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2024–25 KIJHL season

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2024–25 KIJHL season
LeagueKIJHL
SportIce hockey
DurationSeptember – February
Number of games44
Number of teams21
Streaming partner(s)flohockey.tv
Seasons
2025–26 →

The 2024–25 KIJHL season will be the 58th season of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League. The regular season began on September 20, 2024, with 18 of 21 franchises in action on opening night, the Kelowna Chiefs and defending champions the Revelstoke Grizzlies will start the season the next night while the Ghostriders start their season until the following Friday night. The only rematch of the 2024 Teck Cup Finals will occur on December 7, 2024, in Revelstoke. The season will run until February 22, 2025.[1] The playoffs will begin a week later on February 28, 2025, with 16 teams competing for the Teck Cup.

League changes

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The first major off-season change occurred on March 22, 2024, when the KIJHL's board of governors approved the sale of the Summerland Steam to a new ownership group including Tyrel and Robin Lucas, Parnell Pinette, Brad Paddison, Gerald Overton, and Aaron and Nathan Zurak. The new ownership moved the team to Williams Lake where they became the Williams Lake Mustangs,[2] a moniker previously used by the RMJHL team that played from 1978 to 1996.[3]

On March 31, 2024, the league announced that the Merritt Centennials, formerly of the BCHL, would join the KIJHL as an expansion franchise in the 2024–25 KIJHL season. The franchise will retain the Centennials moniker, colours, arena and branding.[4]

The second relocation of the 2024 off-season occurred five days later when the North Okanagan Knights were sold to a Quesnel-based ownership group who moved the team north, expanding the league footprint by 100 kilometres into the Shuswap region where they would be rebranded as the Quesnel River Rush.[5]

The Kelowna Chiefs were sold to Kelowna businessman Darren Tymchyshyn.[6]

On May 5, Rebels' forward Nathan Jackman was killed in a car accident.[7] Nate's number 23, was retired on September 20th at the Rebels home-opener. Jasper Tait, who started the season with William's Lake before being traded to Grand Forks, and Caden Still of the Nelson Leafs, have changed their numbers to 23 to honor Nate.

