SCORE BOARD

CALGARY – The stage is set for the 2007 RBC Royal Bank Cup in Prince George, BC, as the five teams which will compete for Canada’s National Junior A Championship have been finalized.

The Selkirk Steelers of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League will represent the West Region. Selkirk earned the final berth in the tournament with a 4-3 quadruple overtime win over the Humboldt Broncos in the ANAVET Cup final on Sunday.

Selkirk joins the Pembroke Lumber Kings (CJHL, Team East), Aurora Tigers (OPJHL, Team Central), Camrose Kodiaks (AJHL, Team Pacific), and Prince George Spruce Kings, the host team for the event.

The 2007 RBC Royal Bank Cup will start on Saturday and will run through May 13th, with the gold medal game being shown live on TSN, Hockey Canada’s official broadcaster, starting at 4:30 p.m. PST.

Hockey Canada, in partnership with the organizing committee in Prince George, has announced that single game tickets for the 13 games are now on sale. Several of the games at the RBC Cup are expected to be sellouts, including Saturday’s matchup between the host Prince George Spruce Kings and Pembroke Lumber Kings of the East region.

Championship weekend, including two semi-finals on May 12th and the gold medal game on May 13th, also will be busy, so hockey fans are urged to buy their tickets as soon as possible.

“We’ve had lots of calls from fans across the region who are eager to buy specific games, so we can expect a pretty good rush when they go on sale this morning,” says Don Kehler, co-chair of the host committee. “We’ve had fantastic fan and corporate support thus far and with the first puck set to drop in a few days, everyone is getting pretty excited.”

Single game tickets for round-robin games are just $15, with the price to get into the semi-finals at $20 and the final at $25. Other options are available to hockey fans, including tournament packages, which include all games, and a limited number of McDonald’s Rookie Zone packs, which are for fans 12 and under and include all games. All tickets are available through Ticketmaster.

A number of events will take place in Prince George throughout the week to celebrate the RBC Cup. Among those is Friday’s kickoff to the tournament, the RBC Fire on Ice Opening Extravaganza. This is a free event and gives people access to FanFest, the Hockey Hall of Fame Display and Opening Ceremony. The fun begins at 7 p.m., inside the CN Centre and concludes with a fireworks display at 9:30 p.m.