PJHL announces Junior C Schmalz Cup championship title sponsor

Written By Brian Lockhart

The Provincial Junior Hockey League's Schmalz Cup championship will take on a different format this year.

After not crowning a champion for two years due to the pandemic, the League will host a tournament this season to decide the overall Junior C champion in Ontario.

In a regular season, Division champions play off to determine conference champions in a best-of-five series. The final two teams standing go to the championship final.

Because of the interruption in the season this year, the League extended the regular season.

In the Carruthers Division, that allowed each team to get in 30 games to determine the final standings.

That means teams will be playing the regular season into March this year.

Because of the late season, PJHL executive decided the best course of action would be to hold the Schmalz Cup championship in a round-robin style tournament that will be held in a central location.

The tournament will be held at the University of Guelph with the final championship game taking place on May 15, 2022.

The League announced that the Dairy Farms of Ontario will be the title sponsor for the event.

“We are very happy to be able to work with an organization like Dairy Farmers of Ontario,” said Terry Whiteside, PJHL Commissioner. “Our league is all about community hockey in small towns across Ontario and we're thrilled to be able to present the first-ever Schmalz Cup Championship Tournament for these incredible players.”

After announcing the championship would be played a tournament, the PJHL began looking for a logo for the event and asked people to send in their designs.

“Dairy Farmers of Ontario is proud to be named as title sponsor to this exciting event,” said Cheryl Smith, CEO of the DFO. “Supporting athletes and youth sports is an important part of showing our commitment to the communities we call home.”

The tournament will get underway with preliminary action on May 12, and semi-finals on May 14.

In the Carruthers Division of the League, the playoffs will be very exciting this season as the top four teams all have strengths that could land them on top.

The Stayner Siskins are in first place, followed by the Schomberg Cougars, Orillia Terriers, and the Alliston Hornets. All four teams have had a good season and anything can happen in the playoffs.

The Carruthers Division playoffs will get underway during the second week of March.