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.http://www.facebook.com/SlapshotScotland
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.
In the inaugural 2019–2020 season the National League comprised Basingstoke Bison, Bracknell Bees, Hull Pirates, Leeds Knights, MK Lightning, Peterborough Phantoms, Romford 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 1995–961996–971997–981998–991999–002002–032005–062012–132017–182019–CurrentBHL Premier DivisionIce Hockey SuperleagueIce Hockey SuperleagueIce Hockey SuperleagueIce Hockey SuperleagueElite Ice Hockey LeagueElite Ice Hockey LeagueElite Ice Hockey LeagueElite Ice Hockey LeagueElite Ice Hockey LeagueBHL Division 1British National LeagueBritish National LeagueBritish National LeagueBritish National LeagueBritish National LeagueEnglish Premier Ice Hockey LeagueEnglish Premier Ice Hockey LeagueNational Ice Hockey LeagueNational Ice Hockey League National League ENIHLNational DivisionPremier Division/LeagueEnglish Premier Ice Hockey LeagueEnglish Premier Ice Hockey League ENIHLNational Ice Hockey LeagueNational Ice Hockey League League 1ENIHLENIHLENIHLENIHLNational 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. 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.History , Vectis Tigers (last accessed 13 April 2009) Later in the 2007 off-season, the EIHA suggested introducing an under 25 age limit across the league.English Ice Hockey Association Company Limited Meeting of Directors 8th June 2007 (last accessed 13 April 2009) However, this age limit was removed within weeks in favour of a drive towards developing players.News from the ENIHL AGM – Under 25's Age Limit Removed , Invicta Dynamos (last accessed 13 April 2009) 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
LevelLeague(s)/Division(s)2National League 12 clubs – no promotions, no relegations3Division 1 – North (Moralee) 7 clubs – no promotions, no relegationsDivision 1 – South (Britton) 9 clubs – no promotions, no relegations4Division 2 – North (Laidler) 9 clubs – no promotions, no relegationsDivision 2 – South (Wilkinson) 9 clubs – no promotions, no relegations
National League National Ice Hockey League Club Founded City Arena Capacity Year Entered Basingstoke Bison 1988 Basingstoke Planet Ice Basingstoke2,0002019Bristol Pitbulls2009Bristol (Patchway) Planet Ice Bristol2,6002022 Hull Seahawks2022HullHull Arena 2,0002022 Leeds Knights 2019 Leeds Planet Ice Leeds2,0002019 Milton Keynes Lightning 2002 Milton Keynes Planet Ice Milton Keynes2,8002019 Peterborough Phantoms 2002 Peterborough Planet Ice Peterborough1,5002019 Romford Raiders 1987 London (Romford) Sapphire Ice and Leisure Centre1,2002019 Sheffield Steeldogs 2010 Sheffield iceSheffield1,5002019 Solway IHC 1998 Dumfries Dumfries Ice Bowl1,0002023 Swindon Wildcats 1986 Swindon Link Centre2,8002019 Telford Tigers 1985 Telford Telford Ice Rink2,3002019
Division 1
North Club Founded Location Arena Capacity Year Entered Billingham Stars 1971 Stockton-on-Tees (Billingham) Billingham Forum1,2002012 Blackburn Hawks 1990 Blackburn Planet Ice Blackburn3,2002020Deeside Dragons 1998 Deeside (Queensferry) Deeside Leisure Centre1,5002022 Hull Jets 2013 Hull Hull Arena2,0002012 Leeds Knights 22024 Leeds Planet Ice Leeds2,0002024 Nottingham Lions 2000 Nottingham National Ice Centre7,5002017 Sheffield Scimitars 2010 Sheffield iceSheffield1,5002021 Solihull Barons 2005 Solihull Planet Ice Solihull2,2002015 Telford Tigers 2 2017 TelfordTelford Ice Rink2,3002017 Widnes Wild 2013 Widnes Planet Ice Widnes6002021 South Club Founded Location Arena Capacity Year Entered Cardiff Fire 2015 Cardiff Vindico Arena3,0882019 Chelmsford Chieftains 1987 Chelmsford Riverside Ice and Leisure Centre1,2002019 Invicta Dynamos 1997 Gillingham Planet Ice Gillingham1,0002012 Romford Buccaneers 2018 London (Romford) Sapphire Ice and Leisure Centre1,2002019 Slough Jets 1986 Slough Slough Ice Arena1,0002019 Solent Devils 2003 Gosport Planet Ice Gosport3502019 Streatham IHC 1932 London (Streatham) Streatham Ice and Leisure Centre1,0002012 Swindon Wildcats 2 2006 Swindon Link Centre2,8002019
Division 2
North Club Founded Location Arena Capacity Year Entered Altrincham Aces 1961 Manchester (Altrincham) Planet Ice Altrincham2,4402015 Billingham Buccaneers2023 Stockton-on-Tees (Billingham) Billingham Forum1,2002023 Bradford Bulldogs 1978 Bradford Bradford Ice Arena 3002014 Coventry Blaze NIHL2007 Coventry Planet Ice Coventry3,0002020 Deeside Dragons 2 2017 Deeside (Queensferry) Deeside Leisure Centre1,5002023 Kingston Sharks 2023 Hull Hull Arena2,0002023 Nottingham Lions 2 2021 Nottingham National Ice Centre7,5002021 Sheffield Scimitars 2 2021 Sheffield iceSheffield1,5002021 Sutton Sting 2009 Sutton-in-Ashfield Sutton Leisure Centre1502021 Widnes Wild 2 2026 Widnes Planet Ice Widnes6002026 South Club Founded Location Arena Capacity Year Entered Bristol Pitbulls 2 2010 Bristol (Patchway) Planet Ice Bristol1,3002021 Cardiff Canucks 2024 Cardiff Vindico Arena3,0882024 Chelmsford Warriors 2005 Chelmsford Riverside Ice and Leisure Centre1,2002021 Guildford Phoenix 2017 Guildford Guildford Spectrum2,2002019 Haringey Huskies 2017 London (Haringey) Alexandra Palace1,7502019 Invicta Mustangs 1997 Gillingham Gillingham Ice Bowl1,0002019 Lee Valley Lions 1984 London (Waltham Forest) Lee Valley Ice Centre1,0002019 Milton Keynes Thunder 2001 Milton Keynes Marshall Arena5,0002012 Oxford Stars 1984 Oxford Oxford Ice Rink1,0252026 Peterborough Phantoms 2 2017 Peterborough Planet Ice Peterborough1,5002019 Slough Spitfires 2025 Slough Slough Ice Arena1,0002025 Solent Devils 2 2019 Gosport Planet Ice Gosport3502019
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.