The London Lions was an independent professional ice hockey team in London, England, that played 72 games during the 1973-74 season against the top European hockey teams. It was started by Detroit Red Wings owner Bruce Norris with a vision of building a league to be affiliated with the National Hockey League. Norris' Vice-Chairman of the team was John Ziegler, who went on to become President of the National Hockey League in 1977.
The Lions played their home games at Wembley Arena and had a record of 52 wins, 13 losses and 7 ties. They toured Europe to promote the proposed European professional hockey league originally scheduled to start for the 1974-75 season. The original plans for this new league was to have the top teams participate in the Stanley Cup playoffs against the traditional North American NHL teams. The league did not gain support and never started play.
The Lions went 52-13-7 during their 72-game 1973-74 season.
Date
Opponent
Score
Location
October 11, 1973
Toledo Hornets
1:0
Detroit
October 19, 1973
Austrian Internationals
5:4
London
October 21, 1973
Austrian Internationals
8:2
London
October 26, 1973
IJC Utrecht
9:3
Utrecht
October 27, 1973
Cercle des Patineurs Liegois
10:2
Luxembourg
October 28, 1973
Raak IJshockey Rotterdam
5:1
The Hague
November 1, 1973
Finnish Olympics
7:2
London
November 3, 1973
Finnish Olympics
3:1
London
November 4, 1973
Finnish Olympics
6:6
London
November 8, 1973
Dutch Internationals
16:3
London
November 10, 1973
Dutch Internationals
7:0
London
November 11, 1973
Dutch Internationals
5:2
London
November 15, 1973
Prague All-Stars
4:4
London
November 17, 1973
Prague All-Stars
3:1
London
November 22, 1973
IFK Helsinki
4:3
London
November 24, 1973
IFK Helsinki
2:6
London
November 25, 1973
IFK Helsinki
7:2
London
December 1, 1973
Scottish Select
10:1
Kirkcaldy
December 2, 1973
International Select
12:1
Dundee
December 3, 1973
Northeast Select
15:6
Billingham
December 5, 1973
Northeast Select
12:3
Whitley Bay
December 10, 1973
Vastra Frolunda IF
7:2
Goteborg
December 11, 1973
Farjestads BK
3:1
Karlstad
December 13, 1973
TPS Turku
2:8
Turku
December 14, 1973
SaiPa
7:4
Lappeenranta
December 16, 1973
IFK Helsinki
3:2
Helsinki
December 18, 1973
Tappara
7:4
Tampere
December 20, 1973
IFK Helsinki
6:4
Helsinki
December 26, 1973
AIK
3:1*
Stockholm
December 27, 1973
HV71
5:5
Jonkoping
December 29, 1973
Djurgardens IF
3:5*
Stockholm
December 30, 1973
Leksands IF
1:6*
Leksand
January 1, 1974
Regina Pats
5:5
Stockholm
January 2, 1974
IFK Helsinki
9:5
Helsinki
January 4, 1974
Dynamo Moscow
2:1*
Stockholm
January 6, 1974
Sodertalje SK
6:4*
Sodertalje
January 7, 1974
Roma
6:2
Visby
January 8, 1974
Handens SK
8:4**
Handen
January 9, 1974
Malmo IF
7:2
Malmo
January 11, 1974
HYS The Hague
11:4
The Hague
January 12, 1974
Cercle des Patineurs Liegois
12:2
Liege
January 13, 1974
Brussels Royal IHSC
16:4
Brussels
January 18, 1974
Raak IJshockey Rotterdam
8:4
The Hague
January 25, 1974
Tilburg Trappers
8:3
Tilburg
January 28, 1974
Wiener EV
10:2
Vienna
January 30, 1974
Klagenfurter AC
8:0
Klagenfurt
February 1, 1974
Kapfenberg
11:2
Kapfenberg
February 2, 1974
HC Salzburg
9:1
Salzburg
February 5, 1974
Innsbrucker EV
15:6
Innsbruck
February 7, 1974
Czechoslovak National Team
3:6
Prague
February 9, 1974
Czechoslovak U23 Select
4:1
Plzen
February 10, 1974
Czechoslovak U23 Select
3:5
Ceske Budejovice
February 12, 1974
Czechoslovak U23 Select
2:8
Mileskov
February 13, 1974
Czechoslovak U23 Select
1:4
Tabor
February 15, 1974
HC Dukla Jihlava
2:4
Liberec
February 16, 1974
ZKL Brno
3:0
Brno
February 20, 1974
HC Villars
10:2
Villars
March 1, 1974
West Germany
1:6^
Oberstdorf
March 7, 1974
Dynamo Moscow
3:6
London
March 9, 1974
Dynamo Moscow
2:4
London
March 10, 1974
Dynamo Moscow
2:2
London
March 14, 1974
Prague Lions
4:1
London
March 16, 1974
Prague Lions
7:5
London
March 17, 1974
Prague Lions
5:2
London
March 19, 1974
Spartak Moscow
4:4
Geneva
March 20, 1974
Czechoslovak U23 Select
0:3
Geneva
March 23, 1974
IFK Helsinki
6:2
London
March 24, 1974
IFK Helsinki
6:6
London
March 26, 1974
Altrincham Aces Select
11:3
Queensferry
March 28, 1974
Djurgardens IF
6:5
London
March 30, 1974
Djurgardens IF
10:4
London
March 31, 1974
Djurgardens IF
4:3
London
(Notes: A three-game series against Dusseldorf, scheduled for November 27-29, was cancelled. *1974 Ahearne Cup match. **Game played outdoors. ^Game stopped with two minutes remaining in second period due to rough play. The March 19 and 20 games were part of the Salon de l-Auto Tournament. The March 26 game played at the Deeside Leisure Centre in Queensferry was the first organized hockey game in Wales.)