The Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League is back – and the schedule makers didn’t waste time setting the stage for some early sparks.
The 2025-26 regular season kicks off Thursday, Sept. 4 with a heavyweight tilt as the defending Brent Patterson Memorial Trophy champion Peninsula Panthers head to Archie Browning Arena to face the Victoria Cougars.
It’s the first of 48 games for each of the league’s 11 teams – 24 home, 24 away – with the all other teams getting into action throughout the first weekend of September.
The regular season wraps up Feb. 28, followed by three rounds of playoffs. The top four teams from both the North and South Divisions will battle it out, with the division winners meeting in the championship final.
Last season’s title series delivered a classic – Peninsula edged Campbell River 3-2 in overtime of Game 7 in front of a packed house at Panorama Recreation Centre.
“We are very excited about this upcoming VIJHL season, and looking forward to an even better season than last year,” says VIJHL chair Shawn Vincent. “It was our first year as an independent league in association with the BC Hockey League, and the quality of our players, officials, and the games themselves took a great leap forward.”
Kerry Park and Campbell River topped the South and North Divisions in the 2024-25 regular season, but it was Peninsula who caught fire at the right time.
“To finish it off with an amazing seven-game final with Campbell River and Peninsula with both arenas having overflow crowds was icing on the cake,” added VIJHL president Mark MacDonald. “Recruiting efforts have been underway, and by all indications, the players competing for roster spots at spring development camps are even better.”
Training camps open league-wide in mid-August.
Greater Victoria team home openers:
– Victoria Cougars: Sept. 4 vs. Peninsula Panthers (Archie Browning Arena)
– Peninsula Panthers: Sept. 5 vs. Westshore Wolves (Panorama Recreation Centre)
– Saanich Predators: Sept. 5 vs. Kerry Park Islanders (George Pearkes Arena)
– Kerry Park Islanders: Sept. 6 vs. Victoria Cougars (Kerry Park Arena)
– Westshore Wolves: Sept. 7 vs. Saanich Predators (Juan de Fuca Recreation Centre)
