ROANOKE, Va. – Leaving no doubt on the ice, the Rail Yard Dawgs were able to quiet the Storm that is Quad City. A convincing 7-1 victory sent them packing while putting Roanoke back in the SPHL President’s Cup Semifinals.
One of many guys that made a difference in the first round is Brendan Pepe. The New Jersey native scored once on Friday and twice on Saturday. He leads the team with three playoff goals and it comes as no surprise as he netted 13 goals during the regular season.
His unique skill set is something he says hasn’t always been consistent this season.
“I kind of struggled with that all season long,” Pepe said. “Trying to work on my skill, but also keeping it simple and I think just the pressure kind of brought the best out of me and a good talk from everybody. They picked me up when I was down and keep me going when I’m playing well.”
“He plays at the next level for sure, and when he’s not doing too much, he picks his spot and right now he’s got a great balance between looking for the next level play and also just making sure he’s making this simple play when he has to,” said Rail Yard Dawgs head coach Dan Bremner.
Overall it was a strong offensive performance for Roanoke in the first round of the playoffs with 8 different players having scored a goal--three of them scoring multiple.
Roanoke will look to build on that strong showing as it prepares to play Huntsville in the semifinals beginning on Wednesday night. Game one will be on the road while game two will be at the Berglund Center Friday night. If necessary, game three will also be at the Berglund Center on Saturday night.