Ice hockey in London? Big time.
The Canadian sport has infiltrated the capital (helped in recent times by the popularity of Heated Rivalry), with loads of opportunities to get hooked on this puck-ing good game.
Not familiar with ice hockey? Read on for when, where and who to watch here in London — as well as how to play ice hockey yourself.
London ice hockey teams: who plays?
Four London-based ice hockey clubs play in the NIHL. Ice hockey in the UK is split into several tiers:
🏒 The Elite Ice Hockey League is a professional league, and is the highest level of hockey played in the UK. 10 teams from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland currently play in this league, but none are based in London.
🏒 The National Ice Hockey League is the second tier of British ice hockey, below the Elite Ice Hockey League, and is further sub-divided into tiers:
🏒 The Planet Ice National League is the top tier of England Ice Hockey’s NIHL leagues, consisting of 11 teams. London team Romford Raiders play in this league.
🏒 Below that, the remaining teams are geographically split into four leagues: North 1, North 2, South 1 and South 2. London team Streatham play in South 1 while the Haringey Huskies and Lee Valley Lions play in South 2.
Players in all four London times are not full-time pros. Throughout the season, each team plays each of the other teams in the league four times — twice at home, twice away. So although there are only four London teams, there are still plenty of matches going on in and around the capital.
Tickets tend to be more affordable than other sports, and most teams offer seasons tickets for dedicated fans.
Here's the lowdown on each of London's ice hockey clubs:
Romford Raiders Ice Hockey Club at Sapphire Ice, Romford
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Romford Raiders are the main men's team playing at Sapphire Ice Rink. The club's been around since 1987, and has moved around a bit in that time before settling at the Sapphire. They were briefly known as the London Raiders. Team colours are white, gold, and blue — with fans known as the Gold and Blue Army.
As of the start of the 2026/7 season, Romford Raiders are objectively London's best ice hockey team, playing in the Planet Ice National League, and coming at #7 in the league standings at the start of the season.
The Romford Buccaneers are the reserve team based out of Romford, and the Romford Ice Hockey Academy trains upcoming players from U10s right up to the Buccaneers. At time of writing, Romford doesn't have a dedicated women's ice hockey team.
Romford Raiders. Match tickets available here (Adult tickets are £20 per home game for the 2026-27 season). Follow them on Instagram, Facebook and X.
Streatham Ice Hockey Club at Streatham Ice Rink
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Streatham Ice Hockey Club are based at Streatham Leisure Centre & Ice Rink. The men's team was established in 1932, under a name deemed pejorative today, and was changed in the 2015/16 season. These days, they're simply known as Streatham Ice Hockey Club (though RedHawks is a common nickname among fans).
In 2014, the team moved to their new location at the rebuilt Streatham Ice Rink after being temporarily ousted to Brixton Ice Rink for a couple of seasons. When the old Streatham ice rink was closed down, there was doubt whether the team — once one of the most successful in Britain — would be able to continue. This fear didn't come to pass, and today Streatham IHC have a solid (and from the matches we've been to, loud) fanbase.
The Streatham Storm Women's Ice Hockey squads are also based at Streatham Ice Rink, with teams in the Women's National Ice Hockey League and several smaller leagues. The Streatham Youth Ice Hockey play here too.
Streatham Ice Hockey Club. Match tickets available here. Follow them on Instagram, Facebook and X.
Haringey Huskies Ice Hockey Club at Alexandra Palace
Known until recently as Haringey Racers (or London Racers), the men's ice hockey team based at Ally Pally are now called the Haringey Huskies.
The timeline of ice hockey at Alexandra Palace is a bit muddled, with teams called the Haringey Racers, the Haringey Greyhounds, the London Racers and the North London Hounds having played here over the years.
All you really need to know is that if you want to watch ice hockey at Alexandra Palace now, Haringey Huskies are the (men's) team to watch, having taken up the mantle in 2017. The Haringey Greyhounds are the women's team, also based out of Ally Pally, while the Haringey Hounds are the junior club, taking players from U10 upwards.
Haringey Huskies. Match tickets available via Alexandra Palace. Follow them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Lee Valley Lions Ice Hockey Club at Lee Valley Ice Rink
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Originally formed in 1984 and disbanded in 1995, Lee Valley Lions reformed in 2005. Of London's ice hockey teams, the Lions seem to have had the least chop-change past, with just the one name throughout their history. They moved into the new Lee Valley Ice Centre in the 2023-4 season.
The Lee Valley Vampires are the women's team also playing out of Lee Valley Ice Centre. At present, there's no junior team, though it's hoped one will be started in the near future.
Lee Valley Lions. Follow them on Instagram, Facebook and X.
