National Ice Hockey League

The National Ice Hockey League (NIHL) is a set of semi-professional ice hockey leagues administered by the English Ice Hockey Association. It is currently the second tier of British ice hockey, below the Elite Ice Hockey League. Formerly called the English National Ice Hockey League (ENIHL), it was renamed in 2012 to recognise the inclusion of several teams from Scotland and Wales.[1]

National Ice Hockey League
SportIce hockey
Founded1996
No. of teams47
Country United Kingdom
Level on pyramid2
Official websiteeiha.co.uk/nihl

The English Ice Hockey Association announced a new structure of the men's senior league for the 2019/20 season, at a meeting of NIHL clubs in Warwickshire. A new ten-team division was approved to sit above the existing Division 1 in North and South, to be known as the National League.[2]

In the inaugural 2019–2020 season the National League will comprise Basingstoke Bison, Bracknell Bees, Hull Pirates, Leeds Chiefs, MK Lightning, Peterborough Phantoms, London Raiders, Sheffield Steeldogs, Swindon Wildcats and Telford Tigers. There is no promotion to or relegation from the National League.

Below the National League, the leagues are split into two regions, North and South, meaning teams do not have to travel long distances for away games. Each region has 2 divisions, with promotion and relegation between the divisions in each region.

History

The ENIHL was formed in 1996; following the dissolution of the British Hockey League (BHL), and the creation of the Ice Hockey Superleague and the British National League (BNL) as the top two tiers of British hockey. The ENIHL served as the third tier of hockey; operating below the BNL.

Tiers of British ice hockey since 1995

1995-1996 1996-97 1997-98 1998-99 1999-00 2002-03 2005-06 2012-13 2017-18 2019-20
BHL Premier Division Ice Hockey Superleague Ice Hockey Superleague Ice Hockey Superleague Ice Hockey Superleague Elite Ice Hockey League Elite Ice Hockey League Elite Ice Hockey League Elite Ice Hockey League Elite Ice Hockey League
BHL Division 1 British National League British National League British National League British National League British National League English Premier Ice Hockey League English Premier Ice Hockey League National Ice Hockey League National Ice Hockey League
National League
ENIHL National Division Premier Division/League English Premier Ice Hockey League English Premier Ice Hockey League ENIHL National Ice Hockey League National Ice Hockey League
League 1
ENIHL ENIHL
ENIHL ENIHL National Ice Hockey League
League 2

Following its inaugural season, an upper tier within the ENIHL was founded, so as to serve as a league for the members of the BNL who could not afford to remain in that league due to the increased operating costs; but at the same time played ice hockey to a higher standard that of the other ENIHL teams. This division was originally known as the National Division, and during the 1997–98 season the teams in this division played dual schedules; a series of games solely amongst themselves, and another amongst all of the teams which fell under the jurisdiction of the ENIHL at this time. Solihull Blaze won the league and play-off trophies of both formats during this inaugural season.

At the start of the 1998–99 season the divisions, whilst still both under the ENIHL umbrella, performed in their own separate competitions; and the national division adopted the name Premier Division, and later on became known as the Premier League. By the end of the season the league had established itself outside of the ENIHL as the English Premier Ice Hockey League (EPIHL); reducing the ENIHL to the fourth level of Britain's ice hockey pyramid.

However, in 2005 the BNL disbanded; leaving the EPIHL to take its place as the second tier of the national game and, consequently, re-establishing the ENIHL as the third tier of British ice hockey.[3] In April 2007, the EIHA lowered the upper age limit within the junior leagues, abolishing the under 19 age limit to become under 18. Due to the large gap from junior level to the EPIHL, many teams were forced to enter a reserve team into the ENIHL. This increased the size of the league from 22 teams through to 30 teams for the 2007–08 season.[4] Later in the 2007 off-season, the EIHA suggested introducing an under 25 age limit across the league.[5] However, this age limit was removed within weeks in favour of a drive towards developing players.[6] The ENIHL was restructured for the 2008/2009 season into two regional divisions North and South, with two leagues in each regional division.

Following the 2012–13 the league was renamed the National Ice Hockey League, removing the word English due to non-English teams participating. In 2013, it was agreed at the EIHA AGM to restructure the Northern league into two conferences; Moralee and Laidler. The split was done primarily on regions and neither conference was regarded as being higher than the other. However, at the following year's AGM, it was agreed to return to a tiered Division 1 and Division 2 format. However, the conference names remained in place with Division 1 taking the Moralee Conference title and Division 2 the Laidler Conference title.

