Steelheads Announce 2008-09 Season

The two-time Kelly Cup Champion Idaho Steelheads today announced its 2008-09 regular season schedule, its sixth in the ECHL. The 72-game schedule begins when Idaho faces off against National Conference, West Division foe Utah on Saturday, October 18 at Qwest Arena. The Steelheads home arena will host 36 contests, including 1 Tuesday, 11 Wednesdays, 1 Thursday, 12 Fridays, and 11 Saturdays. All homes games will begin at 7:10 pm. New this year, the Steelheads will host Hockey 101 clinics for fans who wish to learn more about the game of hockey, beginning during training camp.Following its season-opener, Idaho hits the road for six games including an eastern swing to play Elmira, Reading and Trenton in the American Conference, returning November 5th for a three-game series against the Alaska Aces who swept the Steelheads out of the 2007 playoffs. Highlighting the home schedule, the Reading Royals will play their first-ever games in Boise on Jan. 9 and 10 and the new Ontario Reign will visit in March.Season tickets, including a wide variety of plans to fit any budget, are currently on sale by calling the Steelheads front office at (208) 383.0080. Some seating locations have been reduced for the 2008-09 season.The full schedule is as follows:Saturday, October 18, 2008 Utah at IdahoWednesday, October 22, 2008 Idaho at PhoenixFriday, October 24, 2008 Idaho at PhoenixWednesday, October 29, 2008 Idaho at ElmiraFriday, October 31, 2008 Idaho at ElmiraSaturday, November 01, 2008 Idaho at ReadingSunday, November 02, 2008 Idaho at TrentonWednesday, November 05, 2008 Alaska at IdahoThursday, November 06, 2008 Alaska at IdahoFriday, November 07, 2008 Alaska at IdahoTuesday, November 11, 2008 Fresno at IdahoWednesday, November 12, 2008 Fresno at IdahoFriday, November 14, 2008 Idaho at Las VegasSaturday, November 15, 2008 Idaho at Las VegasWednesday, November 19, 2008 Stockton at IdahoFriday, November 21, 2008 Stockton at IdahoSaturday, November 22, 2008 Stockton at IdahoFriday, November 28, 2008 Idaho at FresnoSaturday, November 29, 2008 Idaho at BakersfieldWednesday, December 03, 2008 Utah at IdahoFriday, December 05, 2008 Utah at IdahoSaturday, December 06, 2008 Utah at IdahoTuesday, December 09, 2008 Idaho at UtahFriday, December 12, 2008 Idaho at AlaskaSaturday, December 13, 2008 Idaho at AlaskaSunday, December 14, 2008 Idaho at AlaskaWednesday, December 17, 2008 Bakersfield at IdahoFriday, December 19, 2008 Bakersfield at IdahoSaturday, December 20, 2008 Bakersfield at IdahoFriday, December 26, 2008 Utah at IdahoSaturday, December 27, 2008 Idaho at UtahFriday, January 02, 2009 Idaho at OntarioSaturday, January 03, 2009 Idaho at OntarioFriday, January 09, 2009 Reading at IdahoSaturday, January 10, 2009 Reading at IdahoWednesday, January 14, 2009 Fresno at IdahoFriday, January 16, 2009 Fresno at IdahoSaturday, January 17, 2009 Fresno at IdahoSunday, January 18, 2009 Idaho at StocktonFriday, January 23, 2009 Idaho at UtahSaturday, January 24, 2009 Idaho at UtahFriday, January 30, 2009 Idaho at FresnoSaturday, January 31, 2009 Idaho at FresnoWednesday, February 04, 2009 Idaho at BakersfieldFriday, February 06, 2009 Idaho at OntarioSaturday, February 07, 2009 Idaho at BakersfieldSunday, February 08, 2009 Idaho at StocktonFriday, February 13, 2009 Phoenix at IdahoSaturday, February 14, 2009 Phoenix at IdahoWednesday, February 18, 2009 Las Vegas at IdahoFriday, February 20, 2009 Las Vegas at IdahoSaturday, February 21, 2009 Las Vegas at IdahoWednesday, February 25, 2009 Utah at IdahoFriday, February 27, 2009 Idaho at StocktonSaturday, February 28, 2009 Idaho at FresnoSunday, March 01, 2009 Idaho at StocktonWednesday, March 04, 2009 Victoria at IdahoFriday, March 06, 2009 Victoria at IdahoSaturday, March 07, 2009 Victoria at IdahoWednesday, March 11, 2009 Idaho at UtahFriday, March 13, 2009 Idaho at Las VegasSaturday, March 14, 2009 Idaho at Las VegasWednesday, March 18, 2009 Idaho at VictoriaFriday, March 20, 2009 Idaho at VictoriaSaturday, March 21, 2009 Idaho at VictoriaMonday, March 23, 2009 Idaho at UtahWednesday, March 25, 2009 Ontario at IdahoFriday, March 27, 2009 Ontario at IdahoSaturday, March 28, 2009 Ontario at IdahoWednesday, April 01, 2009 Phoenix at IdahoFriday, April 03, 2009 Phoenix at IdahoSaturday, April 04, 2009 Phoenix at IdahoECHLBegan in 1988-89 with five teams playing in four states, the Premier ?AA? Hockey League has grown into a coast-to-coast league that will have 24 teams in 16 states and British Columbia playing 864 games from Oct. 17, 2008 to Apr. 4, 2009. Nineteen of the 24 teams have played at least five years in their current city.The third-longest tenured professional hockey league behind only the National Hockey League and the American Hockey League, the ECHL averaged 4,174 per game last season, marking the fourth year in row and the 16th time in the last 18 years that the league has averaged over 4,000 fans. The Premier ?AA? Hockey League welcomed 3,756,191 fans, marking the fifth straight season and the 11th time in the last 12 years that it has exceeded 3.75 million fans. The 51 sold out crowds are the most in the last five seasons and mark the fourth time in the last five years that the ECHL has had at least 40 sellouts.The conference and division alignments and the format for the 2009 Kelly Cup Playoffs will be determined and approved at a later date by the ECHL Board of Governors.The ECHL has affiliations with 26 of the 30 teams in the NHL in 2007-08, marking the 11th consecutive season that the league has had affiliations with at least 20 teams in the NHL. There have been 355 former ECHL players who have gone on to play in the NHL after playing in the ECHL, including 99 in the last three seasons. There have been 210 former ECHL players who have played their first game in the NHL in the past seven seasons.There are 15 coaches in the NHL who have ECHL experience including former Wheeling coach Peter Laviolette, who is head coach of the Carolina Hurricanes, and former Mississippi coach Bruce Boudreau, who is head coach of the Washington Capitals.The ECHL is represented for the seventh consecutive year on the National Hockey League championship team in 2007 with Anaheim assistant coach Dave Farrish, players Francois Beauchemin and George Parros and broadcasters John Ahlers and Steve Carroll.The ECHL has affiliations with 26 of the 29 teams in the American Hockey League in 2007-08 and for the past 18 years there has been an ECHL player on the Calder Cup champion.In each of the last two seasons there have been more than 225 players who have played in both the ECHL and the AHL and there were over 800 call-ups involving more than 500 players. In the last five seasons the ECHL has had more call-ups to the AHL than all other professional leagues combined with over 2,000 call-ups involving more than 1,000 players since 2002-03.Further information on the ECHL is available from its website at ECHL.com.- www.idahosteelheads.com -