Review; NIHL North Play Off Weekend Highlights DVD from Pyro Media - available to order now!

If you’re a follower of NIHL North ice hockey – or are now going to be next season after the merging of the divisions - here’s something you might like to have a look at. 

Matt Donnachie and the team at Pyro Media filmed all the games at the NIHL North Play Off weekend at iceSheffield in April and have made them available to buy and keep as an everlasting souvenir.

The games covered are the Moralee Conference semi-finals – Solway Sharks v Solihull Barons and Billingham Stars v Blackburn Hawks – that were played on the Saturday and the Moralee final that was played on the Sunday.  (If you don’t already know who won, I’m not going to spoil it for you until after you have watched the video…!)

There are also the two Laidler Conference semi-finals:  Blackburn Eagles v Sheffield Senators and Widnes Wild v Altrincham Aces from the Saturday - and the Laidler final from the Sunday as well.

As I wasn’t able to attend the actual weekend, it is great for me to be able to see everything that went on – and even if you were there, you probably won’t have seen everything that happened, so it will be nice to be able to have another look.

The video footage is taken from several viewpoints and there are slow motion replays of the main talking points.  Commentary is by the team from NIHL Radio who also did a really good job of providing the live play-by-play audio coverage via internet radio over the weekend itself.

Now the technical bit:  there are various options available to purchase and you can either buy them as a digital version or a physical DVD.  Depending on where your interest lies, you can order a single  game in its entirety or a highlights package of all games from the weekend and there are different pricing options and offers available.

Being a bit old fashioned, I chose the DVD version of the weekend highlights package and I have to say that it really is worth getting.

Last year’s DVD was good and a nice souvenir of the play offs but this year’s version incorporates a number of improvements.  For example, there are 2 separate discs in the DVD highlights package this year – one with the 3 Laidler games on it and one with the 3 Moralee games - and there is a "start menu" so that you can select which game you want to see. Each game has about 45 minutes of highlights and there are post match interviews and coverage of the trophy presentations as well.

To find out more about the different formats, options and packages - and to place your order – go to the official website at http://www.pyromedia.co/NIHL

Please note that the various offer prices are only valid for limited periods as stated on the website.  DVDs have to be ordered by the end of May at the latest.

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

          

WPL Title Decider at Chelmsford This Sunday

Match action from Chelmsford Cobras' exciting 7-6 home win over
the Widnes Wild women's team earlier in the season. 
(Photo by Perry Tomlinson) 

There is a fascinating game in store at Chelmsford this Sunday lunchtime as the destiny of this season’s Women’s Premier League title will be decided.

It’s the final game of the league campaign for both Chelmsford Cobras and Streatham Storm and by happy coincidence, the top two teams in the division meet in a “winner takes all” encounter.

The Storm are currently top of the WPL table with 18 points from their 11 league games and the Cobras are just one point behind, having led the table for much of the season.

The Cobras beat Streatham 3-4 down in South London back in November but since then have only won two of their last 5 games – drawing away at both Nottingham Vipers and Widnes, who are both in the bottom half of the table – and losing their last game 8-3 away at Slough in what was the first game to be played on the temporary ice surface there.

The Storm have gone unbeaten since the start of the year and only dropped one point – in a 3-3 draw away at Milton Keynes last weekend – since their defeat by Chelmsford.

They played two games in April whereas, due to the vagaries of the league fixtures, the Cobras have not had a competitive game since 4^th March so it will be interesting to see how that has a bearing on team performances.

With Streatham having a one point lead at the top of the table, a draw would be enough to hand them the title while Chelmsford obviously need to win the game to be crowned champions.

It would be an amazing turn-around for the Cobras, who finished bottom of the WPL last season, while Streatham finished in 3rd place and reached the play off final.

Streatham has a proud place in the history of women’s hockey and the earlier Streatham Strikers were one of the first properly organised women’s teams in the country with their own ice and facilities back in the early 1980s.  They won the early English Women’s League title in both 1986/86 and 1987/88 seasons.

Chelmsford Cobras take on Streatham Storm this Sunday 14^th May at the Riverside Ice & Leisure Centre in Chelmsford in the match that will decide the Women’s Premier League championship. Face off is at 12.20 (midday…) and admission is free…!  

