ROANOKE, VA. – The Rail Yard Dawgs announced on Friday that the team has activated forward Matteo DiGiulio from the injured reserve. Additionally, forward Brenden Stanko has been placed on waivers.
DiGiulio joined the Dawgs from Adrian College (ACHA), where he played for four seasons en route to winning two national championships in 2021 and 2024 with the Bulldogs. In four regular season games for the Dawgs, DiGiulio had three goals, two penalty minutes, and a plus-one rating before suffering an injury on March 30 against Fayetteville. In his four seasons at Adrian, the Maple, Ontario native recorded 77 goals, 76 assists, and 87 penalty minutes over 119 regular season games played, and added 11 goals, seven assists, and 12 penalty minutes in 15 career postseason games as the Bulldogs won the ACHA Division One titles in both his freshman and senor campaigns (were also runners-up in 2022-2023). This season, the 24-year old lefty served as the team captain for Adrian, and tallied 45 points (18 G, 27 A) in 35 regular season games before tacking on three goals and one assist during the four-game run to the national title. DiGiulio was teammates with fellow Rail Yard Dawg Brenden Stanko and former Dawg Dakota Bohn for three years while at Adrian (all three were members of the 2020-2021 title team). The six-foot-three forward played his junior hockey in the OHL with the Toronto Jr. Canadians, Milton Icehawks, and St’s Michael’s Buzzers. Across four seasons in the OJHL, DiGiulio combined for 30 goals, 49 assists, and 202 penalty minutes in a total of 227 games played.
Stanko is in his first full season of professional hockey, signing with the Dawgs back on November 28 after returning to the FPHL’s Binghamton Black Bears at the start of this season. In 34 games for Roanoke this season, Stanko has recorded 11 goals, 19 assists, and a plus-seven rating. He added one goal and one assist in two playoff games last week before suffering an injury in Game Two of the first round against Quad City. Playing under former Dawg and current Binghamton head coach Brant Sherwood, the six-foot-one forward won the FPHL’s Rookie of the Month award to start this season by putting up 12 goals, 15 assists, and a plus-19 plus/minus rating in just 14 games before heading to Roanoke. Prior to joining the Black Bears, the Howell, Michigan native played five seasons at Adrian College (ACHA), helping the Bulldogs win the 2020-21 ACHA Division One National Championship. In 142 college games, Stanko notched 81 goals and 114 assists.
The Rail Yard Dawgs will host the Huntsville Havoc for Game Two of their 2024 President’s Cup semifinals series tonight at 7:05 P.M. EST at Berglund Center. Game Three, if necessary, will be on Saturday, April 20, at 7:05 P.M. EST at Berglund Center.
Single-game playoff tickets and parking passes are on sale now, and can be purchased online or by visiting the Berglund Center box office. Other ticket packages and group tickets are on sale now by contacting the Rail Yard Dawgs office. Roanoke’s President’s Cup Playoff run is sponsored by Haley Toyota of Roanoke.
Photo Credit: Michele Hancock
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