Castlegar Retires Travis Green's Number, KIJHL Playoffs

(Travis Green in an Anaheim jersey that is very similar to Castlegar's new look)

In a classy move, the KIJHL's Castlegar Rebels retired former NHL star and local boy Travis Green's number before their 6-5 shoot out loss to Beaver Valley. Green has raised over $250,000 for local charities through his decade long run with a local golf tournament. Green had a long and successful pro career including stops in Long Island, Toronto, Anaheim and Phoenix. He is now the Assistant GM and Assistant Coach for Portland in the WHL. I had the chance to talk to Travis before last Friday's retirement ceremony.

Travis Green on Mountain FM's Overtime

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Now that the regular season is over in the KIJHL they are getting set for the start of their playoffs. In the local Neil Murdoch Division the old Castlegar/Beaver Valley match up is back again. The Nitehawks knocked off Castlegar in each of the last two seasons. Will it be different this time? I know a number of Smoke Eaters like Patrik Martin, Justin Brown and Steve Koshey will be cheering on their former team from BV. The top ranked powerhouse from Nelson has to battle Brandon Clark's old Spokane Braves. Nelson (featuring Smokies APs like Dylan Walchuk, Michael Spring, Jacob Perich, Tommy Rizzardo and Peter Alexander) looks like a lock to win that series, but Spokane is a very tough place to play. If they can steal a win in Nelson that could make things interesting.

If you want to check out some great local playoff hockey you can see Castlegar hosting BV on Tuesday and Wednesday. Nelson hosts Spokane on Wednesday and Thursday.