 

Summer Cup: Widnes Wildcats 5 - Whitley Bay Islanders 8

Sunday 7^th May 2017 – Summer Cup
Widnes Wildcats 5 – Whitley Bay Islanders 8
Period Scores:  1-3, 3-3, 1-2
Penalties In Minutes:  Widnes 37 – Whitley 49

Widnes Scoring:

Lubomir Felber 2+0, Dalibor Rakoczy 1+1,Andrejs Tenbergs & Phil Hamer both 1+0, Jake Berry, Lindsey Perry, Martin Dietrich & Neil Herring all 0+1

Match Report by Paul Breeze (www.icehockeyreview.co.uk)

The Widnes Wildcats suffered defat in their first Summer Cup game of the 2017 competition as they were beaten 5-8 at home by the Whitley Bay Islanders at Silver Blades Widnes on Sunday.

The game started well for the Wildcats and they took the lead as early as the 2d minute with a great solo goal by Lubomir Felber.  The visitors soon got into their stride after the long journey from the North East , equalising after 12 minutes and then scoring two further goal later on in the period to take a 1-3 lead into the first break.    

Two more goals early in the second period looked to have the game almost sewn up for the visitors but then things began to get rather lively.  A Whitley player picked up a 2 minute penalty for roughing at 28.51 and within 20 seconds, Andrejs Tenbergs pulled a goal back for the Wildcats on the resulting powerplay. This sparked an incident that saw two Whitley players banished from the game and Tenbergs himself pick up a 2 +match penalty.

In the aftermath of these penalties, the Wildcats scored two more goals – through Phil Hamer on 32 minutes and Dalibor Rakoczy 3 minutes later – to bring the score back to 4-5 but any hopes of a Widnes rally were dashed as the Islanders picked up another goal in the very last second of the period.

A 7^th goal for the visitors midway through the third period looked to have settled the game although a second goal of the evening from Felber with some 6 minutes left on the clock did give the Widnes camp some cause for optimism. A Whitley powerplay goal in the very last minute of the game rounded off the action for a final score of 5-8.

The Wildcats are at home in cup action again next Sunday 14^th May when they take on the Blackburn Falcons at Silver Blades Widnes.  The game faces off at 4.30pm and admission is free.

 

 

 

Widnes Wild Souvenir Booklet - Available To Pre-Order Now!

A Year In the Wild - The 2016/17 season following Widnes Wild in the NIHL North Laidler Conference
A special souvenir booklet to celebrate Widnes Wild’s first trophy win in their relatively short 4 year history, featuring match reports from all Widnes Wild games for the season and game sheet information and photos as available.

It also includes end of season stats, interviews, a review of the Wild women’s team’s season and much more besides.  

Available to pre-order now – copies will be mailed out at the end of the summer break.

Selling price £7.50 inc free UK P&P

 

2017 NIHL Yearbook "Earlybird Offer" Announced

The new 2017 edition of the Ice Hockey Review NIHL Yearbook is now available to pre-order!  By taking advantage of our great “earlybird” offer, you can benefit from a very special price and also be among the first to receive your copy when they are mailed out in October.

2017 NIHL Yearbook  - earlybird offer: £8.00 inc free UK p&p  (cheaper than last year..!)

Please note: this price is for UK orders only and includes free UK postage and packing.  For overseas orders, please drop us a line ( HERE ) before ordering.

For more details about the 2017 NIHL Yearbook and its contents, click HERE

Widnes Wildcats Announce Summer Cup Fixtures

The Widnes Wildcats have announced their Summer Cup fixtures for the 2017 competition.   The first home game is Sunday 7^th May at Silver Blades Widnes when they face the Whitley Bay Islanders in a 4.30pm face off.

All of the home games are on Sundays and are mainly 4.30pm face offs, although the game against Solihull Vikings on 28^th May faces off at 8.30pm after the Riverside Raiders home game. The following home game – on 11^th June against the Durham Dragons - is also an 8.30pm face off. Admission to all home games is free!

The full list is as follows (home games are in bold):

 

7^th May: home vs Whitley Bay Islanders – 4.30pm
14^th May: home vs Blackburn Falcons – 4.30pm
28^th May: home vs Solihull Vikings – 8.30pm  (after Raiders game)
11^th June: home vs Durham Dragons – 8.30pm
18^th June: away @ Solihull Vikings – 7.30pm
1^st & 2^nd July: RecFest @ Ice Sheffield
16^th July: home vs Kingston Cobras – 4.30pm
22^nd July: away @ Kingston Cobras – 5pm
23^rd July: away @ Blackburn Falcons – 6pm
30^th July: home vs Grimsby Lightning – 4.30pm (double points)
5^th Aug 5^th: away @ Durham Dragons – 12 noon
6^th Aug: home vs Cleveland Comets – 4.30pm
19^th Aug: away @ Cleveland Comets – 5.30pm
20^th Aug: away @ Whitley Bay Islanders – 12 noon.

