EHM The Blue Line

We've seen it all this past year: Brexit, Trump, Neil Morris trying to turn a delipidated shed into a function hockey rink in less than 2 months despite having no money. Now it's time to do it all again!

2016-17 was a gamechanger for British Hockey. Bracknell, Manchester Phoenix, and Telford all liquidated their operating companies at some point. Manchester were admitted to the EPL despite not having a home rink (and no confirmed planning permission to build one), having liquidated their operating company during the summer, and not having any (visible) form of new investment. What was even more crazy was the other teams & the EIHA let them join the EPL. Bracknell changed owner's over the summer and were uncertain for a long period of time whether they were starting the season or not. Telford liquidated their operating company during the season, running up an incredible amount of debt in the process. They got new owners and retained a large portion of their squad and went on the win the league, quite comfortable.

In comparison, the EIHL has been relatively stable, until the end of the season that is. Milton Keynes & Guildford Flames were confirmed as joining the Elite League for the 2017-18 season, taking the numbers up to 12. All good news? Well, no. Some teams were unhappy with the proposed 2 x 6 conference system, some preferred a straight league setup and others wanted 3 conferences of 4 teams to reduce travel and maintain games against local rivals. At times it looked like a number of the Scottish teams might drop out, but at the end of the last board meeting everything was sorted and 3 conferences of 4 teams prevailed, ensuring the Scottish teams remained in the league. Both MK & Manchester Storm are up for sale and there appears to be some uncertainty currently (at date of this post) about these teams. Storm have not released any season ticket details or signing details yet, but appear to be close to being bought up by a consortium including former Braehead Coach Ryan Finnerty. There seems to be a bit more news coming from MK, however I don't think they've released their season ticket details yet either....


Also, some hockey was played!

Season 2016-17 Recap
Elite League Table
[table][tr][th]Name[/th][th]Points[/th][/tr]
[tr][td]Cardiff[/td][td]81[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Belfast[/td][td]74[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Sheffield Steelers[/td][td]73[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Nottingham[/td][td]58[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Braehead[/td][td]57[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Fife[/td][td]53[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Dundee[/td][td]46[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Manchester Storm[/td][td]44[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Coventry[/td][td]43[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Edinburgh[/td][td]35[/td][/tr][/table]
Challenge Cup Winners: Cardiff Devils
Playoff Winners: Sheffield Steelers

Cardiff Devils were clearly the best team this season, winning the league comfortably. They also beat Sheffield in the Challenge Cup, but the Steelers got revenge in the Playoff final in one of the best British Hockey games I have ever seen. Cardiff and Braehead won their respective conferences, but Braehead were dumped out of the playoffs by Dundee in the 1/4 final.

Top Points Scorers: Matt Beca (75 points), Scott Pitt (74 points), Vinny Scarsella (72 points)
Top Goalscorers: Scott Pitt (32 goals), Ryan Dingle (31 goals), Darian Dziurzynski (29 goals)
Top Save%: Ervins Mustukovs (91.3%), Ben Bowns (91.2%), Mike Clemente (91.0%).

EPIHL League Table
[table][tr][th]Name[/th][th]Points[/th][/tr]
[tr][td]Telford[/td][td]83[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]MK[/td][td]71[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Basingstoke[/td][td]61[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Peterborough[/td][td]60[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Guildford[/td][td]49[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Swindon[/td][td]48[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Hull[/td][td]42[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Sheffield Steeldogs[/td][td]28[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Bracknell[/td][td]20[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Manchester Phoenix[/td][td]0[/td][/tr][/table]
EPL Cup Winners: MK Lightning
Playoff Winners: MK Lightning

Telford won the league comfortably, although they did liquidate their operating company half way through the season, tainting the victory in some people's eyes. MK were the best of the rest, and won both the cup and the playoffs. Manchester stopped playing during the season due to financial issues

Top Points Scorers: Andrej Themar (95 points), Arnoldas Bosas (89 points), Matty Davies (88 points)
Top Goalscorers: Andrej Themar (52 goals), Doug Clarkson (50 goals), Arnoldas Bosas (40 goals)
Top Save%: Przemyslaw Odrobny (93.3%), Janis Auzins (92.7%), Ondrej Raszka & Jon Baston (Both 92.3%).

NIHL South 1 Table
[table][tr][th]Name[/th][th]Points[/th][/tr]
[tr][td]Chelmsford Chieftains[/td][td]52[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Invicta Dynamos[/td][td]34[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Streatham IHC[/td][td]32[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Oxford City Stars[/td][td]28[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]London Raiders[/td][td]26[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Solent Devils[/td][td]24[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]MK Thunder[/td][td]20[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Bracknell Hornets[/td][td]8[/td][/tr][/table]
Playoff Winners: Invicta Dynamos

NIHL North 1 Table
[table][tr][th]Name[/th][th]Points[/th][/tr]
[tr][td]Solway Sharks[/td][td]49[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Billingham Stars[/td][td]36[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Blackburn Hawks[/td][td]26[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Solihull Barons[/td][td]24[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Whitley Warriors[/td][td]24[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Sutton Sting[/td][td]21[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Deeside Dragons[/td][td]21[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Telford[/td][td]21[/td][/tr][/table]
Playoff Winners: Solway Sharks

