British Columbia Intercollegiate Hockey League

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During its first year of official operation, the British Columbia Intercollegiate Hockey League consisted of teams from Trinity Western University, Simon Fraser University, University of Victoria, University of Northern British Columbia and University College of the Fraser Valley. For the 2007-2008 season, hockey teams from UBC Okanagan Campus and Thompson River University may be joining the league.

Each team plays each other throughout the season 4 times, twice at home and twice away. At the end of the season (generally the second weekend of March) a tournament is held in Langley, British Columbia, where all teams play in a round robin tournament. Final points decide who meets in the semi-finals, and the winners face off in the finals. The last two tournaments have been won by the TWU Titans hockey club, and U Vic hockey club.

The University of Victoria Vikings left the B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League Championship Tournament the way they entered it: unbeaten.

The Vikings defeated the University-College of the Fraser Valley Cascades 8-3 in the tournament final, capping a three-day span where Victoria played four games and won them all. The Vikings scored 27 goals over the course of the tournament and allowed just 10.

Easily the class of the league in its inaugural season, the Vikings finished the season with a near-perfect 13-0-4 record.

Despite losing the tournament final, the weekend was an unexpected success for the UCFV Cascades. Seeded fourth in the four-team tournament, Fraser Valley earned their place in the final by defeating Trinity Western and Simon Fraser in (literally) back-to-back games.

During a weekend that lacked close games, the Cascades win over Simon Fraser was easily the tournament's most dramatic. Tied 2-2 and needing a win to play Sunday, UCFV's John Rudolph won the game with a top-corner shot only seven seconds from the end of regulation. The goal capped a three goal comeback for Fraser Valley.

Simon Fraser's collapse brought their season to an unexpected end. After defeating Trinity Western 7-1 in the tournament's opening game a night earlier, SFU jumped out to a 3-0 first period lead over Victoria but eventually lost 9-6. The game was typical of previous battles between Victoria and Simon Fraser; the teams combined for 59 goals over their five league and tournament matchups.

SFU entered Saturday afternoon's game against UCFV needing only a tie to reach the championship game and have the opportunity to face the Vikings a final time. Up 2-0 on the Cascades early in the first period, Simon Fraser failed to score over the next two and a half periods, and ultimately paid for its lack of a killer instinct.

Tournament host Trinity Western struggled in the tournament, losing each of their three round-robin games. The two-time defending provincial champions may have been the league's most hard-working, but were unable to overcome a young roster and inconsistent scoring.