The NIHL Management team have confirmed the format for the upcoming season including league, cup and playoff competitions.
The teams in the league are confirmed as follows:-
- Billingham Stars
- Blackburn Hawks
- Deeside Dragons
- Hull Jets
- Nottingham Lions
- Sheffield Scimitars
- Solihull Barons
- Whitley Warriors
- Widnes Wild
Teams will play 32 League Games in total next season. This will comprise 2 home and 2 away matches against the other teams. The top 8 teams will then make the end-of-season playoffs and the quarter playoff games will be as follows: 1 vs 8, 2 vs 7, 3 vs 6 and 4 vs 5. The semi-final round will take a slightly different format than usual as shown below. You notice that the seeding system WILL NOT carry through to the Semi-Finals Round, as in previous seasons. This will be based on who wins the games in the quarter-finals.
The playoff Semi-Finals and Finals will take place on the 6th & 7th of April 2024 in a “Super” playoff finals event with the North 2 teams at a venue to be released soon.
The first home and away league game against each team will also count towards the League Cup. The top 4 teams in this competition will playoff, home and away in the semi-finals and final at an agreed date, in the following form at: 1 vs 4, 2 vs 3 with the aggregate score used in these games and the winners going to the final.
Key Dates for the League
Pre-Season – 2nd September 2023
Regular Season – 9th September 2023
League Cup Finals – 24th/25th February 2024
Playoff Quarter Finals – 30th/31st March 2024
Playoff Finals Weekend – 6th & 7th April – Semi-Final 1 @ 13:00 , Semi- Final 2 @ 20:00 – Final on the Sunday @ 17:00
NIHL 1 National Final – TBC