9.1°C Light Rainshower 
- Mathews posts shutout in shootout loss
- Kootenay Ice lose rare home date to Prince George Cougars
- Boomer & Co. leading Kootenay Ice as collective
- Ice get winning ways back against Chiefs
- Ice come out hungry to open season
- Kootenay Ice forwards play numbers game
- Vets return, lead Ice to pre-season win
- Kootenay Ice drop fourth straight exhibition game
- Beattie, Hiller find their groove behind Tri-City bench
- Goalies share more than Fraser Valley ties
- Ice try to get up to speed at exhibition tourney
- Kootenay set for weekend of many firsts
- Rossignol looks to make impression on Ice
- Familiar faces abound at Kootenay camp
- Kootenay jumps to it with fitness tests
- Kootenay set to hit the ice as training camp opens Thursday
The Kootenay Ice median age got a bit higher after they released five 16-year-old skaters yesterday.
Forwards Levi Cable, Colby Cave, Jared Iron and defenceman Jeff Hubic will be heading back to their respective midget teams in Saskatchewan while blueliner Mike Simpson will play junior B in the Lower Mainland.
?We feel that all of them are going to be part of the Kootenay Ice future; we just felt it wasn?t best if it was this year,? said head coach Kris Knoblauch.
?We felt they were all just not quite ready to play (in the Western Hockey League). With the 16-year-old rule, they have to play 40 games. We have six returning defencemen and 11 returning forwards so it would be tough to get them in the lineup every night.?
That leaves the Ice with 15 forwards, seven defencemen and four goaltenders.
That leaves seventeen-year-old forwards Erik Benoit, Ryan Bloom, Adam Rossignol and Jarett Zentner still looking to crack the lineup.
Bloom received medical clearance to resume skating, which he did in yesterday?s practice. He will have to deal with chronic back pain and physiotherapy, but Knoblauch said it?s not so bad the young centre will have to quit the game.
John Neibrandt outlasted Hubic and Simpson, and will complement the Ice defensive corps entering the season.
The Ice did not release any goaltenders yesterday, but goalie coach Justin Cardinal is in town to help Kootenay make a decision in that regard. Knoblauch said the team would like to be down to three by the end of the week.
BACK FROM CAMP
Forward Drew Czerwonka is back from Edmonton Oilers? training camp, and Matt Fraser is returning from Vancouver Canucks? tryouts.
Fraser had been told he would play an NHL exhibition game this week, but was released after all.
?It?s unfortunate it didn?t work out for him but we?re very excited to have him back,? said Knoblauch.
Steele Boomer had told the Ice to expect him back some time this week, but Knoblauch hasn?t heard from the would-be Chicago Blackhawk recently so that might have changed.
Finally, the Buffalo Sabres probably won?t release defenceman Brayden McNabb in time for Saturday?s Ice home opener against Calgary.
