NIHL National League trio Swindon Wildcats, Milton Keynes Lightning and Sheffield Steeldogs are to play in a three-team series to determine if a season can be played.
Each team will play each other twice over the space of two weeks at the end of November as British fans get excited over the possibility of having some ice hockey to look forward to during this barren spell because of coronavirus.
And NIHL National owners group chairman Mark Johnson said everything was done to make sure of its feasibility and revealed if it can go ahead successfully, it could lead to a cup competition and perhaps a league campaign.
“We’ve all been missing hockey and have been overwhelmed by the level of support and interest fans of all teams across our league have shown,” he said.
“Add to that the players have been longing to get back on the ice, we wanted to do everything we could do see if we could stage some fixtures.
NEWS: 'Return to Play' test games coming in November with @NIHLhockey National clubshttps://t.co/XjZiKbmBa8
Further pilot events will follow at other levels as part of the EIHA Return to Play pathway.#ReturnToPlay #HockeyIsComingBack pic.twitter.com/iaBzCA0TF0
— NIHL (@NIHLhockey) October 28, 2020
“Although this is a small pilot series, we will use it as a test bed to see if it is viable to scale into a cup competition and then a league campaign.
“We’re hugely grateful to the EIHA, rink operators, the team owners, players and staff for working so hard to get to this point.”
The series begins on Saturday 14th November when Swindon Wildcats host Milton Keynes Lightning before the reverse fixture takes place the following night.
Because of coronavirus safety measures, fans won’t be allowed in any of the venues, but will be streaming the games online for fans and any other ice hockey fan to watch.
Sheffield Steeldogs are the third team who will take part in the NIHL Streaming Series as they eye a full return to action (PHOTO: Cerys Molloy)
Tickets will be priced at £12, with a family ticket on an optional basis at £3 per additional viewer if more of you are watching together and feel you’d like to further support the clubs.
All information regarding tickets for the Streaming Series can be found here.
Fixture dates:
14 Nov – Swindon vs MK (18:15)
15 Nov – Sheffield vs Swindon (17:30)
21 Nov – MK vs Swindon (19:00)
22 Nov – Swindon vs Sheffield (18:15)
28 Nov – MK vs Sheffield (19:30)
29 Nov – Sheffield vs MK (17:30)
The NIHL National League also announced the games will go ahead under the EIHA’s return to play and Elite Sport structure which allows them to take place in all current Covid risk level classifications, which will continue to be monitored for changes and will update as required.
They’ve also added a FAQs page for anyone with queries about the event.