NIHL South 2 East Table
[table][tr][th]Name[/th][th]Points[/th][/tr]
[tr][td]Peterborough Islanders[/td][td]36[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Chlemsford Warriors[/td][td]26[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Invicta Mustangs[/td][td]15[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Haringey Racers[/td][td]14[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Lee Valley Lions[/td][td]14[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Slough Jets[/td][td]12[/td][/tr][/table]
NIHL South 2 West Table
[table][tr][th]Name[/th][th]Points[/th][/tr]
[tr][td]Cardiff Fire[/td][td]32[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Bristol Pitbulls[/td][td]19[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Wightlink Bucaneers[/td][td]11[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Basingstoke Buffalo[/td][td]10[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Swindon Wildcats NIHL[/td][td]8[/td][/tr][/table]
Playoff Winners: Peterborough Islanders

NIHL North 2 Table
[table][tr][th]Name[/th][th]Points[/th][/tr]
[tr][td]Blackburn Eagles[/td][td]49[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Widnes Wild[/td][td]36[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Altrincham Aces[/td][td]26[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Sheffield Senators[/td][td]24[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Nottingham Lions[/td][td]24[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Hull Jets[/td][td]21[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Bradford Bulldogs[/td][td]21[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Coventry Blaze NIHL[/td][td]21[/td][/tr][/table]
Playoff Winners: Widnes Wild

Team GB also won gold in their World Championships Group, ensuring promotion to the Div 1A.

2017-18 League Structure
Elite League
With 2 new teams (Guildford & MK) things have changed for the Elite League in terms of structure, but there have also been some tweaks to the roster limits.
Roster limits: Max 14 import players (non-UK trained). Max dressed roster size is 22, but at least 3 of these must be under-23 British players.
Conference Structure: Teams play their conference rivals 4 times home and 4 times away, and play the out of conference teams twice home and twice away. Conference winners will automatically get a place in the playoffs, but no longer get preferential seeding.
Gardiner Conference:
Braehead
Dundee
Edinburgh
Fife
Erhardt Conference:
Belfast
Cardiff
Nottingham
Sheffield
Patton Conference:
Coventry
Guildford
Milton Keynes
Manchester Storm
Challenge Cup Groups:
Group A - Braehead, Manchester, Nottingham, Sheffield
Group B - Belfast, Dundee, Edinburgh, Fife
Group C - Cardiff, Coventry, Guildford, MK

Top 2 go through to the 1/4 finals, with the 2 best 3 placed teams joining them.

NIHL
With the demise of the EPIHL, the NIHL has now become the new second tier absorbing a number of the former-EPL teams. The structure has changed significantly, but the rules have stayed constant. All NIHL games will now play 3-on-3 overtime, followed by penalty shots if no winner is found.
Roster limits: Max 2 import players (non-UK trained, cannot require work permit to play).
NIHL South 1
League Structure: Single league, 2 home and 2 away against all teams.

Basingstoke Bison
Bracknell Bees
Cardiff Fire
Invicta Dynamos
London Raiders
Milton Keynes Thunder
Peterborough Phantoms
Streatham IHC
Swindon Wildcats

NIHL North 1 - Moralee
League Structure: Single league, 2 home and 2 away against all teams.
Billingham Stars
Blackburn Hawks
Deeside Dragons
Hull Pirates
Nottingham Lions
Sheffield Steeldogs
Solihull Barons
Solway Sharks
Telford
Whitley Warriors

NIHL National Cup:
Group A - Billingham Stars, Blackburn Hawks, Solway Sharks
Group B - Sheffield Steeldogs, Peterborough Phantoms, Hull Pirates
Group C - Invicta Dynamos, London Raiders, Streatham IHC
Group D - Basingstoke Bison, Bracknell Bees, Swindon Wildcats

Teams play each other twice home & twice away, top 2 from each group go into a quarter final. Presumably each round is 2-legs but it doesn't actually say. Nor does it say which group winners play which runners-up.

NIHL Autumn Cup:
Group 1 - Basingstoke Bison, Peterborough Phantoms, Sheffield Steeldogs
Group 2 - Bracknell Bees, Hull Pirates, Swindon Wildcats

Teams play each other once home & once away, top 2 from each group go into semi-final.

Playoffs: The top 8 from each region go into a regionalised playoff quarter, semi, and final playing each game over 2 legs. The 4 teams that make the regional semi finals will then meet in the NIHL playoff weekend in April for the combined playoff trophy.

NIHL South 2
League Structure: Single league, 1 home and 1 away against all teams.
Basingstoke Buffalo
Bristol Pitbulls
Bracknell Hornets
Cardiff Fire 2
Chelmsford
Guildford Phoenix
Haringey Huskies
Invicta Mustangs
Lee Valley Lions
Oxford City Stars
Peterborough Phantoms 2
Slough Jets
Solent Devils
Swindon Wildcats 2

Playoffs:
Top 8 play 2-legged quarter final before going into a finals weekend. 1-up promotion (league winner gets promoted), no relegation from NIHL S1 until 2018-19.

