English 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.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 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 Leagues 1 and 2
 	ENIHL 	ENIHL 	ENIHL 	English Premier Ice Hockey League	English Premier Ice Hockey League	ENIHL 	National Ice Hockey League 	 	National Ice Hockey League Leagues 1 and 2
 	 	 	 	ENIHL 	ENIHL 	 	 	 	
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.http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/leagues/80.html 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.
==Teams==
===Division 1===
Division 1 - North (Moralee)	Division 1 - North (Moralee)	Division 1 - North (Moralee)	Division 1 - North (Moralee)	Division 1 - North (Moralee) 	Division 1 - North (Moralee)	Division 1 - North (Moralee)
 	Club 	Founded 	City 	Arena 	 	
 	Billingham Stars 	1971 	Billingham 	Forum Ice Arena 	 	
 	Blackburn Hawks 	1990 	Blackburn 	Blackburn Ice Arena 	 	
 	Hull Pirates 	2015 	Kingston upon Hull 	Hull Ice Arena 	 	
 	Nottingham Lions 	2000 	Nottingham 	National Ice Centre 	 	
 	Sheffield Steeldogs 	2010 	Sheffield 	IceSheffield 	 	
 	Solihull Barons 	2005 	Solihull 	Planet Ice Solihull 	 	
 	Solway Sharks 	1998 	Dumfries 	Dumfries Ice Bowl 	 	
 	Sutton Sting 	2011 	Sutton-in-Ashfield 	Lammas Leisure Centre 	 	
 	Telford Tigers 	1985 	Telford 	Telford Ice Rink 	 	
 	Whitley Warriors 	1957 	Whitley Bay 	Whitley Bay Ice Rink 	 	
Division 1 - South (Britton)	Division 1 - South (Britton)	Division 1 - South (Britton)	Division 1 - South (Britton)	Division 1 - South (Britton) 	Division 1 - South (Britton)	Division 1 - South (Britton)
 	Club 	Founded 	City 	Arena 	 	
 	Basingstoke Bison 	1988 	Basingstoke 	Planet Ice Basingstoke 	 	
 	Bracknell Bees 	1987 	Bracknell 	John Nike Leisuresport Complex 	 	
 	Invicta Dynamos 	1997 	Gillingham 	Planet Ice Gillingham 	 	
 	London Raiders 	1987 	Romford, Greater London 	Sapphire Ice and Leisure Centre	 	
 	Milton Keynes Thunder 	2001 	Milton Keynes 	Planet Ice Milton Keynes 	 	
 	Peterborough Phantoms 	2002 	Peterborough 	Planet Ice Peterborough 	 	
 	Streatham Redhawks 	1932 	Streatham, Greater London 	Streatham Ice Arena 	 	
 	Swindon Wildcats 	1986 	Swindon 	Link Centre 	 	
===Division 2===
Division 2 - North (Laidler) 	Division 2 - North (Laidler) 	Division 2 - North (Laidler) 	Division 2 - North (Laidler) 	Division 2 - North (Laidler) 	Division 2 - North (Laidler) 	Division 2 - North (Laidler)
 	Club 	Founded 	City 	Arena 	 	
 	Altrincham Aces 	1961 	Altrincham 	Altrincham Ice Dome 	 	
 	Blackburn Hawks 2 	1990 	Blackburn 	Blackburn Ice Arena 	 	
 	Bradford Bulldogs 	1978 	Bradford 	Bradford Ice Arena 	 	
 	Coventry Blaze 2 	2007 	Coventry 	SkyDome Arena 	 	
 	Deeside Dragons 	2012 	Queensferry 	Deeside Leisure Centre 	 	
 	Hull Jets 	2013 	Kingston upon Hull 	Hull Ice Arena 	 	
 	Sheffield Senators 	2010 	Sheffield 	IceSheffield 	 	
 	Telford Tigers 2 	1985 	Telford 	Telford Ice Rink 	 	
 	Widnes Wild 	2013 	Widnes 	Planet Ice Widnes 	 	
Division 2 - South (Wilkinson)	Division 2 - South (Wilkinson)	Division 2 - South (Wilkinson)	Division 2 - South (Wilkinson)	Division 2 - South (Wilkinson) 	Division 2 - South (Wilkinson)	Division 2 - South (Wilkinson)
 	Club 	Founded 	City 	Arena 	 	
 	Basingstoke Buffalo 	1996 	Basingstoke 	Planet Ice Basingstoke 	 	
 	Bracknell Hornets 	1987 	Bracknell 	John Nike Leisuresport Complex 	 	
 	Bristol Pitbulls 	2009 	Oxford 	Oxford Ice Rink 	 	
 	Cardiff Fire 	2015 	Cardiff 	Ice Arena Wales 	 	
 	Chelmsford Chieftains 	1987 	Chelmsford 	Riverside Ice and Leisure Centre	 	
 	Guildford Phoenix 	2017 	Guildford 	Guildford Spectrum 	 	
 	Haringey Huskies 	2017 	Haringey. Greater London 	Alexandra Palace 	 	
 	Invicta Mustangs 	1997 	Gillingham 	Planet Ice Gillingham 	 	
 	Lee Valley Lions 	1984 	Waltham Forest, Greater London	Lee Valley Ice Centre 	 	
 	London Raiders 2 	1987 	Romford, Greater London 	Sapphire Ice and Leisure Centre 	 	
 	Oxford City Stars 	1984 	Oxford 	Oxford Ice Rink 	 	
 	Peterborough Phantoms 2 	2002 	Peterborough 	Planet Ice Peterborough 	 	
 	Slough Jets 	1986 	Slough 	Slough Ice Arena 	 	
 	Solent Devils 	2003 	Gosport 	Planet Ice Gosport 	 	
 	Swindon Wildcats 2 	1986 	Swindon 	Link Centre 	 	
==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.
