ROANOKE RAIL YARD DAWGS (27-24-4) at BIRMINGHAM BULLS (39-14-2)

7:30 PM CDT

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GAME NOTES

LAST TIME OUT: The Rail Yard Dawgs dominated time of possession and out-shot the Birmingham Bulls, 39-20, but were defeated, 4-2, Friday night at the Pelham Civic Complex. Travis Armstrong had a goal and an assist and Colin Murray scored for the Dawgs in the loss.

CLOGGED UP, 5-8: Roanoke’s loss on Friday mathematically eliminated the Dawgs from finishing any higher than fifth place in the SPHL standings, cementing them as a team that will be available for selection on the Challenge Round. The Dawgs currently sit in a three-way tie for third place, even with the Pensacola Ice Flyers and Fayetteville Marksmen with 58 points. Roanoke has the tiebreaker on both Pensacola and Fayetteville so if it finishes tied with either of those two teams it would be the higher seed. The trio in sixth is one point behind the fifth-place Macon Mayhem who have 59 points. Depending on the outcomes on Saturday, Roanoke could finish anywhere between fifth and eighth.

PENALTY ASSASSINS: The Rail Yard Dawgs killed off both of the penalties they committed on Friday night and have not allowed a power play goal in their last three games. Over its last six games, Roanoke is 17-for-18 on the PK.

STAY HOT, COLIN: Colin Murray’s first-period goal was his fifth in his last four games. Murray has netted at least one in each of those four games and now has 22 on the season. He has matched a franchise record for goals, set by Steve Mele in the 2017-18 season.

AT STAKE FOR BIRMINGHAM: The Bulls are guaranteed to finish in second no matter what happens on Saturday night but Birmingham could set a new SPHL record for wins with a victory. Both the Bulls and the Peoria Rivermen have matched the record of 39 wins set by Peoria in the 2015-16 season.

SNAP SHOTS: The Dawgs are now 0-2-2 all-time at the Pelham Civic Complex...Mac Jansen leads Roanoke with eight points (4 G, 4 A) in six games against the Bulls.

THIS STAT MAKES NO SENSE: The Rail Yard Dawgs out-shot the Bulls, 39-20, in Friday’s loss and moved to 12-12-1 when out-shooting an opponent. Strangely though it was the fifth time Roanoke had out-shot an opponent by 10 or more and the Dawgs are now 0-4-1 during such occasions.

UP NEXT: The SPHL postseason begins next week and the first round matchups will be determined during the Challenge Round selection show on Sunday night. The show will be streamed via the SPHL’s Facebook page at 7:30 PM.