River Lions Announce 2022 Schedule

St. Catharines, ON – The Niagara River Lions of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) announced Thursday its 20-game 2022 season schedule presented by Griffiths Performance Physiotherapy. The River Lions open the CEBL campaign on a three-game road trip starting with the season opener versus the Saskatchewan Rattlers on May 25^th. River Lions return to the Meridian Centre on June 3^rd for their home opener versus one of the three new expansion franchises, the Montreal Alliance. 

The River Lions are highly anticipating their fourth season in the CEBL after a successful 2021 summer. Finishing in 2^nd place during the regular season with a record of 10-4, the team advanced to the championship game for the first time in River Lions history. 

The team has continued to find success through the off-season with two players, Javin DeLaurier and Xavier Sneed signing 10-day National Basketball Association (NBA) contracts, with DeLaurier being the first in CEBL history. Additionally, nearly all other members of the 2021 roster are currently playing overseas in top leagues across Europe and Asia. 

“Our Front Office and Basketball Operations staff have been busy preparing for the 2022 season, and with the schedule now in place, we are one step closer,” said Jeffrey Sotiriou, President of the River Lions. “We were fortunate enough to welcome back fans to the Meridian Centre last summer in a safe manner and we look forward to doing the same in June and July.”

The 10 home games will include single visits from each team, except for the Edmonton Stingers who will visit twice. Expansion franchises Montreal Alliance, Newfoundland Growlers and Scarborough Shooting Stars will visit on June 3^rd, June 10^th and July 22^nd, respectively. At the conclusion of the regular season, four teams will advance to Championship Weekend in Ottawa. 

All games will be available versus CEBL+ as well as live streamed on the free CBC Gem streaming service, cbcsports.ca, the CBC Sports app for iOS and Android devices.

Highlights of the Niagara River Lions schedule include:

• A total of 20 regular-season games during the 11-week Campaign
• Ten home games at Meridian Centre.
• Ten away games
• Four Friday night games, Two Saturday, Two Monday, One Wednesday and One Sunday
• River Lions will have a four-game homestand in June hosting Montreal, Edmonton, Newfoundland, and Saskatchewan
• Final home game at Meridian is Friday, July 29th versus Hamilton Honey Badgers
• Three games versus the Edmonton Stingers (two home, one away), three games versus the Saskatchewan Rattlers (one home, two away)
• Two games against all other opponents (one home, one away)
• The River Lions will visit Edmonton on May 27th for a rematch of the 2021 Championship Weekend Finals

Niagara River Lions Season Tickets go on sale February 10^th, while voucher packs, group tickets and single game tickets will be in the early spring. 

A league created by Canadians for Canadians, the CEBL has the highest percentage of Canadian players of any professional league in the country, with 75 percent of its current rosters being Canadians. Players bring experience from the NBA, NBA G League, top international leagues, the Canadian National team program, and top NCAA programs as well as U SPORTS. The CEBL is the only First Division Professional League Partner of Canada Basketball. Head to CEBL.ca for more information. 

NIAGARA RIVER LIONS 2022 CEBL REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE 

*If Necessary

*Subject to change

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Media Contact

Michelle Biskup

Vice President, Operations 

mbiskup@riverlions.ca