The six teams in Metro Vancouver will take to the ice in Week One of the South Coast Women’s Hockey League regular season.
Four of the six teams will play on Saturday (Sept. 30), with the Fraser facing off in a road game against the Meadow Ridge Moose at 6 p.m. at the Langley Sportsplex. Just 75 minutes later, the South Fraser TNT visit the Richmond Devils at 7:15 p.m. at the Richmond Ice Centre.
The Moose and Jets were separated by one point in the regular season a year ago, with Meadow Ridge posting a 13-7-6 (win-loss-tie) record, just ahead of the 14-9-3 Jets.
The 12-9-5 TNT and Richmond (10-11-5) were the fifth- and sixth-place teams last year.
The defending league and playoff champion North Shore Rebels will visit the Surrey Wildcats at the Summit Centre in Abbotsford at 3:30 Sunday afternoon. Playing as the Burnaby Mountain Capitals last season, the relocated Wildcats team was 5-19-2, while North Shore topped the standings with a 15-4-7 record to edge the Kamloops Vibe by one point when the regular season concluded.
The Vibe and Island Surge are idle in Week One, before both teams play twice at home in Week Two.
The eight SCWHL teams will each play 28 games in the 2023-24 season, with the top six teams qualifying for the Tourism Hope SCWHL/Provincial Championship Tournament in Hope, BC on the weekend of March 22-24.
Last season, the North Shore Rebels followed up their first-ever first-place finish with a second consecutive playoff championship with a 2-1 overtime victory over the Fraser Valley Jets.
The SCWHL will feature a new points structure in the regular season, after adopting a three-minute, three-on-three overtime period when games are tied after three periods of regulation time.
For the 2023-34 season, games decided in regulation time will see the winning team earn three points in the standings, with the losing team receiving none.
Should a game go to extra time, the winner shall be awarded two points, with the loser getting one. A tied game will see each team awarded one point.
