ROANOKE, VA. – The Rail Yard Dawgs announced on Friday that Sean Leonard has returned from the ECHL’s Norfolk Admirals. Additionally, defenseman Casey Winn has been placed on the 21-day injured reserve list, and forward Chad Lopez has been released from his player tryout.
Leonard received his first career call-up to Norfolk on December 17 after a strong start to the 2021-2022 season in Roanoke. The five-foot-eleven defenseman appeared in the first 16 games for the Dawgs, registering five assists, five fights, and a plus-12 plus/minus rating. Leonard played in 31 games for the Admirals, notching five assists and 121 penalty minutes during his time in the ECHL. The blue-liner will wear his old number 66 jersey, while C.J. Valerian will switch to number 44.
Winn joined the Dawgs on March 8 from SUNY-Brockport (NCAA-DIII) where he played for four seasons. In his collegiate career, the six-foot-two blue-liner suited up in 100 games, tallying four goals, 14 assists, 62 penalty minutes. The right-shot defenseman is a native of Rochester, New York, and was a two-time USHS-Prep Tier 2 national champion at Trinity-Pawling School. In five games with Roanoke, Winn registered one assist and two penalty minutes.
Lopez joined the Dawgs on March 3 after playing for four seasons at the University of Wisconsin-Superior. In his four college seasons, the five-foot-10 left winger appeared in 93 games, notching 32 goals and 37 assists. Lopez was named to the All-WIAC First Team last season, and was an All-WIAC academic honoree in each year he played for the Yellow Jackets. The Arlington, Texas native appeared in five games for Roanoke during the duration of his two player tryout contracts, tallying one assist and a plus-one plus/minus rating.
The Rail Yard Dawgs are back at Berglund Center tonight and tomorrow night for a two-game series against the Huntsville Havoc. Both games start at 7:05 p.m. EST, and Saturday night’s game is Paramount Yellowstone Night presented by Bug Man Exterminating. A portion of Saturday’s single-game ticket proceeds will be donated to the Kip Nininger Memorial Scholarship Fund, and additional donations can be made at the game. Wisler Plumbing and Air Family Four Packs, group tickets, 2022-2023 season tickets, and single game tickets for home games are on sale now, and you can listen to the games on the Haley Toyota Rail Yard Dawgs Hockey Network via Mixlr or watch it on HockeyTV.
Photo Credit: Mark Sawyer