The Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL) has released its 2023-24 regular season schedule – and confirmed dates for its annual Governors’ Showcase and All-Star Celebration.
The 2023-24 season opens Thursday, Sept. 7, with games in Brantford, Leamington and Caledon.
The Stouffville Spirit’s first game goes Friday, Sept. 8 in Aurora against the host Tigers. The two teams will meet the next night at the Stouffville Arena in the Spirit’s home opener.
The OJHL regular season ends March 8 with one game, Stouffville at Aurora.
The OJHL is divided into East and West conferences this season with the top eight teams in each conference qualifying for the playoffs. Inter-conference, crossover games return for the 2023-24 season.
The Spirit are in the East Conference.
The Buffalo Jr. Sabres are back in the OJHL following a three-year leave of absence. The OJHL is also welcoming two expansion teams, the Leamington Flyers and Niagara Falls Canucks, this season, bringing the total number of franchises to 24.
Here’s the Spirit’s schedule:
https://www.ojhl.ca/stats/schedule/27/3/all-months/homeaway?league=1
Click the link for the full 2023-24 OJHL regular season schedule:
https://www.ojhl.ca/stats/schedule/all-teams/3/all-months?league=1
Highlights of the 2023-24 OJHL schedule include:
- Cottage Cup, a pilot project run in conjunction with the host Collingwood Blues, will see eight Junior A teams from the OJHL, other CJHL partner leagues and Europe play a preseason tournament Aug. 28-30, 2023.
- Opening night – Thursday, Sept. 7. Twenty games will be played during opening weekend, Sept. 8-10.
- Annual Governors’ Showcase to be held from Sept. 26-28 at the LECOM Harborcenter, official practice facility of the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres. The event attracts hundreds of NHL, NCAA, U SPORTS and OHL scouts.
- The league will be hosting the return of the Eastern Canada Cup in Trenton, ON Nov. 13-15. The event will be part of the identification and evaluation process for the Team Canada East team that will compete in the 2023 World Jr. A Challenge tournament. Two teams from each of the five Canadian Junior Hockey League leagues in eastern Canada will compete in the event.
- The OJHL All-Star Celebration weekend returns to Collingwood, ON for the second straight year Jan. 12 and 13, 2024. The event will include a skills competition, Prospects Game, Alumni Game and All-Star Game.
- The 2024 Centennial Cup, the National Junior ‘A’ Championship, will be hosted by the OJHL’s Oakville Blades May 9-19 at the Sixteen Mile Sports Complex.
OWNERSHIP GROUP
Chris Tambos – President
Zeev Werek – Secretary
Kenny Burrows – Governor
HOCKEY OPS
Kenny Burrows – General Manager/Governor – stouffvillespirit@gmail.com – 416-990-2683
Thayne Hallyburton – Assistant General Manager – thaynehallyburton@gmail.com – 249-877-1481
TJ Hill – Head Coach
Rob Ascenzi – Assistant Coach
Tyler Turcotte – Assistant Coach
Keith Acton – Director of Player Development
Max Saegert – Head Scout
Scott Van Trigt – mid-western Ontario scout
EQUIPMENT/TRAINING STAFF
Randy Smith – Strength and Conditioning Coach
Tiffany Phan-Chu – Athletic Therapist
Shayne Campbell – Equipment Manager
OFF-ICE STAFF
Reesa Corneau – stouffvillespiritoffice@gmail.com
Game night crew – Lorna Burrows, Jim Mason, Wayne Jones, Reesa Corneau, Ed Matthews, Danny Burnett, James Lattimore, Stouffville Lions Club
Hockey TV: Play-by-play, Jason Rehel. Video, Ocean Fog Productions.
