English Premier Ice Hockey League
Current season, competition or edition: 2015–16 EPIHL Season
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| Sport | Ice hockey |
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| Founded | 1998 (1997 as part of ENIHL) |
| Inaugural season | 1998–99 (1997–98 as part of ENIHL) |
| CEO | Ken Taggart |
| No. of teams | 10 |
| Country | England (10 teams) |
| Headquarters | Blackpool, Lancashire, England |
| Continent | Europe |
| Most recent champion(s) |
League:Basingstoke Bison (1st title) Playoffs: Guildford Flames Cup: Guildford Flames |
| Most titles | League: Guildford Flames [4] |
| Official website | EIHA.com/EPIHL |
The English Premier Ice Hockey League (EPIHL) is an ice hockey league of 10 teams, all of which are based in England. Headquartered in Blackpool, the EPIHL is one of two professional ice hockey leagues in the United Kingdom (the other being the Elite Ice Hockey League). A total of 27 teams have been in the league at one time or another; with 10 currently featuring in the league. Swindon Wildcats are the only team to have consistently featured in the EPIHL since its inaugural season in 1997-98.
The league was founded in 1997, under the banner of "national division", as part of the English National Ice Hockey League in order to serve former members of the British National League who couldn't afford to remain in the latter as a result of increased operating costs; but who were capable of a level of play above the import-free English leagues that made up the rest of the ENIHL. During the 1997-98 season the teams' that constituted this division played dual schedules; a series of games solely amongst their own division, and another amongst all the teams that were playing under the ENIHL at that time. Solihull Blaze won the league and play-off trophies of both formats during this inaugural season. At the start of the 1998-99 season the divisions, whilst still both under the ENIHL umbrella, performed in their own separate competitions; and the national division adopted the name "premier division", and later on became known as the "premier league". By the end of the season the league had established itself outside of the ENIHL as the "English Premier Ice Hockey League". In 2005 the BNL disbanded; leaving the EPIHL to take its place as the second tier of the national game.
The league is ruled and governed by the English Ice Hockey Association. The current chairman of the EPIHL is Ken Taggart. The team owners meet regularly to discuss league matters under the auspices of the league chairman, and take a democratic vote on all decisions.
Each English Premier Ice Hockey League regulation game is played between two teams and is 60 minutes long. The game is composed of three 20-minute periods with an intermission of 15 minutes between periods. At the end of the 60-minute regulation time, the team with the most goals wins the game.
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