The 186 Nova Scotia Junior Hockey League’s 2024-2025 Regular season schedule was released late Sunday night and this year’s 30-game schedule for all teams show the league opening Friday, Sept 13 with three games with Port Hawkesbury hosting Pictou, the South Shore Lumberjacks, last year’s provincial junior Championship Finalist travelling to C.F.B. Shearwater to play the Capstone Colts and the Valley Maple in East Hants.  Defending Provincial and Atlantic Champion the Antigonish Jr. Bulldogs will open their season Sunday, Sept 15 at home against the Lumberjacks while the South Shore will play their first home game of the season in Bridgewater Saturday Sept 28 against the East Hants Penguins, a team who took a 3-0 lead in their opening round playoff-series last March only to lose four straight to the Lumberjacks. 

 

The schedule will feature a pair of Remembrance Day Games with Pictou travelling to the South Shore  and Sackville playing host to the Capstone Colts.  The final game before the Christmas break will be played Sunday, Dec 15 with Membertou travelling to Eskasoni.  

 

The League’s Board of Governors with gas prices and the general cost of living still sky-rocketing wanted to somehow reduce travel costs in 24-25 so a format has been adopted which will see for example Antigonish playing three road games against teams in the Fred Fox Division.  They will be in the Valley, Capstone and East Hants while the Jr. Bulldogs will be at home against the Lumberjacks,  Brookfield and Sackville.   Next year the home and away schedules with this 6 teams will be reversed.  Instead of 12 games agains the Fred Fix Division this season, the Fox Division Teams will play only 6.