Make it an even ten teams in the Big Six Hockey League.

The Kipling/Windthorst Oil Kings senior hockey team have decided to join the southeast men's league in the Big Six for the upcoming 2018/19 season, leaving the Triangle Hockey League after playing there for the last six seasons.

At the Big Six annual spring meeting on March 29th, the Big Six Hockey League voted to accept the KW Oil Kings into the league. The decision from the team however hadn't been made official until the official announcement on Monday morning.

READ MORE: Big Six Spring Meeting

Over the last month, the team had multiple discussions among the players on their final decision. At the Big Six spring meeting, representatives from the Oil Kings cited reduced travel as a primary reason for their desire to switch leagues.

"Proximity for sure was a factor," expressed Robbie Barath, Coach of the all-local Oil Kings squad. "We've now got three teams within a 45-minute drive which is huge. I believe our closest drive in the Triangle Hockey League was about 50 minutes to Ochapowace."

Barath also says they believe the move to the Big Six will help continue growing their fan base, which saw an uptick last season despite a struggling season on the ice.

"We had a pretty decent following with the fans last year, we saw a few more of them back in the stands," added Barath. "And I think with some of these teams being a lot closer, we might get more visiting fans in the rink as well as some of our fans travelling away to watch the team."

The Kipling/Windthorst Oil Kings join the Big Six which includes the: Arcola/Kisbey Combines, Bienfait Coalers, Carlyle Cougars, Carnduff Red Devils, Midale Mustangs, Oxbow Huskies, Redvers Rockets, Wawota Flyers and Yellow Grass Wheat Kings.

The Big Six will meet again in October to determine a new league schedule, which could include changes to both the one division format and/or the amount of regular season games to be played.