by The Standard | Podcast April 29th, 2021 https://thestandardnewspaper.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Cancellation-of-2020-2021-PJHL-season-April-29th-2021.wav
DAN CEARNS, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, for The Standard
NORTH DURHAM: There will be no Port Perry MoJacks or Uxbridge Bruins games this season.
The Provincial Junior Hockey League (PJHL) recently announced the cancellation of the 2020-2021 season.
“While we did everything possible, it became evidently clear, a season would not be possible with all the [COVID-19] restrictions. With many municipalities removing their ice and using their arenas as vaccination clinics, our teams were without ice to practice or play. And with a league our size, the time to operate a season and then some form of playoffs became nearly impossible,” a PJHL press release explained.
With the cancellation of this season now officially announced, the league will be looking ahead at plans for the 2021-2022 season.
“Our teams will be embracing their communities to help bring hockey, entertainment and business back to life, as we all emerge from this pandemic. It will be an enormous task, and will take the effort of all of our collective communities to rally together, to support each other. The PJHL is community-based competitive hockey that stands for all the great things our communities are known for: active living, personal achievement, leadership, sportsmanship, teamwork, competitiveness, and community service,” the press release stated. “The PJHL Board of Directors, staff, and teams are now all actively engaged in planning for the 2021-2022 season, with hopes for a complete return to traditional hockey.”
PJHL play was initially interrupted by the pandemic, during the 2020 playoffs in March, after that, some teams were still able to be somewhat active.
“Throughout the non-season, many PJHL teams were able to play in a ‘bubble’ format and compete in modified five-on-five hockey with no contact. The PJHL followed all approved protocols provided, by our local health units and our governing bodies, to ensure we did everything possible to prevent the spread of the virus,” the league asserted, in the press release.