First two playoff dates set for Idaho

(Boise, ID) ? The Idaho Steelheads will open the second round of the ECHL?s Kelly Cup playoffs at Qwest Arena on Friday, April 16. Game time is 7 PM. Game two of the best-of-seven series will be Saturday, April 17, also at 7 PM at Qwest Arena. Single-game playoff tickets will go on sale on April 1. They can be purchased through the Qwest Arena box office or online at www.idahosteelheads.com. Prices on individual-game playoff tickets start at $17 per seat. Fans can also take advantage of the team?s ?Pay as We Play? promotion for discounted prices on playoff tickets. That offer expires on March 31. Season-Ticket Holders have been securing their season-seat locations for the past month in anticipation of the postseason and will be receiving their tickets shortly. Idaho has earned a first-round bye in the playoffs by virtue of having the best record in the National Conference. There are eight teams in the National Conference and, under the ECHL?s playoff format, the eighth-place team misses the playoffs, giving Idaho the free pass into the second round. The remaining teams are seeded under a traditional 1 ? 8 playoff format, meaning the no. 2 seed plays the no. 7 seed, the no. 3 seed plays no. 6, and no. 4 plays no. 5. Idaho?s second-round opponent will be the winner of the series between the conference?s 4th and 5th-place teams. Aside from April 16-17, the remainder of the dates for the series are yet to be determined since Idaho could be playing any other team in the National Conference, leaving a variety of game-date combinations. The conference?s no. 2 seed goes to the Pacific Division champion. Bakersfield currently holds the lead, but Stockton, Las Vegas, and Ontario are all within five points. Likewise, just two points separates Alaska, Victoria, and Utah behind the Steelheads in the West Division, making this season?s National Conference playoff picture hazy at best. An Idaho victory in the second round of the ECHL?s Kelly Cup playoffs would vault the team into the National Conference finals. The winner of the conference finals advances to the Kelly Cup Finals against the American Conference champion. Both of those rounds are also best-of-seven series. Idaho wraps up the home portion of the regular season this weekend with games Friday and Saturday night against the Victoria Salmon Kings. Tickets are available at the Qwest Arena box office or by calling 208.331.TIXS. This weekend is your last chance to enter the Idaho Lottery Second Chance Drawing where you can win a 12-person suite to a Steelheads playoff game or 300 scratch-off tickets or a prize pack from Moxie Java. Contact the Steelheads front office at 208.383.0080 or log on to www.idahosteelheads.com for more information.