Cardiff Fire have officially accepted promotion and joined the new second tier of British Hockey.
Following the demise of the EPL, the new look NIHL One will include Basingstoke Bison, Swindon Wildcats, Bracknell Bees, Peterborough Phantoms, Chelmsford Chieftains, Invicta Dynamos, Streatham IHC, London Raiders, Oxford City Stars, Milton Keynes Thunder, Solent Devils and Cardiff Fire.
The league will be split into two exciting conferences:
Conference A
Basingstoke Bison
Bracknell Bees
Cardiff Fire
Milton Keynes Thunder
Oxford City Stars
Solent Devils
Conference B
Chelmsford Chieftains
Invicta Dynamos
London Raiders
Peterborough Phantoms
Streatham Redhawks
Swindon Wildcats
Teams will play each other twice home and twice away in their conference and once home once away outside the conference to make up the league table.
In addition, Cardiff Fire have also had a second team accepted into NIHL Division 2. This team will play a crucial part in the development process, with a mix of players coming out of junior hockey looking to step up to senior semi/pro league and talented senior players passing on their experience.
NIHL South Division 2 reverts to a single division of 13 teams,
playing one home and one away. Discussions on a NIHL S2 Cup will
continue.
Basingstoke Buffalo
Bristol Pitbulls
Bracknell Hornets
Cardiff Fire 2
Chelmsford Warriors
Guildford Phoenix
Haringey
Invicta Mustangs
Lee Valley Lions
Oxford NIHL2
Peterborough Phantoms 2
Slough Jets
Swindon Wildcats 2
Mark Cuddihy continued “We understand that this is going to be very tough for us to play in this league, for the development in Cardiff its imperative that we are playing at the highest level possible. We feel with our current crop and some additions we can compete and will only grow as the season and seasons go on. This is a very exciting time for hockey in Cardiff and the league as a whole. The players, fans and commercial partners of the Fire will all benefit greatly from this step up in level. Its been two years in the making and we are delighted to be joining the new look set-up. We look forward to welcoming the new teams and fans to Ice Arena Wales and cant wait to get the season started. It’s going to be a long hard summer and we are ready to work hard to achieve the best we can for Cardiff hockey”