You can find out more about this year’s summer cup competition via the Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/summercuphockey/ or the website at  http://www.summercup.co.uk/

Puckstop Summer Classic: Raiders Keep 100% Record After Seagulls Win

Sunday 16^th April 2017 – Puckstop Summer Classic
Riverside Raiders (Widnes) 6 – Wyre Seagulls (Blackburn) 2
Period Scores: 2-0, 1-0, 3-2
Penalties In Minutes: Raiders 6 – Seagulls 10

Raiders Scoring:  Gez Lewis 3+0, Sam Plant 1+2, Owen Tennant 1+1, Tom Yates 1+0, Adam Murphy, Ben Donkin, Elizabeth Wright all 0+1

The Riverside Raiders consolidated their position at the top of the Summer Classic league table with an impressive 6-2 win over Wyre Seagulls at Silver Blades Widnes on Sunday.

Following on from their 1-5 win away in Sheffield the previous week, this gives them a 100% start to their campaign in the 5-team league which also includes teams from Sheffield, Grimsby and another team from Blackburn. 

The Raiders made a flying start to the game, taking the lead after just 1 minute with a fine strike by Gez Lewis, assisted by Sam Plant.  A little under 2 minutes later, it was 2-0 to the Raiders as Lewis, again, picked up a rebound off the Wyre netminder and slotted the puck into the net.

Once they had got over this initial setback, the Wyre Seagulls upped their game and put some impressive plays together themselves. Both teams spent the remainder of the period trying to not to give anything away and the score remained 2-0 at the first break.

The Seagulls looked much better all round in the second period and looked the more likely to score until they started picking up penalties, which broke their momentum and left them shorthanded.

The Raiders scored their third goal at 32.38 – a well taken individual effort by Owen Tennant – and the game looked to be gradually slipping away from the visitors.

The third period started off in much the same vein as the second with the Wyre Seagulls quickest out of the blocks.  They thought they had scored their opening goal just 19 seconds from the restart but the referee had already blown the whistle to halt the play before the puck crossed the line.

A 4th goal for the Raiders came at 44.55 as Tom Yates fired in his first goal for the team after some excellent skating around the net by Adam Murphy and it looked as if the home side had this game well and truly in the bag. A powerplay opportunity on a slashing penalty against the Seagulls saw them push forward to try and extend their lead but they were caught out by a Wyre breakaway and the away side scored their first goal, short-handed, to pull the score back to 4-1.    

If any nerves had begun to jangle on the home bench at this point, they were quickly dispelled when Gez Lewis scored his hattrick goal – and the Raiders’ 5^th - with just under 10 minutes left in the game.

The Raiders thought they had scored again just 2 minutes later when the puck crossed the Wyre goal-line. Unfortunately, the Seagulls netminder also went into the net and, with all the accompanying pushing and shoving around the goal crease, the goal was not allowed.

Less than a minute after that, however, it was pretty much all over as Sam Plant picked up on some great forward passing from Owen Tennant and Elizabeth Wright to score the Raiders’ 6^th goal.

The clock ticked down slowly towards the Raiders’ victory but much credit must go to the visitors who put up a battling performance throughout and never gave up for a second.  Their tenacity eventually paid off – albeit too late to affect the result -when they scored their second goal of the game with just 2 seconds left in the final period.

The result leaves the Riverside Raiders top of the Summer Classic league table with 4 points from their 2 games so far. 

The Raiders are next in action on Saturday 13^th May when they travel to the east coast to face the Grimsby Stormers, and their next home game is the following weekend – on Sunday 21^st May - when they play Grimsby at Silver Blades Widnes.

Before that, however, the Widnes Wildcats team are in competitive action as they play their first home game in the Summer Cup competition on Sunday 7^th May against Cleveland Comets at Silver Blades Widnes.  Face off is at 4.30pm and admission is free.   

Aces & Metros Reunion Game At Altrincham - 8th April 2017

Photo by Dean Edgar - see bottom of post for list of names

Saturday 8^th April 2017 – Silver Blades Altrincham
Altrincham Aces & Trafford Metros Reunion Game
Black Team 13 – White Team 9

Black Team - Bench coach: Dave Shepherd

Stephen Shepherd, Nick Crawley (2 goals), Mark Thomas, Ged Smith (4 goals), Paul Fleury (2 goals), Stephen Elliot (1 goal), Brian Collier, Ian Hough, Steve Fellows (4 goals), Bernie Snagg, Arran Richardson, Kevin Cassidy, Dave Clancy - nm (SOG 48)

White Team - Bench Coach: Tony Lacey

Alan Hough (1 goal), Ari Mikkolla, Greg Allen (3 goals), Russ Richardson (1 goal), Simon Mills (1 goal)
Gary Shearman, Willy Broadhurst (2 goals), Martyn Barratt, Chris Mills, Paul Morgan, Steve Nurse, Andy Bennett, Ian Broomfield, Billy Price (1 goal), John McGarrigle - nm (SOG 50)

What started off as an idea for a bit of a fun scrimmage between a few old teammates turned into something much bigger as the first Former Altrincham Aces and Trafford Metros Players Reunion game took place at Silver Blades Altrincham on Saturday.

