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By MACKENZEE SIMMS | Special to the Reporter

After ending the weekend 1-1 against the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs, the Birmingham Bulls earned a victory over the Huntsville Havoc in a special Monday afternoon game on Jan. 20.

The three-game weekend started with an overtime victory against the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs on Friday, Jan. 17 at the Berglund Center.  The action started early when the Bulls’ Ryan Romeo and Roanoke’s Nick Ford were both sent to the box for five-minute fighting penalties at the 4:19 mark in the first period.

Despite Birmingham having a power play due to a hooking penalty later in the period, the Bulls didn’t score and the Rail Yard Dawgs ended the first period in the lead after Tommy Munichiello scored with 2:23 left in the first.

While the second period proved uneventful, the third period roared to life as Arkhip Ledziankou tied the game for Birmingham with 12:10 left. The Bulls capitalized on the momentum of this goal with another courtesy of Ben Higgins less than two minutes later.

Birmingham’s lead became even more dangerous as the Bulls gained a man advantage after a hooking penalty from Roanoke’s Ford with 6:24 to go. But in the resulting power play, Birmingham’s Carson Rose committed a match penalty for spearing with 5:38 remaining, resulting in a 10-minute penalty.

With 2:30 left in the game, the Rail Yard Dawgs amplified their man advantage by pulling their goaltender, but the gamble paid off as Munichiello scored again to tie the game with less than a minute left.

The Bulls seized the victory in overtime due to a second goal from Higgins to finish the game 3-2.

The two teams faced off again the following night on Saturday, Jan. 18 with Roanoke ultimately walking away with the 2-1 victory.

After their defeat the night before, the Rail Yard Dawgs got on the board early courtesy of Carson Gallagher just 7:23 into the game.

Birmingham got an early penalty kill after a holding infraction from Kyler Matthews but couldn’t kill off Nikita Kozyrev’s delay of game penalty with 7:19 remaining in the period. In the resulting power play, Roanoke’s Stephen Alvo sent the puck into the net, making the score 2-0 in the first.

Before the end of the period, both teams would earn another penalty including high sticking from Roanoke’s Mac Jansen and a game misconduct for spearing from the Bulls’ Higgins.

In the second period, the penalties started early with Roanoke’s Jason Kelly going to the box for interference at the 6:12 mark. In the resulting power play, Birmingham scored its first and only point of the game courtesy of Trevor Thurston.

For the remainder of the game, the two teams would exchange nine penalties for a game total of 14 penalties, but neither team would score again resulting in a 2-1 victory for the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs.

After the 1-1 weekend, the Bulls returned to their home ice at the Pelham Civic Complex for a rare afternoon game against the Huntsville Havoc on Monday, Jan. 20.

The Bulls started the game off strong with a dominating offensive presence that kept most of the action in front of the Havoc’s net. This momentum was compounded by an early penalty kill after Birmingham’s Rose went to the box for a tripping penalty at the 5:06 mark.

Despite this success, the Bulls were unable to score during a power play of their own courtesy of an elbowing penalty from Huntsville’s Phil Elgstam at the 8:09 mark.

Nevertheless, Birmingham persisted and their efforts paid off as Taylor Brierly gathered a rebounded shot to bury the puck deep in the Havoc’s net at the 14:19 mark, giving the Bulls a 1-0 lead.

Birmingham maintained this lead through the end of the period, but not before a scuffle in front of the Bulls’ bench saw Huntsville’s Charlie Risk go to the box for slashing, followed by Birmingham’s Arkhip Ledziankou for roughing at the 18:19 mark.

This tension carried into the second period even after the resulting power play ended. At the 6:23 mark, the two teams clashed behind the Havoc’s net.

As the linesmen tried to contain the fight, the Bulls’ Matthews and Huntsville’s Connor Fries broke away from the crowd, began to circle center ice and engaged in a one-on-one duel. Both gentlemen were escorted to the box for five-minute fighting majors.

Three minutes later at the 9:23 mark, Birmingham’s Thurston joined his teammate in the box after a tripping infraction sent a Huntsville player sliding into the goal, knocking the net off its bearings.

The Havoc were unable to capitalize on the resulting power play, but were given a second opportunity when Thurston returned to the box for elbowing at the 16:01 mark.

In the resulting power play, Birmingham’s netminder Hayden Stewart blocked a shot by hugging the side of the net, but his helmet fell off in the resulting scramble. Meanwhile, Huntsville’s Jack Jaunich launched the rebounded puck past Stewart into the net at the 17:58 mark.

The goal was called under review, but after deliberation, the call on the ice stood, much to the chagrin of the Bulls’ fans. The two teams exited the ice at the end of the second period with a tied score of 1-1.

Birmingham came out of the second intermission with guns blazing as Higgins broke away and charged down the left side of the ice and scored less than a minute into the third period. With a one goal lead, the Bulls battled to remain on top for the remainder of the period.

Birmingham reigned offensively in the first period with 21 shots on goal to Huntsville’s seven. In the second period, both teams performed evenly with the Bulls taking 16 shots and the Havoc taking 19.

But after Birmingham’s early goal in the third period, the Huntsville offense turned up the heat, placing shot after shot on goal. By the end of the period, the teams were almost even in shots on goal.

Despite this massive offensive push in the third period, a boarding penalty from Huntsville’s Craig McCabe at the 18:48 mark gave the Bulls a power play during the final moments of the game. This man advantage gave Birmingham the edge needed to fight off the Havoc for a 2-1 victory on home ice.

The Bulls are in seventh place in the SPHL standings with 33 points and are level with sixth-place Quad City with two games in hand.

Birmingham will hit the road to the Peoria Civic Complex to face the Peoria Rivermen in a three-game series from Jan. 24-26. After that, the Bulls will return home for a two-game set with the last-place Pensacola Ice Flyers on Friday, Jan. 31 and Saturday, Feb. 1. Both games will start at 7 p.m. at the Pelham Civic Complex and Ice Arena.