The 2023–24 KIJHL season was the 57th in league history, beginning on Friday, September 22, 2023, and ending on April 9, 2024, with the Revelstoke Grizzlies defeating the Fernie Ghostriders 7-1 in game four of the Teck Cup Finals to win their second championship in three years, and fifth in franchise history.[1]
| 2023–24 KIJHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | KIJHL |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | September - February |
| Number of games | 44 |
| Number of teams | 20 |
| Streaming partner(s) | flohockey.tv |
| League champions | Revelstoke Grizzlies |
| Runners-up | Fernie Ghostriders |
| Season MVP | Tristan Weill |
| Top scorer | Luke Chakrabarti |
Season highlights
editThe 2024 BCHC was held at the McArthur Park Arena in Kamloops. It was the second annual showcase for scouts to observe players from both the KIJHL and the PJHL. Team PJHL won 5-3.[2]
The Spokane Braves returned after being absent for three seasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[3]
In 2023, governing body BC Hockey announced plans to restructure its junior hockey framework.[4] The three Junior B leagues (PJHL, KIJHL and VIJHL) were summarily designated as "Junior A Tier 2", with plans to conduct an independent evaluation of those teams seeking to be promoted to "Junior A Tier 1". It was expected that those teams promoted to Tier 1 would eventually apply for membership in the CJHL.[5] The league expected the evaluations to be completed during the 2024-25 season.[6] In April 2024, the VIJHL announced that it would withdraw from the Hockey Canada framework and become an independent farm league for the BCHL beginning in the 2024-25 season.[7][8]
Regular season
editTeams played a 44-game regular season schedule, including six games against each team within their division, two games against each team in the other division of the same conference, and one game against each team in the other conference.
Standings
edit| Team | W | L | OTL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fernie Ghostriders | 29 | 11 | 4 | 62 | 163 | 121 |
| Kimberley Dynamiters | 29 | 13 | 2 | 60 | 171 | 113 |
| Columbia Valley Rockies | 25 | 14 | 5 | 55 | 149 | 122 |
| Creston Valley Thunder Cats | 21 | 17 | 5 | 47 | 146 | 146 |
| Golden Rockets | 8 | 31 | 5 | 21 | 105 | 187 |
| Team | W | L | OTL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beaver Valley Nitehawks | 32 | 9 | 3 | 67 | 206 | 111 |
| Grand Forks Border Bruins | 28 | 11 | 5 | 61 | 184 | 145 |
| Nelson Leafs | 24 | 17 | 3 | 51 | 167 | 159 |
| Castlegar Rebels | 20 | 19 | 5 | 45 | 135 | 142 |
| Spokane Braves | 11 | 32 | 1 | 23 | 133 | 247 |
| Team | W | L | OTL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Princeton Posse | 35 | 8 | 1 | 71 | 208 | 96 |
| North Okanagan Knights | 18 | 20 | 6 | 42 | 123 | 158 |
| Osoyoos Coyotes | 16 | 24 | 4 | 36 | 121 | 177 |
| Kelowna Chiefs | 16 | 24 | 4 | 36 | 116 | 157 |
| Summerland Steam | 9 | 29 | 6 | 24 | 74 | 199 |
| Team | W | L | OTL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revelstoke Grizzlies | 34 | 8 | 2 | 70 | 193 | 83 |
| Kamloops Storm | 31 | 11 | 2 | 64 | 167 | 102 |
| Sicamous Eagles | 31 | 12 | 1 | 63 | 190 | 126 |
| Chase Heat | 12 | 29 | 3 | 27 | 123 | 192 |
| 100 Mile House Wranglers | 11 | 28 | 5 | 27 | 105 | 196 |
Source: "KIJHL team stats 2024–25 regular season". kijhl.ca. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
Awards
edit| Award | League Winner | Eddie Mountain Winner | Neil Murdoch Winner | Doug Birks Winner | Bill Ohlhausen Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MVP | Tristan Weill, Kimberley | Tristan Weill, Kimberley | Kaleb Percival, Beaver Valley | Daniel Kroon, Sicamous | Josh Hader, North Okanagan |
