ROANOKE, VA. – The Rail Yard Dawgs announced on Tuesday that rookie forward Ryan Reifler has signed a standard player contract with the team. Additionally, Roanoke has placed forward Jimmy O’Kane on the 14-day injured reserve, retroactive to March 2.
Reifler joins the Dawgs out of Elmira College (NCAA-DIII), where he played for five seasons. The six-foot-three forward had a dominant career at Elmira, notching 48 goals, 58 assists, 61 penalty minutes, and a plus-22 rating in 120 career collegiate games, earning a second-team All-UCHC selection this season after tallying 14 goals and 14 assists in 25 games. Reifler also was named to the 2020-21 UCHC All-Rookie Team. Prior to his college days, the Binghamton, New York native played four years of junior hockey in the CCHL, NA3HL, and CCHL2, recording 246 points in 120 NA3HL games and plus/minus rating of plus-184.
O’Kane joined the Dawgs late last February from Wilkes University (NCAA-DIII), where he played college hockey for four seasons. O’Kane made his lone appearance for the Dawgs in Roanoke’s 2-1 overtime loss to Knoxville on March 2, and was placed on team suspension on March 6 to finish the remainder of his academic year at Wilkes. In his first full pro season this year, O’Kane had one goal, nine assists, and 50 penalty minutes in 35 games played for Roanoke. The six-foot forward had 10 goals, 18 assists, 45 penalty minutes, and a plus-11 rating in 27 games during his senior season, and ended his collegiate career at Wilkes with 23 goals, 42 assists, and 78 penalty minutes over 82 career games played. Before his college career, the Chicago native played three seasons of junior hockey for the Charlotte Rush in the USPHL Elite and Premier divisions, ending his final year as the captain of the USPHL Premier team. O’Kane notched 51 goals, 95 assists, and 154 penalty minutes in 136 combined games played between the two divisions.
The Rail Yard Dawgs hit the road against the Fayetteville Marksmen on Wednesday, March 12 at the Crown Coliseum. Puck drop is slated for 10:00 A.M. EST in North Carolina. Single game tickets for the season are on sale now online and at Berglund Center box office, and playoff packages for the 2025 President’s Cup Playoffs are on sale now through the Rail Yard Dawgs’ front office.
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