Elite Ice Hockey League - History

History

British ice hockey's structure underwent major reorganisation in 1996. The British Hockey League (the highest senior competition since 1982) was disbanded and replaced by the Ice Hockey Superleague and British National League.

The loss of the Cardiff Devils and Newcastle Jesters in 2001 reduced the membership of the Superleague to seven and when the Manchester Storm and Scottish Eagles collapsed within a week of one another at the beginning of the 2002–03 season, there were just five remaining teams. In December 2002, the Bracknell Bees announced their intention to resign from the league to join the BNL at the end of the season and uncertainty surrounded the future of the London Knights and their London Arena home. Owing a large debt to Ice Hockey UK and facing the prospect of having only three members, the league put itself into liquidation on 30 April 2003.

The three remaining clubs (the Belfast Giants, Nottingham Panthers and Sheffield Steelers) began considering the formation of a new league with a lower wage cap and larger commitment to British players in order to attract other clubs into joining them. In the weeks that followed they were joined by the Basingstoke Bison, Cardiff Devils and Coventry Blaze of the British National League and two new organisations from London and Manchester. A team based in Glasgow was also planned, but did not come to fruition. The new league met considerable opposition from the British National League and the governing body Ice Hockey UK. IHUK wished the remaining Superleague clubs to integrate themselves into the BNL and initially refused to grant the new league affiliation. The Superleague clubs were reluctant to join the predominantly British trained league after several years of playing in an import-dominated league where British players were seldom able to step up to the standard of their North American and European counterparts. The Elite League instead preferred a twelve import limit with the rest of the team comprising British-trained players.

The refusal to grant affiliation caused a bitter row to ensue that showed little sign of being resolved. Despite not having the support of the governing body, the new league continued their plans regardless. No affiliation would have meant that the clubs would have problems attaining work permits for their signings and finding officials to referee their matches. The row also threatened the future of the Nottingham Panthers, as the National Ice Centre were reluctant to allow a team from an unaffiliated league hire their arena. The issue was resolved in August 2003 when the Panthers and the NIC announced an icetime agreement. The EIHL finally agreed affiliation in August 2003, with only weeks to go before the beginning of the new season.

The new league began on 12 September 2003 when the Sheffield Steelers, who went on to become the inaugural league champions, defeated the newly formed London Racers 6–1 at Alexandra Palace. The Racers endured a difficult first season, moving to a different rink only weeks into the season and having to wait 40 games to record a win, a 3–0 victory over the Cardiff Devils. The Racers finished the season with ten points, thirty-eight points behind second bottom Basingstoke. The other new team, Manchester Phoenix fared slightly better, qualifying for the playoff finals after finishing sixth in the league, where they were defeated 6–1 by Nottingham in the semi final. The club played at the 17,500 capacity MEN Arena which had been home to the Manchester Storm, but Phoenix crowds averaged 2,250, well below the break-even mark of 3,000. Late in the season, the Phoenix choose to play a game at IceSheffield rather than pay the considerable cost of hiring the arena for a mid week game (which usually had lower attendances). In the close season they allowed fans to vote on the option of either suspending playing operations while a new rink was constructed or playing in exile away from Manchester while a new rink was built. Supporters opted to suspend playing operations pending the construction of a new facility.

The second season of the EIHL saw a series of games between the EIHL clubs and the members of the BNL. In addition to three home games and three away games against their Elite opponents, each club also played one home game and one away game against the BNL clubs in crossover matchups. Results in these crossover games would count towards a team's points tally. The NHL lockout also saw a number of NHL players join British clubs. Coventry won a Grand Slam of all three titles, winning the Championship with an overtime victory over the Nottingham Panthers.

The crossover games with the BNL clubs were seen by many to be the first stage towards the amalgamation of the two organisations into one league. However, early in the season it was revealed that teams including the Edinburgh Capitals and Newcastle Vipers were seeking to resign from the BNL and join the Elite League. A withdrawal of the these clubs would leave the British National League with only a small number of participating teams. This situation led to the resigning teams temporarily withdrawing their Elite League applications and entering into collective discussions on the entire BNL joining the EIHL instead. The Elite League offered the BNL clubs invitations to join the EIHL structure, which were declined due to unfavourable terms. Subsequently Edinburgh and Newcastle resubmitted individual applications to the Elite League, both of which were accepted. A combination of this and Bracknell Bees owner John Nike's announcement that he was withdrawing funding from the BNL team prompted the collapse of the BNL at the end of the 2004–05 season.

With the Edinburgh Capitals and Newcastle Vipers becoming the ninth and tenth members of the league, the 2005–06 season began with nine clubs (Manchester had opted to take another season out with no rink yet constructed). However, in November 2005 the London Racers withdrew their team from competition and immediately ceased operations. From their formation the Racers had suffered problems finding a rink with comparable facilities to those of their rivals and maintained only a very small fan base. The club had made the Lee Valley Ice Centre their home after playing only a small number of games at the Alexandra Palace in their first season. The facilities were very basic, seating only 900 people with an overall capacity of barely 1000. In November 2005, during a game against Nottingham, Panthers player Blaž Emeršič suffered a serious facial injury after colliding with a protruding object in the boardings. Further concerns were raised when a game against the Sheffield Steelers was abandoned after a piece of plexiglas shattered in an irregular manner, injuring a spectator. When a similar event took place during practice a few days later, the Racers management began to question seriously the safety of the rink. With the Ice Centre unable to ensure the safety of players and spectators at Elite League games, the Racers were forced to suspend team operations with immediate effect.

In January 2006, the Manchester Phoenix were granted planning permission to construct a new rink in Altrincham. A few weeks later the Cardiff Devils also received planning permission for the construction of a new rink. The Wales National Ice Rink was earmarked for demolition and a campaign for the council to provide a new facility proved successful. With both clubs confirming their intent to take part the following season, speculation began about the possible inclusion of a tenth team to replace London. After the season was over, rumours about the possible admission of either Hull or Dundee became more and more widespread. On 22 June 2006, the Hull Stingrays were formally elected into the Elite Ice Hockey League as the tenth active member.

In June 2006 the EIHL announced the adoption of the 'zero tolerance' interpretation of the rules with regard to holding, hooking and interference implemented in the National Hockey League during the 2005–06 season. These rules had proved highly successful in the NHL, increasing the pace of the game and leading to a rise in spectator numbers.

On 25 August 2006, the Elite League announced a sponsorship deal with the low cost airline bmibaby. The agreement sees the company's name incorporated into the league's title and the airline's branding at each of the league's ten arenas. The deal was set to last for seven seasons, but the deal ended prematurely, during the 2008-09 season.

On 30 April 2009, the Manchester Phoenix announced that they would be withdrawing from the league, and would play instead in the English Premier Ice Hockey League, due to cost issues. This news followed the announcement that the Basingstoke Bison were also leaving to play in the EPL for the 2009-2010 season.

After losing two teams at the end of the 2008/09 season the Elite League was boosted by a new franchise joining the league. The Braehead Clan were announced as the ninth team that would compete from the 2010/11 season. On April 27, 2010, the Dundee Stars were unanimously accepted into the League by the EIHL board. They will compete from the 2010/11 season.

Hull Stingrays withdrew from the League on August 11, 2010, which was announced via the club's official website, and later confirmed on the BBC's site. However, after a takeover from Coventry Blaze on August 17, 2010, the Hull Stingrays confirmed that they would indeed be participating in the League for the 2010/11 season.