England Ice Hockey and the National Ice Hockey League are delighted to announce the joint playoff weekend for Division 1 & 2 North & South will be called the Steel City Showdown and will take place at Bauer Arena Ice Sheffield on April 12-13 2025.
League officials had already confirmed that the four regional divisions would come together for a single Finals Weekend, now the venue is confirmed and fans can start looking forward to a true festival of NIHL hockey.
The weekend will have four regional finals on the Saturday – Division 1 North & South, Division 2 North & South. Then for the first time EIH/NIHL will crown national playoff champions as the respective winners go head to head on the Sunday afternoon.
Divisional playoff quarter finals and semi finals are now played over two legs till each division has its final two teams remaining – those teams will head to the Steel City Showdown.
Ticket details and purchase details will be released very shortly.
NIHL general manager Haydn Hunter said: “We’ll have the top two sides from each of our four divisions plus fans from all over the country, every game has a trophy up for grabs and we’ll have our first ever national playoff champions for Division 1 and Division 2.”
EIH director for the NIHL Martin Peters added: “The clubs supported the idea of a joint finals at the respective summer meetings and have really bought in to the idea. For me it’s exciting to have teams and fans from all over the country coming to a central location and enjoy a true showpiece event for the NIHL divisions.”
The league have also announced that the national playoff trophies will be named for former EIHA/EIH chairman Ken Taggart who passed away earlier this year. Division 1 teams will play for the Ken Taggart Memorial Trophy, while Division 2 teams will contest the Taggart Bowl.
Follow EIH website and socials for news on ticket prices and release dates as we count down to the inaugural Steel City Showdown.