The Kootenay International Junior Hockey League has announced a change to the Kootenay Conference playoff format for the upcoming season. The new format, which was necessitated by the withdrawal of the Spokane Braves for a third consecutive season, was recommended by the KIJHL’s Hockey Operations Committee and approved by the Executive Committee:
- The top three teams from the Neil Murdoch Division and the top four teams from the Eddie Mountain Division will automatically qualify for the 2023 KIJHL Playoffs.
- The fourth seed in the Neil Murdoch Division playoff bracket will be occupied by the team that finishes with the superior record of the fourth place team in the Neil Murdoch Division and the fifth place team in the Eddie Mountain Division. If the Eddie Mountain Division’s fifth place team earns this playoff berth, they will be referred to as the “crossover team”.
- The team that finishes the season with the inferior record of the Neil Murdoch Division’s fourth place team and the Eddie Mountain Division’s fifth place team will not qualify for the 2023 KIJHL Playoffs.
- In the event that a “crossover team” occupies the fourth seed in the Neil Murdoch Division playoff bracket, the Neil Murdoch Division’s top seeded team will then determine whether they wish to play the Neil Murdoch Division’s third seeded team or the “crossover team”.
- In the event that the Neil Murdoch Division’s top seeded team opts to play the third seeded team, the other Neil Murdoch Divisional playoff series will take place between the second and fourth seeded teams.
- In the event that the Neil Murdoch Division’s top seeded team opts to play the “crossover team”, the other Neil Murdoch Divisional playoff series will take place between the second and third seeded teams.
“Our preference would be to have the Braves battling for a playoff spot with their Neil Murdoch Division rivals,” says KIJHL Commissioner Jeff Dubois. “But this format ensures a fair opportunity for all nine Kootenay Conference teams to compete for the postseason while also rewarding the Neil Murdoch Division winner in a creative, outside-the-box manner.”
The 2022/23 KIJHL regular season opens on Friday, September 23rd.