ICE CHIPS: The KOOTENAY ICE enter tonight's action with a 15-17-0-0 record (9-6-0-0 at home, 6-11-0-0 on the road, 4-0 in overtime, 1-0 in shootouts)...Following tonight's contest KOOTENAY will play its final two games before the holiday break on home ice December 13 versus EDMONTON and December 16 against KAMLOOPS.
ROSTER BREAKDOWN: KOOTENAY is currently carrying 22 players (two goaltenders, seven defensemen and 13 forwards)...The ICE roster is made up of three 1994-born players, nine 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: KOOTENAY holds a 43-23-1-1 lifetime record versus PRINCE ALBERT (22-11-0-1 at home, 21-12-1-0 on the road, 9-2-0 in overtime)...Tonight marks the third of four meetings this season between the ICE and RAIDERS...Forward SAM REINHART has been named to the TEAM CANADA Selection Camp roster for the 2015 WORLD JUNIOR HOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIPS in TORONTO and MONTREAL...REINHART is one of 14 WHL invitees on the 29-player roster...REINHART is five points behind JARRET STOLL for the franchise lead in career regular season points…STOLL recorded 286 total regular season points during his career with the ICE…Defenseman RINAT VALIEV has also been named to the TEAM RUSSIA Selection Camp roster for the WORLD JUNIORS... Forward JAEDON DESCHENEAU is tied with STEVE DASILVA for sixth among franchise career assist leaders (132)...Forward LEVI CABLE surpassed his 2013-14 goal total with his 11th tally of the season December 9 versus MEDICINE HAT...Forward ZAK ZBOROSKY put up his first career multi-assist game December 6 at SPOKANE (two assists)…ZBOROSKY is two games short of 100 career WHL regular season appearances...Forward MATT ALFARO is three games shy of 100 career regular season games played...Defenseman TROY MURRAY is four games short of 100 career regular season appearances...The ICE have scored a power play goal in ten of the past 12 games...KOOTENAY holds a 6-0-0-0 record this season when opening the scoring at home... Four former ICE players (KEVIN KING, KRIS LAZARUK, LUKE PAULSEN and ELGIN PEARCE) have been invited to compete for TEAM CANADA at the 2015 WINTER UNIVERSIADE in GRANADA, SPAIN in February...The team is comprised entirely of players from the CIS CANADA WEST CONFERENCE.
INJURIES: Defenseman TANNER FAITH will be out of the ICE lineup week to week with an upper body injury...Defenseman DYLAN OVERDYK will be out of the KOOTENAY lineup week to week with an upper body injury.
ONE YEAR AGO: After 32 games of the 2013-14 season the ICE were 16-14-2-0, after 33 games 16-15-2-0 and after 34 games 17-15-2-0.
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).
TONIGHT’S OFFICIALS: The Referees for tonight’s game are JEFF INGRAM and JONATHAN SPURGEON...The Linesmen are TYLER JENSEN and NATHAN VAN OOSTEN.