In January 2012, the Canadian Junior Hockey League announced a new regional playoff format for its four western provinces. The British Columbia Hockey League, Alberta Junior Hockey League, Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League and Manitoba Junior Hockey League will participate in a five-team tournament and award the first-ever Western Canada Cup beginning in 2013.

 

The 2013 Crescent Point Energy Western Canada Cup will be held from April 26 - May 5, 2013 at the Frank Crane Arena in Nanaimo, BC. The inaugural event will be hosted by the Nanaimo Clippers and the BCHL.

 

Message to the Fans

Dear friends and fans of Junior A hockey,

We are thrilled to be hosting another inaugural event and could not be more proud to have one of our most storied franchises, the Nanaimo Clippers, hosting the 2013 Crescent Point Western Canada Cup.

This first-time event brings the champions from each of the four Western Canadian Junior A leagues to Nanaimo with two berths in the RBC Cup national championship on line. This five-team event features 13 games - Clippers staff have worked hard to create an innovative tournament schedule that ensures no team plays three straight days.

Also, the first- and second-place teams after the round-robin portion will need to lose twice before being eliminated. This puts extra incentive for teams to do well in the round-robin. That means there's a lot on the line every game.

As two teams go to the RBC Cup, a traditional final would mean little drama in the last game so to counteract that, the final game on May 5 will be for second and third, with the winner getting the final RBC Cup berth. The tournament champion will be determined on Saturday, May 4.

We invite you to experience Nanaimo and be some of the first fans to take in this new event.

Yours truly,



John Grisdale
Commissioner, BCHL