Intercontinental Hockey League
 | |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2019 |
| Inaugural season | 2019–2020 |
| No. of teams | 28 |
| Nation(s) |
Floria Lamantia Ransenar Castilona Sanama Talenore |
| Most recent champion(s) | Birmingham Bruins (1st title) |
| Most titles | Birmingham Bruins (1st title) |
| TV partner(s) |
Red Sports (Floria) Sports World (International) ESN (Highlights and preview shows) |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
The Intercontinental Hockey League (ICHL;Alexandrian:Ligue de hockey intercontinental) is a professional ice hockey league operating in Apollonia, Eura, Keltia and Benacia comprising of 32 teams: 23 from the Confederate States of Floria and one from Lamantia, Sanama, Talenore, Castilona, Ransenar and Florian Eura. The league is the successor of the Florian Hockey League the former top-flight ice hockey competition in the Florian Republic. Currently, the largest and most popular ice hockey league on Micras, the winner of the Intercontinental Hockey League is awarded the Farrar Cup annually and the highest-ranked Florian side will be declared Champion of Floria. The regular season champion is given the Presidents Shield. The Farrar Cup is considered one of the most important ice hockey championships available to the sport alongside the MHL World Championships and Micras Champions' Hockey League.
History
Format
The thirty-two teams are split into two conferences and in these conferences, both are split into two divisions of 8 teams. Teams play an 84-game season, 42 each of home and away. Teams in the ICHL play sixteen more games than the teams playing in the MEHL. Teams play four games against teams in their division, 3 games against non-divisional conference teams and 2 games against inter-conference teams.
Rules
The Intercontinental Hockey League adopt rules slightly different from the ones set by the MHL. The main differences being a smaller rink (60m by 28m) and operation of overtime in where teams will play one 10 minute period of 3-on-3. If there is no winner after that, a five-shot shootout will commence deciding the winner.
Season Structure
The Intercontinental Hockey League is divided into a regular season and a postseason playoff competition, the Farrar Cup. In the regular season, each team plays 84 games: 42 games each of home and road. The league's regular season standings are based on a point system. Two points are awarded for a win, one point for losing in overtime or a shootout, and zero points for a loss in regulation. At the end of the regular season, the team that finishes with the most points in each division is crowned the division champion, and the league's overall leader is awarded the Presidents Shield. There are tiebreakers in place such as points difference and head to head records.
Entry Draft
The Intercontinental Hockey League operates an Entry Draft each season for clubs to acquire new players. In the draft, all thirty-two franchises in three rounds select from two pools of players, one pool being Florian players and the other 'International' players where players from all MHL member nations are eligible to be entered to, the majority of which are from ICHL countries. After the draft,undrafted free agents can freely negotiate contracts with ICHL teams however each team can only sign contracts to four players. To avoid 'tanking' the league operates a draft lottery for the teams who fail to reach the playoffs and is the only 'Big Four' League to do so. In the lottery, the three worst teams in the regular season gain the same odds whilst each other team's odds are weighted.
Teams
Former teams
| Club | Founded | City | Arena(s) | Capacity | Disbanded |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Otaq Aliens
|
2012 | Otaq | Otaq Buz Pisti | 15,000 | 2020 |
| Shirekeep Exiles | 2018 | Shirekeep | 2019 | ||
| Port Farrar Pirates | 2019 | Port Farrar | Pirate Bay | 15,000 | 2020 |
| Oldhaven Wolfpack | 2017 | Oldhaven | Florian Bank Arena | 19,356 | 2020 |
 HKS Opolla
|
2018 | Opolla | Arena Opollska | 11,000 | 2020 |
| GKS Viten Vikings
|
2018 | Viten | Vrek Arena | 15,000 | 2020 |
| Pnica Panthers
|
2018 | Pnica | PLM Arena | 12,500 | 2020 |
| KTH Kłomina
|
2018 | Kłomina | Miejskie Lodowisko | 11,500 | 2020 |
 Fatehpur Sikri Buccaneers
|
2019 | Fatehpur Sikri | FS Canton Arena | 19,000 | 2020 |
 Talenore Pirates
|
2019 | Talenore | TalCorp Arena | 23,000 | 2020 |
 Lunaris
|
2013 | Lune Villa | Volaticus Figure Skating Rink | 12,000 | 2020 |
 HC Réal Livingston
|
2019 | New Livingston | Ciudad de Hielo | 19,000 | 2020 |
Future teams
| Club | Founded | City | Arena(s) | Capacity | Joining league |
|---|
Players
| Country | Players (2019–20) |
% |
|---|---|---|
 Florian Republic
|
591 | 76.95 |
| Freeland
|
62 | 8.07 |
| Sanama
|
24 | 3.13 |
| Other | 24 | 3.13 |
 Florian Eura
|
18 | 2.34 |
 Shireroth
|
18 | 2.34 |
| Birgeshir
|
16 | 2.08 |
 Etourney
|
12 | 1.56 |
 Mercury
|
3 | 0.39 |
| Total | 768 | 100 |
Trophies
Seasons overview
Media coverage
Floria
Broadcasting rights for the league in Floria are held by Red Sports and Sports World in a deal believed to be around $5.2 billion which commenced in the inaugural season of the league. Coverage by Red Sports and Sports World is in English and coverage in Florian language is covered by both broadcaster's red button service. Red Sports only broadcast matches involving Florian teams and matches involving two teams outside the Confederate States of Floria are not covered on the network. With a noticeable gap in television rights vacant. Newly formed Sports World, a sports broadcasting network mostly dedicated to hockey was launched by a consortium of the league's owners to cover the gap in television broadcasting.
International
In Mercury, six games per week and all play-off games are shown live, with all other games shown as part of a highlights programme every Tuesday and Sunday night.
