2025–26 EIHL season

The 2025–26 EIHL season is the 22nd season of the Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL), the highest level of domestic ice hockey played in the United Kingdom. The league is running three separate competitions to be played between 13 September 2025 and 19 April 2026. The Belfast Giants were the defending League Championship and Challenge Cup winners, while the Nottingham Panthers were the defending playoff champions.

The Panthers won a record-extending ninth Challenge Cup title, and their first for a decade, defeating the Coventry Blaze 3–2 through Didrik Henbrant's overtime goal. The Giants defended their regular season title – a record-extending eighth overall – defeating the Panthers 4–2 on 27 March, to open up an unassailable margin over their rivals.

The same ten teams that competed in the 2024–25 EIHL season will compete in the 2025–26 season.

Each team played 54 games, playing each of the other nine teams six times: three times on home ice, and three times away from home. Points were awarded for each game: two points for all victories, regardless of whether it was in regulation time or after overtime or game-winning shots, one point for losing in overtime or game-winning shots, and zero points for losing in regulation time. At the end of the regular season, the team that finished with the most points were crowned league champions and are expected to qualify for the 2026–27 Champions Hockey League. The top eight teams qualified for the playoffs.

In the two-legged quarter-finals, the highest-ranked team met the lowest-ranked team, the second-highest-ranked team met the second-lowest-ranked team and so forth. The winners of each tie was determined by aggregate scoring over the two games. In the semi-finals, the highest remaining seed will be matched against the lowest remaining seed, with the other two teams facing off. The winners of the semi-finals progress to the Final, with the losers playing in the third-place match.

The quarter-final schedule was announced on 5 April 2026, following the conclusion of the final-day regular season matches.

The semi-final schedule was announced on 12 April 2026, following the conclusion of the quarter-final matches.

The Challenge Cup was split into two stages: an initial group stage where the league's ten teams were divided into two groups based on geographical distance – one group of six teams (Group A) and a group of four teams (Group B). The teams in Group A (the five English teams and the Cardiff Devils) played each of the other teams twice for a total of ten games, while the teams in Group B (the three Scottish teams and the Belfast Giants) played each of the other teams four times for a total of twelve games.

The top two teams in Group A and the winners of Group B qualified for the semi-finals. The runners-up in Group B faced the third-placed team in Group A in a semi-final playoff game held at the arena of the team with a higher group stage points percentage to determine the final semi-finalist.

In a change for the 2025–26 season, the semi-final matchups were determined on win percentage from the group stage – between both group winners (the Sheffield Steelers and the Belfast Giants) for the number one and two seeds, and the remaining two teams (the Coventry Blaze and the Nottingham Panthers) for the number three and four seeds.

The second leg, initially scheduled for 18 February, was postponed as a result of the Blaze being unable to travel to Belfast. The game was rescheduled to 4 March.

As the highest remaining seed, the Coventry Blaze were scheduled to have home advantage for the final against the Nottingham Panthers. However, as the Coventry Skydome did not meet league requirements for the final, it was instead played at Motorpoint Arena Nottingham.

• Official website