NZIHL - New Zealand Ice Hockey League

NZIHL - New Zealand Ice Hockey League Official home of the New Zealand Ice Hockey League

It’s time to vote for GOAL OF THE YEAR 2026! 🙌🏒With so many incredible goals to choose from, we’ve narrowed it down to 1...
14/09/2026

It’s time to vote for GOAL OF THE YEAR 2026! 🙌🏒

With so many incredible goals to choose from, we’ve narrowed it down to 1 goal from each team ☝️

First up we’ve got Swarm’s goal, or the Thunder's goal!
Which was your favourite? 👀

Head over to our story to vote 📝

Records were broken. Legends reached new milestones. New fans packed into arenas. 🔥One of the most remarkable playoff co...
10/09/2026

Records were broken. Legends reached new milestones. New fans packed into arenas. 🔥

One of the most remarkable playoff comebacks in recent memory unfolded in Dunedin. And after three nights in Queenstown, the Birgel Cup was once again lifted by the SkyCity Stampede.

The 2026 New Zealand Ice Hockey League season delivered plenty to remember across the competition.
From the opening puck drop in May to the final horn in August, these were some of the memorable moments and stories that happened in the 2026 NZIHL season! 📈

Thunder and Stampede set the tone on opening weekend 🌩️🐂

It was fitting that the first weekend of the regular season featured the same two teams that would eventually meet for the Birgel Cup

The four regular season meetings between the Otago rivals would eventually finish two wins apiece.

📸 Andrew MacKay

Chris Eaden reaches 500 career points! 📈

Few players have left a mark on the NZIHL quite like Chris Eaden

In May, the long-time New Zealand international became the first player in league history to reach 500 career points 🙌

📸 Buzzy Media

Alex Gagnon rewrites the single-season scoring record!

If there was one player who could not stop scoring in 2026, it was Alex Gagnon 🙌

The Canterbury Red Devils forward produced a remarkable debut NZIHL campaign, scoring 31 goals in just 16 regular season games

No player had ever scored more in a single NZIHL season 🤯

📸 James Allan

Joel Gerard goes undefeated in the regular season! 🥅

Gerard made 8 appearances and won all 8!

His perfect 8-0 record, along with a 2.87 goals-against average and .912 save percentage, earned him the 2026 NZIHL Best Goaltender award 🥇

📸 James Allan

Canterbury grabs the final playoff spot 👹

With one weekend remaining in the regular season, the final playoff position was still there to be won

And conveniently, the two teams fighting for it were about to play each other!🔥

Canterbury entered their final series against the Botany Swarm with 16 points from 14 games. Botany had 12.
Two games at The Hive would decide who kept playing into August

📸 Buzzy Media

A new audience discovers New Zealand ice hockey

The continue

It’s been a big year for New Zealand Ice Hockey 🏒 We wanted to take a moment to thank everyone who watched our great gam...
01/09/2026

It’s been a big year for New Zealand Ice Hockey 🏒

We wanted to take a moment to thank everyone who watched our great game this season, whether rink-side or online - you’ve helped grow the sport!

Across the New Zealand Ice Hockey League and the New Zealand Women’s Ice Hockey League, the 2026 season delivered more than 200,000 views and close to 67,000 hours of hockey watched. Both are records, and both came from fewer broadcasts than the season before, with free-to-air coverage retained for every game! 📈

Put another way, New Zealanders and fans abroad spent the equivalent of seven years and eight months watching our leagues play🤯

Thank you!

Read more at icehockeynz.co.nz 🔗

27/08/2026

It doesn’t get any better than this! 🤩

25/08/2026

Postcards from finals ✉️

What a weekend! 🤩

What a way to end the season! 🙌Game 3 is where it all lead to, a huge season ending in spectacular fashion 📈📸 James Alla...
25/08/2026

What a way to end the season! 🙌

Game 3 is where it all lead to, a huge season ending in spectacular fashion 📈

📸 James Allan

24/08/2026

POV: You’re the Birgel Cup, and Stampede just won the 2026 championship! 🐂🏆

Game 3, the last of the season 🏆Both teams put on a massive show for the crowd, leaving it all on the ice 🙌We’ll miss th...
24/08/2026

Game 3, the last of the season 🏆

Both teams put on a massive show for the crowd, leaving it all on the ice 🙌

We’ll miss this

📸 Buzzy Media

That winning feeling 😌🐂🏆
23/08/2026

That winning feeling 😌🐂🏆

CLINCHED! 🏆🐂Stampede put in a massive shift tonight, and secured the championship win in front of a sold out home crowd!...
23/08/2026

CLINCHED! 🏆🐂

Stampede put in a massive shift tonight, and secured the championship win in front of a sold out home crowd! 🔥

Coming out of the gate swinging, Stampede made it clear they were here to win the title💪 Scoring in the first minute of the game🔥They landed another goal to close the period, finishing 0-2🐂

If it ain’t broke don’t fix it, Stampede did the same in the second period 🤯 Scoring early - in the first 5 minutes, then closing the period with another goal 💪
However, Thunder found their feet and grabbed a goal of their own in the final 30 seconds, shifting the momentum in their favor and ending the period 1-4🌩️

The third period saw a change in dynamic, with the Thunder landing a second goal - their momentum was starting to pick up 📈 But Stampede adjusted, scoring twice more to finish the game and secure their trophy 🏆

The stars of tonight’s game are:
⭐️ Aston Brookes, 39 - Stampede 🐂
⭐️⭐️ Conner Jean, 11 - Stampede 🐂
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Axel Ruski-Jones, 9 - Stampede 🐂

📸 Buzzy Media

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