Click on the link below to view Roanoke’s game notes for Game 49 of the 2024-2025 season against the Knoxville Ice Bears at Berglund Center. The puck drops tonight at 7:05 P.M. EST, and you can watch the game via Roanoke’s Flo Hockey stream or listen to the free broadcast on the Haley Toyota Rail Yard Dawgs Hockey Network on Mixlr.
Dawgs Game Notes vs. Ice Bears
Additionally, the Rail Yard Dawgs announced on Friday that defenseman Johnny Macdonald has been placed on the 14-day injured reserve (retroactive to March 13), and that rookie forward Jimmy O’Kane has been activated from the injured reserve and subsequently placed on waivers.
MacDonald began his fourth professional season in Reading’s (ECHL) training camp this fall but returned to Roanoke after he was waived on October 13. The 24-year-old played in six games for Reading between two stints in October and November after he was initially called up to the ECHL on October 28, returning to the Dawgs for good on November 25. The Canonsburg, Pennsylvania native has had a strong season for Roanoke, tallying three goals, nine assists, 32 penalty minutes, and a plus-10 rating in 32 games played for Roanoke. After appearing in three games for Roanoke in the 2022-2023 season, the six-foot-two blue-liner broke out last season with six goals, 16 assists, a plus-11 rating, and 61 penalty minutes in 36 regular season games for the Dawgs after signing with Roanoke on December 13, 2023. The remainder of Macdonald’s pro experience to date came with the FPHL’s Danbury Hat Tricks, where the left-shot defenseman had 15 goals, 59 assists, and 96 penalty minutes in 98 regular season games while adding eight assists in 14 career playoff games for the Hat Tricks. Macdonald was a strong contributor in Danbury’s FPHL’s Commissioner’s Cup title run in the 2022-2023 season. Macdonald will be eligible to be activated ahead of Roanoke’s three-game homestand to round out the month of March.
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 before he was placed on the 14-day IR back on March 11. 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 on Saturday, March 22 against the Fayetteville Marksmen at the Crown Coliseum. Puck drop is scheduled for 6:00 P.M. EST in North Carolina. Single game tickets for the season are on sale now online and at Berglund Center box office. Playoff packages for the 2025 President’s Cup Playoffs are also available now by contacting the Rail Yard Dawgs’ front office.