In an effort to revive camaraderie and respect between players, a new hockey league has been founded in Whitehorse.

The Canyon City Hockey League (CCHL) hit the ice for the first time this month, featuring two teams and an affiliation with the Bantam Mustangs program.

The Rapid Fire Raiders and Sunlife Sundogs face off once a week, and alternate Saturday night games with the Bantam Mustangs.

“The founders were interested in having a friendlier game of hockey,” said Andrew Connors, vice-president of the new league board.

“We wanted to create a space that was more conducive to a respectful game and the camaraderie as a more important quotient than the competition and adversarial culture that’s unfortunately been a part of our experience in the Whitehorse rec league.”

Connors is part of the CCHL leadership group, alongside president Justin Halowaty and Gord Puddister.

He is also a former president of the Whitehorse Recreational Hockey League and a longtime member of the Muckers, a team that had played in the A Division during recent years.

Connors said a string of injuries – including a concussion to Puddister – left the team disillusioned about continuing in the current rec league.

Similarly last spring, rec player Hugo Bergeron sued an opposing player and two referees after he suffered a debilitating concussion in an overly aggressive game two years ago that rendered him unable to work.

“Even without those things happening, I found for me the last few years, half the time I’m going to the rink not looking forward to playing certain teams,” Connors explained.

The leadership group behind the CCHL deemed attempts to change the culture of the current rec league too challenging.

“Really what it comes down to is the challenge of managing the league when the players are the executive,” said Connors. “It’s hard to form committees and get people to sit and attend the disciplinary hearings and then come to consensual decision-making.”

The zero-tolerance approach by the CCHL garnered interest from the Bantam Mustangs.

Coach Martin Lawrie said the league’s laid-back style is more suitable for the bantam program, which includes players as young as 12.

“One of the reasons we went that direction is because in the rec league, even the B side, these guys are playing to win and get into playoffs,” Lawrie explained.

“The Canyon City league may provide more of an opportunity to work on specifics of our game.

“This is an opportunity for us to get better, playing against bigger, stronger, faster guys, and that’s what we’re going to do.”

The first game between the Raiders and Mustangs ended in a 5-5 draw Oct. 4, while the Sundogs will face off with the young squad tonight.

Connors said the league board is compiling a list of interested players and may ice a third team as early as this season. Playoffs are not in the cards for this year, but could be in the future, he added.

“We’d like to have a couple more teams for sure,” he said. “The parameters of the league are still evolving.”

Players interested in joining the league are invited to email canyoncityhockey@gmail.com.