February 7, 2021
Thunder Bay, ON
Today, the SIJHL revealed the remainder of its Return to Play schedule after resuming play this past weekend after the loosening of public health restrictions in the Province of Ontario.
“Of course we’re happy to be back on the ice first and foremost. When the January restrictions were announced I was confident we’d get the point where we could resume, but we were not in control of if or when the restrictions would be loosened so one can never be 100% certain,” said SIJHL Commissioner Darrin Nicholas.
But Nicholas also explained, the SIJHL schedule remains a work in progress.
“Just like our SIJHL teams, most other user groups are looking for any additional ice time they can obtain to try and make up for any lost ground as a result of the pause. And the league wants to be good stewards of the game, and any attempt to try and monopolize limited ice availability would not be consistent with that mandate.”
So the league plans to use the ice time available for previously scheduled games, and will evaluate the viability of using any additional ice time that might be freed up as well going forward.
“We’ll continue to search for opportunities to try and get our athletes as much exposure and development opportunities as possible,” Nicholas continued. “But for now, these are the dates we have secured and the basis upon which we are moving forward.”
Media Inquiries:
Darrin Nicholas, Commissioner
commissioner@sijhlhockey.com