Click on the link below to view Roanoke’s game notes for Game 56 of the 2023-2024 season against the Knoxville Ice Bears at the Knoxville Civic Coliseum. The puck drops tonight at 6:00 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.
Tonight’s game will feature a Bud Light Watch Party at Pok-E-Joe’s BBQ located in Vinton.
Dawgs Game Notes vs. Ice Bears
Additionally, Roanoke has activated forward Brenden Stanko off of the injured reserve list, and placed forward Matteo DiGiulio on the 14-day injured reserve (retroactive to March 31). The SPHL also suspended John Macdonald for two games, Roanoke’s John MacDonald has been suspended two games under Rule 28, Supplementary Discipline, as a result of his major penalty and game misconduct for kneeing in last night’s game against Knoxville. MacDonald will miss Roanoke’s game tonight against Knoxville as well as the Game One of the first round of the President’s Cup Playoffs.
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 33 games for Roanoke this season, Stanko has recorded 11 goals, 18 assists, and a plus-four rating. 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.
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 just four games for Roanoke, the rookie has three goals and a plus-one rating. 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 Stanko and former Dawg Dakota Bohn for three years while at Adrian (all three were members of the 2020-2021 title team).
MacDonald is in his third professional season, having played three games for Roanoke last season and the remainder of his pro games for the FPHL’s Danbury Hat Tricks prior to returning to the Dawgs back on December 13. This season, the left-shot defenseman has six goals, 16 assists, 61 penalty minutes, and a plus-10 rating for the Dawgs after recording one goal, six assists, and a plus-two rating in seven games played for Danbury. In his first two seasons with the Hat Tricks, the Canonsburg, Pennsylvania native had 14 goals and 53 assists in 91 regular season games, adding six assists in 10 playoff games for the Hat Tricks last postseason on his way to helping Danbury win the FPHL’s Commissioner’s Cup as league champions.
Roanoke will have to wait until after tonight’s results to find out who it will play in the first round of the President’s Cup Playoffs next week. Single-game playoff tickets will go on sale on Sunday, April 7th, at 10 A.M. EST, and can be purchased by contacting or visiting the Berglund Center box office. Other season ticket packages and group tickets are on sale now by contacting the Rail Yard Dawgs office. Roanoke’s President’s Cup Playoffs run is sponsored by Haley Toyota.