The Dalmeny Sabres were crowned champions of the Twin Rivers Hockey League last season after sweeping the Birch Hills Blackhawks in three straight games. The title was the first senior hockey championship that the community has won in roughly 50 years. (Twin Rivers Hockey League/Facebook)

By Logan Lehmann

Senior Hockey

New team highlights offseason changes to Twin Rivers Hockey League ahead of opening weekend

Oct 27, 2023 | 6:00 AM

The Twin Rivers Hockey League (TRHL) is set to embark on another season in Central Saskatchewan this weekend.

The league is ready to start on Friday with opening day where President Raymond Carriere said there’s something in the air ahead of the first puck drop.

“People are getting excited for hockey now that there’s some snow on the ground in some parts of the province,” he said. “Everyone has been waiting for this time of year and to get started.”

Like last year, the TRHL will have 12 teams competing only there is a new team added to the bunch this season. According to Carriere, the Kinistino Tigers withdrew from the league this past offseason to rejoin the Wheatland Hockey League, citing player attendance and disagreements with the TRHL constitution as reasons for their departure.

Filling the void will be the Bruno T-Birds to even the playing field. The addition of the T-Birds will continue to allow for short travel times within the league for games, something that Carriere said the league prides itself on.

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“I think our league is fairly attractive to play in because everyone is in close proximity,” he said. “The farthest is Birch Hills traveling to Hanley or Allan, other than that everyone is within an hour – hour and fifteen from driving. Other teams are even closer than that like Dalmeny to Beardy’s is forty to fifty minutes and Rosthern and Hague are only a 10, 15-minute drive down the road so it’s quite convenient for the travel part of it. Teams in other leagues are traveling three hours to play hockey, that’s not very appealing to some players here in our league and [other players] would rather play in our league than travel.”

Additionally, he said that the league had not received any other requests from teams to join and that 12 teams is ‘comfortable’.

For this Twin Rivers season, Carriere hopes to see more parity in the league.

“Since I’ve been president, the league has been getting better and better,” he said. “Every team is all within striking distance of a playoff spot. There are some stronger teams but as the bottom teams play year after year, they’re getting stronger and stronger so that’s a good thing for the league.”

The opening game for the TRHL is on Friday night when the Rosthern Wheatkings visit the Hanley Huskies for a 7:30 p.m. puck drop. Opening weekend continues into Saturday for a three-game slate: Hanley will head to Clavet to face the Cougars, the Allan Flames will travel north to face the Waldheim Warriors, and Shellbrook Elks will face Bruno to welcome the T-Birds into the league.

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loganc.lehmann@pattisonmedia.com