Eastern Belisarian Hockey League

Eastern Belisarian Hockey League

Current season, competition or edition: 2022-2023 VVHL season
Sport	Ice hockey
Founded	October 31, 1968 (1968-10-31)
Inaugural season	1968-1969
Commissioner	Kimo Eidhmazur
No. of teams	22
Countries	List Drevstran Gresnaya Ludvosiya Nekulturnya Ostrozava Tsurushima Velikoslavia Zamorodna

The Eastern Belisarian Hockey League (Ludic: Восточная Велисарийская Хоккейная Лига; Vostochnaya Velisariyskaya Khokkeynaya Liga; VVHL) is an international professional ice hockey league. The VVHL is comprised of 22 teams distributed across six countries in Eastern Belisaria and Tsurushima. The league is the premier ice hockey organization in its geographical boundaries and draws both audiences and talent from a greater international reach.

The VVHL was founded in 1968 through a merger of the Ludvosiyan Elite Hockey League and the Veliko National League with an initial roster of five teams. The league has subsequently undergone waves of expansion in 1974, 1983, 1997, and 2010 to arrive at its current number of 22 teams.

Rules

Diagram of VVHL rink

The Eastern Belisarian Hockey League plays on a narrow-sized rink, measuring 61 m long and 26 m wide and generally follows the standard rules for international ice hockey. Major differences include the assessment of certain penalties and the format of overtime. Overtime is consistent across the regular season and playoffs, with the typical number of five skaters (plus a goalie) per team reduced to three skaters. There is no limit to the number of overtime periods that may be played, but the format is sudden death and the game ends as soon as one team scores a tie-breaking goal.

The modern season consists of 803 games. Each team plays every other team in their division four times and every team in the opposite division three times for a total of 73 games per team in a season. At the conclusion of the regular season, the top four teams in each division are seeded into a playoff bracket, with each matchup decided by a best-of-seven games series. The final series for the VVHL Championship is contested between the champions of the Northern division and the Southern division. Teams typically play four pre-season exhibition games against a rotating selection of opponents in their division.

The point system in the VVHL awards three points for a regulation win, two for an overtime win, one for an overtime loss, and no points for a regulation loss.

Teams

Team	City	Country	Arena	Capacity	Founded/joined	General manager	Head coach	Captain	Division
Angrast Ice Dragons	Angrast	Drevstran	Winter Solstice Arena	8,000	1997	Latisman Orbraggar	Antton Dobornik	Nicholaus Warosesky	Southern
Blue Salamanders	Beredino	Gresnaya	Arena	###	2010
Team	City	Ludvosiya	Arena	###	1968
Team	City	Ludvosiya	Arena	###	1968
Team	City	Ludvosiya	Arena	###	1968
Team	City	Ludvosiya	Arena	###	1974
Team	City	Ludvosiya	Arena	###	1983
Team	City	Ludvosiya	Arena	###	1983
Kennai Mariners	Kennai	Tsurushima	Kennai Seaside Athletics Complex	###	1997
Kitagan Mountain Tengu	Otara	Tsurushima	Enizawa Stadium	###	2010
Barderec Crucible	Barderec	Ostrozava	Barderec Omnisport Arena	15,149	1997	Ecaterina Vskovina	Pavlo Illych Volkovati	Sklenár Nedved-Falkovici
Team	Bastyak	Nekulturnya	Arena	###	1974				Northern
Team	City	Nekulturnya	Arena	###	1974
Team	City	Nekulturnya	Arena	###	2010
Nizogorod Knights	Nizogorod	Velikoslavia	Nizogorod Hockey Complex	14,200	2010	Ingor Iskorosten	Svein Predslav	Voldemar Grimask
Torla Reindeer	Torla	Velikoslavia	Torlakupol Arena	10,700	1983	Vissivald Gorinsk	Yaro Gorik	Zigrid Iziasovich
Engels Wolf Pack	Engels	Velikoslavia	The Den	10,200	1997	Ingegerd Stada	Volodimeru Haraldovich	Gleb Vissivaldovich
Zarinsk Bears	Zarinsk	Velikoslavia	Orlof Centre	18,400	1968	Peter Mikhalko	Torvil Lutsk	Daniil Holmgard
Levograv Giants	Levograv	Velikoslavia	Zulli-Klim Iceplex	12,040	1968	Davyd Gostomysel	Ingor Gardharek	Volodimeru Mielnir
Kollavik Chiroptera	Kollavik	Velikoslavia	Grand Athletics Amphitheatre	16,320	1974	Feofan Mestnik	Grigori Kontor	Alexander Nezhatyna
Kostyanopol Falcons	Kostyanopol	Zamorodna	NONU Central Arena	14,290	1983	Osyp Yevhenuk Blybudynok	Anton Antonuk Nebohodunky	Vahon Volodyharuk Horetsky
Baraban Black Riders	Barabanopol	Zamorodna	Barabash Regional Iceplex	9,320	1997	Yakyv Lukyanuk Lys'nyk	Yvanko Vanyovuk Saloman	Devyd Petryvuk Mydnyk

Trophies and awards

The Unity Cup, presented to the winning team of the VVHL Championship Final

The winning team of the VVHL Championship Final is awarded the Unity Cup. The Unity Cup was introduced in the 1969-1970 season. For the inaugural season, the victorious Zarinsk Bears team was awarded medals. In the off-season, it was determined that a permanent, exchangeable award should be created to embody both the values of competition and unity of the sport, which at the time was contested exclusively between Ludvosiyan and Veliko teams. There is only one copy of the Unity Cup which is maintained by the victor throughout the regular season.

In addition to the Unity Cup, trophies are awarded for divisional championships. The Northern and Southern championships are awarded differently, however. The Tsarevich Coronet of Athletics is awarded to the champion of the Northern Division, which is qualified as the team which places first in points at the end of the regular season. In contrast, the Southern Champions' Trophy is awarded to the team in the Southern Division that wins the Southern divisional playoff bracket and participates in the VVHL Championship Final. Both divisional championships were first awarded in the 1974-1975 season.

See also

• Liga Magna
• Latin hockey league system