England Ice Hockey have announced the changes made by NIHL Management to the format and structure of the NIHL South 1 (Britton) division for the upcoming 2024/25 season.
A historic national play-off championship, a revised points system and changes to ‘import’ limits are just some of the changes confirmed, as well as details on the league, cup and play-off formats.
Key dates for your diary
- Regular season will start the weekend of 31 August/1 September 2024
- Divisional Playoffs will be completed by the weekend of 5/6 April 2025
- National Playoff Finals Weekend will take place 12/13 April 2025
- National League Championship at Coventry will take place 20 April 2025
Changes to 'import' limits
Teams will be allowed two non-British trained players on a gameday roster, down from three last year, and both will be permitted on the ice at the same time.
Revised points system
All games will be three-point games – 3 points for a win in regulation, 2 points for a win in OT/SO, 1 point for a loss in OT/SO and 0 points for a loss in regulation.
League
The regular season will consist of 36 league games – two home and two away games against all nine other teams. The respective league champions from North and South divisions will meet at Coventry on 20 April 2025 to crown the National League Champions of Division 1.
Britton Cup
The cup competition will take place with a qualification round of two groups of five teams, with the first league home and away game between the teams counting towards qualification standings. The qualifying games will be completed by Christmas, followed by two-legged semi-finals in January. The cup final will take place home and away over two-legs in February 2025, with more details to follow.
Group A
- Cardiff Fire
- Invicta Dynamos
- MK Thunder
- Solent Devils
- Streatham Redhawks
Group B
- Chelmsford Chieftains
- Oxford City Stars
- Romford Buccaneers
- Slough Jets
- Swindon Wildcats 2
Playoffs
The top six sides from the regular season will go through to the first round of the Divisional Playoffs with two groups of three teams playing one home and one away game. The top two sides from each group qualify for two-legged semi-finals to be completed by the weekend of 5-6 April 2025.
The two winning teams make their way to the National Playoff Finals Weekend taking place 12-13 April 2025. The Divisional Playoff Final will take place on the Saturday and the winner will take on the Playoff Champions from the North division on the Sunday to crown the National Playoff Champions of Division 1.
Find out more about the changes in the England Ice Hockey announcement here.
Stay tuned to the Cardiff Fire website and socials for more announcements about the new season in the coming weeks!
Photos: James Assinder
