NIHL 1 South Playoff Announcement
The Solent Devils would like to share with its fans the brand new information released by England Ice Hockey regarding our leagues brand new playoff format and location!
England Ice Hockey shared the following:
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.
What does this mean for the Solent Devils?
The NIHL 1 South Playoffs will take place similarly to years prior but will now feature a NHL style North vs South finale.
The Playoffs will take place in multiple stages.
The first stage will take place over the Playoff Quarter Finals which similar to years prior will see the two teams face eachother in 2 fixtures, one home and one away. 8 teams will be competing in the Quarter Finals Stage of the Playoffs.
The winner of this two game series will then go onto compete in the Playoff Semi Finals which will now take place across two fixtures, one home and one away. Unlike years prior where it was a single game with the finals following the day after, this is now 2 games with the finals the following week. 4 teams will be competing in the Semi Finals stage.
To be crowned Division champion (NIHL 1 South Champion) a team must beat their opponent in a single game on the Saturday of the finals weekend. This stage features just 2 teams to become the last team standing. This stage will take place at Bauer Arena Ice Sheffield.
This used to be the furthest a team could go in a Playoff season however now, the winner of the Division can then go on to win the National title. This game sees the Playoff Finals winner from the North take on the winner of the South for the league title. This game will take place on the Sunday of the Playoff Finals Weekend.
Key Dates
Playoff Quarter Finals across Saturday 29th March and Sunday 30th March 2025
Playoff Semi Finals across Saturday 5th April and Sunday 6th April 2025
Playoff Finals (Divisional and National) across Saturday 12th April and Sunday 13th April 2025
Information regarding Playoff Finals ticket prices and ticket sale dates will be revealed closer to the dates above. Information regarding Playoff Quarter and Semi Finals will be reavealed closer to the dates, once match-ups have been set.
