The Northern League was the top-flight

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

league in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

and initially

northern England Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...

, from 1966. In 1982 it merged with the Inter-City League and the

English League North The English League North was the top-flight ice hockey league in northern England from 1978, when it alongside the English League South it replaced the Southern League. In 1982, it was replaced by the British Hockey League, running on a national ...

to form the

British Hockey League The British Hockey League was the top-flight ice hockey league in the United Kingdom from 1980 until 1996 (with a short break between 1981 and 1982), when it was replaced by the Ice Hockey Superleague and the British National League. The league r ...

. The League developed out of the far more limited Scottish League, established in 1962. In 1963,

The Wasps ''The Wasps'' ( grc-x-classical, Σφῆκες, translit=Sphēkes) is the fourth in chronological order of the eleven surviving plays by Aristophanes. It was produced at the Lenaia festival in 422 BC, during Athens' short-lived respite from the ...

, based at Whitley Bay, joined and by 1966 a regular but limited schedule had been established. In 1966, the better British teams, mostly in Scotland, agreed to form a league to provide matches throughout the season. Initially of seven teams joined. It proved a success, and in 1970 various English teams formed a Southern League, leaving the Northern League as an entirely Scottish competition.

Champions

*1966–67

Paisley Mohawks Paisley may refer to: *Paisley (design), an ornamental Persian pattern or motif commonly identified with the town of Paisley, Renfrewshire, in west Scotland People * Paisley (name), including a list of people with the name *Lord Paisley, in the ...

*1967–68

*1968–69

*1969–70 Murrayfield Racers *1970–71 Murrayfield Racers *1971–72 Murrayfield Racers *1972–73 Dundee Rockets *1973–74 Whitley Bay Warriors *1974–75 Whitley Bay Warriors *1975–76 Murrayfield Racers *1976–77

Fife Flyers Fife Flyers is the oldest professional ice hockey club in the UK, established in 1938. The Flyers play their home games at Fife Ice Arena in Kirkcaldy which has a capacity of just over 3000 (seated and standing). They joined the EIHL in 2011. ...

*1977–78

*1978–79 Murrayfield Racers *1979–80 Murrayfield Racers *1980–81 Murrayfield Racers *1981–82 Dundee Rockets

References

:Martin C. Harris, ''Homes of British Ice Hockey'' Defunct ice hockey leagues in the United Kingdom Ice hockey leagues in Scotland Defunct sports leagues in Scotland Sports leagues established in 1966 1966 establishments in the United Kingdom 1982 disestablishments in Scotland Sports leagues disestablished in 1982 {{icehockey-stub