In 2014, it was agreed at the EIHA AGM to restructure the Southern Division 2 league to have Western and Eastern Conferences. Due to the odd-number of teams in the league, the Eastern Conference had six teams while the Western Conference had five teams. Both conferences were run completely separately and each winner was only regarded as being the conference winner, with no implication of one conference winner being regarded as the league winner. A two-round playoff format was introduced at the end of the season to determine a league-wide winner. The winner of the playoffs would then be the team promoted to Division 1. In 2017, the two conferences were reunited.

Players

The league itself is considered to be a development league, and as such the players are normally amateur. Many teams have affiliate teams in higher leagues. Other teams are aligned with junior ice hockey clubs, and exist to ensure that when players hit 18 there is still a possibility for them to play competitive hockey if they have not joined a professional team.

The system

Teams in the 2019–20 NIHL Division 1
Blue: North (Moralee); Red: South (Britton);
London-based 2019–20 NIHL Division 1 teams
Teams in the 2019–20 NIHL Division 2
Blue: North (Laidler); Red: South (Wilkinson);
London-based 2019–20 NIHL Division 2 teams

Level

League(s)/Division(s)

2

National League
10 clubs – no promotions, no relegations

3

Division 1 – North (Moralee)
7 clubs – no promotions, bottom club relegated to D2N

Division 1 – South (Britton)
10 clubs – no promotions, bottom club relegated to D2S

4

Division 2 – North (Laidler)
8 clubs – champions promoted

Division 2 – South (Wilkinson)
12 clubs – champions promoted

National League

National Ice Hockey League
Club Founded City Arena Capacity Year Entered
Basingstoke Bison 1988 Basingstoke, Hampshire Planet Ice Silverdome Arena 2000 2019
Bees IHC 1987 Bracknell, Berkshire Slough Ice Arena 1000 2019
Hull Pirates 2015 Kingston upon Hull, East Riding Hull Arena 2000 2019
Leeds Chiefs 2019 Leeds, West Yorkshire Planet Ice Leeds 2000 2019
Milton Keynes Lightning 2002 Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire Milton Keynes Arena (Planet Ice) 2200 2019
Peterborough Phantoms 2002 Peterborough, Cambridgeshire Planet Ice Peterborough 1500 2019
Raiders IHC 1987 Romford, Greater London Sapphire Ice and Leisure Centre 1200 2019
Sheffield Steeldogs 2010 Sheffield, South Yorkshire IceSheffield 1500 2019
Swindon Wildcats 1986 Swindon, Wiltshire Link Centre 2800 2019
Telford Tigers 1985 Telford, Shropshire Telford Ice Rink 2300 2019

Division 1

North (Moralee)
Club Founded City Arena Capacity Year Entered
Billingham Stars 1971 Billingham, County Durham Billingham Forum Ice Arena 1200 2012
Nottingham Lions 2000 Nottingham, Nottinghamshire National Ice Centre 8000 2017
Solihull Barons 2005 Solihull, West Midlands Silverblades Solihull (Planet Ice) 2200 2015
Solway Sharks 1998 Dumfries, Scotland Dumfries Ice Bowl 1000 2012
Sutton Sting 2011 Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire IceSheffield 1500 2012
Whitley Warriors 1957 Whitley Bay, Tyne and Wear Whitley Bay Ice Rink 3200 2012
South (Britton)
Club Founded City Arena Capacity Year Entered
Bracknell Hornets 1996 Bracknell, Berkshire To Be Announced 2019
Cardiff Fire 2015 Cardiff, Wales Ice Arena Wales 3088 2019
Chelmsford Chieftains 1987 Chelmsford, Essex Riverside Ice and Leisure Centre 1200 2019
Invicta Dynamos 1997 Gillingham, Kent Gillingham Ice Bowl (Planet Ice) 1000 2012
Milton Keynes Thunder 2001 Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire Milton Keynes Arena (Planet Ice) 2200 2012
Oxford City Stars 1984 Oxford, Oxfordshire Oxford Ice Rink 1025 2019
Raiders IHC 2 2018 Romford, Greater London Sapphire Ice and Leisure Centre 1200 2019
Slough Jets 1986 Slough, Berkshire Slough Ice Arena 1000 2019
Solent Devils 2003 Gosport, Hampshire Gosport Arena (Planet Ice) 350 2019
Streatham IHC 1932 Streatham, Greater London Streatham Ice and Leisure Centre 1000 2012

