The Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs and its fans will become familiar with the Pensacola Ice Flyers this weekend at the Berglund Center.
The two teams play three games in three days beginning with 7:05 puck drops on Friday and Saturday nights, followed by a 3:05 matinee on Sunday. The Dawgs and Ice Flyers hold down sixth and seventh place, respectfully, with Pensacola only trailing Roanoke by a single point after 36 games.
With twenty games left in the 56-game SPHL regular season, both teams are positioned well to make the 8-team SPHL playoffs. Both Pensacola and the Evansville Thunderbolts have a 13-point cushion over 9th place Birmingham, while the Macon Mayhem and Vermillion County Bobcats are firmly holding down the cellar of the 11-team league. The Bobcats have only won three games in 35 tries, Macon only six in 35 opportunities.
A successful weekend gives the Dawgs the chance to close the gap on fifth-place Fayetteville. The Marksmen are 11 points clear of Roanoke after sweeping the Dawgs last weekend in North Carolina by scores of 7-2 and 5-4.
Following the three games on the Berglund pond, Roanoke embarks on a 9-game road test that includes a pair at Knoxville February 25-26, three in three nights at Peoria March 4-6, a Thursday night stop in Birmingham March 10, a pair with the Ice Flyers March 11-12 and a visit to Fayetteville March 17.
Roanoke will finish the regular season with six of their final eight games on home ice.
In other SPHL news, the Knoxville Ice Bears overcame a 1-0 deficit after the first period to score six unanswered goals Thursday night in Macon to tale over first place in the SPHL standings. The Huntsville Havoc, which had held down the first spot all season, now trail the Ice Bears by a single point.
Not to be overlooked, the Peoria Rivermen are on a 12-0-1-1 streak and are in third, five points behind Knoxville with 4 games in hand against the Ice Bears. Peoria looks to close the gap this weekend when it plays a home-and-away two-game set against cellar-dwelling Vermillion County.
Bill Turner
