 The league was formed after the collapse of the Korean ice hockey league and dissolution of the Japanese league . It was started with the goal of promoting hockey in Asia as well as helping the various participating countries develop their hockey programs and increase their showing in the Olympics . The first season was a shortened season of only five teams , and played as a tournament rather than a regular season . Four Japanese teams and a Korean team participated . The tournament lasted just two months and each team played four games , two at home and two away , against each other . Due to the shortened tournament format , there were no playoffs and the winner was declared from the point tally . The Nippon Paper Cranes won the tournament with 39 <unk> and Joel Prpic from Kokudo was the assist and points leader with 25 assists and 33 points . Ryan Haruo <unk> , of the Cranes , was the scoring leader with 15 goals . 
