ROANOKE, Va. – The Fayetteville Marksmen, proud members of the SPHL, defeated the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs 4-3 on Friday night.

The first period was all about the goaltenders, as neither team could find the back of the net, despite Roanoke outshooting Fayetteville 9-7.

Noah Finstrom opened up the scoring 8:10 into the second period, set up by the former Marksmen John Aonso and Joe Widmar, putting the Dawgs up 1-0. Shortly after, Cooper Fensterstock deflected home his first of the season, set up by Blake Humphrey and Ethan Hawes, making it 1-1, rounding out the second period scoring.

Kyler Head batted home a puck out of the air and into the back of the net, as he was fresh out of the penalty box, set up by Sam Dabrowski and Tyler Love 5:25 into the final frame, putting the Marksmen ahead 2-1. Coltan Wilkie was left alone on the doorstep, firing a puck home at 12:40, with Cooper Fensterstock and Graeme McCrory picking up the helpers to make it 3-1. Joe Widmar ripped home a power play tally on the backdoor at the 16:39 mark, set up by Gustav Muller, making it 3-2. Trey Fechko found the scoresheet against his former squad, clearing the puck into the empty net at 17:25, making it 4-2. Gustav Muller got a goal of his own at 19:15, set up by Joe Widmar and CJ Valerian, securing the 4-3 final.

Mason Beaupit stopped 32-of-35 shots in the Marksmen win and Austyn Roudebush stopped 19-of-22 in the Dawgs effort.

Fayetteville and Roanoke will meet again tomorrow night, with puck drop from the Berglund Center set for 7:05 p.m. EST. The game will be broadcast on FloSports.

The Marksmen to home action on Friday, Feb. 20, playing host to the Pensacola Ice Flyers for Beach Night. Puck drop from the Crown Coliseum is set for 7 p.m. EST. Tickets can be purchased here: https://marksmenhockey.com/tickets/single-game/