Transactions

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2024-25 KIJHL transactions
TEAM 1 Player(s) acquired TEAM 2 Player(s) acquired Day
Off Season
Nelson Rylan Konecsni (F-2005) Osoyoos Tyler Seminoff (D-2004) June 1st 2024
100 Mile House Michael Malinowski (G-2005) Quesnel Zachary Gull (F-2004)
Quesnel Future Considerations Coastal (PJHL) Nate Hughes (F-2005), Laszlo Istvanffy (F-2005)
Kelowna Luke Rishaug (F-2004) Quesnel Future Considerations June 5th 2024
Creston Valley Future Considerations Weyburn (SJHL) Max Chakrabarti (D-2005)
Merritt Keaton Daley (D-2005) Williams Lake Future Considerations June 7th 2024
Golden Rockets John Spraggs (D-2004) Kamloops Future Considerations
100 Mile House Kyle Cyr (F-2005) Williams Lake Jackson Altwasser (F-2005) June 10th 2024
100 Mile House Landon Janz (D-2005) Sicamous Nicholas Sloane (D-2005)
100 Mile House Caden Cygan (F-2005),Nelson Webster (F-2005) Osoyoos Kyle Cyr (F-2005),Future Considerations
Princeton Future Considerations Estevan (SJHL) Bryton Morrow (F-2005)
Kamloops David Andler (F-2005) Revelstoke Jake Phillips-Watts (F-2006) June 11th 2024
Williams Lake Hunter Sellers (F-2005),Future Considerations White Rock (PJHL) Owen Neilson (F-2004)
Kelowna Spencer Fowle (F-2006) Mission City (PJHL) Future Considerations June 12th 2024
Golden Gabe Osmond (G-2005) Grand Forks Alexander Jessey (G-2005) June 18th 2024
Kelowna Jesse Ivanovic (D-2005) LaRonge (SJHL) Future Considerations June 19th 2024
Williams Lake Carter Boomer (F-2006) 100 Mile House Future Considerations June 21st 2024
Kelowna Jacob Rausch (D-2004) Williams Lake Jacob Schtaif (F-2004), Tyler Schmidt (D-2005) July 4th 2024
Columbia Valley Future Considerations Thunder Bay (SIJHL) Jameson Franz (D-2004) July 8th 2024
Castlegar Benjamin Filiponne (D-2006) Chiliwack (PJHL) Future Considerations July 15th 2024
Osoyoos Myles Hayne (D-2004) Kimberley Future Considerations July 19th 2024
Chase Future Considerations Winnipeg (MJHL) Cole Whelan (F-2004) Aug 6th 2024
Kimberley Bennett Kuhnlein (F-2004) Revelstoke Ryder Ponto (G-2005) Aug 11th 2024
Fernie Luke Rothfos (F-2004) Sicamous Eli Neilsen (D-2004) Aug 12th 2024
Quesnel Eli Neilsen (D-2004) Sicamous Colton Flemming (D-2004)
Princeton Brayden Summer (F-2005) Notre Dame (SJHL) Future Considerations
Sicamous Future Considerations Weyburn (SJHL) Hayden Evans (F-2006) Aug 13th 2024
Golden Future Considerations Waywayseecappo (MJHL) Deegan Wapass (F-2005) Aug 14th 2024
Chase Future Considerations Chilliwack (PJHL) Luke Roberts (G-2005) Aug 15th 2024
Creston Valley Jordan Gale (D-2005) Osoyoos Lucas Hughes (F-2005)
Chase Future Considerations 100 Mile House Brodie Gohmann (F-2005) Aug 16th 2024
Merritt Jobie Siemens (D-2005) Chase Future Considerations Aug 20th 2024
Merritt Jacob Bishop (F-2005) Chase Future Considerations Aug 26th 2024
Spokane Future Considerations Kam River (SIJHL) Tie Schumacher (F-2006) Aug 27th 2024
Sicamous Ashton Gallagher (F-2005) North Manitoba (MJHL) Future Considerations Aug 28th 2024
Fernie Keegan Fellows (F-2005) Creston Valley Future Considerations Sep 1st 2024
Grand Forks Nash Wassing (F-2006) Revelstoke Future Considerations Sep 6th 2024
Sicamous Hayden Evans (F-2006) Weyburn (SJHL) Future Considerations Sep 9th 2024
Fernie Future Considerations Red Lake (SIJHL) Dayden Collier (F-2004) Sep 10th 2024
Columbia Valley Ethan Cerone (F-2005) Red Lake (SIJHL) Future Considerations
Golden Grady Pirest (D-2004) Kenora (SIJHL) Deylan Watson (D-2005), Elijah Constant (D-2006)
Sicamous Tysen Anderson (D-2006) Grand Forks Future Considerations Sep 11th 2024
Kimberley Nolan Kelly (F-2005) Quesnel Bennett Kuhnlein (F-2004)
Creston Valley Brendan Calahasen (F-2004) Sicamous Future Considerations
