Junior B hockey on Vancouver Island could start up as soon as the third week of September, the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League (VIJHL) announced last week.

B次元官网网址淭eam owners and coaches are working hard to finalize a start date for this coming VIJHL season,B次元官网网址� a Sept. 4 update to the leagueB次元官网网址檚 website said. B次元官网网址淥nce all COVID-19 restrictions determined by both viaSport and BC Hockey/Hockey Canada have been applied, this season wonB次元官网网址檛 look like a usual season.B次元官网网址�

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Teams will only be allowed to play in the VIJHL this year if they become part of a cohort B次元官网网址� or group of teams B次元官网网址� currently capped at four.

Because the VIJHL has nine teams (four in the north division and five in the south division), the idea of a cohort of four teams gets complicated. The league says it has B次元官网网址渂een a struggleB次元官网网址� to decide how those cohort groups should look.

Once a team is part of a cohort, they can only play other teams within the same cohort. Teams canB次元官网网址檛 play anyone outside the cohort unless the whole team goes into quarantine. For players that would want to play for a team in another cohort, they will have to self-quarantine for 14 days before they could join the new team.

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The league said it hopes to have a start date and schedule for the first four to five weeks of the season within two weeks.

B次元官网网址淭he schedule will be a limited version at this time as we hope to have the capability of rearranging the cohort groupings after this period and as always, things could change and there may be new restrictions to adhere to,B次元官网网址� it said.

With all the teamsB次元官网网址� facilities each having their own rules, the VIJHL isnB次元官网网址檛 sure if fans will be able to attend games this year, but if they are, it will be at reduced capacity. The league said all games will be streamed live on HockeyTV.

marissa.tiel@campbellrivermirror.com
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