==League Champions==
Season 	Northern Champions 	Southern Champions 	Playoff Champions
1996-97 	Kingston Jets 	Romford Raiders 	Wightlink Raiders
1997-98 	Solihull Barons 	Invicta Dynamos 	Solihull Barons
1998-99 	Billingham Bombers 	Cardiff Devils 	Billingham Bombers
1999-2000	Billingham Bombers 	Haringey Greyhounds 	Whitley Warriors
2000-01 	Billingham Bombers 	Basingstoke Buffalo 	Whitley Warriors
2001-02 	Whitley Warriors 	Basingstoke Buffalo 	Whitley Warriors
2002-03 	Sheffield Scimitars	Basingstoke Buffalo 	
2003-04 	Flintshire Freeze 	Invicta Dynamos 	Sheffield Scimitars
2004-05 	Sheffield Scimitars	Invicta Dynamos 	Sheffield Scimitars
2005-06 	Billingham Bombers 	Invicta Dynamos 	Invicta Dynamos
2006-07 	Newcastle Vipers 	Invicta Dynamos 	Sheffield Scimitars
2007-08 	Nottingham Lions 	Peterborough Islanders	Whitley Warriors
2008-09 	Sheffield Scimitars	Invicta Dynamos 	Nottingham Lions
2009-10 	Whitley Warriors 	Invicta Dynamos 	
2010-11 	Whitley Warriors 	Wightlink Raiders 	
2011-12 	Billingham Stars 	Chelmsford Chieftains 	
2012-13 	Blackburn Hawks 	Chelmsford Chieftains 	
2013-14 	Solway Sharks 	Chelmsford Chieftains 	
2014-15 	Blackburn Hawks 	Chelmsford Chieftains 	
2015-16 	Blackburn Hawks 	Chelmsford Chieftains 	
2016-17 	Solway Sharks 	Chelmsford Chieftains 	
2017-18 	Sheffield Steeldogs	Basingstoke Bison 	Basingstoke Bison
2018-19 	Hull Pirates 	Swindon Wildcats 	Hull Pirates
2019-20 	Whitley Warriors 	Streatham IHC 	Cancelled
2020-21 	Cancelled 	Cancelled 	Cancelled
2021-22 	Solway Sharks 	Streatham IHC 	Solway Sharks
2022-23 	Solway Sharks 	Streatham IHC 	Solway Sharks
2023-24 	Blackburn Hawks 	Chlemsford Chieftains 	
;National League champions
*2019-20: Telford Tigers (regular season)
*2020-21: cancelled
*2021-22: Sheffield Steeldogs
*2022-23: Leeds Knights
*2023-24: Peterborough Phantoms
;Division 2 champions
*2007-08: Invicta Dynamos (South)
*2008-09: Telford Titans (North), Chelmsford Chieftains (South)
*2009-10: TDC Northern Stars (North), Bristol Pitbulls (South)
*2010-11: Solihull Barons (North), Slough Jets (South)
*2011-12: Solway Sharks (North), Solent Devils (South)
*2012-13: Nottingham Lions (North), Oxford City Stars (South)
*2013-14: Solihull Barons (North), Oxford City Stars (South)
*2014-15: Solihull Barons (North), Bristol Pitbulls (South)
*2015-16: Deeside Dragons (North), Chelmsford Warriors (South)
*2016-17: Blackburn Eagles (North), Cardiff Fire (South)
*2017-18: Altrincham Aces (North), Oxford City Stars (South)
*2018-19: Widnes Wild (North), Slough Jets (South)
*2019-20: Hull Jets (North), Haringey Huskies (South East), Guildford Phoenix (South West)
*2020-21: cancelled
*2021-22: Hull Jets (North), Guildford Phoenix (South)
*2022-23: Telford Tigers II (North), Invicta Mustangs (South)
*2023-24: Billingham Buccaneers (North), Basingstoke Buffalo (South)
==Rules==
Follows International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) rules,Rulebook 2006-2010 International Ice Hockey Federation 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.Rules and Regulations, EIHA
Additional discipline rules are also enforced by the EIHA,Disciplinary Document, EIHA, Revised 7 June 2008 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==
*English Premier Ice Hockey League
*English National Ice Hockey Cup
== References ==
Category:Ice hockey leagues