In one of the most impressive debut seasons in junior hockey, the Grand Junction River Hawks claimed the Mountain Division Championship and finished as national runners up in their inaugural year.
As a brand new organization, the River Hawks posted a strong 33-19-2 regular season record and earned a playoff berth, a rare achievement for a first-year team. Seeded third, they knocked off the defending champions in the opening round before battling through a hard fought five game Mountain Division Final against the Utah Outliers.
In front of a sold-out home crowd at River City Sportplex, the River Hawks sealed the division title with a 2-1 victory in Game 5, capturing the Mountain Division Cup on home ice.
The run continued all the way to the national championship series, where the River Hawks ultimately finished second after a hard fought overtime loss in the final.
From an expansion team that had never played a game together to Mountain Division champions and national runners up in a single season, the 2025-26 River Hawks delivered a truly generational debut for the franchise and the Grand Junction hockey community.
The foundation has been set. The next chapter begins this fall in the North American Hockey League.