SUDBURY, Ont. – The Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League announced Sunday its current 2016 preseason schedule.
Highlighting the exhibition slate will be the five-team, 13-game, Polar Bear Classic, Sept. 1-4, hosted by the Cochran Crunch at the Tim Horton Event Centre.
Prior to the Polar Bear Classic, NOJHL preseason play will commence Friday, Aug. 26 with the Timmins Rock and Kirkland Lake Gold Miners kicking off the front-end of a home-and-home set at the Joe Mavrinac Community Complex at 7:30 p.m.
That same night French River Rapids and Espanola Express will also meet in the opener of a back-to-back affair at 7:30 p.m. at the Regional Recreation Complex in Espanola.
The following evening the Rock and Gold Miners will tangle at McIntyre Arena in Timmins while the Rapids and Express will square off in a neutral site affair in Sturgeon Falls in another pair of 7:30 p.m. starts.
French River and the Powassan Voodoos will also play Aug. 31 at 2:30 p.m. at the Powassan Sportsplex and at Noelville Arena on Sept. 1 at 7:30 p.m.
The following is the current NOJHL 2016 preseason schedule:
| NOJHL 2016 Preseason Schedule (As of July 31) | |||||
| Dates and times subject to change | |||||
| GM | DATE | AWAY | HOME | TIME | ARENA |
| 1 | Friday, Aug. 26 | Timmins | Kirkland Lake | 7:30 p.m. | Joe Mavrinac Community Complex |
| 2 | Friday, Aug. 26 | French River | Espanola | 7:30 p.m. | Espanola Regional Rec. Complex |
| 3 | Saturday, Aug. 27 | Kirkland Lake | Timmins | 7:30 p.m. | McIntyre Arena |
| 4 | Saturday, Aug. 27 | Espanola | French River | 7:30 p.m. | Sturgeon Falls |
| 5 | Wednesday, Aug. 31 | French River | Powassan | 2:30 p.m. | Powassan Sportsplex |
| 6 | Thursday, Sept. 1 | Iroquois Falls | Espanola | 6 p.m. | Tim Horton Event Centre |
| 7 | Thursday, Sept. 1 | Powassan | French River | 7:30 p.m. | Noelville Arena |
| 8 | Thursday, Sept. 1 | Kingston (OJHL) | Cochrane | 8:30 p.m. | Tim Horton Event Centre |
| 9 | Friday, Sept. 2 | Iroquois Falls | Cochrane | 10 a.m. | Tim Horton Event Centre |
| 10 | Friday, Sept. 2 | Kingston (OJHL) | Kirkland Lake | 12:30 p.m. | Tim Horton Event Centre |
| 11 | Friday, Sept. 2 | Iroquois Falls | Kirkland Lake | 6 p.m. | Tim Horton Event Centre |
| 12 | Friday, Sept. 2 | Espanola | Cochrane | 8:30 p.m. | Tim Horton Event Centre |
| 13 | Saturday, Sept. 3 | Kingston (OJHL) | Iroquois Falls | 10 a.m. | Tim Horton Event Centre |
| 14 | Saturday, Sept. 3 | Kirkland Lake | Espanola | 12:30 p.m. | Tim Horton Event Centre |
| 15 | Saturday, Sept. 3 | Cochrane | Kirkland Lake | 6 p.m. | Tim Horton Event Centre |
| 16 | Saturday, Sept. 3 | Espanola | Kingston (OJHL) | 8:30 p.m. | Tim Horton Event Centre |
| 17 | Sunday, Sept. 4 | PBC 4th Overall | PBC 1st Overall | 10 a.m. | Tim Horton Event Centre |
| 18 | Sunday, Sept. 4 | PBC 3rd Overall | PBC 2nd Overall | 12 p.m. | Tim Horton Event Centre |
| 19 | Sunday, Sept. 4 | PBC Semifinal Winner | PBC Semifinal Winner | 7 p.m. | Tim Horton Event Centre |
Any further league exhibition games will be announced once finalized and confirmed by the Commissioner’s Office.
For more information on the NOJHL, visit the league’s official website at nojhl.com or on social media at twitter.com/NOJHL or facebook.com/NOJHL.
