Nah, not really Edinburgh made it until November before getting wound up at the High Court in Belfast by HMRC, presumably for not paying all of their taxes. They limped on to the end of the season, winning just 5 regular season games as their Russian Revolution headed by Dmitri Khristich failed. At the end of the season they lost their ice time contract to a rival bidder (Racers Leisure ltd), however the Racers were denied a spot in the Elite League. Hull Pirates were asked to move up to the EIHL, however have declined for the timebeing due to uncertainties over their rink. The rest of the EIHL looked pretty stable, with new teams Guildford and MK fitting in well, however MK ended up fading after a good start in a league that Cardiff once again dominated. Nottingham put in some fantastic performances in the CHL, getting out of the group for the first time ever after beating the likes of Bern, Turku, and Mountfield. Zurich put an end to their CHL campaign, but it was better than expected for the Panthers. Cardiff managed to win 2 games in the CHL, but did not make it through their group. They'll be back in this season.
Things were generally quite stable in the NIHL, however no team was promoted in the South as Solent declined. Both NIHL S1 & N1 were quite uneven affairs, with the former EPL teams dominating on the whole, however London Raiders upset the applecart by finishing fourth above Bracknell in the South. Basingstoke won S1, while Sheffield won N1. Sutton will replace Deeside in N1 next year, after they won the playoffs. Spare a thought for Cardiff Fire, who secured just 3 points from 32 games in S1, with a goal difference of -182. They'll remain in S1 next season. It looks like there will be big changes this season at Basingstoke, in particular, as well as other clubs. Romford/London Raiders should also look to be strong after moving to a new rink.
In unexpected news Team GB managed to gain promotion to the top level of the World Championships
They'll face Canada, USA, Finland, Germany, Slovakia, Denmark, and France. After a good set of performances in Budapest, Ben O'Connor has earnt a contract with Barys Astana of the KHL. It also looks like Liam Kirk will be getting drafted, somewhere in the latter rounds, and he's expected to play in the CHL (Canadian Major Jrs) this year.
](./images/smilies/wallbash.gif "Brick wall"){kind=small}
a poor start to the season but I expected him to stick around a bit longer