Following on from the announcement by Hull earlier this week that, due to ongoing repairs to the Hull Ice Arena, the Hull Pirates are unable to take their place in the NIHL National competition for the 2021/22 season, the NIHL National Owners Group would like to give thanks to Hull for everything they have done in trying to compete, and to place on record that Hull continues to be part of the NIHL National family, they will be missed, and we look forward to their return in the 2022/23 season when it arrives.
The Owners Group has now finalised the preliminary fixture list for the season, and revised structure to accommodate 9 teams. The revised format will see a total of 28 home fixtures plus pre-season and playoffs.
The key details are:
The conference structure is removed for season 2021/22
Teams will play each other a total of 6 times (3 Home, 3 Away) for a total of 48 league fixtures
There will be a 9 team cup competition prior to the league (with teams playing each other either home or away, but not both)
A second cup competition will also run similar to 2019/20, where the first meetings of teams will also count towards cup points
Season Dates are:
- Pre-season fixtures (optional for teams): 4/5 September and 11/12 September
- Cup: Friday 17th September to Sunday 10th October
- League: Friday 15th October to Sunday 3rd April
- Playoffs: 9/10 April, 16/17 April, 23/24 April
- Coventry Finals Weekend: 30 April / 1st May
Fixtures will be released this coming Wednesday (21st July) at 7am so get your calendars ready!
“It’s very exciting news and I am sure all our fans will be so pleased that some form of normality is hopefully just around the corner, we can’t thank the fans enough for the patience they have shown during the pandemic and we look forward to welcoming them all back to the arena come September” commented Bison’s John Neville.
Neville continued, “We have been planning for this news for sometime now and we can finally start to put our plans into action firstly by releasing our season ticket prices along with our popular “Own and loan” shirt sponsorship next week.
Thanks as ever for your amazing support
