ROANOKE, VA. – The Rail Yard Dawgs announced on Tuesday that forward Billy Vizzo has returned from his loan to the ECHL’s Maine Mariners, and defenseman Vojtech Zemlicka has been waived.
Vizzo returned to Roanoke this fall after a strong debut for the Dawgs last season. This year, the Shelton, Connecticut native leads the team in goals scored with 17, while adding 14 assists and a team-best plus-19 rating. His 24.9 shooting percentage ranks second throughout the SPHL this season, and his 17 goals ranked tied for the tenth-most in the league.
In the 2021-22 season, the five-foot-eleven winger had scored six goals and provided 11 assists in 25 games with the Dawgs before he was unfortunately placed on the season-ending injured reserve list on February 28. Vizzo played in one game during his call-up with Maine last week, which was his third career ECHL call-up after prior stints for Worcester and South Carolina.
Zemlicka notched two goals and nine assists in 21 games for Roanoke last season after he changed roles from assistant coach to player in January 2022. The five-foot-eleven defenseman had an assist and a plus-one rating in Saturday’s 5-4 win over Knoxville after signing with the team earlier that day to help provide relief to Roanoke’s depleted roster due to suspensions. He’s played in 217 professional games for ten different teams over the course of six seasons. The Prague, Czech Republic native has suited up in 120 SPHL games during his career, including 62 appearances for Roanoke.
The Rail Yard Dawgs will visit the Knoxville Ice Bears on Thursday, March 2 at 7:35 p.m. EST, and you can watch the game on HockeyTV or listen for free on Mixlr. Season tickets and single-game tickets are available by calling the Rail Yard Dawgs office, visiting the ‘Tickets’ page on our website, or by visiting the Berglund Center box office.
Photo Credit: Ashlie Brammer (Vizzo), Valerie Chenault (Zemlicka)