Division 2

North (Laidler)
Club Founded City Arena Capacity Year Entered
Altrincham Aces 1961 Altrincham, Greater Manchester Altrincham Ice Dome (Planet Ice) 2200 2015
Blackburn Hawks 1990 Blackburn, Lancashire Blackburn Ice Arena (Planet Ice) 3200 2020
Bradford Bulldogs 1978 Bradford, West Yorkshire Bradford Ice Arena 300 2014
Coventry Blaze NIHL[7] 2007 Coventry, West Midlands Coventry Skydome (Planet Ice) 3000 2020
Deeside Dragons 2012 Queensferry, Wales Deeside Leisure Centre 1500 2017
Hull Jets 2013 Kingston upon Hull, East Riding Hull Arena 2000 2012
Sheffield Scimitars 2010 Sheffield, South Yorkshire IceSheffield 1500 2016
Telford Tigers 2 2017 Telford, Shropshire Telford Ice Rink 2300 2017
Widnes Wild 2013 Widnes, Cheshire Silver Blades Widnes (Planet Ice) 600 2013
South East (Wilkinson)
Club Founded City Arena Capacity Year Entered
Bracknell Wasps 2019 Bracknell, Berkshire To Be Announced 2019
Haringey Huskies 2017 Haringey, Greater London Alexandra Palace 1250 2019
Invicta Mustangs 1997 Gillingham, Kent Gillingham Ice Bowl (Planet Ice) 1000 2019
Lee Valley Lions 1984 Waltham Forest, Greater London Lee Valley Ice Centre 1000 2019
Peterborough Phantoms 2 2017 Peterborough, Cambridgeshire Planet Ice Peterborough 1500 2019
Streatham Hawks 2019 Streatham, Greater London Streatham Ice and Leisure Centre 1000 2019
South West (Wilkinson)
Club Founded City Arena Capacity Year Entered
Basingstoke Buffalo 1996 Basingstoke, Hampshire Planet Ice Silverdome Arena 2000 2019
Bristol Pitbulls 2009 Oxford, Oxfordshire Oxford Ice Rink 1025 2019
Cardiff Fire 2 2017 Cardiff, Wales Ice Arena Wales 3088 2019
Guildford Phoenix 2017 Guildford, Surrey Guildford Spectrum 2200 2019
Solent Devils 2 2019 Gosport, Hampshire Gosport Arena (Planet Ice) 350 2019
Swindon Wildcats 2 2006 Swindon, Wiltshire Link Centre 2800 2019

Season structure

As of the 2018–19 season, the divisions are the following:

North

Each team plays each of the other teams in their league a total of four times; twice home, twice away.

At the end of the regular season, the top 4 teams in the division take part in the Playoff weekend, which are one-off games, replacing the previous home/away format. There is not usually a third placed Playoff. Blackburn Hawks currently hold the record of most consecutive final appearances with four from 2011/12 to the present season, winning in 2012/13 and 2014/15.

The rules regarding promotion and relegation between the Moralee and Laidler regularly change.

There are occasional cup competitions, but the format changes in most seasons but usually takes part in a league format.

South

Each team plays each of the other teams in their league a total of four times; twice home, twice away.

Unlike the North, the South keep a two-legged home-and-away format throughout the playoffs. In Division 1, this is a three-rounded format, involving the teams who finished in the top 8 of the regular season. In Division 2, this is a two-rounded format, involving the teams who finished in the top 2 of their conference. In the semi-finals, the conference winners play the runners-up from the other conference with the final involving the winners of the two semi-finals.

Division 1 has a Cup competition involving six of the teams. These are initially split into two groups of three, with the top two from each group going on to a knock-out, two-legged semi-final and final.

Division 2 has a Cup competition involving eight teams. These are initially split into two groups of four, with each group containing two teams from each conference. The top two teams from each group go onto a single Cup Final Weekend held in a single venue, with semi-finals on the Saturday determining the two teams to play the final on the Sunday.