Women's ice hockey in London
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As mentioned above, Streatham, Haringey and Lee Valley all have women's equivalents to their men's teams. Similar to men's ice hockey, the Women's National Ice Hockey League (WNIHL) is split into different leagues here in the UK. Top tier is the WNIHL Elite league, followed by WNIHL 1, a league encompassing national teams, and WNIHL 2 which is split into North and South regions.
Streatham Storm women's ice hockey club
Home to London's only senior league women's ice hockey team, Streatham Storm have a team in the WNIHL Elite league, as well as the WNIHL 2 South league, and a development team. All home matches are FREE to watch, taking place at Streatham Leisure Centre Ice Rink.
Haringey Greyhounds women's ice hockey club
Only formed in 2024, women's team the Haringey Greyhounds are relative newbies on the scene, and play in the WNIHL 1 league.
Lee Valley Vampires women's ice hockey club
Playing in WNIHL 2 South, the Lee Valley Vampires play out of Lee Valley Ice Centre, and often offer pay what you can tickets to home games.
Where to watch ice hockey in London: where is it played?
All teams play both home and away matches. Home matches for the London ice hockey teams are played at the four venues mentioned above (Sapphire Ice Rink in Romford, Streatham Leisure Centre, Alexandra Palace and Lee Valley Ice Centre ).
As the Romford Raiders are in the Planet Ice National League, they compete against teams all over the country, so their away matches tend to be further afield than London's other three men's teams: they all play in the South leagues, so opponents are other south teams, including Milton Keynes, Guildford and Slough.
Check each team's website for details of upcoming fixtures in the 2026-27 season. Teams often play pre-season warm-up matches too.
When can I watch ice hockey in London?
The UK ice hockey season runs roughly September-March every year (with some pre-season friendlies starting as early as August). Games usually take place on Saturday or Sunday evenings. Check the individual team websites above for specific fixtures.
Where can I play ice hockey in London?
So you've seen the experts at work, and now you want to have a go at ice hockey yourself. You won't be gliding straight into one of the teams mentioned above, as those players have been training for years, and ice hockey can be a dangerous sport (though do check their website/social media for details of upcoming taster events).
But there are other recreational ice hockey clubs and teams around London that will let you have a go. Details of beginners' try-outs and training sessions vary from club to club and season to season, and you may need to become a member of the club before they'll let you on the ice, so get in touch with one of these for details.
🏒 Westminster Statesmen — a recreational men's ice hockey team. Currently accepting new players but you must be 18+, and already able to play to an intermediate recreational hockey standard (Alexandra Palace)
🏒 London Rangers — another recreational team, though not currently accepting new players (Alexandra Palace)
🏒 DX Bunker Boys and Girls — an adults (men and women) recreational team for both beginner and intermediate players (Alexandra Palace)
🏒 Sobell Slappers — another adults (men and women) recreational team (Alexandra Palace)
Note, some clubs state that they are either checking or non-checking clubs. This refers to whether they allow body contact during matches. If you're looking for a gentler introduction to the sport, look for a non-checking team.
Most clubs will require you to have at least basic ice skating skills before they let you anywhere near a puck, so get practising at one of London's year-round ice rinks.
The rules of ice hockey: a beginner's guide
Although we've dipped our toes in to the (icy) waters of ice hockey, we're no experts. Back in 2014, we spoke to John Scott — then CEO at London Raiders, now Romford Raiders — who gave us a quick starter guide.
Ice hockey can be tricky for newbies to follow, due to the fast — often bloodthirsty — nature of the game. The principle is similar to football in that each team aims to score as many goals as possible — except these goals are significantly smaller. The 'ball' in this case is not a ball, but a rubber puck, which, being kept at 0°c, is basically a compact disc of pain for anyone who comes into contact with it.
🏒 Each match is split into three periods of 20 minutes, with 15 minute breaks in between, allowing the ice to be wiped clean.
🏒 Six players from each team are on the ice at once, including a net minder (goalkeeper) — although up to 20 players from each team could be on the bench at any one time, allowing for plenty of rest breaks and tactical substitutions throughout.
🏒 If the whistle blows — for example, for an injury — the clock is stopped until play restarts.
🏒 A goal is scored when the puck crosses the goal line.
🏒 If a player commits an infraction, they will be sent to spend two, five or 10 minutes in the penalty box, depending on the severity of the offence. Their team plays a man down for this time. Each team must have a minimum of three players on the ice at all times, so if multiple players are sent to the penalty box, their times will be staggered.
🏒 The offside rule in football can be confusing. In ice hockey, being offside is simply when an attacking team member crosses the line into the defensive zone before the puck.
