ECHL Plays Historic First Games In Canada
October 13, 2004 - ECHL (ECHL) News Release
PRINCETON, N.J. â The first ECHL games outside the United States will be
played on Friday and Saturday in British Columbia. The historic games are
between the defending Kelly Cup Champion Idaho Steelheads and the Victoria
Salmon Kings, who are the first ECHL team outside the United States.
The Steelheads and Salmon Kings play at the Prospera Centre in Chilliwack,
British Columbia on Friday and at the Cowichan Community Centre in Duncan,
British Columbia on Saturday. The Prospera Centre is the home rink for the
Chilliwack Chiefs of the British Columbia Hockey League while the Cowichan
Community Centre is the home ice of the Cowichan Valley Capitals of the
BCHL.
Among the players on Idaho's training camp roster are former Chiefs star
Greg Keith, who helped the University of Denver capture the 2004 NCAA
Championship, and former Capitals stars Jim Gattoliat and Ryan Finnerty,
who return for the first time as professionals to Vancouver Island.
"The two teams have a bunch of players from British Columbia and all of
these guys are excited about putting on a good show for their friends and
families," said Idaho head coach and vice president of hockey operations
John Olver.
"Some of the best teams in all of the ECHL are right in our division, so
we'll get a real test right from the start," said Victoria head coach and
general manager Bryan Maxwell.
The Premier "AA" Hockey League, the ECHL will open its 17th season on
October 22 with 28 teams in 16 states and one Canadian province. The ECHL
has affiliations with 22 of the 30 teams in the National Hockey League and
22 of the 28 teams in the American Hockey League.
Victoria will play three games on opening weekend, visiting the Bakersfield
(California) Condors on October 22 and 23 and the Fresno (California)
Falcons on October 24. The Salmon Kings will begin the season with 14 road
games with the first home game on December 5 against Bakersfield. Victoria
will begin play in its inaugural season at Bear Mountain Arena, a
2,800-seat facility that opened in February in Colwood, British Columbia,
while awaiting completion of the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre, a $30
million state-of-the-art multipurpose facility with a seating capacity of
7,000.
Maxwell returns to the professional coaching ranks after spending 11
seasons coaching in the Western Hockey League with Medicine Hat, Spokane
and Lethbridge, winning the Memorial Cup Championship in 1987 with Medicine
Hat and in 1991 with Spokane. Named WHL Coach of the Year in 1991-92, the
50-year-old Maxwell is 348-321-54 in 730 regular season games and 40-36 in
76 postseason games in the WHL. He was an assistant coach in the National
Hockey League with the Los Angeles Kings in 1987-88 and 1988-89.
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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
