THUNDER BAY – The Superior International Junior Hockey League will forge ahead with a four-team schedule for now, with hopes of adding the Fort Frances Lakers to the mix in a few days.
League commissioner Darrin Nicholas on Thursday said for now, the Dryden Ice Dogs, Red Lake Miners, Thunder Bay North Stars and expansion Kam River Fighting Walleye will get a head start on regular-season play in a four-team cohort.
In order to comply with public health requirements, starting in January, two teams will play four times in a five-day span, then take a two-week pause to reset the cohorts, allowing them to switch to play a different team, with adequate time to ensure no spread of COVID-19.
For now the league will continue with its already published pre-season schedule, but the games will count in the regular-season standings.
The North Stars, who have won all four previous outings, will visit the Fighting Walleye on Friday night at the Norwest Arena to mark the start of the 2020-21 SIJHL campaign.
Nicholas said given the time needed between series, league officials realized they would have to start the regular season before Christmas in order to get the 20-game, modified schedule in.
“What became apparent to us, when we started piecing everything together on the conditions that we have to play, was that we couldn’t leave it until the new year to start our schedule,” Nicholas said. “Initially we thought maybe we could get back on the ice as early as Jan. 2, but with bringing the kids back from Christmas break, clearly we’re going to have to isolate a bit before we get back into going.”
The league has yet to release its full shortened schedule, but said they’ll probably restart in mid-January following the Christmas break.
“If we waited until January we were probably not going to get our schedule done until the beginning part of May and we know the ice starts coming out of our facilities ... in mid- to late April,” Nicholas said. “That puts us in jeopardy there and it became clear we needed to get some regular season games out of the way before Christmas.”
Meanwhile, the Lakers fate remains up in the air.
Because the Ice Dogs and Miners have already formed a cohort, the logistics to bring a fifth team in the league are difficult, with one team out of action for several weeks at a time waiting for cohorts to reset.
Nicholas said there are options available, but league officials are still working out the details. One suggestion could be to allow a Thunder Bay Kings team into the league. Another option might be bumping up a junior B franchise for the season.
“It just means Fort Frances has to wait a couple of extra days until we get it settled who they can play against,” Nicholas said.
“We’ve got a couple of proposals in front of Hockey Northwestern Ontario right now. Their board meeting is Saturday night and we’ll see how that goes. We’ve got teams that want to play for sure. It will involve thinking outside the box, for sure.”
The two American teams, the Thief River Falls Norskies and Wisconsin Lumberjacks, are unlikely to be part of the upcoming season, with travel restrictions requiring a 14-day quarantine after entering Canada from the United States – and the reality that the border remains closed to non-essential traffic.
Nicholas said he hasn’t given up hope on them finding a way to salvage a season, but time is rapidly ticking away.
Nicholas said the SIJHL is looking at being able to test players for COVID-19, but noted current provincial guidelines require symptoms or close contact with other cases in order to qualify for a test.
