The New Zealand Ice Hockey Federation (NZIHF) would like to advise the following changes to the NZIHL schedule for the upcoming months, as per official guidance from the New Zealand Government, in light of the recent outbreak of Covid-19 within the New Zealand community. 

As announced today, 20 August 2021 at 3:00 pm; the Alert Level 4 status throughout New Zealand has been extended until at least Tuesday, 24 August 2021, whereupon the alert level will be re-evaluated. 

With this new information in mind, the New Zealand Ice Hockey Federation (NZIHF) met this afternoon, along with management and players from the NZIHL, to discuss the impact of the Alert Level 4 COVID-19 lockdown on various scheduled activities throughout New Zealand. 

Changes to upcoming scheduled activities are listed below:

New Zealand Ice Hockey League (NZIHL):

• Skycity Stampede vs. Botany Swarm series – Cancelled
• West Auckland Admirals vs. Phoenix Thunder series – Cancelled
• Canterbury Red Devils vs. Auckland Mako series – Cancelled

As per the IIHF Rulebook and agreement between NZIHL teams in the 2021 pre-season meeting, each of the series’ originally scheduled to take place will see the home team awarded one 5:0 win and the away team awarded one 5:0 win.

It was also decided that the NZIHL semi-finals and grand finals will be moved to later in the year, to increase the likelihood that these games can be played with fans present and without further disruption. At the time of writing, it is proposed that the games will be played as follows:

• NZIHL Semi-Final: Proposed change to the weekend of 24/25/26 September in Auckland.
• NZIHL Grand-Final: Proposed change to the weekend of 1/2/3 October in Queenstown.

Please note: the proposed changes to the semi-final and grand final schedules are not guaranteed and are based on the logistics of being able to reschedule these events, including suitable practice time for participating teams, ice time availability and flights and accommodation availability.

The NZIHF Management Committee will meet again on Wednesday 25 August 2021 to discuss the appropriateness of this decision, and based on the Alert Level status at this time, hope to confirm any required changes.

We are saddened to have to cancel some of our events. The NZIHF are aware of the impact these decisions will have, however, the uncertainty caused by the recent outbreak of Covid-19 has necessitated these difficult decisions. The health and safety of our players, volunteers and fans is our priority and therefore paramount during this time.