BRACKNELL Bees will contest in the NIHL National league next season which will be split into two conferences.
NIHL National’s 10 teams will be split into two conferences for regular season play. Bracknell Bees, Swindon Wildcats, Basingstoke Bison, Peterborough Phantoms and Raiders make up one conference. The Bees will play each of the teams in their conference four times at home and four times away.
The other conference will be made up by Telford Tigers, MK Lightning, Sheffield Steeldogs, Hull Pirates and Leeds Chiefs. Bracknell will face these sides twice at home and twice away.
At the end of the season, the top eight teams from the overall standings will qualify for the play-offs.
They will compete in two groups of four, playing one game at home and one away. The top two sides will qualify for the finals weekend in Coventry.
There will also be a National Cup where the first home game for each club against the nine other clubs will count towards the qualifying standings.
The top four sides from this table will qualify for cup semi finals.
The highest placed qualifier will choose their semi final opponent, with the two remaining sides also matching up.
The Cup should have reached at least the semi final stage by the end of the calendar year.
The season will likely begin on September 14/15 and it was confirmed the NIHL National will continue with the same ‘import’ rules as last year. Teams can dress two ‘imports’ with only one being allowed on the ice at any one time.