Sicamous Future Considerations Amherst (MJAHL) Gabriel Bergeron
Creston Valley Future Considerations Red Lake (SIJHL) Simon Hamilton (F-2004)
Osoyoos Hayden Barr (F-2004) Golden Future Considerations Sep 12th 2024
Chase Spencer Brazel (F-2006) Sicamous Future Considerations
Kimberley Aiden MacDonald (D-2006) Dryden (SIJHL) Future Considerations
Kimberley Nathan Scott (F-2005) Princeton Paul Vanden Elzen (D-2006) Sep 14th 2024
Columbia Valley Jaxen Sperling Yorkton (SJHL) Future Considerations
Golden Hudson Roach (F-2006) Castlegar Future Considerations Sep 15th 2024
Castlegar Rhyle Weaselhead Kelowna Future Considerations
Columbia Valley Carter Hensch (F-2005) Kimberley Future Considerations
Castlegar Asher Makway (F-2006) Osoyoos Future Considerations
Quesnel Isaiah Bagri (F-2006) Grande Prairie (AJHL) Future Considerations
Sicamous Jackson Maloney (F-2005) Northern Manitoba (MJHL) Future Considerations Sep 16th 2024
Golden Kael Kozicki (F-2006), Jurzy Allard (D-2006) Merritt Future Considerations
100 Mile House Quintus Mah (F-2005), Brayden Ewing (F-2006) Red Lake (SIJHL) Future Considerations Sep 17th 2024
Sicamous Austin Horbachewsky (F-2006) Revelstoke Future Considerations
Creston Valley Dylan Spackman (G-2006) Merritt Future Considertions
Merritt Jackson Foster (D-2004) Waywayseecappo (MJHL) Future Considerations Sep 18th 2024
Grand Forks Alex Edwards (F-2005) Kelowna Future Considerations
Golden Carter Dersch (F-2006) Grand Forks Future Considerations
100 Mile House Jason Grey (D-2005) Red Lake (SIJHL) Future Considerations
Regular Season
Merritt Future Considerations Mission City (PJHL) A.J. Frigon (D-2006) Sep 21st 2024
Osoyoos Future Considerations Waywayseecappo (MJHL) Bronson Seymour (F-2006)
100 Mile House JD Hemming (D-2005) Nelson Future Considerations Sep 24th 2024
Creston Valley Brendan Smith (G-2004) Kelowna Future Considerations
Kelowna Max Fowle (G-2004) Mission City (PJHL) Hunter O'Neal (F-2005), Future Considerations
Williams Lake Hunter O'Neal (F-2005) Mission City (PJHL) Future Considerations Sep 25th 2024
Quesnel Seth Clements (F-2006) Princeton Future Considerations Sep 26th 2024
Spokane Future Considerations Kam River (SIJHL) Zach Baumann (F-2005)
Kelowna Trent Thiessen (D-2005) 100 Mile House Future Considerations Oct 1st 2024
Golden Deegan Bert (F-2006) Revelstoke Future Considerations
Golden Future Considerations North Vancouver (PJHL) Jacob Vanlerberg (D-2004) Oct 2nd 2024
Columbia Valley Noah Asmundson (F-2005) Niverville (MJHL) Future Considerations Oct 3rd 2024
Sicamous Dylan Konschuh (F-2006) Kamloops Player Development Fee
Merritt Alex Cordero (D-2005) Neepawa (MJHL) Future Considerations Oct 4th 2024
Kelowna Matthew Fraser (F-2006) Winkler (MJHL) Future Considerations
Kelowna Ryan McAuley (F-2006) Notre Dame (SJHL) Future Considerations Oct 9th 2024
Williams Lake Matthew Keylor (F-2004) Kelowna Future Considerations
Osoyoos Brenan Kearney (D-2006) Kamloops Future Considerations Oct 10th 2024
Merritt Future Considerations Aldergrove (PJHL) Joel Schmidt (F-2006)
Fernie Govind Dhillon (D-2005) Creston Future Considerations Oct 11th 2024
100 Mile House Everett Boutcher (F-2005) Sicamous Future Considerations Oct 12th 2024
Kelowna Samuel Lescarbeau (F-2005) Espanola (NOJHL) Future Considerations Oct 18th 2024
Creston Nathan Flanagan (F-2006) Fernie Future Considerations Oct 21st 2024
Williams Lake J.P. Desabrais (F-2005), Alex Jessey (G-2005) Grand Forks Jasper Tait (G-2004) Oct 22nd 2024
Nelson Shawn Minnabarriet (D-2006) Columbia Valley Future Considerations Oct 23rd 2024
Nelson Brendon Hall (F-2006) La Ronge (SJHL) Future Considerations
Princeton Kayne Van Metre (D-2006) Waywayseecappo (MJHL) Future Considerations Oct 26th 2024

