The Manitoba Junior Hockey League announced the season overview for the upcoming 2021-22 season this past Saturday afternoon, along with a new divisional format and key dates that will take place on the league calendar.
The regular season will begin on September 17th, 2021, and for the first time since the 2013-14 season the MJHL will return to a two-division format. Now it will be the East and West Division, and the Steinbach Pistons will be playing in the East in a similar makeup of the old Addison Division. They’ll be alongside the Portage Terriers, Selkirk Steelers, Winkler Flyers, Winnipeg Blues, and the Winnipeg Freeze.
The schedule has been reduced from a 60-game regular season schedule to a 54-game schedule. Steinbach will play 40 games within their own division and 14 games against teams from the West Division (Dauphin Kings, the newly named Neepawa Titans, OCN Blizzard, Swan Valley Stampeders, Virden Oil Capitals, and Waywayseecappo Wolverines).
Some key dates of the 2021-22 MJHL season are:
- The 2021 MJHL Player Showcase returns to the league schedule, and will take place from November 22-24, 2021 at Stride Place in Portage. Each team will play two non-divisional opponents.
- The fourth MJHL/SJHL Showcase will be held in Winnipeg for the first time in the event’s history, taking place on January 25-26, 2022 at the Seven Oaks Sportsplex.
- The regular season concludes on March 13, 2022, and the playoffs will begin on the week of March 14th. The playoff format has yet to be determined.
- The ANAVET Cup, where the MJHL champion meets the SJHL champion in a best-of-7 series for the right to go to the Centennial Cup, begins on April 29, 2022.
- The 2022 Centennial Cup, taking place in Estevan, Saskatchewan, is being held from May 20-29, 2022.
Stay tuned to Steinbachpistons.ca and all Pistons social media outlets for the full schedule release in the coming weeks.