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26-787: 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

52-407: 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,

78-470: 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

104-635: 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

130-900: 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,

156-549: 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

182-634: 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

208-792: 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

234-473: The 1930s, they employed over 6,000 workers, who were working on four steam locomotives and 20 freight cars on any given day. Products included locomotives of all sizes and of increasingly better technology, from switching engines to the famed streamlined class J passenger locomotives, the huge, articulated Y5 and Y6-classes for low-speed coal drags, and the A-class for fast freight service. During World War II in

260-526: The 1940s, the Roanoke Shops repaired more than 100 locomotives from the Atlantic Coast Line (ACL), Chicago and North Western (C&NW), Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac (RF&P), and Seaboard Air Line (SAL) railroads to assist with the war effort . Additionally, they manufactured components for Bailey bridges , marine cylinders, and other critical parts for war use. In December 1953,

286-625: The N&;W's famous Big Three class steam locomotives; the 4-8-4 class J , the 2-6-6-4 class A , and the 2-8-8-2 class Y6. In late 1953, the Shops built their final steam locomotive, making it last standard gauge steam locomotive built for revenue service in the United States. In 2020, N&W's successor, Norfolk Southern abandoned the Shops and Genesis Rail Services leased the property in July 2023. Before

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312-494: 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

338-474: 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

364-474: The Roanoke Shops built the class S-1a 0-8-0 switcher No. 244, which was also the last steam locomotive manufactured in the United States for domestic use. After the N&W stopped using steam locomotives in May 1960, J-class No. 611 and A-class No. 1218 were used to pull excursion trains from the early 1980s until the early 1990s. No. 1218 is now on display near its birthplace in a specially constructed pavilion at

390-634: 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 ,

416-767: The World Hockey Association. As recorded in the Internet Hockey Database: Roanoke Shops The Roanoke Shops (comprising the main East End Shops and the West Roanoke Yard and shops at Shaffers Crossing) is a railroad workshop and maintenance facility in Roanoke, Virginia . Between 1884 and 1953, the shops produced 447 steam locomotives, all for the Norfolk and Western Railway (N&W). The Roanoke Shops built

442-739: 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

468-687: The locomotive shops were being built, Roanoke had been a quiet farming community of Big Lick and a small stop on the Atlantic, Mississippi & Ohio Railroad (AM&O). That changed in February 1881 when the owners of the Shenandoah Valley Railroad , building up the valley, purchased the AM&;O, renamed it the Norfolk and Western, and selected Big Lick as the new junction. In 1882, the town grew rapidly as

494-565: 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

520-475: The new center of the combined railroads and changed its name to Roanoke , becoming a city in just a short time. In October 1881, the Roanoke Machine Works was founded, a set of shops that would grow to massive size and become the major employer in the Roanoke Valley for a century. The shops came under the control of the N&W in 1883, and the following year the shops began building locomotives. Over

546-419: The next nine years, the facility built 152 locomotives, all for the N&W, then suspended production. Antoine Sauter was one of its foremen. Production resumed in 1900 at the facility, which had been renamed the Roanoke Shops in 1897. Over the next 53 years, the shops built 295 locomotives (and re-boilered two more). From 1927 to 1952, the shops built every steam locomotive acquired by the N&W. During

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572-586: 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

598-613: 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

624-502: 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

650-636: 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

676-735: 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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