It’s home opening weekend for the Rossland Warriors.
The senior men’s hockey team hosts the Spokane Grinders for Friday and Saturday night games that start at 7 p.m.
The Warriors got all the way to the Coy Cup provincial senior AA final last March before bowing 5-4 to the Terrace River Kings. It was the only game they lost during the four-team round robin, followed by two-round sudden death playoff rounds.
Head coach Darin Sinal believes they are just as just as good this season.
“We’ve got most of our players returning from last season, we placed second in Prince Rupert during the Coy Cup final (tournament),” he said.
Sinal points out the level of competition is keen.
“It’s definitely not beer league,” he stated.
“It is complete contact hockey, a lot of guys played junior, college, mid-20s and older and still have the need to play competitive hockey,” Sinal added.
The organization is committed to going one step further and bringing the Coy Cup to Rossland, but Sinal says fan support is needed to help finance their quest.
“The more fans we get the more money we can generate to help offset costs going to the Coy Cup this year,” the coach commented.
“There are costs involved if we qualify, we will have to playoff against another independent (team) in Ft. St. John,” added Sinal, who said that team hasn’t yet been determined.
“The funding to get up there, we’d like to make it cost effective for all of the players, if we get sponsorship, to which a lot of local companies have been sponsoring us all this year,” he explained.
Last season the Warriors swept the Powell River Regals in the best-of-three qualifying series to advance to the Coy Cup.
Rossland applied to host the 2026 Coy Cup, but lost out to Dawson Creek.
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