Medicine Hat Tigers' Corson Hopwo on a breakaway against the Edmonton Oil Kings on November 16, 2019 (Photo courtesy of Randy Feere / Medicine Hat Tigers)

By Scott Roblin

Regular Season Cancelled

WHL officially cancels remainder of 2019-20 regular season

Mar 18, 2020 | 11:46 AM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – Less than a week after putting its season on pause, the Western Hockey League has officially cancelled all remaining regular season games.

Following a meeting on Tuesday with the league’s board of governors, the WHL has determined that they will not play the 54 games left on the regular season schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a statement, WHL commissioner Ron Robison said developments over the past week have forced the league’s hand.

“The WHL takes the safety of our players, officials, staff, fans, and everyone associated with the WHL very seriously,” said Robison. “Given the ongoing public health developments regarding COVID-19, we deemed it necessary to cancel the remaining games on the 2019-20 WHL regular season schedule.”

Due to teams finishing the regular season with uneven number of games played, the WHL is determining the final standings by points percentage.

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The Medicine Hat Tigers will end their 2019-20 regular season with a 41-19-2-1 record, ranked sixth-best in the entire league.

Wednesday’s announcement by the WHL follows an identical decision by the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, while the Ontario Hockey League has not yet announced its plans.

However, the door for playoffs has still be left open by the league according to Robison.

“We will make every effort possible to conduct the 2020 WHL playoffs at a later date. We thank WHL fans and partners for your patience and understanding during these challenging times.”

More to come…