Calgary, AB – With the conclusion of the 2009-10 Western Hockey League Regular Season and the 2010 WHL Playoffs well underway, SUBWAY® Restaurants is pleased to announce the winner of the grand prize give away of a trip for two to the 2010 MasterCard Memorial Cup taking place in Brandon, Manitoba.

All season long, WHL Central Division fans had the opportunity to submit their answers to the weekly SUBWAY® WHL - Central Division Challenge trivia by visiting www.whl-central.com.

Those who correctly answered the weekly trivia questions were automatically entered for their chance to win the Grand Prize and one of six (6) runner-up packages courtesy of SUBWAY® Restaurants along with weekly prizes of Subway gift cards.

Congratulations to Mr. Larry Toepfer of Red Deer, AB, who will be representing his favorite Central Division team, the Red Deer Rebels, at the 2010 MasterCard Memorial Cup in Brandon, MB.  The winning entry was chosen randomly from all correct trivia entries accumulated throughout the 2009-2010 WHL Regular Season.

For winning the SUBWAY® WHL – Central Division Grand Prize giveaway, Larry will receive a $1700.00 Travel Voucher, Hotel Accommodations and Game Tickets to the Semi Final and Final Games of the 2010 MasterCard Memorial Cup in Brandon, Manitoba taking place May 14 – 23, 2010. 

Runner up winners of Free SUBWAY® every week for one year include: Kim Dalton (Warner, AB – Lethbridge Hurricanes), Mark Taylor (Calgary, AB – Calgary Hitmen), Gail McDonald (Cranbrook, BC – Kootenay Ice), Damon Pugerude (Edmonton, AB – Edmonton Oil Kings) and Theresa Odenbach (Ponoka, AB – Red Deer Rebels).

Congratulation also goes out to the Calgary Hitmen, who with a winning percentage of .781 versus other WHL Central Division teams, captured their 2^nd straight WHL – SUBWAY® WHL - Central Division Challenge Cup.  The Hitmen, who also finished 1^st overall in the WHL Regular Season standings with 107 points, won 24 of 32 head-to-head Central Division games.  Runner-up in the SUBWAY® WHL - Central Division Challenge race was the Medicine Hat Tigers, who won 21 of 32 Central Division games for a winning percentage of .719.

Go to www.whl-central.com to view the rest of the SUBWAY® WHL – Central Division Challenge standings.  

All up-to-date Western Hockey Playoff Information can be found at www.whl.ca.

ICE CHIPS:  The KOOTENAY ICE enter this week’s action with a 2-0-0 record (2-0-0 at home, 0-0-0 on the road and 0-0 in overtime) after the first two games of the EASTERN CONFERENCE QUARTER FINAL against the MEDICINE HAT TIGERS…KOOTENAY finished the 2009-2010 regular season with a 43-24-3-2 record (21-12-2-1 at home, 22-12-1-1 on the road, 4-3 in overtime, 5-2 in shootouts) and in fourth place in the EASTERN CONFERENCE and tied for eighth place overall in the WHL…It is the seventh time in franchise history and fifth in the last six years that the ICE have recorded at least 40 wins in a season…KOOTENAY finished the 2009-2010 regular season with an above .500 record for the 11^th consecutive season, which is the longest active streak in the WESTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE…The ICE clinched a playoff spot for the 12^th consecutive year and will be facing the MEDICINE HAT TIGERS for the second time in franchise history…In 2008, KOOTENAY defeated MEDICINE HAT in five games in the first round.

PLAYOFF EXPERIENCE:  The ICE have a career playoff record of 69-52 (38-23 at home, 31-29 on the road, 18-10 in overtime)…KOOTENAY has 184 games of playoff experience which is the ninth most of the teams who qualified for the post season…RYAN MOLLE (27), DUSTIN SYLVESTER (25), KEVIN KING (23) and BRAYDEN MCNABB (16) lead the ICE in games played in the playoffs…HAYDEN RINTOUL recorded his first career WHL playoff goal on March 19^th against MEDICINE HAT…BROCK MONTGOMERY recorded his first goal in WHL playoffs against the TIGERS in Game One…JOEY LEACH recorded his first career WHL playoff goal on March 19^th against MEDICINE HAT…DREW CZERWONKA recorded his first WHL playoff point with an assist against the TIGERS in Game One…ELGIN PEARCE, who recorded his first career WHL playoff point with an assist on March 19^th against MEDICINE HAT, recorded his first goal in WHL playoffs against the TIGERS in Game Two…JESSE ISMOND recorded his first career WHL playoff point with an assist against MEDICINE HAT on March 20^th…TODD MATHEWS recorded his first career WHL playoff shutout in Game Two against the TIGERS (20 saves).

