ROANOKE, VA. – The Rail Yard Dawgs announced on Thursday that defenseman Brendan Pepe has been activated from the injured reserve, while forward Brendan Stanko has been placed on the 14-day injured reserve retroactive to January 1. Additionally, the team has signed forward Reid Perepeluk, and forward Owen McDade has been placed on team suspension.
“Losing Owen (McDade) is tough – he’s an outstanding player, a great guy to have around the locker room, and he quickly became a leader for this team since he joined us at the start of last season,” said Dawgs head coach Dan Bremner. “Owen has elected to step away from the game to prepare for the arrival of his first child, and we understand and support his decision to be closer to his family. We’re thankful for all of the hard work that he put during his time with us and are sending him and his family our best wishes – Owen will always be a Dawg.”
McDade arrived in Roanoke before the 2023-2024 season after previously playing his first two professional campaigns overseas in Finland. McDade ascended midway through last season with the Rail Yard Dawgs – after notching three goals and five assists in his first 17 appearances, the centerman would go on to record 16 goals and 15 assists in his next 32 regular season games. McDade’s 19 goals were the second-most on the team, his two hat tricks led Roanoke, and the five-foot-eleven forward was named an alternate captain before the end of his initial campaign for the team. This season, McDade scored five goals, added 13 assists, and had a team-best plus-10 rating in just 16 games played before his departure. While playing in Europe before joining the Dawgs, McDade spent most of his time with Muik in the Finnish Third League (Suomi-sarja). The 27-year-old tallied 30 goals and 34 assists in 59 total games played in Finland. The Combermere, Ontario native also played junior hockey in both the OHL and the CCHL previously and has coaching and scouting experience from the GMHL’s Bancroft Rockhounds.
Perepeluk joins the Dawgs after playing seven games over the span of two PTO contracts with the Evansville Thunderbolts earlier this season. The six-foot-three forward has a loaded resume, having played four years of junior hockey in the WHL, two games in the AHL for the Stockton Heat in the 2021-2022 season, and over 50 games in the ECHL for the Kansas City Mavericks. Perepeluk also appeared in two games for the Knoxville Ice Bears back in the 2022-2023 season. During his time in the ECHL, Perepeluk had five assists and 61 penalty minutes in 52 appearances for the Mavericks. Last season, Perepeluk played at Trinity Western University (USports), notching one goal, six assists, and 28 penalty minutes in 20 games played. During his time in the WHL, the Burnaby, British Columbia native notched 14 goals, 17 assists, and 179 penalty minutes in 140 games played in one of the top junior leagues in the world. Perepeluk will wear number 96 for Roanoke.
Pepe is in his third full professional season with Roanoke, having started this season in the ECHL with the Reading Royals before he was waived and claimed by the Adirondack Thunder. Since returning to the Dawgs on November 11 of this season, Pepe has notched two goals, two assists, four penalty minutes, and a plus-three rating in seven games for the Dawgs. Last year, Pepe led all SPHL defensemen with 13 goals, while his 41 points were tied for the league lead on his way to winning the league’s Defenseman of the Year award and being named to the All-SPHL First Team. The six-foot-three defenseman had the league’s largest increase in individual points from the 2022-23 season to the 2023-24 campaign, improving by 32 points from his nine-point total two seasons ago, and marking the largest single-season increase in points by a defenseman throughout the SPHL since Ed Snetsinger improved his point total by 33 points from 2010-2011 to 2011-2012 for the Augusta Riverhawks. The 28-year-old blue-liner also had a plus-24 rating in the 2023-24 regular season and was one of just 10 SPHL players to complete an ‘Ironman’ season by appearing in all 56 games for the Dawgs. Pepe had three power play goals and an assist in six postseason games last spring, and had two assists during Roanoke’s run to a President’s Cup in the 2022-23 season. The Essex Fells, New Jersey native previously played for the FPHL’s Danbury Hat Tricks and Stony Brook University (ACHA) before signing with Roanoke prior to the 2022-2023 season.
Stanko is in his second full year of pro hockey after initially signing with the Dawgs back on November 28, 2023. This season, Stanko has one assist and two penalty minutes in nine games played for the Dawgs. In 34 games for Roanoke last season, Stanko has recorded 11 goals, 19 assists, and a plus-seven rating. He added one goal and one assist in two playoff games before suffering an injury in Game Two of the first round against Quad City. Playing under former Dawg and current Binghamton Black Bears head coach Brant Sherwood, the six-foot-one forward won the FPHL’s Rookie of the Month award to start last season by putting up 12 goals, 15 assists, and a plus-19 plus/minus rating in just 14 games before heading to Roanoke. Before 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 are at home on Friday, January 3 against the Huntsville Havoc. Puck drop is slated for 7:05 P.M. EST at Berglund Center. Single game tickets for the season are on sale now online and at Berglund Center box office.
Photo Credit: Michele Hancock
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