By TERRY PUGH
If you thought your hockey schedule was already full, hold on to your helmet.
Two men’s senior hockey leagues and a female junior hockey league are getting set to lift the lid on their 2025-26 seasons later this month. A third men’s senior league and a women’s senior league are likely to begin play in November.
The 11-team Twin Rivers Hockey League (TRHL) kicks off its regular season on Friday, October 24, when the Hague Royals play host to the visiting Bruno T-Birds.
The Birch Hills Blackhawks and Rosthern Wheatkings go head-to-head in Rosthern on Saturday, October 25, while the Clavet Cougars face off against the Waldheim Warriors in Waldheim on Sunday, October 26. The full season schedule is posted on the Twin Rivers Hockey League website.
This season the league will be without the Willow Cree Chiefs. In addition to Hague, Bruno, Birch Hills, Rosthern, Clavet and Waldheim, last year’s champions, the Allan Flames, are back; as well as the Cudworth Tricky Maroons, Dalmeny Sabres, Hanley Huskies, Rosthern Wheat-kings and Shellbrook Elks.
The 12-team Saskatchewan Prairie Hockey League (SPHL) takes to the ice on Saturday November 1 in a match-up between Maidstone and Battleford; but the marquee attraction for this area will be the home opener for the Langham Vikings, slated for Saturday, November 8 when they face off against the Perdue Pirates.
The league includes the Langham Vikings, Radisson Wheat Kings, Maidstone Jets, Battleford Beaver Blues, Blaine Lake Raiders, St. Walburg Eagles, Perdue Pirates, Neilburg Monarchs, Hafford Mustangs, Meota Combines, Turtleford Tigers and Glaslyn North Stars. The season schedule is online at the SPHL website.
The Saskatchewan Junior Female Hockey League (SJFL) begins its season on Saturday, October 18, when the Saskatoon Prairie Blaze takes on the Regina Wild in Regina. The Prairie Blaze’s home opener is scheduled for Friday, October 24 at the Martensville Recreation Centre, when the Blaze hosts the Outlook Icehawks. The six-team league also includes the Southwest Impact, based in Swift Current; the Taylor Toyota Lynx (based in Regina), and the Western Prairie Klippers, based in Kindersley.
The inaugural season of the Saskatchewan Senior Women’s Hockey League (SSWHL) is slated to begin later this fall, although a final schedule has not been set. However, the league has finalized its four teams in its north division. They include the Dalmeny Senior Women’s Sabres, the Northeast Drift, the Bridge City Storm, based in Saskatoon, and the Northern Ice, based in Prince Albert. The league so far does not have a website that has information on team rosters and league schedules, but it does have a social media page.
The 10-team Saskatchewan Valley Hockey League (SVHL) is also finalizing its schedule, which is expected to be posted on its website in the coming weeks. The league includes the Delisle Bruins, Craik Warriors, Davidson Cyclones, Dinsmore Dynamos, Eston Ramblers, Kenaston Blizzards, Kyle Elks, Loreburn 19ers, Lucky Lake-Beechy Lakers, and the Outlook Ice Hawks.