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Regular season

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League map
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Legend

On July 3rd 2024 the KIJHL announced the regular season schedule as well as the new division format in the Okanagan Conference, the Revelstoke Grizzlies and Sicamous Eagles would move from the Doug Birks Division to the Bill Ohlhausen joining the Centennials, Chiefs, Coyotes, and Posse. While the River Rush and Mustangs would take their spots in the Doug Birks along with the Storm, Heat, and Wranglers. The KIJHL season will be 44 games long for each team. The KIJHL erroneously reported that each team would play 10 out-of-conference games but in reality the 10 clubs in the Kootenay will in fact play 11.[9] Each team's schedule can be broken down as follows:

  • Neil Murdoch Division
    • 1 game against each Doug Birks team (5 total: 5 away)
    • 1 game against each Bill Ohlhausen team (6 total: 6 home)
    • 2 games against all-but-one Eddie Mountain team (9 total: 4 home, 5 away)
    • 6 games against the other Neil Murdoch teams (24 total: 12 home, 12 away)
  • Eddie Mountain Division
    • 1 game against each Doug Birks team (5 total: 5 home)
    • 1 game against each Bill Ohlhausen team (6 total: 6 away)
    • 2 games against all-but-one Neil Murdoch team (9 total: 5 home, 4 away)
    • 6 games against the other Eddie Mountain teams (24 total: 12 home, 12 away)
  • Doug Birks Division
    • 1 game against each Neil Murdoch team (5 total: 5 home)
    • 1 game against each Eddie Mountain team (5 total: 5 away)
    • 2 games against each Bill Ohlhausen team (12 total: 6 home, 6 away)
    • 5 or 6 games against the other Doug Birks division teams (22 total: 11 home, 11 away)
  • Bill Ohlhausen Division
    • 1 game against each Neil Murdoch team (5 total: 5 away)
    • 1 game against each Eddie Mountain team (5 total: 5 home)
    • 2 games against each Doug Birks team (10 total: 5 home, 5 away)
    • 4-5 games against the other Bill Ohlhausen teams (24 total:12 home, 12 away)[1]

The season will begin on September 20th

Season Openers
TEAM First game of season Home Opener
Eddie Mountain Division
Columbia Valley Rockies Sept 20th V Golden Sept 20th V Golden
Creston Valley Thunder Cats Sept 20th V Kimberley Sept 20th V Kimberley
Fernie Ghostriders Sept 27th @ Kimberley Sept 28th V 100 Mile
Golden Rockets Sept 20th @ Columbia Valley Sept 27th V Nelson
Kimberley Dynamiters Sept 20th @ Creston Sept 21st V Columbia Valley
Neil Murdoch Division
Beaver Valley Nitehawks Sept 20th @ Spokane Sept 28th V Kelowna
Castlegar Rebels Sept 20th V Nelson Sept 20th V Nelson
Grand Forks Border Bruins Sept 20th V Princeton Sept 20th V Princeton
Nelson Leafs Sept 20th @ Castlegar Sept 21st V Castlegar
Spokane Braves Sept 20th V Beaver Valley Sept 20th V Beaver Valley
Doug Birks Division
100 Mile House Wranglers Sept 20th V Osoyoos Sept 20th V Osoyoos
Chase Heat Sept 20th V Kamloops Sept 20th V Kamloops
Kamloops Storm Sept 20th @ Chase Sept 21st V Chase
Quesnel River Rush Sept 20th V Merritt Sept 20th V Merritt
Williams Lake Mustangs Sept 20th V Sicamous Sept 20th V Sicamous
Bill Ohlhausen Division
Kelowna Chiefs Sept 21st V Osoyoos Sept 21st V Osoyoos
Merritt Centeniels Sept 20th @ Quesnel Sept 27th V Kamloops
Osoyoos Coyotes Sept 20th @ 100 Mile Oct 5th V 100 Mile
Princeton Posse Sept 20th @ Grand Forks Sept 27th V Sicamous
Revelstoke Grizzlies Sept 21st @ 100 Mile Oct 4th V Creston
Sicamous Eagles Sept 20th @ Williams Lake Sept 28th V Merritt

