SIJHL to Proceed Without Norskies

July 13, 2022
Thunder Bay, Ontario

For Immediate Release

The Superior International Junior Hockey League is announcing today that it will ice a complement of seven teams for the 2022-23 season, which will not include the Thief River Falls Norskies.

Thief River Falls joined the SIJHL for the 2016-‘17 season and were full-time members of the league until the Covid-19 pandemic shut down in 2020.  The Norskies, along with the league’s other US-based team the Wisconsin Lumberjacks, did not mobilize operations in ‘20-‘21, also on account of restrictions arising from the pandemic.

Upon resumption of operations for the ‘21-‘22 season, the Norskies suffered from lingering effects of the extended pause and failed to complete their schedule obligations to the league.

They competed in only 21 games of the truncated SIJHL season before being disbanded in January on account of them failing to meet minimum roster requirements.

The Norskies skated to a 5-16-0-0 record until that point.

On the situation, SIJHL Commissioner Darrin Nicholas commented:

“We didn’t foresee ourselves in this position, even back in January when there was no choice but to shut them down.  We said at that time we would work tirelessly towards the return of SIJHL hockey in Thief River Falls in September.  I believe we have done that but obviously we were hoping for different results.”

Nicholas continues: “It’s no secret that our operations in Thief River Falls last season struggled to meet minimum expectations of the league in almost all areas.   Substantial change was required, which we set out to bring.  Ultimately though there are lots of moving parts, we were getting few – if any – encouraging signs that the situation was progressing in the direction we needed it to, within the timeframe we had established.  With every day that passed, the runway got shorter, and we just felt it was no longer feasible, reasonable or responsible to continue to pursue the plan of playing in Thief River Falls this September.”

Nicholas wanted to take the time to acknowledge and thank the fans, billet families and volunteers who helped make the city’s short time in the league a memorable one.

“Thief River Falls is a market for our league worth fighting for, and fight we did. We know there’s passionate and committed fans and volunteers there willing to step up if given the opportunity.  Our door will always be open for discussion to resume operations in that beautiful community and facility.”

The 2022-23 season will see the SIJHL remain a seven-team league, with the expansion Sioux Lookout Bombers set to drop the puck in September.  The full 22-23 SIJHL schedule will be released shortly.

Media Inquiries:
Darrin Nicholas, SIJHL Commissioner
807-472-7228
commissioner@sijhlhockey.com