Written By Brian Lockhart

The Shelburne Muskies are back on the ice at the Centre Dufferin Recreation Complex after taking two seasons off from senior hockey.

Formerly with the Western Ontario Athletic Association senior hockey, the Muskies decided not to play in the 2023/24 season after losing players and not being able to get a full team together.

The WOAA is no longer involved in senior hockey.

The Muskies have now signed on with the Ontario Elite Hockey League.

On May 23, the OEHL announced the addition of expansion teams, including the Muskies.

Several other former WOAA teams have also joined the OEHL, including Elora, Durham, Saugeen Shores, Lucknow, and Minto in the North Conference.

The League has nine teams in the North Conference and nine teams in the South Conference.

There is a 20-game regular season schedule with each team playing 10 home games before heading into the playoffs.

Teams finishing in the top seven of regular-season play will qualify for the playoffs.

The 8th and 9th-place teams in each division will play a best-of-three series to determine which team will be the number eight seed moving into the playoffs.

Divisional quarterfinals and all subsequent rounds will be best-of-seven series with re-seeding after each round.

Winning teams from each division will meet for a championship series and play for the J.F. Paxton Trophy.

The Muskies had their first game of the season on Friday, Oct. 3, when they travelled to Durham to take on the Thundercats at the Durham Community Centre Arena.

Opening night did not go well for the Shelburne team.

The Muskies gave up a 13-0 loss in their season opener, including a devastating second period where they gave up five unanswered goals – three of them on power plays.

The Muskies will host their home opener on Saturday, Oct. 11, at the Centre Dufferin Recreation Complex when they will face the Saugeen Shores Winterhawks.

Game time is at 8:00 p.m.