By Rosalind Russell – The Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League finalized the majority of its 2026-27 regular season schedule.
The 12 competing clubs will play a 52-game slate during the campaign, in a one-division format including the Blind River Beavers, Espanola Paper Kings and the returning Elliot Lake Vikings.
Each team will play 25 contests at home, another 25 on the road, plus two match-ups as part of the annual NOJHL Showcase, which will be held October 6-8 at Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex in Sudbury.
Opening night for the 2026-27 season is Thursday, Sept. 10 as the three-time defending NOJHL Copeland Cup – McNamara Trophy champion Greater Sudbury Cubs host the Espanola Paper Kings.
Regular season action is set to conclude on Sunday, March 14.
Following that, the Top 8 teams will advance to the playoffs, with the eventual league winner moving on to represent the NOJHL at the 2027 Centennial Cup.
In addition to the dozen NOJHL teams, there will also be six Prep School squads taking part over the course of the three-day event.
St. Andrew’s College is returning for a second straight year, while Gilmour Academy; Ridley College; Bishop’s College School; Rothesay Netherwood School and Upper Canada College will be making their Showcase debuts.
The Showcase schedule, where the points will count in the standings for the league teams, will be announced once it is finalized.
Once again, all regular season games that are tied after regulation time will go to a seven-minute sudden-victory overtime period, skating three players aside.
Should contests remain without a winner after OT, the game will end in a tie, and each squad will earn one point.
Teams will still receive two points for wins in regulation and OT as well as one for extra time defeats.
All NOJHL games will once again be streamed online via FLOHockey.tv, the league’s official broadcast partner.
The following link lists the 2026-27 NOJHL regular season schedule: https://nojhl.com/stats/schedule/all-teams/44/all-months?league=1
Photo credit: Thomas Perry / Timmins Daily Press
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