Elite Ice Hockey League

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Elite Ice Hockey League
Elite Ice Hockey League logo

Current season 2018/19
sport ice Hockey
abbreviation EIHL
Association Ice Hockey UK
League foundation 2003
Teams 11
Country countries United KingdomUnited Kingdom United Kingdom
Title holder Cardiff Devils
Record champions Sheffield Steelers (5)
TV partner Premier Sports
Website eliteleague.co.uk

Elite Ice Hockey League ( EIHL ) is a professional ice hockey league in the United Kingdom . It was founded in 2003 and emerged from the Ice Hockey Superleague . After initial ambiguities, which could be resolved through arbitration by the world ice hockey association , the EIHL is recognized by the British ice hockey association Ice Hockey UK .

The EIHL is considered the top division of British ice hockey, above the National Ice Hockey League . There is no promotion or relegation between the two leagues. Financial circumstances mean that the number of participants at EIHL fluctuates regularly. For the 2017/18 season, the league was increased to twelve teams by adding the Milton Keynes Lightning and the Guildford Flames .

Name sponsors were bmibaby from 2006 to 2009 and Rapid Solicitors from 2011 to 2015.

mode

The EIHL holds four competitions every year. The regular season consists of 54 game days, each team has three home and three away games against every other team.

The best eight teams of the regular season qualify for the play-offs . The quarter-finals are played in a two-legged manner. The two semi-finals and the final will be played in one tournament in Nottingham.

In addition, two cup competitions will be held during the season. For the Challenge Cup , the ten teams are divided into two groups of five. Each team has two home games and two away games. The home game rights are drawn. The two best teams from both groups advance to the semi-finals. The Knockout Cup is played in the knockout process with home and return matches.

Participants in the 2018/19 season

Clubs of the EIHL 2017/18
team founded place Hall capacity League affiliation
Belfast Giants 2000 Belfast , Northern Ireland Odyssey Arena 9,957 since 2003
Cardiff Devils 1986 Cardiff , Wales Ice Arena Wales 3,088 since 2003
Coventry Blaze 2000 Coventry , West Midlands SkyDome Arena 2,600 since 2003
Dundee Stars 2001 Dundee , Scotland Dundee Ice Arena 2,300 since 2010
Fife Flyers 1938 Kirkcaldy , Scotland Fife Ice Arena 3,280 since 2011
Glasgow clan 2010 Glasgow , Scotland Braehead Arena 4,000 since 2010
Guildford Flames 1992 Guildford , Surrey Guildford Spectrum since 2017
Manchester Storm 2015 Manchester , Greater Manchester Altrincham Ice Dome 2,000 since 2015
Milton Keynes Lightning 2002 Milton Keynes , Buckinghamshire Planet Ice Milton Keynes 2,800 since 2017
Nottingham Panthers 1946 Nottingham , East Midlands National Ice Center 8,000 since 2003
Sheffield Steelers 1991 Sheffield , Yorkshire Sheffield Arena 9,000 since 2003

Former teams

Masters of the previous seasons

season Regular Season Winner
British Masters 		Play-off winner Challenge Cup winner Knockout Cup winner 20/20 Hockey Fest
2003/04 Sheffield Steelers Sheffield Steelers Nottingham Panthers - -
2004/05 Coventry Blaze Coventry Blaze Coventry Blaze - -
2005/06 Belfast Giants Newcastle Vipers Cardiff Devils Sheffield Steelers -
2006/07 Coventry Blaze Nottingham Panthers Coventry Blaze Cardiff Devils -
2007/08 Coventry Blaze Sheffield Steelers Nottingham Panthers Coventry Blaze -
2008/09 Sheffield Steelers Sheffield Steelers Belfast Giants Belfast Giants -
2009/10 Coventry Blaze Belfast Giants Nottingham Panthers - Sheffield Steelers
2010/11 Sheffield Steelers Nottingham Panthers Nottingham Panthers - Braehead clan
2011/12 Belfast Giants Nottingham Panthers Nottingham Panthers - -
2012/13 Nottingham Panthers Nottingham Panthers Nottingham Panthers - -
2013/14 Belfast Giants Sheffield Steelers Nottingham Panthers - -
2014/15 Sheffield Steelers Coventry Blaze Cardiff Devils - -
2015/16 Sheffield Steelers Nottingham Panthers Nottingham Panthers - -
2016/17 Cardiff Devils Sheffield Steelers Cardiff Devils - -
2017/18 Cardiff Devils Cardiff Devils Belfast Giants - -

organization

The management consists of one member from each club. Since in addition to the current clubs the London Racers would also be eligible to play in the Elite League, the leadership - The Board of Directors - consists of twelve members. The chairman is Eamon Convery. This committee decides on the admission of further associations.

Development in recent years

Since British ice hockey does not play a major role in European and global ice hockey, spectator interest is limited to a few clubs. However, up until 2003 the sport was quite popular in the UK. Individual clubs ( Manchester Storm , Sheffield Steelers, Belfast Giants, London Knights , Nottingham Panthers and Newcastle Vipers) achieved audience averages of up to 9,000 people. After the end of the Superleague 2003, however, interest declined; some clubs (Manchester Storm, London Knights) stopped playing, and spectator and sponsor interest fell. Nevertheless, ice hockey has been able to assert itself as a niche sport in the UK to this day and some clubs, in particular Nottingham, Sheffield and Belfast, still have a fairly solid audience of well over 4,000 on average and up to 8,000 at top games. With an average attendance of 2,842, the Elite League was 7th in Europe in 2017 and had more viewers than the Austrian EBEL , the Danish Metal Ligaen or the Norwegian GET-Ligaen .

More competitions

In the 2005/06 season, during the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, the EIHL took the opportunity to revive the Ahearne Cup . The Kölner Haie and the Iserlohn Roosters played against the Coventry Blaze , the Sheffield Steelers and the Nottingham Panthers . The big difference between the EIHL and the DEL became clear, because the German clubs won all four games.

Awards from EIHL

  • Netminder of the year - (2009/10: Peter Hirsch, Coventry Blaze)
  • Defense of the year - (2009/10: Jonathan Weaver, Coventry Blaze)
  • Forward of the year - (2009/10: Luke Fulghum, Coventry Blaze)
  • British player of the year - (2009/10: Stephen Murphy , Belfast Giants)
  • Newcomer of the year - (2009/10: Owen Fussey, Edinburgh Capitals)
  • Player of the year - (2009/10: Colin Shields , Belfast Giants)
  • Coach of the year - (2009/10: Paul Thompson, Coventry Blaze)
  • Fans favorite - (2009/10: Luke Fulghum, Coventry Blaze)
  • Entertainer of the year - (2009/10: Jason Robinson, Coventry Blaze)

Known players

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://www.guildfordflames.com/flames_make_top_flight_elite_league_move
  2. ^ Geering: Hockeyarenas.net. Retrieved January 12, 2018 .