his first ever professional goal. It was just not enough as Fayetteville’s Reggie Millette took advantage of a long breakaway to get the OT winning goal.
Check out this photo gallery from Inside the Rink’s Michele Hancock for highlights from the game.
