ROANOKE, Va. – The Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL) on Tuesday announced that Roanoke’s Josh Nenadal has been suspended one game under Rule 28, Supplementary Discipline, relating to his minor penalty for interference at 3:40 of the second period during Roanoke’s game versus Fayetteville on December 23, 2023. He will miss today’s game against Knoxville. The Rail Yard Dawgs also announced that goaltender Brody Claeys has returned from his ECHL call-up with the Norfolk Admirals, and the team has subsequently released goaltender Connor Green.
Nenadal originally joined the Dawgs just before the 2018-2019 playoffs and has played in 159 regular season games and 23 postseason games for the franchise. Nenadal has four goals, two assists, and a plus-five rating already this year for the Dawgs. The five-foot-nine winger enjoyed a career year last season, notching 13 goals and 13 assists in 45 regular season games before adding three goals and three assists during the President’s Cup playoffs. The Brecksville, Ohio native has served as an alternate captain for the team for the past two seasons. His gritty style of play featured four fights and 99 penalty minutes during the 2021-2022 season.
Claeys is in his third season in the Star City, playing in 24 games for Roanoke with an 8-8-5 record in net for the Dawgs. During the 2022-2023 campaign, Claeys posted a .883 save clip with a 3.35 goals against average in his 11 appearances for Roanoke, and this season, Claeys has a .892 save percentage with a goals against average of 3.10. The Dauphin, Manitoba native spent most of the past two seasons in the ECHL, playing for five different teams and even earning a brief call-up to the AHL’s Utica Comets last spring. Claeys started for Norfolk on Saturday night, stopping 23 of 26 shots in a 3-2 loss to the Reading Royals. In his four professional seasons, the six-foot-four goaltender has tallied an .890 save percentage and a combined 24-23-6 record between the pipes.
The Rail Yard Dawgs will visit the Knoxville Ice Bears tonight, December 26 at 6:00 P.M. EST at Knoxville Civic Coliseum, and you can watch the game on Flo or listen in on Mixlr. Single game tickets for home games are on sale now at Berglund Center box office and online. Group tickets and other ticket packages are on sale now by contacting the Dawgs’ front office.
Photo Credit: Tim Lester Images (Claeys)
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