1978–79 KIJHL season
| 1978–79 KIJHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | KIJHL |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | September–February |
| Games | 40 |
| Teams | 11 |
| League champions | Trail Smoke Eaters |
| Runners-up | Spokane Flames |
The 1978-79 Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL) season was the twelfth in league history. The League saw the addition of the Columbia Valley Rockies to the Eastern Division and begin play in Invermere, British Columbia, the furthest north team to date. The Rockies were created through the effort of the "personification of a humanitarian." The arena in which the Rockies play in is named in his honor, and as of the season, the East Kootenays division, in which the Rockies still compete, is also named in his honor. The league also lowered the number of games by 2 down to 40.
Season
Regular Season
| Team | W | L | T | PTS | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Western Division | ||||||
| Trail Smoke Eaters | 37 | 3 | 0 | 74 | 245 | 113 |
| Castlegar Rebels | 22 | 18 | 0 | 44 | 225 | 189 |
| Grand Forks Border Bruins | 15 | 25 | 0 | 30 | 203 | 226 |
| Rossland Warriors | 14 | 26 | 0 | 28 | 205 | 277 |
| Nelson Maple Leafs | 11 | 28 | 1 | 23 | 151 | 227 |
| Eastern Division | ||||||
| Spokane Flames | 27 | 12 | 1 | 55 | 271 | 173 |
| Cranbrook Colts | 26 | 13 | 1 | 53 | 264 | 205 |
| Kimberley Knights | 24 | 14 | 2 | 50 | 251 | 196 |
| Columbia Valley Rockies | 18 | 22 | 0 | 36 | 211 | 246 |
| Fernie Raiders | 13 | 25 | 2 | 28 | 219 | 299 |
| Creston Clippers | 10 | 29 | 1 | 21 | 193 | 287 |
Playoffs
The 1979 playoffs saw a return of the previous format with the top four teams in each division making the playoffs
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | ||||||
| W1 | Trail | 4? | ||||||
| W4 | Rossland | ? | ||||||
| Trail | 4? | |||||||
| Western Division Semi-Finals | ||||||||
| Unknown | ? | |||||||
| W2 | Castlegar | ? | ||||||
| W3 | Grand Forks | ? | ||||||
| Trail | 4? | |||||||
| Spokane | ? | |||||||
| E1 | Spokane | 4? | ||||||
| E4 | Columbia Valley | ? | ||||||
| Spokane | 4? | |||||||
| Eastern Division Semi-Finals | ||||||||
| Unknown | ? | |||||||
| E2 | Cranbrook | ? | ||||||
| E3 | Kimberley | ? | ||||||
The 1979 championship saw two milestones met, the first was the Flames' first appearance in the KIJHL championship, the second was Trail winning their fifth title, to retake sole possession of the most all time.