2025–26 NOJHL season

2025–26 NOJHL season
LeagueNOJHL
SportIce hockey
DurationRegular season
September–March
Games286
Teams11
Streaming partnerHockeyTV
The league debuted a new official logo (right) ahead of the 2025–26 season.

The 2025–26 NOJHL season is the 48th season of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League (NOJHL).

The Elliot Lake Vikings franchise remained on an indefinite leave of absence due to the protracted closure of Rogers Arena, the team's official home in Elliot Lake.[1] The team was forced to vacate the building, which is owned by the city, due to "structural concerns" at the beginning of the 2023–24 season.[2] As a temporary solution, the team relocated to the Massey and District Community Centre some 45 miles (72 km) away in Blind River.[3] In December 2024, after the Elliot Lake city council delayed the reopening of its arena until the 2025–26 season, the league placed the Vikings on leave for the rest of the 2024–25 season.[4][5] In May 2025, the Vikings extended its leave of absence through the 2025–26 season.[6] League commissioner, Robert Mazzuca, stated "We just don't know when the club will be able to resume activities as they wait for news on the status of their arena."[7]

The regular season runs from 11 September 2025 through 15 March 2026.[8] Each team plays 52 games, including 25 at home, 25 away and two as part of the annual NOJHL showcase, which was held 7–8 October at the Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex in Sudbury.[9] The top eight teams at the end of the regular season advance to the playoffs.[10]

The league debuted a new logo that was designed by Paul Ainsworth, a graphic designer and NOJHL alumnus.[11][12]

References

  1. ^ Chorostil, Erika (30 May 2025). "Elliot Lake Vikings leave of absence extended for 2025-2026 season, amid arena repairs". CBC News. CBC/Radio-Canada. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
  2. ^ Campbell, Ian (13 September 2023). "Elliot Lake arena closes; residents say building was unsafe". CTV News Northern Ontario. Bell Media. Retrieved 8 January 2025.
  3. ^ Svela, Kris (18 September 2023). "Blind River to rent ice time to Elliot Lake Vikings". ElliotLakeToday.com. Village Media. Retrieved 20 January 2025.
  4. ^ Calverley, Stephen (19 December 2024). "Combination of items delayed arena reopening, report". ElliotLakeToday.com. Village Media. Retrieved 18 January 2025.
  5. ^ White Kirkpatrick, Camilla (24 December 2024). "Arena opening delayed until next season". elliotlakestandard.ca. Postmedia. Retrieved 18 January 2025.
  6. ^ "Vikings remain sidelined for 2025-26 NOJHL season". ElliotLakeToday.com. Village Media. 30 May 2025. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
  7. ^ Pascal, Randy (9 June 2025). "Elliot Lake Vikings leave of absence extended one more year". sudburysports.com. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
  8. ^ McIntyre, Bob (4 July 2025). "NOJHL prepares for season face-off". mytimminsnow.com. Retrieved 27 July 2025.
  9. ^ "NOJHL announces 2025–2026 schedule with continuing with a one-division format". saultsports.com. TruHous Media. 4 July 2025. Retrieved 5 July 2025.
  10. ^ "NOJHL announces 2025–26 schedule". nojhl.com (Press release). Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League. 4 July 2025. Retrieved 5 July 2025.
  11. ^ "NOJHL releases rebranded logo". EUP News. SandMark Media, LLC. 19 August 2025. Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  12. ^ "NOJHL releases rebranded logo". nojhl.com (Press release). Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League. 18 August 2025. Retrieved 19 August 2025.

Sources

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.