The Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs are a professional ice hockey team and a member of the SPHL . Based in Roanoke, Virginia , the Rail Yard Dawgs play their home games at Berglund Center .
23-842: The Rail Yard Dawgs are the sixth professional hockey franchise to call the Roanoke Valley home, following the Salem/Roanoke Valley Rebels of the Eastern Hockey League and later the Southern Hockey League (1967–1976), the Salem/Virginia Raiders of the second Eastern Hockey League and Atlantic Coast Hockey League (1980–1983), the Virginia Lancers / Roanoke Valley Rebels / Rampage (1983– 1993 ) of
46-407: A final record of 17–30–9. The team finished in ninth place in the league, five points from qualifying for the final playoff spot. The team drew 87,831 fans over the course of the season with an average of 3,136 per game for fifth highest in the ten team league. During the 2017–18 season , head coach Ftorek was relieved of his duties after 18 games with a 5–11–2 record. He was replaced by Dan Bremner,
69-477: A former SPHL player. Under Bremner, the Rail Yard Dawgs went 21–15–2 and qualified in the final seed for the playoffs, but were swept in the first round by the top-seeded Peoria Rivermen . In the second season under Bremner, the Rail Yard Dawgs finished fifth in the league with a 28–24–4 record. Roanoke was again selected by the top-seed Rivermen as their first round opponent and the Rail Yard Dawgs upset
92-522: A new ownership group, the league ceased operations of the franchise in late July 2002. Several reasons were cited for the collapse of the Steam, including poor attendance, inadequate marketing, and Roanoke being an unsuitable market to maintain a minor league football franchise. The Steam were not the only minor league franchise in the Roanoke area to encounter problems in the 2000s. The Roanoke Dazzle of
115-651: A score of 5-1, and win game 3 in Knoxville 3-1. Roanoke would go on to sweep the 2nd place Huntsville Havoc, to make the President’s Cup Final for the first time in franchise history. Roanoke would fall to the Peoria Rivermen, 3-1 in the best of 5 final. Building on their 2022 Finals run, the Dawgs would finish the 2022-23 regular season with a 32-19-3-2 record and 69 points, good enough for the 4th seed in
138-947: The Atlantic Coast Hockey League and later the East Coast Hockey League , the Roanoke Express of the East Coast Hockey League ( 1993 – 2004 ), and the Roanoke Valley Vipers of the United Hockey League ( 2005–2006 ). On October 20, 2015, an ownership group headed by Bob McGinn purchased the dormant Mississippi Surge franchise and relocated the team to Roanoke for the 2016–17 season. The ownership group consisted of Bob McGinn and his three NHL player sons, Jamie , Tye , and Brock , former Surge owner Tim Kerr , and several other locals. On November 19,
161-564: The Lakeside Amusement Park . Dave Lucas was coach the team's first coach, but struggled for the first two seasons and missed the playoffs both years. Colin Kilburn was brought in to coach in 1969, and improved the team to second place in the southern division, but lost in the first round of the playoffs. Kilburn coached the next two seasons to third place finishes, and first round playoff losses. The Rebels affiliated with
184-590: The NBDL were relocated after also never developing a consistent following; however, the team's attendance was similar to the other inaugural franchises of the NBDL which were located in small cities in the Southeast. The Roanoke Express , a minor league ice hockey team who were owned for a time by the Steam's ownership group and had enjoyed an unprecedented level of popularity in the mid to late 1990s, began to falter in
207-660: The Philadelphia Blazers in 1972 and the parent club assigned Gregg Pilling to coach. The Rebels finished first place in the southern division, won two playoff series, and finished runners-up in the 1973 EHL finals. In 1973, the Rebels became a charter team in the Southern Hockey League due to travel costs to the multiple northern teams in the EHL for the 1973–74 season. Pilling stayed on as coach and
230-839: The Salem Rebels from 1967 to 1970, playing at the Salem Civic Center in Salem, Virginia . In 1971, the Rebels began splitting home games between Salem at the newer and larger Roanoke Civic Center in Roanoke . The team name recalled Johnny Reb , a national personification of the Southern United States . The team logo was the Battle Flag of the Confederate States of America cut in
253-501: The Rail Yard Dawgs name and logo pay tribute to the region's railroad heritage. The city has a long history as a railroad hub and the Berglund Center is in close proximity to the nearby Roanoke Shops and train lines operated by Norfolk Southern Railway , as well as the recently completed Roanoke Amtrak Station . This rail history is further exemplified by the presence of railroad tracks on the team logo. The team logo depicts
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#1732794031859276-483: The Rail Yard Dawgs name, logo and colors were officially announced. On April 29, 2016, Sam Ftorek was announced the team's first head coach. The Rail Yard Dawgs played their home opener at the Berglund Center in front of a sellout crowd on October 21, 2016, falling to the Knoxville Ice Bears 2–0. The team started with a 4–3–1 record, but faltered down the stretch, finishing the season with 43 points and
