The Asia League Ice Hockey is a professional ice hockey league that started in the 2003-2004 season, in which professional ice hockey teams from Japan, Korea, and Russia compete to determine the champion.
In the first year of the league's existence, the Japan Ice Hockey League and the Asian League were held in parallel (4 teams from Japan and 1 from Korea).
However, from the following season, the number of participating teams became 8 (4 from Japan, 1 from Korea, 2 from China, and 1 from Russia), and the Japan League was suspended.
Since then, the league has been integrated into the Asian League.
Regular Season
Using the 2018-2019 season as an example, there will be 34 regular season games.
There will be one league, and the top five teams from the regular season will advance to the playoffs.
The team that wins by the third period gets three points.
If the score is tied in the third period, both teams will receive one point at that point, and the team that wins in overtime will receive an additional point. The winner of the regular season will be the team with the most points.
Playoffs
Using the 2018-2019 season as an example, the format seems to be that the teams that finish 4th and 5th in the regular season are treated like wild cards, and the winning team plays the 1st place team in the semi-final round.
Wild Card (Win 2 out of 3 games first)
February 16, 17, 19, 2019
Matchup between 4th and 5th place teams in the regular season
Semi-final round (first 3 out of 5 games)
February 23, 24, 28, and March 2, 2019
Second and third place teams from the regular season
1st place team from the regular season and the winner of the wild card
Final (first 3 out of 5 games)
March 9, 10, 14, 2019
Winners of the semi-final round teams play each other
Japan Rugby Top League
| Teams | Prefecture/City, Country | Arena |
|---|---|---|
| Nikko Ice Bucks | Tochigi | Nikko Kirifuri Ice Arena |
| East Hokkaido Cranes | Hokkaido | Kushiro Ice Arena |
| Red Eagles Hokkaido | Hokkaido | Hakucho Oji Ice Arena |
| Tohoku Free Blades | Aomori | Flat Hachinohe |
| Yokohama Grits | Kanagawa | Shin-Yokohama Skate Center |
| Anyang Halla | Anyang, Korea | Anyang Ice Arena |
| Sakhalin | Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Russia | Ice palace Cristal |
Championship
Anyang Halla 5 times
Nippon Paper Cranes (now East Hokkaido Cranes) 4 times
Tohoku Free Blades 3 times
Oji Paper (now Red Eagles Hokkaido) 2 times
Kokudo (then SEIBU Prince Rabbits / disbanded in 2009) 2 times
Sakhalin 2 times