MEDIA RELEASE

Winnipeg – Hockey Manitoba is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Lyle Loewen of Winnipeg, Manitoba as Assistant Coach to the 2004 Team Western Coaching Staff.

Lyle, a native of Arborg, rounds off the staff by joining Head Coach Roland Duplessis of Saskatoon and Assistant Coach Ralph Beattie of Melville, Saskatchewan. Team Western is comprised of 11 players from Manitoba and 11 players from Saskatchewan born in 1988 and features the top 16 year-old players from around the world.

The World Under 17 Hockey Challenge will be held from December 29th, 2004 to January 5, 2005 in Lethbridge, Alberta. This international tournament was previously hosted by Selkirk and Stonewall in 2001. From the 2001 tournament, 12 athletes went on to help Canada achieve the silver medal at the World Junior Championship last December in Helsinki, Finland.

Lyle is currently Head Coach and General Manager with the Southeast Blades of the Manitoba Junior A Hockey League. He is certified at the Advanced Level with Hockey Canada and has many years experience at the AAA Midget level. Lyle has also served on the Hockey Manitoba Advanced Seminar committee and has been involved in the Program of Excellence over the past few years.

Hockey Manitoba is very pleased to have a coach of Lyle’s caliber with our Under 17 Program. We all look forward to a very successful year with Team Western.

For further information please contact Bernie Reichardt at the Hockey Manitoba office (204) 925-5759 or Lyle Loewen at (204) 642-2013.