NPHL votes in favour of 20-game regular season

FORT ST. JOHN, BC – All eight teams in the North Peace Hockey League have voted in favour of a 20-game regular season. 

The league had three proposed schedules to choose from: schedule one offered an 18-game regular season with all games played within each team’s own division.

Schedule two offered a 20-game regular season with inter-divisional play.

Schedule three featured a 22-game regular season with minimal inter-divisional play. 

The league voted for schedule two. 

The schedule will feature inter-divisional play, with two games against each team from the opposing division, and four games against each team within its own division. 

Fort St. John Senior Flyers Hockey president, Paul van Nostrand, believes schedule two is the best possible choice for the league. 

“Choice number one had no crossover with the east and west teams, which to me was not satisfactory at all,” said van Nostrand. 

“We just felt that the 20-game schedule was perfect because we certainly do want to cross over and play against the teams in the eastern division.”

The NPHL’s west division consists of the Fort St. John Senior Flyers, the Dawson Creek Senior Canucks, the Grande Prairie Athletics, and the Spirit River Rangers. 

The east division is made up of the Falher Pirates, the Grimshaw Huskies, the Manning Comets, and the Valleyview Jets. 

According to van Nostrand, a final schedule for the season is expected to be released within the next few days. 

The NPHL regular season will begin at the end of November.