Standings

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Team W L OTL SOL Pts GF GA GD
Kootenay Conference-Eddie Mountain Division
Kimberley Dynamiters 10 2 0 0 20 53 35 18
Columbia Valley Rockies 7 4 0 0 14 55 35 20
Creston Valley Thundercats 5 7 1 0 11 34 46 -12
Fernie Ghostriders 4 2 1 1 10 41 29 12
Golden Rockets 2 4 2 2 8 19 37 -18
Kootenay Conference-Neil Murdoch Division
Grand Forks Border Bruins 8 3 1 0 17 55 34 21
Beaver Valley Nitehawks 8 2 1 0 17 49 27 22
Nelson Leafs 8 4 0 0 16 49 50 -1
Castlegar Rebels 3 5 0 3 9 32 37 -5
Spokane Baves 1 8 0 2 4 27 73 -46
Okanagan/Shuswap Conference-Bill Ohlhausen Division
Princeton Posse 10 1 0 1 21 54 25 29
Merritt Centennials 7 5 1 0 15 34 36 -2
Sicamous Eagles 6 2 3 0 15 36 28 8
Revelstoke Grizzlies 6 2 0 2 14 38 29 9
Kelowna Chiefs 5 4 0 2 12 37 41 -4
Osoyoos Coyotes 5 6 0 0 10 29 37 -8
Okanagan/Shuswap Conference-Doug Birks Division
100 Mile House Wranglers 7 6 0 1 15 50 49 1
Kamloops Storm 7 7 0 0 14 53 52 1
Chase Heat 5 3 2 0 12 30 34 -4
Quesnel River Rush 3 8 0 0 6 37 58 -21
Williams Lake Mustangs 2 6 0 2 6 27 47 -20

x-Clinched Playoffs xy-Clinched Division xyz-Clinched Conference xyzp-Clinched best regular season record e-Eliminated from playoff contention

Division Races

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Top team in each division after each week
Day Eddie Mountain Neil Murdoch Doug Birks Bill Ohlhausen
Team Points Team Points Team Points Team Points
Sept 16 5 Teams 0 5 Teams 0 5 Teams 0 6 Teams 0
Sept 23 Columbia Valley 4 3 Teams (NEL, BVN, GFB) 4 Williams Lake 4 5 Teams (REV, KEL, MER, SIC, OSO) 2
Sept 30 Columbia Valley 8 Nelson 8 Chase 6 Revelstoke 6
Oct 7 2 Teams (CVR,KIM) 8 Nelson 10 Chase 9 Princeton 11
Oct 14 Kimberley 12 Nelson 14 2 Teams (MHW, CHA) 11 Princeton 15
Oct 21 Kimberley 18 Nelson 16 100 Mile House 15 Princeton 19
Oct 28
Nov 4
Nov 11
Nov 18
Nov 25
Dec 2
Dec 9
Dec 16
Dec 23
Dec 30
Jan 6
Jan 13
Jan 20
Jan 27
Feb 3
Feb 10
Feb 17
Feb 24

Player of the week

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KIJHL players of the week/Month
Week Forward Defenceman Goaltender
Sep 23 Connor Hovelkamp (NEL-3G 2A 2GP) Liam Ray (BVN-2G 2A 2GP) Brenner Fyfe (KAM-3GA 71SVS 2GP)
Sept 30 Jaden Rusznak (MHW-2G 5A 3GP) Nick Hughes (KIM-2G 3A 2GP) Michael Makowsky (SIC-3GA 67 SVS 2GP)
Oct 7 Boris Hristov (BVN-2G 3A 2GP) Andrew Morris (CHA-2G 1A 2GP) Brendan Smith (CRE-2GA 46SVS 2GP)
Oct 14 Braycen Dube (KAM-4G 5A 4GP) Nathan White (REV-2G 1A 1GP) Gibson Horne (PRI-1GA 50SVS 1GP)
Oct 21 Luke Davies (KIM-2G 4A 3GP) Grady Sterling-Ponech (PRI-1G 4A 3 GP) Andrew Krakora (MER-0GA 46SVS 2GP)
Oct 28
October
Nov 4
Nov 11
Nov 18
Nov 25
November
Dec 2
Dec 9
Dec 16
Dec 23
Dec 30
December
Jan 6
Jan 13
Jan 20
Jan 27
January
Feb 3
Feb 10
Feb 17
Feb 24
February

