The 2008–09 Canadian Major Indoor Soccer League (CMISL) season sees a different format than previous seasons. As the league has become affiliated with the Professional Arena Soccer League (PASL) in the United States, the Edmonton Drillers and Saskatoon Accelerators will play four soccer games and the Calgary United FC will play eight games against the PASL teams. Edmonton and Saskatoon will play two home games and two road games and Calgary will play four home games and four road games against PASL teams. In the CMISL portion of the schedule each team will play eight games. This will see Edmonton play six home games and two road games, Saskatoon play two home games and six road games and Calgary play six home games and two road games. As a result of the imbalanced schedule, the CMISL announced that all Calgary United FC games against PASL opponents will only be worth one point in the standings. The remainder of Calgary's schedule, as well as the entire Edmonton and Saskatoon schedules are worth two points in the standings.
The playoffs will feature the CMISL champion taking part in an interlocking championship with the winners of the PASL and the winner of the Mexican Liga Mexicana de Futbol Rapido. The CMISL championship will again be a first place versus second place game to be held March 8, 2009 in Calgary.
As the CMISL as become affiliated with the PASL, the CMISL has adopted the rules of the PASL. The most substantial change was the fact that all goals scored are now worth a single point.
Teams
| Team | City | Established | Home Arena | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calgary United FC | Calgary, Alberta | 2007 | Calgary Soccer Centre | |
| Edmonton Drillers | St. Albert, Alberta | 2007 | Servus Centre | |
| Saskatoon Accelerators | Saskatoon, Saskatchewan | 2007 | Credit Union Centre |
Standings
| CMISL standings | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Games played | Wins | Losses | Draws | Winning percentage | Points for | Points against | Home record | Road record | Interleague record | CMISL points |
| Edmonton Drillers | 12 | 9 | 3 | 0 | .750 | 82 | 80 | 6-2 | 3-1 | 3-1 | 18 |
| Calgary United FC | 16 | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 109 | 84 | 5-3 | 3-5 | 5-3 | 11 |
| Saskatoon Accelerators | 11 | 5 | 6 | 0 | .455 | 60 | 53 | 3-1 | 2-5 | 2-1 | 10 |
Regular season schedule
| Date | Home Team | Score | Visiting Team | Stadium | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 1, 2008 | Calgary United FC | 5–3 | Denver Dynamite | Calgary Soccer Centre | 500 |
| November 2, 2008 | Calgary United FC | 5–2 | Denver Dynamite | Calgary Soccer Centre | 350 |
| November 22, 2008 | Calgary United FC | 6–7 (OT) | Edmonton Drillers | Calgary Soccer Centre | 212 |
| November 28, 2008 | St. Louis Illusion | 8–5 | Calgary United FC | The Game Arena | 1,243 |
| November 29, 2008 | Texas Outlaws | 6–5 | Calgary United FC | NYTEX Sports Centre | |
| December 6, 2008 | Calgary United FC | 4–2 | Saskatoon Accelerators | Calgary Soccer Centre | 367 |
| December 7, 2008 | Calgary United FC | 9–4 | Saskatoon Accelerators | Calgary Soccer Centre | 158 |
| December 13, 2008 | Stockton Cougars | 16–7 | Edmonton Drillers | Stockton Arena | 2,018 |
| December 14, 2008 | Wenatchee Fire | 7–10 | Edmonton Drillers | Town Toyota Center | |
| December 19, 2008 | Edmonton Drillers | 7–4 | Colorado Lightning | Servus Centre | |
| December 20, 2008 | Saskatoon Accelerators | 5–3 | Colorado Lightning | Credit Union Centre | |
| December 26, 2008 | Edmonton Drillers | 7–4 | Saskatoon Accelerators | Servus Centre | |
| December 26, 2008 | Edmonton Drillers | 3–6 | Saskatoon Accelerators | Servus Centre | |
| January 2, 2009 | Edmonton Drillers | 4–7 | Saskatoon Accelerators | Servus Centre | |
| January 2, 2009 | Edmonton Drillers | 4–3 | Saskatoon Accelerators | Servus Centre | |
| January 3, 2009 | Stockton Cougars | 8–11 | Calgary United FC | Stockton Arena | |
| January 4, 2009 | Wenatchee Fire | 6–7 | Calgary United FC | Wenatchee Valley Sportsplex | |
| January 10, 2009 | Calgary United FC | 9–10 | Edmonton Drillers | Calgary Soccer Centre | |
| January 23, 2009 | Saskatoon Accelerators | 3–4 | Calgary United FC | Credit Union Centre | |
| January 23, 2009 | Saskatoon Accelerators | 5–2 | Calgary United FC | Credit Union Centre | |
| February 21, 2009 | Calgary United FC | 22–2 | Wenatchee Fire | Calgary Soccer Centre | |
| February 22, 2009 | Saskatoon Accelerators | 16–2 | Wenatchee Fire | Credit Union Centre | |
| February 27, 2009 | Edmonton Drillers | 6–5 | Calgary United FC | Servus Centre | |
| February 27, 2009 | Edmonton Drillers | 4–3 | Calgary United FC | Servus Centre | |
| February 27, 2009 | Monterrey La Raza | 11–3 | Saskatoon Accelerators * | Arena Monterrey | |
| March 6, 2009 | Edmonton Drillers | 13–10 | Texas Outlaws | Servus Centre | |
| March 7, 2009 | Calgary United FC | 7–8 | Texas Outlaws | Calgary Soccer Centre |
- * Game counted as 4 points in the Standings for Saskatoon, as two other games were canceled in order to play it. Game doubled as the 2008–09 Copa América Final.
Playoff schedule
| Date | Home Team | Score | Visiting Team | Stadium | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 8, 2009 | Edmonton Drillers | 7–6 Report |
Calgary United | Calgary Soccer Centre |