Yukon Rivermen to suit up for 2017/18 season under coach Martin Lawrie

Whitehorse will be home to a new Bantam Tier 1 team for the 2017/18 hockey season.

The Yukon Rivermen will be part of a BC Hockey zone pilot league, which will include eight Bantam and Midget zone teams from B.C. and the Yukon, BC Hockey said in a press release last week.

The team welcomes player interest from the Yukon, Alaska, Northwest Territories and northern B.C.

The Rivermen will “participate in the pilot program aimed at giving opportunities for players to join regional teams,” said the press release.

The program was also “developed to allow players to play at the highest level and allow districts to provide regional teams and pull from a greater draw zone,” it said.

At the helm of the new team will be coach Martin Lawrie, who previously coached the U16 AAA Mustangs.

Lawrie led the 2014/15 Bantam Mustangs to be the first Yukon-based team to win a BC Hockey Championship.

Hockey Yukon anticipates the team will have more than 60 games during the season at Tier 1 and AAA levels.

The Yukon Rivermen player identification camp will take place August 4 to 6 at the Canada Games Centre.