299-658: The SPHL playoffs. Roanoke would sweep 5th-seeded Evansville in the first round before dispatching top-seeded Peoria two games to one in the Semifinals. On May 2, 2023, Roanoke defeated the Birmingham Bulls 2-1 in overtime to clinch the SPHL Finals three games to one to earn their first SPHL President's Cup . In a manner similar to previous Berglund Center attendants, the Roanoke Express and Roanoke Steam ,
322-768: The World Hockey Association. As recorded in the Internet Hockey Database: Roanoke Steam The Roanoke Steam was an arena football team that began as a charter member franchise of af2 , the developmental league for the Arena Football League . They played their home games at the Roanoke Civic Center in Roanoke, Virginia . The Steam were unable to get into the playoffs during their only three years in
345-801: The Year Defenseman of the Year First Team All-Star Second Team All-Star Playoffs Most Valuable Player Roanoke Valley Rebels The Roanoke Valley Rebels were a minor league professional ice hockey team based in the Roanoke Valley in Virginia. The team first played in the Eastern Hockey League and then joined the Southern Hockey League . The team was originally known as
368-543: The early 2000s due to a lack of postseason success and an eventual decline in regular season performance and turmoil in ownership and management that contributed to bad press and less effective marketing than earlier seasons. The Express folded after the 2003-2004 season. A United Hockey League franchise, the Roanoke Valley Vipers , relocated to Roanoke for the 2005-2006 season to replace the Express, but this venture folded after just one season due to poor attendance blamed on
391-467: The league. In early May of the 2002 season, the original ownership group, consisting of businessmen Harold Jordan, Richard Macher, and Richard Yancey, declared that the LLC controlling the franchise was bankrupt and subsequently fired all team employees. In order to preserve the existing af2 schedule, the league office assumed control of the team and hired back the remaining employees. After a two-month search for
414-573: The mascot, Diesel, dressed in apparel similar to that of a train conductor. His hat depicts an image of the Mill Mountain Star , arguably Roanoke's most iconic landmark. The star is also present on the team's alternate logo, which is visible on the shoulders of the team's uniforms. The Dawgs have partnered with three local charitable organizations: Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, OTL = Overtime/shootout losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against Goaltender of
437-591: The regular season champions in a two-game sweep. Due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic , the Rail Yard Dawgs were one of several SPHL teams to not participate in the 2020–21 season . In the 2021-22 season, Roanoke would finish 8th out of 11th, qualifying for the last playoff spot (making their third ever appearance in the President’s Cup Playoffs.) Despite losing game 1 of the first round against 1st place Knoxville, Roanoke would win game 2 at home by
460-639: The shape of a maple leaf. The Rebels were founding members of the Southern Hockey League in 1973 after the Eastern Hockey League ceased operations, and won the James Crockett Cup in 1974. After nine seasons of play, the team ceased operations in 1976. The first Salem Rebels game was played October 24, 1967, and Salem won 3–1 over the Jacksonville Rockets . Most of the players lived in a mobile home park across, near
483-513: The team July 14, 1975, and the Rebels were obtained by local oil distributor, Henry Brabham . Player-coach Jack Chipchase led the Rebels in the 1975–76 season, finishing fourth place, and a first round playoff loss. The Rebels ceased operations after the season. Salem eventually got another team in the Salem Raiders of the restarted Eastern Hockey League in 1980 and the Rebels branding
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#1732794031859506-653: The team roster featured eleven French Canadians , including the league's most valuable player, Claude Piche. The Rebels finished first place in the regular season, and won the James Crocket Cup in the playoffs. Pilling was named the SHL Coach of the Year for 1973–74. Bill Needham coached the 1974–75 season, and the team dropped to fourth place and a first round playoff loss. Team operator and league commissioner, Gene Hawthorne, filed for bankruptcy protection for
529-780: Was revived for an East Coast Hockey League team from 1990 to 1992. The Rebels were affiliated with the National Hockey League in the 1971–72 season, and with the World Hockey Association from 1972 to 1976. Notable players for the Salem Rebels (EHL 1967–1970), the Roanoke Valley Rebels (EHL 1970–1973), and the Roanoke Valley Rebels (SHL 1973–1977), who also played in either the National Hockey League or
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