Quesnel River Rush

Quesnel River Rush
City	Quesnel, British Columbia
League	Kootenay International Junior Hockey League
Conference	Okanagan/Shuswap
Division	Doug Birks
Founded	2009 (2009)
Home arena	West Fraser Centre
Colors	Burgundy, Yellow, Grey and Black
Owner(s)	Tracy Mero
Head coach	Logan Maxwell
Captain	Vacant
Website quesnelriverrush.com
Franchise history
2009–2024	North Okanagan Knights
2024-present	Quensel River Rush

The Quesnel River Rush are a Junior 'A' ice hockey team based in Quesnel, British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Doug Birks Division of the Okanagan/Shuswap Conference of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL). The team plays its home games at the 1,300-seat West Fraser Centre. Before moving to Quesnel in 2024, the team was based in Armstrong, British Columbia and was known as the North Okanagan Knights.

History

Original logo as North Okanagan Knights

Later logo used as North Okanagan Knights

The Knights joined the KIJHL in 2009, but finished dead-last in the Okanagan Division with a record of 11–35–0–4, missing the playoffs. In 2010–11, the Knights joined the new Doug Birks Division, but finished last again, losing 4-1 in the first round of the playoffs to Revelstoke. For 2011–12, the Knights improved to third place in the Doug Birks Division, with a record of 35–16–0–1, before losing to Kamloops in the first round of the playoffs. The following year the Knights won the Doug Birks Division for the first time, and reached the league championship series, losing in six games to Castlegar. For 2013–14, the Knights were moved to the Okanagan Division, following the relocation of the Okanagan Division's Penticton Lakers to 100 Mile House. They finished fourth in their new division, but defeated the division champions Summerland Steam in seven games in the first round, before losing to Osoyoos. In 2014–15, the Knights struggled immensely, finishing with a record of 6–41–1–4, and failed to make the playoffs. The following year, the Knights compiled a 14-30-3-0-5 record, finishing fourth in the Okanagan Division. They lost, 0–4, to Osoyoos in the first round.

The North Okanagan Knights relocated to Quesnel, British Columbia, Canada in April 2024.

Season-by-season record

North Okanagan Knights

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, PTS = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against

Season	GP	W	L	T	OTL	PTS	GF	GA	Finish	Playoffs
2009-10	50	11	35	0	4	26	149	250	7th of 7, Okanagan 15th of 17, KIJHL	Did not qualify
2010–11	50	18	30	1	1	38	146	198	4th of 4, Doug Birks 14th of 18, KIJHL	Lost Division Semifinals, 1-4 (Grizzlies)
2011-12	52	35	16	0	1	71	202	165	3rd of 5, Doug Birks 7th of 20, KIJHL	Lost Division Semifinals, 3-4 (Storm)
2012-13	52	34	14	2	2	72	214	149	1st of 5, Doug Birks 4th of 20, KIJHL	Lost in Finals, 1-4 (Rebels)
2013-14	52	24	26	0	2	50	168	195	4th of 5, Okanagan 12th of 20, KIJHL	Lost division finals, 1-4 (Coyotes)
2014-15	52	6	41	1	4	17	93	235	5th of 5, Okanagan 20th of 20, KIJHL	Did not qualify
2015-16	52	14	30	3	5	36	116	159	4th of 5, Okanagan 16th of 20, KIJHL	Lost Division Semifinals, 0-4 (Coyotes)
2016-17	47	15	29	2	1	33	119	167	4th of 5 Okanagan 15th of 20 - KIJHL	Lost Division Semifinals, 0-4 (Coyotes)
2017-18	47	14	26	3	4	35	110	174	5th of 5 Okanagan 16th of 20 - KIJHL	Did not qualify
2018-19	49	16	33	0	0	32	129	197	5th of 5 Okanagan 17th of 20, KIJHL	Did not qualify
2019-20	49	13	30	1	5	32	110	174	4th of 5 Bill Ohlhausen 18th of 20, KIJHL	Lost Division Semifinals, 1-4 (Chiefs)
2020–21	3	0	2	0	1	1	10	17	Remaining season cancelled due to COVID-19
2021–22	42	10	25	0	7	27	106	166	5th of 5 Bill Ohlhausen 17th of 19, KIJHL	Did not qualify
2022–23	44	22	16	0	6	50	143	144	3rd of 5 Bill Ohlhausen 13th of 19, KIJHL	Won Division Semifinals, 4-1 (Coyotes) Lost division finals 1-4 (Posse)
2023–24	44	18	20	0	6	42	123	158	2nd of 5, Bill Ohlhausen 13th of 20, KIJHL	Won Division Semifinals, 4-0 (Coyotes) Lost Division finals 3-4 (Posse)
Quensel River Rush
2024-25	44	19	19	3	3	44	167	186	3rd of 5 Doug Burks Div 7th of 11 O/S Conf 12th of 21 -KIJHL	Lost Div Semis, 0-4 (Storm)

Playoffs

Records as of March 18, 2024.

Season	Division Semifinals	Division Finals	Conference Finals	KIJHL Championship
2009–10	Did not qualify
2010-11	L, 1–4, Revelstoke	—	—	—
2011-12	L, 3–4, Kamloops	—	—	—
2012-13	W, 4–1, Kamloops	W, 4–0, Sicamous	W, 4–3, Osoyoos	L, 1–4, Castlegar
2013-14	W, 4–3, Summerland	L, 1–4, Osoyoos	—	—
2014-15	Did not qualify
2015-16	L, 0–4, Osoyoos	—	—	—
2016-17	L, 0–4, Osoyoos	—	—	—
2017-18	Did not qualify
2018-19	Did not qualify
2019-20	L, 1–4, Kelowna	—	—	—
2020-21	Playoffs cancelled due to coronavirus pandemic
2021-22	Did not qualify
2022-23	W, 4–1, Osoyoos	L, 1-4, Princeton	—	—
2023-24	W, 4–0, Osoyoos	L, 3-4, Princeton	—	—
Quesnel River Rush
2024-25	L, 0–4, Kamloops	—	—	—

Sources

• "LETTER: Junior hockey dream for Quesnel possibly dashed by local gov", Quesnel Cariboo Observer, Black Press Media, 26 January 2024. (en) 

• "LETTER: Quesnel Kangaroos support idea of Junior hockey, but only if paid $100k", Quesnel Cariboo Observer, Black Press Media, 29 January 2024. (en) 

• "Quesnel Kangaroos clear the air over junior hockey proposal", My Cariboo Now, 29 January 2024. (en-CA) 

• "Financial guarantee is a shot way wide of the Quesnel net: KIJHL", Quesnel Cariboo Observer, Black Press Media, 31 January 2024. (en) 

• "Quesnel is one step closer to getting a junior hockey team", My Cariboo Now, 13 February 2024. (en-CA) 

• "Quesnel Kangaroos take massive win at home opener", Quesnel Cariboo Observer, Black Press Media, 8 October 2024. (en) 

External links

• Official website of the KIJHL
• Official website of the Quesnel River Rush