PREVIEW | SFU and Okanagan Kick Off 24/25 with Home and Home

Red Leafs kick off BCIHL season against Okanagan Lakers

The British Columbia Intercollegiate Hockey League (BCIHL), season kicks for the Simon Fraser University Red Leafs October 4th against 2023-2024 BCIHL semi-finalist Okanagan Lakers at the Bill Copeland Sports Centre in Burnaby. 

SFU Head Coach Mark Soares returns for his second year on the job, hoping to improve on last year's 7-11-2 fourth place finish. SFU was knocked out of the playoffs after one game to eventual semi-finalist Logan Lake. 

The Red Leafs finished its preseason with a 2-1 record, beating Logan Lake twice while falling to Okanagan 4-3 in the preseason opener.

But all that is washed away now with the regular season opener against Okanagan, who finished third in the BCIHL last season and are out to start their schedule out on a strong note. 

Notable returnees for this season's Red Leafs squad include forwards Max Lightfoot, Leeam Tivers, and 2023-24 BCIHL Second-Team All-Star Nick Wagner. 

Wagner (26 points in 19 games), Lighfoot (23 points in 20 games) and Tivers (19 points in 18 games)  were 1-2-3 in Red Leafs scoring last year, and will be relied upon to carry the load again this campaign.

For their part, Okanagan will be returning much of their 2023-24 lineup, including each of their top four scorers from last season, all of whom scored at a point per game rate (KT Walters, Carter Bettonson, Matthew Johnston, and Joe Davidson).

The season opener will be Game 1 of a back-to-back with Okanagan, which sees SFU travel to Kelowna for Game 2 at 6:15 the very next day.

Considering the quick turnaround and long travel day, it will be imperative for SFU to get a win in Game 1. Last season, the Red Leafs finished the month of October 2-3, a record they will surely look to improve upon during their early part of the season.

Puck drop is at 7:00 PM at the Bill Copeland Sports Centre in Burnaby.

Tickets are available online at shop.sfuhockey.com