Almost 18 months since the last action the puck with drop again for the clubs in NIHL South 1 in September, the league has confirmed.
Nine clubs will compete in this season's eagerly awaited season.
Bristol Pitbulls, Chelmsford Chieftains, Invicta Dynamos, MK Thunder, Oxford City Stars, Romford Junior Raiders, Slough Jets, Solent Devils and Streatham IHC will make up the division.
Clubs will play two home and two away against each other to complete the league campaign which starts on September 11th and runs through until April 10th.
Play-offs will see the top eight teams qualify for the quarter final round, played as a two-legged tie (1v8 2v7 3v6 4v5) over the weekend of April 16&17. The winners will then play at the South 1 Finals Weekend on April 23 and 24.
League champions from South 1 will also face off in a National Championship game against the North 1 league winners at Coventry on Sunday May 1 as part of the National Finals Weekend.
The cup competition will see the teams split into two groups. The first league game home and away in the schedule will also count towards the Cup standings. The top two sides from the qualifying group will then play crossover semi finals (A1 v B2 etc) in early/mid December, with the Cup Final over two legs scheduled between 8 and 16 January 2022.
Provisional cup groups are: Group 1 (West): Bristol, Cardiff, Oxford, Solent, Slough. Group 2 (East) : Chelmsford, Invicta, Milton Keynes, Romford, Streatham
Greig Box Turnbull director of Oxford City Stars, said: "After a lengthy void everyone is looking forward to the return of British ice hockey. We can't wait to see the team on the ice again in front of our fantastic fans."
The NIHL fixtures secretary is working on the schedule which will be published as soon as it is available. Watch this space for season ticket news!
NIHL SOUTH 1 KEY DATES:
Pre-season - September 4-5 2021
Regular season start - September 11 2021
Regular season end - April 10 2022
Cup semi finals - December 4/5 11/12 2021
Cup Final - January 8/9 15/16 2022
Playoff quarter finals - April 16-17 2022
Playoff Finals Weekend - April 23-24 2022
National Final v N1 champion - May 1 2022
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