For Kootenay Ice overagers Steele Boomer, Kevin King and Matt Fraser, their final exit meeting was their best.

They, like all their teammates, took part in individual post mortems with the organization Sunday. Two days earlier, they lost to the hometown Mississauga St. Michael's Majors in the MasterCard Memorial Cup semifinal.

"I pretty much almost cried," said Boomer. "After the game I cried. I've had a lot of exit meetings with Jeff (Chynoweth, general manager) and this was by far the most enjoyable one I've had."

Fraser said it was a weird feeling, packing his bag as a member of the Ice for the last time.

"It's part of hockey," said the Dallas Stars prospect. "Hopefully there are bigger and better things down the road for me. I've had a lot of fun here over the last four years, and that's all that matters."

Throwing captain Brayden McNabb into the mix, the foursome joined forces on the Ice four years ago and each wore a letter this year.

"It's almost stupid. We legitimately love each other in that room," said Boomer. "Four years of having your best buddy, spending every day with them pretty much - you start to develop a pretty intimate relationship with everyone."

King said their bond has grown beyond friendship and even best-friendship into brotherhood.

He said being in a small town like Cranbrook leads to better team chemistry. Plus there's the extended travel schedule that you just don't get in the leagues east of Manitoba.

"Stuck on a bus with these guys for 14 hours at a time - it is a good time for sure, and it forces you to get close," said King. "Whether you like the guy or not, you're going to know more about him than you would if we were in a different situation."

McNabb is not likely returning to the Ice, having recently signed a contract with the Buffalo Sabres. While the leadership corps is moving on, they do so with sweet memories of their final year together.

"It's tough. We're such a good team, such a close group of guys and it's like they say: all good things have to come to an end," said Boomer. "It just sucks, especially being two wins away from being the national champions."

Still, they were able to accumulate their best hockey memories in their last season of major junior.

McNabb said the greatest feeling of all was hearing the buzzer sound in the league championship-deciding Game 5 in Portland.

"You've worked so hard all year and accomplished that. It's hard to describe the feeling, but it's something I'll never forget. And I'll never forget the 22, 23 guys on this team."

King first moved to Cranbrook as a 16-year-old rookie, and leaves as a 21-year-old veteran with a dandy handlebar mustache.

"I'm really excited to see what my future holds I guess, but it obviously sucks knowing that a quarter of my life spent here is gone," King said. "I'll never forget the hockey, the guys and all the memories here for sure. That will stick with me for the rest of my life."

Boomer said it was special to be able to accomplish this with the organization they all grew up in.

"We built this team through the last four years, of us guys becoming friends and playing for each other," he said. "The best way to go out is to win the Western league championship. We're going to have our picture on the wall in the room now, so that's pretty exciting."

ALL ROADS LEAD
TO CRANBROOK

While King and McNabb joined the Ice as 16-year-old rookies, Fraser and Boomer got on board as 17-year-olds.

Fraser had been drafted by his hometown Red Deer Rebels. One of his first games as a call-up had been in Cranbrook, and Chynoweth acquired him early in Fraser's rookie season.

He said leaving the comforts of home, friends and school was one of the hardest things he ever had to do.

"Within 24 hours you're told that you're leaving. It sucked, but it obviously worked out for the better. I've had a great four years here with the guys and I've made life-long friends. The Kootenay Ice and Cranbrook will always have a special place with me.

"That's what it's all about: it's the people you meet, the friends you make."

A 40th overall bantam draft choice (20 picks after Jordan Wilkins, 20 before King) Boomer had been weighing joining the WHL versus attending American college. Although he agonized over the decision, time has vindicated his choice.

"I won a championship, met a lot of great people. I wouldn't trade it for the world," he said.

King joked that he deserved lots of credit for Boomer coming here, as he spoke highly of his junior hockey home while they were on Team Alberta at the 2007 Canada Winter Games in Whitehorse.

"I probably wouldn't have pumped the Kootenay Ice's tires as much if I had heard him sing before, but he's come along as a singer as well," said King.

Never afraid to go into the tough areas on the ice, Boomer displayed courage of another sort on Saturday, delighting the folks at the Relay for Life with an a cappella rendition of Usher's 'U Got It Bad.'

Videos of the performance are making the rounds about town already.

"I'm never going to live that down," said Boomer. "The funniest part of it is Kinger's video; at the end of it, he goes 'Taking community service to a whole 'nother level.'"

Boomer and Fraser also had a bout in sumo suits at the event.

"It was cool. I think we raised quite a bit of money there too, with the sumo wrestling."

MAKING A DIFFERENCE

If there's someone who knows a thing or two about philanthropic pursuits, it's Fraser.

In 2010 he was named WHL humanitarian of the year, after spearheading the Shoot for the Stars program. It raised $14,000, well above the $5,000 goal he and East Kootenay Foundation for Health director Donna Grainger had set.

"The people here do so much for us and support us so much, I don't really feel like I've done as much as lots of people have," said Fraser. "It's obviously nice to help out, but in order to do that, there were so many people that had to be involved with that. It shows how tightly knit this community is."

He was struck by that Saturday night, walking around the College of the Rockies track and seeing all the luminary bags that represent people fighting cancer or honouring the memory of those who lost their battle.

"It was real touching to see how many people came out and supported that, and to see how many people have been affected that way."

HEADY TIMES

Taken six picks into the third round by Buffalo in 2009, McNabb's entry-level pact with the Sabres was announced just before the Memorial Cup began.

His agent had been in talks for over a month before that, but didn't contact McNabb until May with news something was in motion. It was capped with a conference call and signing of contracts a couple of days before the Ice left for Ontario.

"I don't think it's really set in," said McNabb. "So much has happened in this month of May. It's been a real whirlwind for myself and the team."