The start of the season for the senior hockey leagues in the Southeast is right around the corner. One league will start this coming weekend, and the other two the weekend after.
The Big Six Hockey League will be the first out of the gate this year, albeit with just eight teams this season instead of nine, as the Bienfait Coalers will not be fielding a team this season.
They will start play on Friday, as the Midale Mustangs welcome the Carnduff Red Devils to the Harry O Memorial Arena in Midale. The following weekend the rest of the league will get things going with a pair of games on November 1st, and two more on November 2nd. By November 8th, seven of the eight teams will have played at least one game, with the Wawota Flyers not playing their first game of the season until November 16th.
The Big Six season will wrap up on the weekend of January 24th, with games on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
The Notekeu Hockey League will look a little different this season as well, as they grow by one team to ten. The Glentworth Thunder have taken a year of absence from the league, but at the same time, they have welcomed in the Lafleche Flyers and the Mossbank Blades.
The first games of the year in the NoteHL will be on November 1st as the Coronach Merchants head to Gravelbourg to play the Hornets. The Yellow Grass Wheat Kings start their season on November 2nd in Avonlea against the Arrows. The Radville Nationals also start play on November 2nd. They travel to Rouleau to take on the Ramblers.
The NoteHL carry their season through until February 1st, with a pair of games including the Wheat Kings at home against Avonlea.
The Junior C side of the Qu’Appelle Valley Highway Hockey League will open their campaign on Saturday, as the Yellow Grass Wheat Kings head to Cupar to play the Kelliher Comets. The Junior C teams will play through until February 15th, when their 20-game season wraps up.
This year, the Junior C league will see some expansion, with two new teams added in – the Caronport Aviators and the Strasbourg Maroons.
The senior teams in the QVHHL start on November 1st, with the lone game seeing the Bethune Bulldogs travelling to Balgonie to play the Bisons. The Milestone Flyers will open their season at home on November 2nd, as they host the Balcarres Broncs.
The senior teams will wrap up their season on February 1st.