Cariboo Cup

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The Cariboo Cup is an informal in Regular-Season championship between the three Cariboo based teams (Quesnel, Williams Lake, 100 Mile House) organized by the three clubs and the cities' respective newspapers and radio stations, the winner will be the team with the best points percentage amongst the games played head-to-head between the three teams

TEAM W L OL PTS PCT vs QUE vs MHW vs WLM
Quesnel River Rush 1 0 0 2 1.000 - 1-0-0 0-0-0
100 Mile House Wranglers 2 1 0 4 0.667 0-1-0 - 2-0-0
Williams Lake Mustangs 0 1 1 1 0.250 0-0-0 0-1-1 -

BCHC Prospects game

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The BCHC prospects game will be the third edition of the game, a matchup between the best young players in the KIJHL and PJHL who formed the BCHC on September 22nd 2022.[10] The game is used to showcase the best talent in the league to higher leagues, including the WHL. The Langley Trappers of the PJHL will host the 2024 game on November 19th at the George Preston Rec. Centre.[11]

Playoffs

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The 2025 'Quest for the Teck cup' will begin on February 28th 2025 with the top four teams in each division making the playoffs, 1st will play 4th and 2nd will play 3rd in the division semi-finals. The winners will meet in the division final. The winners of those series will meet in the conference finals (Eddie Mountain V Neil Murdoch in the Kootenay and Doug Birks V Bill Ohlhausen in the Okanagan/Shuswap). The winners of the conference finals will meet in the Teck Cup Final. All series will be best-of-seven with games 1,2,5,and 7 being hosted by the team with the superior regular-season record. Barring any unforeseen circumstances this format, which was also used last year, will be the same format as the previous season's for the first time since the 2018 and 2019 playoffs.

Mowat Cup

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The Mowat Cup is the British Columbia Jr. A hockey championship between the champions of all the leagues in BC, a new format for the completion is expected as the previous format of the winners of the KIJHL, PJHL, and VIJHL plus a fourth host team would no longer be feasible due to the VIJHL becoming an independent league as an affiliate for the BCHL in a manner similar to Jr. B.[12] However an announcement is expected to be made around the time of the BCHC prospects game.

References

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  1. ^ a b "KIJHL - Kootenay International Junior Hockey League". www.kijhl.ca. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
  2. ^ jdubois (22 March 2024). "KIJHL approves move to Williams Lake". www.kijhl.ca. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
  3. ^ "Williams Lake Mustangs hockey team [RMJHL] statistics and history at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  4. ^ jdubois (31 March 2024). "KIJHL approves Merritt Centennials as expansion club". www.kijhl.ca. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
  5. ^ jdubois (5 April 2024). "KIJHL approves move to Quesnel". www.kijhl.ca. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
  6. ^ jdubois (2 May 2024). "KIJHL approves Chiefs ownership change". www.kijhl.ca. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
  7. ^ jdubois (8 May 2024). "KIJHL mourns passing of Nathan Jackman". www.kijhl.ca. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  8. ^ "Transactions". www.kijhl.ca. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  9. ^ jdubois (3 July 2024). "KIJHL releases 2024-25 regular season schedule". www.kijhl.ca. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  10. ^ jdubois (22 September 2022). "KIJHL, PJHL announce creation of BCHC". www.kijhl.ca. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  11. ^ nikkistamand (22 August 2024). "Letter from the KIJHL Commissioner". www.nelsonleafs.ca. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  12. ^ "VIJHL ANNOUNCES DECISION TO BECOME INDEPENDENT LEAGUE". www.vijhl.com. 29 April 2024. Retrieved 10 August 2024.

Further reading

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