ICE CHIPS: The KOOTENAY ICE enter tonight's action with a 35-29-1-3 record (21-12-1-1 at home, 14-17-0-2 on the road, 6-1 in overtime, 3-3 in shootouts)...Following tonight's contest KOOTENAY will visit LETHBRIDGE March 18 before concluding the regular season with a home and home series versus CALGARY beginning March 20 in CRANBROOK.
ROSTER BREAKDOWN: KOOTENAY is currently carrying 24 players (two goaltenders, nine defensemen and 13 forwards)...The ICE roster is made up of three 1994-born players, 11 1995-born players, three 1996-born players, five 1997-born players, and two 1998-born players...KOOTENAY has seven first-year players on its roster.
DID YOU KNOW: Forwards LUKE PHILP (16-20-36) and JAEDON DESCHENEAU (14-22-36) lead the ICE in road scoring with 36 points...KOOTENAY holds a 60-66-13-4 lifetime record versus RED DEER (33-31-8-2 at home, 27-35-7-2 on the road, 9-9-8 in overtime)...The ICE have clinched a playoff berth for the 17th consecutive season, the longest active streak in the WHL...KOOTENAY will also finish above the .500 mark for a WHL record 16th straight season...Goaltender WYATT HOFLIN broke an 18 year-old ICE franchise record with his 1,725th save of the season March 13 versus MEDICINE HAT...The previous record of 1,724 saves was set by TIM WINTERS during the inaugural 1996-97 campaign in EDMONTON...HOFLIN also tied a franchise record for wins in a season (34) against the TIGERS March 13, joining DAN BLACKBURN (1999-2000), JEFF GLASS (2004-05) and MACKENZIE SKAPSKI (2012-13)...LUKE PHILP recorded his 200th career point (goal) March 10 versus LETHBRIDGE...PHILP, who was named the STEEPLES CONSTRUCTION PLAYER OF THE MONTH for FEBRUARY March 6, is the 14th player in ICE franchise history to amass 200 points with the club...Forward JAEDON DESCHENEAU reached the 30-goal mark for the third consecutive season March 10 against the HURRICANES...DESCHENEAU is the fourth player in franchise history to put up three consecutive 30-goal campaigns (JARRET STOLL from 1999-2000 - 2001-02, NIGEL DAWES from 2002-03 - 2004-05, RYAN RUSSELL from 2004-05 - 2006-07)...Defenseman LENNY HACKMAN played in his 200th career WHL game March 7 against the TIGERS…Forward TIM BOZON and Defenseman RINAT VALIEV both appeared in their 100th games in an ICE uniform March 6 versus RED DEER…Forward LEVI CABLE scored his 27th goal of the season March 6 versus the REBELS, matching his total output from the previous three seasons combined…Forward AUSTIN VETTERL is one appearance away from 200 games played with KOOTENAY...The ICE hold the second-best road penalty kill in the WHL at 83.9 percent.
INJURY: Defenseman TANNER FAITH will be out of the ICE lineup three to five months with an upper body injury.
ONE YEAR AGO: After 68 games of the 2013-14 season the ICE were 39-25-2-2, after 69 games 39-26-2-2 and after 70 games 39-27-2-2.
DRAFTED PLAYERS: SAM REINHART - Buffalo Sabres (1st Round, 2014 NHL Draft), TIM BOZON - Montreal Canadiens (3rd Round, 2012 NHL Draft), RINAT VALIEV - Toronto Maple Leafs (3rd Round, 2014 NHL Draft), JAEDON DESCHENEAU - St. Louis Blues (5th Round, 2014 NHL Draft), TANNER FAITH – Minnesota Wild (5th Round, 2014 NHL Draft).