The British Columbia Intercollegiate Hockey League (BCIHL) is a university hockey league based in

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. The BCIHL was created with the purpose of offering a venue for competitive, high-calibre hockey for players beyond their

junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959 * ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009 * ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010 * ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019 Films * ''Junior'' (1994 ...

hockey careers. The league operates as one of two Division 2 leagues in Canada when compared to the Division 1

U Sports U Sports (stylized as U SPORTS) is the national sport governing body of university sport in Canada, comprising the majority of degree-granting universities in the country. Its equivalent body for organized sports at colleges in Canada is the Ca ...

league, the other being Alberta's ACAC. BCIHL teams, however, regularly play U Sports and

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

teams. In a typical season, each BCIHL team plays a 24-game league schedule, with the top four teams qualifying for the playoffs. Beginning in 2012, the playoff format has consisted of a best-of-three semifinal round, and a best-of-three championship series. Prior to 2012 the championship had been decided through a round-robin tournament.

History

In 2011, the BCIHL accepted its first US-based team in

Eastern Washington University Eastern Washington University (EWU) is a public university in Cheney, Washington. It also offers programs at a campus in EWU Spokane at the Riverpoint Campus and other campus locations throughout the state. Founded in 1882, the university is ...

, which had previously played in the

American Collegiate Hockey Association The American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) is a college ice hockey association. The ACHA's purpose is to be an organization of collegiate affiliated non-varsity programs, which provides structure, regulates operations, and promotes qualit ...

at the Division II level. Before 2011, the BCIHL consisted entirely of teams from British Columbia. The 2016–17 season would see the BCIHL get its first

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

alumni as former

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

forward Patrick Holland would join the

University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic or Victoria) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. The university traces its roots to Victoria College, the first post-secondary instit ...

Vancouver Island University Vancouver Island University (abbreviated as VIU, formerly known as Malaspina University-College and earlier as Malaspina College) is a Canadian public university serving Vancouver Island and coastal British Columbia. Malaspina College began in 196 ...

was confirmed as the sixth team to join the BCIHL in 2017, and joined the league for the 2017/2018 season. In 2019,

Trinity Western University Trinity Western University (TWU) is a Private university, private Christian liberal arts university with campuses in both Langley, British Columbia (district municipality), Langley and Richmond, British Columbia, Richmond, British Columbia. The sch ...

's men's and women's hockey programs were officially accepted into the

Canada West Universities Athletic Association Canada West is a regional membership association for universities in Western Canada which assists in co-ordinating competition between their university level athletic programs and providing contact information, schedules, results, and releases abo ...

starting in the 2020-21 season. The Spartans would finish their final season in the BCIHL as regular seaso
champions
In March 2021, Selkirk College announced it would be discontinuing the Saints men's hockey program due to budget constraints as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. This departure marked the first time a former BCIHL Champion has dissolved. On June 22, 2021, the Okanagan Lakers were added to the BCIHL via expansion and became the leagues first ever independent club, consisting of student-athletes from both the University of British Columbia-Okanagan and

Okanagan College Okanagan College is a public, post-secondary institution with over 120 certificates, diplomas, degrees and programs including apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship trades programs. Its largest campus is located in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada ...

. The team is slated to join the league for the 2021-22 regular season. On February 8, 2022, the Logan Lake Miners were added to the BCIHL via expansion, consisting of student-athletes from Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, BC, and the Nicola Valley Institute of Technology in Merritt, BC. The team will play out of the Logan Lake Recreation Centre starting in the 2022/23 season. In addition to the Okanagan Lakers, the BCIHL is currently reviewing expansion proposals for two other teams: the Thompson Okanagan Pioneers and the Fraser Valley College Brigade.

Teams

Former teams

Championship Results by Year
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Notable players
* Patrick Holland -
Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...
Jordan Wood -
Huntsville Havoc The Huntsville Havoc are a professional ice hockey team in the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL). They play their home games at the Von Braun Center in downtown Huntsville, Alabama. History The team began play in the 2004–05 season ...
Anthony Collins -
Rapid City Rush The Rapid City Rush are a professional ice hockey team in the ECHL based in Rapid City, South Dakota, and play their home games at The Monument. The Rush are currently a minor affiliate of the Calgary Flames NHL franchise. History On June 2, 2 ...
James Isaacs -
Fife Flyers Fife Flyers is the oldest professional ice hockey club in the UK, established in 1938. The Flyers play their home games at Fife Ice Arena in Kirkcaldy which has a capacity of just over 3000 (seated and standing). They joined the EIHL in 2011. ...

References
{{reflist

External links

British Columbia Intercollegiate Hockey League

Simon Fraser Hockey
*
Victoria Vikes Hockey

VIU Mariners Hockey

Okanagan Lakers Hockey
*Former Teams
Trinity Western Spartans Hockey

Selkirks Saints
Ice hockey leagues in British Columbia College athletics conferences in Canada University and college sports in Canada 2006 establishments in British Columbia Sports leagues established in 2006