KOOTENAY KEEPS PLAYOFF HOPES ALIVE TO FORCE TIE-BREAKER GAME AT THE 2011 MASTERCARD MEMORIAL CUP ON SPORTSNET

Kootenay awaits winner of Mississauga and Owen Sound game tonight

TORONTO (May 25, 2011) – The Kootenay Ice staved off elimination at the 2011 MasterCard Memorial Cup to force a tie-breaker game on Thursday, May 26 at 7 p.m. (ET)/4 p.m. (PT) on the Rogers Sportsnet East, Ontario, West and Pacific channels. All games during the 2011 MasterCard Memorial Cup are in high definition.

After starting the tournament at 0-2, Kootenay turned in a 5-4 overtime win over the Saint John Sea Dogs (2-1) on Tuesday night. The Ice will play the tie-breaker against the loser of tonight’s round-robin contest between the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors (1-1) and the Owen Sound Attack (1-1) at 7 p.m. (ET)/4 p.m. (PT) on the Sportsnet East, Ontario, West and Pacific channels.

Peter Loubardias provides the play-by-play from the Hershey Centre in Mississauga while Sam Cosentino handles the analysis. Rob Faulds is the host.

On Tuesday, Kootenay forward Matt Fraser scored a pair of goals including the game winner in overtime. Centre Max Reinhart also collected four assists in the win.

The Semifinal game will air on Friday, May 27 @ 7 p.m. (ET)/4 p.m. (PT) featuring the winner of tonight’s Mississauga and Owen Sound match-up and the winner of the tie-breaker.

Saint John will play in the Championship Final against the semifinal winner on Sunday, May 29 @ 7 p.m. (ET)/4 p.m. (PT). The Sea Dogs are seeking their first Memorial Cup in franchise history.

For all the scores, highlights, breaking news and inside stories for the 2011 MasterCard Memorial Cup tune in to Hockeycentral, Sportsnet Connected and visit www.sportsnet.ca.

-END-