Liga Mexicana Elite de Hockey

Liga Mexicana Elite de Hockey

Sport	Ice hockey
Founded	2017
No. of teams	4
Country	Mexico
Most recent champion(s)	Olmec Stone Heads (1st title)
Most titles	Teotihuacan Priests (2 title)
Official website	www.lmeh-apparel.com

The Liga Mexicana Elite de Hockey (LMEH) is the highest level ice hockey competition in Mexico. The league comprised four clubs, all based in Mexico City.

Overview

The Mexican League Elite de Hockey, LME, Ice Hockey was inaugurated on 2 October 2010 with the aim to establish Mexico as a high-level international competitor in ice hockey.

The participation of the best players in Mexico could serve as encouragement for those players at lower levels of the sport in Mexico and eventually play in the Mexico national team at international competitions against high quality foreign teams.

The first League season (2010–2011) started with 4 teams: Mayan Astronomers, Aztec Eagle Warriors, Teotihuacan Priests and Zapotec Totems, which were integrated through a draft, where players are ranked in categories "AAA" "AA", "A" and then, each team chose their players in succession, so that 4 sets have the same competitive level.

Fifteen days before the "play off" teams have a period of transfer or exchange of players, where teams will have the opportunity to improve their competitive edge.

They play a four round system ("round robin") and their final. The team with the most points will automatically qualify for the final. Those who remain in second and third place play a best-of-three series. The winner will play the number-one team during the finals. The champion is declared when a best-of-three series is played between these two last teams.

For the second season, the Mexican Sports Federation Ice Hockey, AC seek to integrate the Mexican League Elite, a fifth team will consist of novice players. This new team will have the right to select some players from the four other teams prior to start; but the existing four teams can identify a list of "protected players" that the new expansion team cannot select. Each year will include a Mexican Elite League expansion team until there are 8 teams.

Mexican Sports Federation Ice Hockey, AC, awarded cash prizes for winning team in the near future, aims to set salaries for players of all teams, as well as explore the possibility of bringing foreign players to integrate the different Mexican League Elite teams.

For the 2022-2023 season, the league implemented a period of free agency for all eligible players with the goal of allowing the market to establish player compensation. The free agency period began on July 13, 2022, with the largest contract being awarded to F Sanjay Sarker (formerly of the Lerma Sharks). He was signed to an 8 year $48 million MXN pesos contract. Due to team cash flow constraints a portion of the salary was paid in kind with livestock and tequila.

In 2023-24, Panagiotis Mavridis signed with the Aztec Eagle Warriors, suiting up with the team in a 2-1 shootout victory.

Teams

All of the teams are based in Mexico City, and games are played at the Centro Santa Fe ice rink.

Team	Funded	Joined	Head coach	Folded
Aztec Eagle Warriors	2010	2011	Luis Olivares
Mayan Astronomers	2010	2011	Brian Wilson Rodrigo Porter
Olmec Stone Heads	2017		Diego De La Garma
Teotihuacan Priests	2010	2011	Jorge Rovelo
Former
Zapotec Totems	2010	2011	N/A	2011

League champions

By seasons

Year	Playoffs			League winners
	Champions	Score	Finalists
2010–11	Teotihuacan Priests (1)	2-1 (series)	Mayan Astronomers	Mayan Astronomers
2017–18	Mayan Astronomers (1)	4-1	Teotihuacan Priests	Teotihuacan Priests
2018–19	Teotihuacan Priests (2)	3-2 (SO)	Aztec Eagle Warriors	Teotihuacan Priests
2019–20	Remainder of season cancelled in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
2023	Olmec Stone Heads (1)	2-1	Aztec Eagle Warriors	Aztec Eagle Warriors

All-time record

Team	# Titles	Years
Teotihuacan Priests	2	2010-11, 2018-2019
Mayan Astronomers	1	2017–18
Olmec Stone Heads	1	2023

External links

• Official website