League champions

Season Northern Champions Southern Champions Playoff Champions English National Cup Champions North 2 Champions South 2 Champions
1996/97 Kingston Jets London Raiders Wightlink Raiders N/A N/A N/A
1997/98 Solihull Blaze Invicta Dynamos Solihull Blaze N/A N/A N/A
1998/99 Billingham Stars Cardiff Devils Billingham Stars N/A N/A N/A
1999/00 Billingham Stars Haringey Greyhounds Whitley Warriors N/A N/A N/A
2000/01 Billingham Stars Basingstoke Buffalo Whitley Warriors Whitley Warriors N/A N/A
2001/02 Whitley Warriors Basingstoke Buffalo Whitley Warriors Whitley Warriors N/A N/A
2002/03 Sheffield Scimitars Basingstoke Buffalo Basingstoke Buffalo N/A N/A N/A
2003/04 Flintshire Freeze Invicta Dynamos Sheffield Scimitars Sheffield Scimitars N/A N/A
2004/05 Sheffield Scimitars Invicta Dynamos Sheffield Scimitars Sheffield Scimitars N/A N/A
2005/06 Billingham Stars Invicta Dynamos Invicta Dynamos Invicta Dynamos N/A N/A
2006/07 TDC Northern Stars Invicta Dynamos Sheffield Scimitars Sheffield Scimitars N/A N/A
2007/08 Nottingham Lions Peterborough Islanders Whitley Warriors Sheffield Scimitars N/A Invicta Dynamos
2008/09 Sheffield Scimitars Invicta Dynamos Nottingham Lions Sheffield Scimitars Telford Titans Chelmsford Chieftains
2009/10 Whitley Warriors Invicta Dynamos N/A N/A TDC Northern Stars Bristol Pitbulls
2010/11 Whitley Warriors Wightlink Raiders N/A N/A Solihull Barons Slough Jets
2011/12 Billingham Stars London Raiders N/A N/A Solway Sharks Solent Devils
2012/13 Solway Sharks Chelmsford Chieftains N/A N/A Nottingham Lions Oxford City Stars
2013/14 Solway Sharks Chelmsford Chieftains N/A N/A Solihull Barons Oxford City Stars
2014/15 Blackburn Hawks Chelmsford Chieftains N/A N/A Solihull Barons Bristol Pitbulls
2015/16 Blackburn Hawks Chelmsford Chieftains N/A N/A Deeside Dragons Chelmsford Warriors
2016/17 Solway Sharks Chelmsford Chieftains N/A N/A Blackburn Eagles Cardiff Fire
2017/18 Sheffield Steeldogs Basingstoke Bison Basingstoke Bison N/A Altrincham Aces Oxford City Stars
2018/19 Hull Pirates Swindon Wildcats Hull Pirates N/A Widnes Wild Slough Jets

Rules

Follows International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) rules,[8] as used by countries in all major European leagues. There are significant differences between the National Hockey League rules and IIHF rules, including rink dimension, netminder puck handling, and icing.

The ENIHL also operates under additional EIHA regulations.[9]

Additional discipline rules are also enforced by the EIHA,[10] which include;

  • Team fines of up to £5,000 for failure to complete a fixture
  • A points system for misconduct and match penalties
  • Player suspensions based upon accumulation of points
    • 10 points - 2-game suspension
    • 15 points - 3-game suspension
    • 20 points - 4-game suspension
    • 25 points - 5-game suspension
  • Penalty Points for coach/managers and bench officials
  • For every 20 penalty points accumulated against the team (players, coaches, managers and bench official) - £25 fine
  • 50 team penalty points - £100 fine
  • 75 team penalty points - £250 fine plus suspension
  • 100 team penalty points - £250 plus the £250 suspended fine awarded at 75 points = £500 total fine

See also

  • Category: UK ice hockey seasons: This category contains links to annual club and league reviews.

References

  1. http://www.facebook.com/SlapshotScotland
  2. http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/leagues/80.html
  3. History Archived 17 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine, Vectis Tigers (last accessed 13 April 2009)
  4. ENGLISH ICE HOCKEY ASSOCIATION COMPANY LIMITED MEETING OF DIRECTORS 8TH JUNE 2007 Archived 25 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine (last accessed 13 April 2009)
  5. News from the ENIHL AGM - Under 25's Age Limit Removed Archived 22 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Invicta Dynamos (last accessed 13 April 2009)
  6. "Coventry Blaze NIHL at eliteprospects.com". www.eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  7. Rulebook 2006-2010 International Ice Hockey Federation
  8. Rules and Regulations Archived 17 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine, EIHA
  9. Disciplinary Document Archived 28 August 2008 at the Wayback Machine, EIHA, Revised 7 June 2008
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