EASTERN CONFERENCE QUARTER FINAL:  If there is a Game Five of the EASTERN CONFERENCE QUARTER FINAL vs. MEDICINE HAT presented by KAL-TIRE and HUSKY / MOHAWK, it will be played at home on Friday, March 26^th…For ticket information please call the KOOTENAY ICE Office at 250-417-0322.

DID YOU KNOW:  KOOTENAY was 3-3-0-0 against MEDICINE HAT in the regular season…DUSTIN SYLVESTER (4-5-9), MATT FRASER (3-4-7) and BRAYDEN MCNABB (1-6-7) led the ICE in scoring against MEDICINE HAT in the season series while TRISTAN KING (3-6-9), LINDEN VEY (3-4-7) and MARK ISHERWOOD (1-5-6) led the TIGERS…The ICE played in their 1000^th regular season game on February 23 against RED DEER…KOOTENAY  finished the regular season with a .500 or better road record for the ninth time in the last 11 seasons…DUSTIN SYLVESTER finished the regular season eighth in League scoring (35-58-93)…SYLVESTER scored his franchise record 15^th career shorthanded goal on March 3 in EDMONTON (previous record was 11 held by DUNCAN MILROY)…BRAYDEN MCNABB finished the regular season sixth in the WHL for points by a defenseman (17-40-57)…MATT FRASER, who recorded his 50^th career WHL goal on March 3 against the OIL KINGS, recorded his 100^th WHL career point on March 12^th against RED DEER…KEVIN KING recorded his 150^th WHL career point on March 13^th against EDMONTON.

ONE YEAR AGO:  After Game Two of the 2008-2009 Eastern Conference Quarter Final vs the BRANDON WHEAT KINGS the ICE were 0-2, after Game Three were 0-3 and after Game Four were 0-4.

UPCOMING WEEK:

Tuesday                March 23              ICE @ Medicine Hat                           7:00 pm (102.9 FM – The Drive)

Wednesday          March 24              ICE @ Medicine Hat                           7:00 pm (102.9 FM – The Drive)

Thursday               March 25               Practice 3:45 – 5:45 pm                     Cranbrook Rec Plex

*Friday                   March 26              ICE vs Medicine Hat                          7:00 pm (102.9 FM – The Drive)

Saturday                March 27               Practice 12:00 – 1:30 pm                   7:00 pm (102.9 FM – The Drive)

*Sunday                March 28              ICE @ Medicine Hat                           6:00 pm (102.9 FM – The Drive)

*If necessary

WEEK IN REVIEW:

Friday, March 19 – Kootenay 6 vs Medicine Hat 2 – Record 1-0 – Attendance: 2,335

Goals:

1 – King (1) from McNabb and Sylvester

2 – Fraser (1) from Reinhart

3 – Rintoul (1) from McNabb and King

4 – Montgomery (1) from Czerwonka and Pearce

5 – Sylvester (1) from Pearce and Rintoul

6 – Leach (1)

Goalie:  Todd Mathews (25 Saves, 2 GA)

Saturday, March 20 – Kootenay 4 vs Medicine Hat 0 – Record 2-0 – Attendance: 2,452

Goals:

1 – King (2) from Boomer and McNabb

2 – Reinhart (2) from Fraser and Ismond

3 – King (3) from Boomer and Pacovsky

4 – Pearce (1) from Czerwonka

Goalie:  Todd Mathews (20 Saves, 0 GA)

ICE CHIPS:  The KOOTENAY ICE finished the 2009-2010 regular season with a 43-24-3-2 record (21-12-2-1 at home, 22-12-1-1 on the road, 4-3 in overtime, 5-2 in shootouts) and in fourth place in the EASTERN CONFERENCE and tied for eighth place overall in the WHL…The ICE won their 40^th game of the regular season March 3 in EDMONTON…It is the seventh time in franchise history and fifth in the last six years that KOOTENAY has recorded at least 40 wins in a season…The ICE finished the 2009-2010 regular season with an above .500 record for the 11^th consecutive season, which is the longest active streak in the WESTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE…KOOTENAY has clinched a playoff spot for the 12^th consecutive year and will be facing the MEDICINE HAT TIGERS for the second time in franchise history…In 2008, the ICE defeated MEDICINE HAT in five games in the first round.

