This weekend, eight teams from the regional NIHL divisions will travel to Sheffield looking to claim silverware.

The Steel City Showdown promises to be an action-packed weekend of hockey, with four finals taking centre stage on Saturday before the first-ever national playoff champions are crowned on Sunday.

Full schedule

Starting on Saturday, with doors opening at 9:45am, the fixtures will be as follows:

• NIHL Laidler playoff grand final | Telford Tigers NIHL 2 vs Sutton Sting – Face-off at 10:45am
• NIHL Wilkinson playoff grand final | Guildford Phoenix vs Peterborough Phantoms NIHL 2 – Face-off at 1:45pm
• NIHL Moralee playoff grand final | Billingham Stars vs Blackburn Hawks – Face-off at 4:45pm
• NIHL Britton playoff grand final | Slough Jets vs Streatham Redhawks – Face-off at 7:45pm

On Sunday 13th April 2025, doors will open at midday, with the following fixtures:

• National playoff championship game (Division 2) – Face-off at 1pm
• National playoff championship game (Division 1) – Face-off at 4:30pm

What to expect

Game 1 – Telford Tigers NIHL 2 vs Sutton Sting (10:45am)

Without doubt, these two have been the teams to beat in the NIHL 2 North this season.

A run of just one defeat in 26 matches saw Telford top the regular season standings by six points. But that one setback came at home to Sutton, who finished the campaign boasting the division’s best defence.

Playoff heartbreak proved to be the order of the day for both of these sides last season, having each fallen to eventual champions Billingham Buccaneers.

Telford came out 9-6 winners on aggregate when the two met in the Laidler Cup final earlier this season – but can they complete a hat-trick of silverware for 2024/25?

Game 2 – Guildford Phoenix vs Peterborough Phantoms NIHL 2 (1:45pm)

Wilkinson Cup finalists. The top two during the regular season.

And having both made light work of their route to Sheffield, this has all the makings of a battle of epic proportions.

Both of these teams were beaten in the playoff semi-finals last season but have gone one better this time around as they look to make their trip to the Steel City one to remember.

Guildford’s only league defeat of the regular season came in overtime at home to the Phantoms, who missed out on the title by just two points.

Still, Peterborough were 9-6 aggregate winners in the Wilkinson Cup to clinch the trophy, and they will hope to replicate that level of performance to get the job done once more in Sheffield.

Game 3 – Billingham Stars vs Blackburn Hawks (4:45pm)

Billingham, crowned Kings of the North earlier this season after a second successive league triumph, will be out for revenge after their shootout defeat to the Hawks in last year’s NIHL 1 North playoff final.

The Stars already have two trophies to their name in 2024/25 – the Moralee Cup and a league trophy. Now, they will hope to complete a memorable hat-trick in Sheffield.

Boasting the division’s top two attacks and defences by some distance, it’s no surprise to see Billingham and Blackburn contesting this weekend’s final.

All four of their regular season league meetings were won by the home side – but on neutral ice this weekend, only one can take home the trophy.

Game 4 – Slough Jets vs Streatham Redhawks (7:45pm)

It has been quite some season for Slough, who improved upon last season’s third-place finish in the NIHL 1 South to de-throne Streatham in a thrilling title fight which went the distance.

The Redhawks only lost four of their 36 regular season games, but even that wasn’t enough to retain the league title for a fourth consecutive year.

And Streatham come into the weekend having won three of their four regular season meetings, and know similar will be required if they’re to avoid ending the season trophy-less.

Both progressed through the playoffs with near-identical records, easing past their respective opponents, and will now gear up for the biggest test of them all.

Buy tickets

Limited tickets are still available, ahead of what promises to be a memorable weekend of hockey in Sheffield. Click here to secure your seat.

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