International Hockey League

The **International Hockey League** (officially **IHL**) is a professional ice hockey league. The league currently consists of 14 teams. Taken it's name from the original International Hockey League (1945-2001) the league was founded in 2016, and the league championship trophy, the Turner Cup, have been awarded to the winner of the IHL playoffs since the league's inaugural 2016-17 season.

## Season structure

The IHL season is divided into a regular season from late September through the beginning of March, when teams play against each other in a pre-defined schedule, and a playoffs from March to April, which is an elimination tournament where two teams play against each other to win a best-of-seven series in order to advance to the next round. The final remaining team is crowned the IHL Champion, and receives the Turner Cup.

### Regular season

The regular season is a round-robin, where each team plays 52 games. Points are awarded for each game, where three points are awarded for winning in regulation time, two points for winning in overtime or shootout, one point for losing in overtime or shootout, and zero points for losing in regulation time. At the end of the regular season, the team that finishes with the most points is crowned the league champion. The six highest-ranked teams by points qualify directly for the playoffs. The four teams ranked 7–10 play a best-of-three series and battle for the two remaining playoff spots.

If two or more teams end up tied in points, the seeds are determined by the following tiebreaker format:

1. Best goal difference
2. Most goals scored
3. Head-to-head results between the tied teams

### Playoffs

The IHL playoffs are an elimination tournament consisting of multi-game series where two teams battle to win a best-of-three or best-of-seven series in order to advance to the next round. The playoffs consist of four rounds: The Wild Card, the quarterfinals, the semifinals and the finals. In the Wild Card round, the 7th-ranked team from the regular season is paired against the 10th-ranked team and the 8th-ranked team is paired against the 9th-ranked teamen. In the quarterfinals, the six best teams from the regular season and the two winners of the Wild Card are paired seed-wise against each other, with the highest seed playing the lowest-remaining seed. In the semifinals, the teams are re-seeded, with the top remaining seed playing against the lowest remaining seed, and the other two remaining teams pairing off. In the finals, the two remaining teams face each other to determine the IHL Champion. The Wild Card Round is played as best-of-three series while the other rounds are played as best-of-seven series. In each series, the higher-ranked team of the two has home-ice advantage. Each series is played in an alternating home-away format, with the first game played at the higher seed's home venue. Any given series ends when one team has won more than half the maximum number of games needed to decide the series.

## IHL History

### 2016-17 IHL Season

Regular Season Winner: Adirondack Phantoms

#### Playoffs

 No. 10 Barons 2, No. 7 Kings 1
No. 8 Dragons 2, No. 9 Monarchs 1
No. 6 Comets 4, No. 3 Shock 3
Dragons 4, No. 2 Wizards 3
No. 4 Starzz 4, No. 5 Rockers 0
Dragons 4, Phantoms 3

### 2017-18 IHL Season

Regular Season Winner: Oklahoma City Barons

#### Playoffs

 No. 7 Starzz 2, No. 10 Wizards 1
No. 9 Oilers 2, No. 8 Phantoms 1
No. 3 Dragons 4, No. 6 Cougars 1
Starzz 4, No. 2 Shock 1
No. 5 Comets 4, No. 4 Pirates 2
Dragons 4, Oilers 2

### 2018-19 IHL Season

Regular Season Winner: Adirondack Phantoms

#### Playoffs

 No. 7 Cougars 2, No. 10 Comets 1
No. 9 Seals 2, No. 8 Kings 1
No. 6 Oilers 4, No. 3 Shock 0
Cougars 4, No. 2 Rockers 2
No. 5 Starzz 4, No. 4 Pirates 3
Seals 4, Starzz 1

### Cancellation of 2019-20 season

Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the league decided to cancel the remainder of the 2019-20 season

#### Playoffs

 No. 7 Dragons 2, No. 10 Barons 1
No. 8 Oilers 2, No. 9 Comets 0
No. 3 Cougars 4, No. 6 Pirates 1
No. 2 Rockers 4, Dragons 1
No. 4 Seals 4, No. 5 Starzz 2
Seals 4, Wizards 1

#### Playoffs

 No. 10 Starzz 2, No. 7 Cougars 1
No. 9 Pirates 2, No. 8 Phantoms 1
No. 6 Dragons 4, No. 3 Shock 1
No. 2 Barons 4, Pirates 3
No. 4 Kings 4, No. 5 Rockers 1
Barons 4, Starzz 2

#### Playoffs

 No. 10 Oilers 2, No. 7 Monarchs 1
No. 8 Kings 2, No. 9 Starzz 1
No. 6 Cougars 4, No. 3 Phantoms 2
Kings 4, No. 2 Barons 2
No. 4 Dragons 4, No. 5 Wizards 3
Dragons 4, Oilers 1