After the conclusion of the 2020-21 pod season in the BC Hockey League, there won’t be a post-season to determine the Fred Page Cup champion.
The league announced Tuesday that due to COVID-19 restrictions, the BCHL season will wrap up following the completion of the 20-game regular season on May 11.
The league said in a release that the current COVID-19 restrictions in the province and the challenges that changing cohorts presented made it not feasible to conduct a postseason.
Rather, the BCHL will award a champion from each of the Port Alberni, Burnaby, Chilliwack, Vernon, and Penticton pods based on points. The league will defer to point percentage if there is a disparity in the number of games played among the teams.
BCHL announces season will end with no playoffs, plans for alternate set of pod awards
RELEASE: https://t.co/o01WZO4emQ pic.twitter.com/pyIphhBihb
— BCHL (@BCHockeyLeague) April 27, 2021
The announcement comes a day after the Western Hockey League cancelled its playoffs due to COVID-19.
“Since we were shut down in November, our priority was to provide our athletes with an opportunity to showcase themselves to NCAA coaches and NHL scouts,” said BCHL Executive Director Steven Cocker. “We are thrilled that we were able to reward our players for all of the hard work they put in during what was a difficult and challenging season. We look forward to returning to a more normal schedule next year and once again crowning a BCHL champion.”
The BCHL also announced it would not hand out its usual regular season awards either. Instead, award winners from each pod will be determined as most valuable player, top defenseman, top goalie, top rookie, and top scorer.
It means each of the awards will see five players from across the league earn the honours.
