This is the 2016-17 Kootenay International Junior Hockey League season. This was the league's 56th season.
In July 2016, the league announced for the 2016-17 season that the inter-conference play between the Okanagan-Shuswap Conference and the Kootenay Conference would be eliminated during the regular season and that the schedule would be reduced from 52 to 47 games. The reduction in the number of games also nearly eliminated the use of week night games. The moves served two purposes for the players and the owners first to reduce the strain on the players with much less travel and time to spend on their studies and the reduction of travel expenses and the elimination of unprofitable games held in the middle of the week.
The league was considering expansion for the 2017-18 season, but ended up rejecting applications for teams to be based out of Quesnel, British Columbia and Williams Lake, British Columbia at a special league meeting in January 2017. Apparently, travel distance was the major factor in the rejection of the applications, Williams Lake is 97km (59 miles) north of the present northernmost team (100 Mile House) and Quesnel is another 118km (73 miles) north of Williams Lake.
Membership changes[]
- none
Teams[]
| Eddie Mountain Division | ||||||||||||||
| Team | Centre | Arena | ||||||||||||
| Columbia Valley Rockies | Invermere | Eddie Mountain Memorial Arena | ||||||||||||
| Creston Valley Thunder Cats | Creston | Johnny Bucyk Arena | ||||||||||||
| Fernie Ghostriders | Fernie | Fernie Memorial Arena | ||||||||||||
| Golden Rockets | Golden | Golden Arena | ||||||||||||
| Kimberley Dynamiters | Kimberley | Kimberley Civic Centre | ||||||||||||
| Neil Murdoch Division | ||||||||||||||
| Team | Centre | Arena | ||||||||||||
| Beaver Valley Nitehawks | Fruitvale | Beaver Valley Arena | ||||||||||||
| Castlegar Rebels | Castlegar | Castlegar Community Complex | ||||||||||||
| Grand Forks Border Bruins | Grand Forks | Jack Goddard Memorial Arena | ||||||||||||
| Nelson Leafs | Nelson | Nelson Community Complex | ||||||||||||
| Spokane Braves | Spokane | Eagles Ice-A-Rama | ||||||||||||
| Okanagan Division | ||||||||||||||
| Team | Centre | Arena | ||||||||||||
| Kelowna Chiefs | Kelowna | Rutland Arena | ||||||||||||
| North Okanagan Knights | Armstrong | Nor-Val Centre | ||||||||||||
| Osoyoos Coyotes | Osoyoos | Osoyoos Sunbowl Arena | ||||||||||||
| Princeton Posse | Princeton | Princeton District Multipurpose Arena | ||||||||||||
| Summerland Steam | Summerland | Summerland Arena | ||||||||||||
| Doug Birks Division | ||||||||||||||
| Team | Centre | Arena | ||||||||||||
| 100 Mile House Wranglers | 100 Mile House | South Cariboo Recreation Centre | ||||||||||||
| Chase Heat | Chase | Art Holding Memorial Arena | ||||||||||||
| Kamloops Storm | Kamloops | McArthur Island Sports & Events Centre | ||||||||||||
| Revelstoke Grizzlies | Revelstoke | Revelstoke Forum | ||||||||||||
| Sicamous Eagles | Sicamous | Sicamous District Recreation Centre | ||||||||||||
Standings[]
Kootenay Conference[]
Eddie Mountain Division[]
| Team | GP | W | L | T | OL | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Creston Valley Thunder Cats | 47 | 36 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 224 | 118 | 74 |
| Kimberley Dynamiters | 47 | 33 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 211 | 141 | 67 |
| Fernie Ghostriders | 47 | 26 | 18 | 1 | 2 | 185 | 151 | 55 |
| Columbia Valley Rockies | 47 | 14 | 29 | 0 | 4 | 139 | 222 | 32 |
| Golden Rockets | 47 | 5 | 37 | 1 | 4 | 75 | 208 | 15 |
Neil Murdoch Division[]
| Team | GP | W | L | T | OL | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beaver Valley Nitehawks | 47 | 38 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 218 | 105 | 80 |
| Castlegar Rebels | 47 | 30 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 221 | 174 | 61 |
| Nelson Leafs | 47 | 21 | 21 | 1 | 4 | 148 | 160 | 47 |
| Grand Forks Border Bruins | 47 | 20 | 21 | 3 | 3 | 173 | 194 | 46 |
| Spokane Braves | 47 | 8 | 38 | 0 | 1 | 129 | 250 | 17 |
Okanagan/Shuswap Conference[]
Doug Birks Division[]
| Team | GP | W | L | T | OL | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chase Heat | 47 | 31 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 188 | 141 | 66 |
| 100 Mile House Wranglers | 47 | 27 | 12 | 3 | 5 | 175 | 137 | 62 |
| Kamloops Storm | 47 | 23 | 17 | 1 | 6 | 153 | 137 | 53 |
| Revelstoke Grizzlies | 47 | 19 | 25 | 1 | 2 | 139 | 162 | 41 |
| Sicamous Eagles | 47 | 10 | 36 | 0 | 1 | 104 | 234 | 21 |
Okanagan/Shuswap Conference[]
Okanagan Division[]
| Team | GP | W | L | T | OL | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Osoyoos Coyotes | 47 | 37 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 208 | 111 | 76 |
| Summerland Steam | 47 | 34 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 182 | 117 | 72 |
| Kelowna Chiefs | 47 | 20 | 22 | 2 | 3 | 157 | 156 | 45 |
| North Okanagan Knights | 47 | 15 | 29 | 2 | 1 | 118 | 164 | 33 |
| Princeton Posse | 47 | 12 | 29 | 1 | 5 | 99 | 164 | 30 |
Playoffs[]
Format[]
The top 4 teams in each division qualify for the playoffs. The first two round series are best-of-seven. The semifinal and final series are best of five The playoff champion (or the runner up if the Creston Valley Thunder Cats win the championship) advances to the 2017 Cyclone Taylor Cup which is being hosted by the Creston Valley Thunder Cats.
Eddie Mountain Division Semifinals[]
- Creston Valley Thunder Cats defeated Columbia Valley Rockies 4 games to none
- Kimberley Dynamiters defeated Fernie Ghostriders 4 games to 2
Neil Murdoch Division Semifinals[]
- Beaver Valley Nitehawks defeated Grand Forks Border Bruins 4 games to none
- Nelson Leafs defeated Castlegar Rebels 4 games to 2
Doug Birks Division Semifinals[]
- Chase Heat defeated Revelstoke Grizzlies 4 games to 1
- Kamloops Storm defeated 100 Mile House Wranglers 4 games to 2
Okanagan Division Semifinals[]
- Osoyoos Coyotes defeated North Okanagan Knights 4 games to none
- Summerland Steam defeated Kelowna Chiefs 4 games to 3
Eddie Mountain Division Final[]
- Kimberley Dynamiters defeated Creston Valley Thunder Cats 4 games to 2
Neil Murdoch Division Final[]
- Beaver Valley Nitehawks defeated Nelson Leafs 4 games to none
Doug Birks Division Final[]
- Chase Heat defeated Kamloops Storm 4 games to 1
Okanagan Division Final[]
- Osoyoos Coyotes defeated Summerland Steam 4 games to none
Kootenay Conference Final[]
- Beaver Valley Nitehawks defeated Kimberley Dynamiters 3 games to 2
Okanagan/Shuswap Conference Final[]
- Chase Heat defeated Osoyoos Coyotes 3 games to 2
League Championship[]
- Beaver Valley Nitehawks defeated Chase Heat 3 games to none
2017 KIJHL champs Beaver Valley Nitehawks