| Top Scorer | Luke Chakrabarti, Creston Valley | Luke Chakrabarti, Creston Valley | Zach Baumann, Spokane | Owen Dewitt & Hayden Evans, Sicamous | Anmol Garcha, Princeton |
| Top Defenceman | Max Chakrabarti, Creston Valley | Max Chakrabarti, Creston Valley | Kaleb Percival, Beaver Valley | Mikkel Hrechka, Revelstoke | Lucas Sadownyk, Princeton |
| Top Goaltender | Jozef Kuchaslo, Revelstoke | Nate Glenn, Columbia Valley | Connor Stojan, Beaver Valley | Jozef Kuchaslo, Revelstoke | Josh Hader, North Okanagan |
| Rookie of the Year | Owen Dewitt, Sicamous | Carter Velker, Columbia Valley | Zach Baumann, Spokane | Owen Dewitt, Sicamous | Vinay Junek, Princeton |
| Most Sportsmanlike | Tyson Horiachka, Princeton | Tyson Tokarz, Creston Valley | Dawson Davis, Nelson | Jalen Davidson, Chase | Tyson Horiachka, Princeton |
| Coach of the Year | Jiri Novak, Revelstoke | Ty Valin, Fernie | Terry Jones, Beaver Valley | Jiri Novak, Revelstoke | Mark Readman, Princeton |
Source: "2023–24 KIJHL individual awards". kijhl.ca. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
Playoffs
editThe 2024 playoffs began with 16 teams in competition.[1]
| Division Semi Finals | Division Finals | Conference Finals | 2024 Teck Cup Championship | ||||||||||||
| Fernie | 4 | ||||||||||||||
| Creston Valley | 1 | ||||||||||||||
| Fernie | 4 | ||||||||||||||
| Columbia Valley | 2 | ||||||||||||||
| Kimberley | 1 | ||||||||||||||
| Columbia Valley | 4 | ||||||||||||||
| Fernie | 4 | ||||||||||||||
| Beaver Valley | 2 | ||||||||||||||
| Beaver Valley | 4 | ||||||||||||||
| Castlegar | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| Beaver Valley | 4 | ||||||||||||||
| Grand Forks | 2 | ||||||||||||||
| Grand Forks | 4 | ||||||||||||||
| Nelson | 1 | ||||||||||||||
| Fernie | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| Revelstoke | 4 | ||||||||||||||
| Princeton | 4 | ||||||||||||||
| Kelowna | 1 | ||||||||||||||
| Princeton | 4 | ||||||||||||||
| North Okanagan | 3 | ||||||||||||||
| North Okanagan | 4 | ||||||||||||||
| Osoyoos | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| Princeton | 3 | ||||||||||||||
| Revelstoke | 4 | ||||||||||||||
| Revelstoke | 4 | ||||||||||||||
| Chase | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| Revelstoke | 4 | ||||||||||||||
| Kamloops | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| Kamloops | 4 | ||||||||||||||
| Sicamous | 3 | ||||||||||||||
References
edit- ^ a b "KIJHL". kijhl.ca. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
- ^ "PJHL defeats KIJHL in BCHC Prospects Game". kijhl.ca. 29 November 2023. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
- ^ Stalwick, Howie (21 September 2023). "Spokane Braves junior hockey returns to the ice for first season since COVID-19 pandemic". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
- ^ "BC Hockey announces new Junior A pathway". bchockey.net. British Columbia Amateur Hockey Association. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
- ^ "BC Hockey Junior A pathway update". bchockey.net. British Columbia Amateur Hockey Association. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
- ^ "B.C. Junior A leagues partner with Blackfin Sports Group". bchockey.net. British Columbia Amateur Hockey Association. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
- ^ Ewen, Steve (30 April 2024). "Vancouver Island Junior B loop cuts ties with Hockey Canada, joins forces with BCHL". The Province. Postmedia. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
- ^ "VIJHL announces decision to become independent league". vijhl.com. Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League. Retrieved 29 May 2024.