NIHL preview | 29-31 March

It’s the final weekend of the regular season in the Planet Ice NIHL National Division, and although the top eight has been decided, the seeding is still being battled for.

Whilst most sides know whether they’ll be in either Group A or Group B come the post-season finals, eyes will be on Peterborough Phantoms and Telford Tigers this weekend to see who clinches the 5th seed and a place in Group A.

With the Phantoms holding the tie-breaker advantage over the Tigers, they just need to equal their rivals’ final two games, while Telford needs to better Peterborough’s results to avoid a sixth-placed finish. 

The Phantoms take on Bees IHC on Saturday before a tough game at home to Swindon Wildcats. The Tigers, meanwhile, face a double-header against Bristol Pitbulls, the side confirmed as finishing bottom of the National Division standings.

Elsewhere, confirmed champions Leeds Knights look to enter the play-offs with momentum as they prepare for a home game against Solway Sharks and trip to Hull Seahawks – the latter a preview of the first play-off game, scheduled for Friday 5 April.

MK Lightning, the top seed in Group B, face off against Sheffield Steeldogs, as well as the lowest seed in Group B, seventh-placed Raiders IHC.

Other match-ups over the weekend include the Sharks hosting the Seahawks on Saturday, and the Wildcats coming up against Raiders IHC at the Link Centre on the same evening.

Below the NIHL National Division, the play-offs begin in the other four senior men’s divisions, with all quarter-finals taking place across the weekend.

The winner of each tie will advance to next week’s Northern and Southern play-off final events at iceSheffield and Alexandra Palace, with tickets still on sale for those events.

Full fixtures for the weekend can be found below. Thanks to our friends at NIHL Stats, you can also check out the latest fixtures from the WNIHL and junior leagues.

NIHL National Division –

Fri 29th Mar 7:30pm Leeds Knights vs Solway Sharks L
Sat 30th Mar 6:30pm Bees IHC vs Peterborough Phantoms L
Sat 30th Mar 7:00pm Bristol Pitbulls vs Telford Tigers L
Sat 30th Mar 7:00pm Milton Keynes Lightning vs Sheffield Steeldogs L
Sat 30th Mar 6:00pm Solway Sharks vs Hull Seahawks L
Sat 30th Mar 6:30pm Swindon Wildcats vs Raiders IHC L
Sun 31st Mar 5:30pm Hull Seahawks vs Leeds Knights L
Sun 31st Mar 5:30pm Peterborough Phantoms vs Swindon Wildcats L
Sun 31st Mar 5:15pm Raiders IHC vs Milton Keynes Lightning L
Sun 31st Mar 4:30pm Sheffield Steeldogs vs Bees IHC L
Sun 31st Mar 6:00pm Telford Tigers vs Bristol Pitbulls L

NIHL North 1 (Moralee) –

Sat 30th Mar 5:15pm Deeside Dragons vs Whitley Warriors PO QF
Sat 30th Mar 5:30pm Hull Jets vs Blackburn Hawks PO QF
Sat 30th Mar 1:20pm Nottingham Lions vs Billingham Stars PO QF
Sat 30th Mar 5:30pm Widnes Wild vs Solihull Barons PO QF
Sun 31st Mar 4:30pm Billingham Stars vs Nottingham Lions PO QF
Sun 31st Mar 6:00pm Blackburn Hawks vs Hull Jets PO QF
Sun 31st Mar 7:00pm Solihull Barons vs Widnes Wild PO QF
Sun 31st Mar 5:00pm Whitley Warriors vs Deeside Dragons PO QF

NIHL South 1 (Britton) –

Sat 30th Mar 4:15pm Altrincham Aces vs Coventry NIHL Blaze PO QF
Sat 30th Mar 5:30pm Billingham Buccaneers vs Sheffield Titans PO QF
Sat 30th Mar 4:30pm Bradford Bulldogs vs Sutton Sting PO QF
Sat 30th Mar 7:00pm Telford Tigers NIHL 2 vs Kingston Sharks PO QF
Sun 31st Mar 6:45pm Coventry NIHL Blaze vs Altrincham Aces PO QF
Sun 31st Mar 12:00pm Kingston Sharks vs Telford Tigers NIHL 2 PO QF
Sun 31st Mar 4:45pm Sheffield Titans vs Billingham Buccaneers PO QF
Sun 31st Mar 1:00pm Sutton Sting vs Bradford Bulldogs PO QF

NIHL North 2 (Laidler) –

Sat 30th Mar 4:15pm Altrincham Aces vs Coventry NIHL Blaze PO QF
Sat 30th Mar 5:30pm Billingham Buccaneers vs Sheffield Titans PO QF
Sat 30th Mar 4:30pm Bradford Bulldogs vs Sutton Sting PO QF
Sat 30th Mar 7:00pm Telford Tigers NIHL 2 vs Kingston Sharks PO QF
Sun 31st Mar 6:45pm Coventry NIHL Blaze vs Altrincham Aces PO QF
Sun 31st Mar 12:00pm Kingston Sharks vs Telford Tigers NIHL 2 PO QF
Sun 31st Mar 4:45pm Sheffield Titans vs Billingham Buccaneers PO QF
Sun 31st Mar 1:00pm Sutton Sting vs Bradford Bulldogs PO QF

NIHL South 2 (Wilkinson) –

Sat 30th Mar 4:30pm Basingstoke Buffalo vs Bristol Pitbulls NIHL 2 PO QF
Sat 30th Mar 5:30pm Guildford Phoenix vs Solent Junior Devils PO QF
Sat 30th Mar 5:30pm Haringey Huskies vs Invicta Mustangs PO QF
Sat 30th Mar 6:30pm Peterborough Phantoms NIHL 2 vs Cardiff Fire PO QF
Sun 31st Mar 4:15pm Bristol Pitbulls NIHL 2 vs Basingstoke Buffalo PO QF
Sun 31st Mar 5:45pm Invicta Mustangs vs Haringey Huskies PO QF

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