ROANOKE, Va. – Spring time in the Valley means playoff hockey in the Star City! For the third consecutive season, the Rail Yard Dawgs are getting set for the postseason. Just two years removed from winning the franchise’s first ever SPHL President’s Cup Championship, the team knows what it takes.
Roanoke earned the number three seed, once again touting another solid veteran core in guys like Mac Jansen and Nick Ford just to name a few.
But the playoffs are also a time that the Rail Yard Dawgs know not to take for granted--having won it all in 2023 to falling in the semifinals round last season.
“Yeah, it’s kind of the same feeling as it was two years ago,” said Matt O’Dea. “You know, we’re just super, super pumped up and it’s different in a sense. I think it’s easier to get up in the morning. It’s easier to come to the rink and stuff like that. We just can’t wait for Wednesday to start, so yeah.”
“You know, you try not to change much,” said Mac Jansen. “You try to create your identity throughout the whole season and then, you know, almost amplify that same identity into playoffs, but we’re, throughout the course of the season, we’re trying to prepare to become that playoff team, because it’s such a short amount of time.”
“Always great having guys that have won before to experience it,” said Rail Yard Dawgs head coach Dan Bremner. “You know, like I said, in a best-of-three, you go down a game, it can be devastating if you haven’t been there before. We have guys that have gone through it and persevered through it, so that’s important. At the same time, losing hurts. It’s the worst and we have guys from last year that felt that burn again and that fire and that hunger’s back, so I’m excited about it.”
Roanoke’s first round series will be against No. 6 Knoxville. Game one is set for 7 p.m. Wednesday night in Knoxville with game two scheduled for Friday night at the Berglund Center. If necessary, game three will also be held at the Berglund Center Saturday night.