Kal Tire Place (Photo credit: Vernon Vipers)

By Pete McIntyre

BCHL schedule

Vernon Vipers to open new BCHL season on road, new Alberta teams to visit twice

Jun 20, 2024 | 10:30 AM

The Vernon Vipers will open the 2024-25 BC Hockey League season with three straight road games.

The Vipers, under head coach Lukas Lomicky and assistant Colton Sparrow, will open in Trail Friday, Sept. 20, against the Smoke Eaters, followed by a visit to the Cranbrook Bucks on Sept. 21, and then another road game against the West Kelowna Warriors on Friday, Sept. 27.

Image credit: Vernon Vipers

The Vipers home opener at Kal Tire Place will be on Saturday, Sept. 28 against the Warriors at 6 p.m.

The Snakes first game against the new Alberta teams will be on Oct. 20 in Okotoks against the Oilers.

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The first visit by an Alberta team to Vernon will be the Sherwood Park Crusaders on Nov. 9.

The Vipers will play four games against each of the five Alberta teams, two at home and two on the road, except for the Blackfalds Bulldogs who will visit Vernon twice and host the Vipers once.

Vipers regular season schedule, first 20 games. (BCHL image)

The BCHL released its regular season schedule on Thursday.

With the integration of the five Alberta teams into this year’s schedule, 21 teams will play 54 games each for a total of 567 league games in the regular season.

The 2024-25 schedule includes 91 per cent prime night games on Fridays, Saturdays or team-preferred holiday dates.

“2024-25 is set to be a monumental season for the BCHL, in more ways than one,” Commissioner Steven Cocker said. “The full integration of our five new members, soon-to-be-announced event alliances and an elite group of incoming athletes are going to set the stage for an incredible year.”

“2023-24 saw league attendance increase by 8.1 per cent year-over-year and, with our amount of prime-night games hitting a historic high, we expect continued excitement in BCHL communities.”

The current schedule does not include exhibition games, BCHL Showcase games or Road Show event games, all of which will be announced in the coming weeks.

The BCHL will continue with its existing playoff structure with the first seed in each conference playing the eighth seed in the first round, the second playing the seventh seed, and so on. Five teams will not make the playoffs – two from the Coastal and three from the Interior.

Important Dates

• Sep. 20: Opening night
• Sep. 20: First Alberta vs. B.C. matchup – Penticton Vees @ Spruce Grove Saints
• Oct. 13-17: BCHL Showcase (location TBA)
• Jan. 17-18: All-Star Weekend (location TBA)
• Feb. 15-16: BCHL Road Show (location and teams TBA)
• March 30: Regular season ends

Click here to view the full 2024-25 schedule.