PLAYOFF EXPERIENCE:  The ICE have a career playoff record of 67-52 (36-23 at home, 31-29 on the road, 18-10 in overtime)…KOOTENAY has 145 games of playoff experience which is the ninth most of the teams who qualified for the post season…RYAN MOLLE (25), DUSTIN SYLVESTER (23), KEVIN KING (21) and BRAYDEN MCNABB (14) lead the ICE in games played in the playoffs.

EASTERN CONFERENCE QUARTER FINAL:  Game One of the EASTERN CONFERENCE QUARTER FINAL vs. MEDICINE HAT presented by KAL-TIRE and HUSKY / MOHAWK, will be played at home on Friday, March 19^th and Game Two on Saturday, March 20^th…The puck will drop for both games at 7:00 pm…Individual game tickets are now available at the KOOTENAY ICE Office and KOOTENAY collectibles.

RELAY FOR LIFE NIGHT:  When the ICE host the MEDICINE HAT TIGERS on March 19^th it will be RELAY FOR LIFE Night...Fans in attendance will have the opportunity to learn more about RELAY FOR LIFE and find out how to get involved.

DODGE CANADA NIGHT:  When KOOTENAY host the MEDICINE HAT TIGERS on March 20^th it will be DODGE CANADA NIGHT…Fans in attendance will have the opportunity to win prizes and learn more about DODGE CANADA.

I NEWS:  Join the I NEWS mailing list…This is an opportunity for fans to get their morning fix of all things KOOTENAY ICE related from Monday to Friday…To subscribe go to kootenayice.net and sign up under the WebTV button.

DID YOU KNOW:  The ICE played in their 1000^th game on February 23 against RED DEER…KOOTENAY  finished the regular season with a .500 or better road record for the ninth time in the last 11 seasons…DUSTIN SYLVESTER, who finished the regular season in eighth in League scoring (35-58-93), played in his 300^th WHL career game on February 26 against MEDICINE HAT…SYLVESTER scored his franchise record 15^th career shorthanded goal on March 3 in EDMONTON (previous record was 11 held by DUNCAN MILROY)…BRAYDEN MCNABB finished the regular season in sixth in the WHL for points by a defenseman (17-40-57)…MATT FRASER, who recorded his 50^th career WHL goal on March 3 against the OIL KINGS, recorded his 100^th WHL career point on March 12^th against RED DEER.

ONE YEAR AGO:  After 72 games of the 2008-2009 season the ICE were 35-29-2-6.

UPCOMING WEEK:

Tuesday                March 16               Practice 12:00 – 2:00 pm                   Memorial Arena

Wednesday          March 17               Practice 12:00 – 2:00 pm                   Cranbrook Rec Plex

Thursday               March 18               Practice 10:45 – 12:45 pm                                Cranbrook Rec Plex

Friday                    March 19              ICE vs Medicine Hat                          7:00 pm (102.9 FM – The Drive)

Saturday               March 20              ICE vs Medicine Hat                          7:00 pm (102.9 FM – The Drive)

WEEK IN REVIEW:

Wednesday, March 10 – Kootenay 5 vs Red Deer 1 – Record 41-24-3-2 – Attendance: 2,727

Goals:

1 – King (60) from Ismond and Leach

2 – Fraser (51) from Reinhart and Leach

3 – Montgomery (11) from Pearce and Leach

4 – King (61) from Sylvester and Leach

5 – Pearce (3) from Pacovsky and Magnus

Goalie:  Todd Mathews (23 Saves, 1 GA)

Friday, March 12 – Kootenay 4 @ Red Deer 2 – Record 42-24-3-2 – Attendance: 5,518

Goals:

1 – Ismond (31) from Fraser and Rintoul

2 – Reinhart (32) from Fraser

3 – Martin (7) from Fraser

4 – Molle (3) from McNabb

Goalie:  Todd Mathews (38 Saves, 2 GA)

Saturday, March 13 – Kootenay 2 vs Edmonton 1 – Record 43-24-3-2 – Attendance: 2,998

Goals:

1 – Martin (8) from Sylvester and Boomer

2 – King (62) from Sylvester

Goalie:  Todd Mathews (20 Saves, 1 GA)