Ice Bats Hit Bell County

March 6, 2006 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Austin Ice Bats News Release


The Austin Ice Bats of the Central Hockey League will be active in Bell County over the next two weeks, leading up to their two scheduled games at the Bell County Expo Center in Belton on March 17th and 18th. The "I-35 Series" will pit the Ice Bats against the Tulsa Oilers on Friday, March 17th and against division-rival Laredo on Saturday the 18th. Tickets for the two games are currently on sale.

To help promote the games, the Ice Bats will conduct a free "RollerBats" youth in-line hockey clinic from noon to 2pm, this Saturday, March 11th at the Academy Sports & Outdoors location at Marlandwood Road and South 31st in Temple. Ice Bats goaltender Matt Barnes is scheduled to appear, joining Ice Bats General Manager and former player David Moore.

The clinic is free of charge and open to all children ages 6-13, accompanied by a parent or guardian. No pre-registration is necessary. The Ice Bats will conduct skills and safety demonstrations and in-line hockey scrimmages, with an autograph signing to conclude the session. Participants are asked to bring their own in-line skates, stick and helmet. Additional equipment will be available on a limited basis.

Ice Bats representatives will also be at the Killeen Mall at 2100 South W.S. Young Drive, next Tuesday and Wednesday, March 14th and 15th to promote ticket sales for the games.

With seating for about 6,300 fans, the Bell County Expo Center will host professional hockey for the first time since the departure of the Central Texas Stampede of the Western Professional Hockey League in 2001. Barnes played in two of the Stampede's five seasons, winning WPHL Outstanding Goalie honors in his rookie year of 1999-2000. Current Bats forward Gerald Tallaire also played two seasons in Belton, finishing as the Stampede's top career scorer.

With a 30-24-3 record, the Ice Bats are currently in second place in the CHL Southeast Division, and hold the third of four playoff positions in the Southern Conference.

Tickets for the two games in Belton are on sale now through the Ice Bats office at (512) 927-PUCK, or at any Texas Box Office location, including all Austin-area HEB stores. In Bell County, fans may visit the Bell County Expo Center box office, Renaissance Records in Killeen, the Temple HEB store or the ITR Building at Fort Hood.

For on-line orders, fans may visit www.TexasBoxOffice.com or www.GetTix.Net. To charge by phone, fans may call the Ice Bats ticket office at (512) 927-PUCK.

Individual game tickets range in price from $11 to $35, depending on section, with discounted rates for groups of 15 or more. In addition to individual game tickets and group outings, corporate partnerships are available for the games. Fans may call the Ice Bats ticket office at (512) 927-PUCK, or log onto the team's website at www.icebats.com for more information.



Central Hockey League Stories from March 6, 2006


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