NPHL Media

Eugene, OR -The Fort Vancouver Vipers hockey club announced they have ceased all operations for their franchise.

The Eugene Generals were scheduled to play two games against the Vipers this weekend. The two teams were supposed to face each other in Vancouver,Washington on Friday, October 24 and in Eugene on Saturday, October 25. As such, the Generals will not have any games this weekend.

For those who had purchased tickets to the Generals-Vipers game in Eugeneon Saturday, the team will honor any of those tickets at any remaining Generals home game for the rest of the regular season.

The announcement from the Vipers comes after starting out the season with a shortage of players and a record of 0-8. Because of the aforementioned lack of players, the team felt it was in the best interest of the players and their safety to go ahead and close operations.

Vancouver had been a part of the Northern Pacific Hockey League since 2004. They were formally known as the River City Jaguars and Fort Vancouver Victory up until 2012, when they took the moniker Vipers.

Here is an official statement from the Vipers' team website:

Effective Immediately, Ft. Vancouver Vipers Hockey Club is ceasing all operations. Due to an insufficient amount of players & a recent increase in injuries, we are ceasing operations in the interests of maintaining the health and safety of players.

Fort Vancouver Vipers Hockey Club

The NPHL will now have six teams in the league. The games will be rescheduled so each team plays each other eight times (four at home, four on the road). Each team will play a total of forty games during the 2014-15 regular season with the top four teams reaching the playoffs.

Flint Doungchak, General Manager of the Generals and Vice President of the NPHL, expressed disappointment about Vancouver's folding, but is encouraged the league will eventually have another hockey franchise there in the future.

"I'm disappointed for the fans who have supported hockey in Vancouver over the past decade. However, the Vancouver/Portland area is still a great market and given the experience of hockey in that market, we expect to have a new franchise there next season."

As specified above, anyone who had a ticket for the Generals-Vipers game on Saturday, October 25 can use that ticket for any of the remaining Generals' home games during the 2014-15 regular season. Fans can look at the team's schedule online at eugenegenerals.com.