NIHL North 2 - Laidler
League Structure: Single league, 2 home and 2 away against all teams.
Altrincham Aces
Blackburn 2
Bradford Bulldogs
Coventry Blaze
Deeside 2
Hull Jets
Sheffield Senators
Sutton Sting
Telford 2
Widnes Wild

Playoffs:
Top 4 go into a finals weekend. Promotion applies, with the league winners getting promoted. 1-up and 1-down.

Scottish National League
Roster limits: Max 1 import player (non-UK trained, cannot require work permit to play). This will increase to 2 for 2018-19 to align with the NIHL, creating a new nationwide second tier.
League Structure: Single league, 1 home and 1 away against all teams.
Aberdeen Lynx
Dundee Comets
Dundee Tigers
Edinburgh Capitals SNL
Kilmarnock Storm
Kirkcaldy Kestrels
Moray Typhoons
North Ayrshire Wild
Paisley Pirates
Solway SNL

Think that covers about everything

Nice bit of writing there Calv

I updated the NIHL playoffs

New owners for MK announced as well as their first couple of import signings. King looks okay and Doucet is quality. Sounds as though they're signing another couple of players from France (Christian Isackson is likely one of them) and possibly Kearney from Cardiff

A lot to change for upcoming season in editor but good job!

Will you guys take care of Zakharchenko?

Alessandro wrote:Will you guys take care of Zakharchenko?

Interesting signing from Nottingham, they did something similar last season with Jindrich Pacl but Zakharchenko looks a step up in quality compared to him. I'd expect him to start off as backup but I think he'll get plenty of games. Looking at his stats he appears to be a very promising player.

I just read an interview with Jerry Andersson, the Steelers assistant coach, and he had nothing but praise for the Steelers and the British fans!

I read a Google translation if the interview, sounds as though the Steelers treat their players and staff very well, and it's good to hear that he is positive about the league(although he did exaggerate a few things) . The head coach confirmed they'll be looking to sign a number of Swedes again this season.

So we will be in for another bore fest of a season at the arena then lovely

I cant believe they got rid of Ferrara

Predicted big release of former MKL players.

Whole roster aside from Odrobny, Hedley, Griffin and Hook announced as leaving.

Also yet to be announced as leaving are Ed Knaggs, Luc Johnson and Glenn Billing, but can't see any of them getting much ice in the Elite League? All good players who are decent at EPL level but expecting them to be on 2-way deals at best.

Hmmm Phantoms owner was supposed to be on local radio this morning but has had to cancel after 'receiving an email last night about the league structure, which could change many things'.

Looks like I'll be rewriting one of those opening posts then: http://oxfordcitystars.com/oxford-city-stars-statement/

What a mess.

Solent, Oxford, and Chelmsford all confirmed as applying to NIHL2, I wonder if London and Invicta will follow?

Also, the first Swede rumour is Jonas Westerling to (predictably) the Steelers

He's 35 years old I hope we don't sign him he's hardly going to set the league alight if weve got rid of Ferrara to replace him with this guy I wont be too happy

Calv wrote:Solent, Oxford, and Chelmsford all confirmed as applying to NIHL2, I wonder if London and Invicta will follow?

Which would essentially leave us with the southern former EPL teams back in limbo... I wonder if this will have ramifications for the North League too.

I assume this is in light of the quality of signings announced by the former EPL teams to date. If this is the case then surely this was obvious from the outset. The former EPL players have to go somewhere (and clearly the vast majority won't make it to the EIHL).

I would suggest breaking the South into further conferences but I don't think that would make an ounce of difference. I feel like this is potentially an impasse - unless Invicta and London hang tight maybe. I can't see the South 2 teams being too happy with this. Where does it leave the Warriors if the Chieftains drop down?

Good to see that Invicta are remaining. Hopefully the other South 1 teams will stick it out too: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_ ... 2456058078

It sounds like a conference-free setup is the suggestion at the moment.

And another Stars statement: http://oxfordcitystars.com/oxford-city- ... statement/

Calv wrote:Looks like I'll be rewriting one of those opening posts then: http://oxfordcitystars.com/oxford-city-stars-statement/

This is your "Don't worry Arch, Nick Poole is DEFINITELY retired now, make him a coach..." moment lol

What a mess. Though to be fair I've never liked that the NIHL mixed semi-pro/Amateur/pay-to-play teams together.

Chelmsford dropping down because no one wants to sign for them: https://twitter.com/482days/status/865851524882333700
Solent would financial have financial difficulties in NIHLS1: http://www.solentdevils.co.uk/news/sole ... 05637.html
And some details from one of the Oxford directors: https://twitter.com/JSOxCityStars

Seems pretty reasonable from what they say.

P.s. here's the link to the Chelmsford release on their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ChelmsfordChie ... NE&fref=nf

Manimal, do you know much about Westerling? He seems to have been around the block a bit...