This was the first meeting up for many of those old players since the farewell tournament when the old Devonshire Road rink was closed in 2003 and there were lots of great names from the good old days on view.

The timing of the game was rather unfortunate as the date chosen coincided with the appearance of the modern day Altrincham Aces in the NIHL North Laidler Conference play offs in Sheffield for the very first time but, luckily, their semi-final game against Widnes Wild faced off at 10.30 in the morning meaning that there was plenty of time for devotees to race back across the Pennine to be back for this event in the afternoon.

The match brought together players who had played in the Southern League days of the 1970s such as Bernie Snagg and Ged Smith along with lots of memorable names from the 80s and 90s teams as well.  It was refereed by Paul Bayliss who played for Aces and Metros teams for over 20 years and went on to be a well-respected manager and coach at the Altrincham rink.

Long term management duo Keith Purvis and Graham Horlock were in attendance - along with other former players, friends, family members and hockey fans from across the north west who wanted to support the occasion - and former Aces, Metros, Oxford  and Blackburn import Ari Pekka Mikkola even came all the from Finland to play in the game.  

Rather than having “Aces v Metros” - which would, in fact, been very difficult to arrange as many of the players had played for both teams over the years – the players were divided into two roughly equal teams wearing black or white shirts.

As is the case with such occasions, the result on the ice was relatively unimportant when compared to the nostalgia and camaraderie that accompanied it off-ice but, for the record, the Black team won 13-9 with Ged Smith and Steve Fellows both top-scoring with 4 goals each. Greg Allen was the top scorer for the White team with 3 strikes.

There was also a raffle and £170 was raised in aid of the Trafford Tornados Junior club.

Organiser Stephen Shepherd said: “The game was played in a competitive spirit - bearing in mind it was originally just meant to be a group of lads that got together for a scrimmage. I really enjoyed the whole occasion. A lot of people who used to come and watch us play turned up, which was great, and people have suggested that we should do it again.  If we do – I think we’ll need to put more planning into it!”

Aces & Metros Reunion Game Photo by Dean Edgar

Back Row, Andy Bennett, Simon Mills, Steve Nurse, Ari Mikkola, Ian Broomfield, Paul Broadhurst, Greg Allen, Billy Price, Alan Hough Steven Fellows, Mark Thomas, Tony Lacey, Paul Morgan, David Shepherd, John McGarrigle, Stephen Elliott, Ian McDade.

Front Row, Gary Shearman, Dave Clancy, Bernie Snagg, Ged Smith, Nick Crawley, Kev Cassidy, Russ Richardson, Stephen Shepherd, Arran Richardson, Brian Collier.

Riverside Raiders Win Summer Classic Opener In Sheffield

Photo by James Birtwistle

Saturday 8^th April 2017 – Puckstop Summer Classic
Sheffield Ice Tigers 1 – Riverside Raiders (Widnes) 5
Period Scores:  0-2, 0-2, 1-1
Penalties In Minutes:  Tigers 14 – Raiders 8

Raiders Scoring: Anthony Hughes 2+0, Gez Lewis 2+1, Sam Plant 1+0, Charlie Perry (nm), Peter O’Mahony, Jordan Birtwistle, Owen Tennant all 0+1

The Widnes based Riverside Raiders got their Puckstop Summer Classic campaign off to a winning start with a 1-5 win away to Sheffield Ice Tigers in the Steel City on Saturday night.

Because the game was arranged for the same day that the iceSheffield venue was staging 4 semi-final games in the NIHL North play offs, the Raiders’ game didn’t face off until 10.30pm and finished well after midnight.  

The Raiders scored the first goal of the game after 11 minutes through Anthony Hughes – who was playing his first ever game – assisted by Jordan Birtwistle, and that goal remained the difference between the two teams at the first break.

Two more goals for the Raiders in the second period – by Gez Lewis (31.04 – assist Charlie Perry) and Hughes again (34.10 – assist Peter O’Mahony) – pretty much put the game beyond the reach of their hosts and a fourth goal from Lewis – his second of the game - at 45.19 (asst Owen Tennant) looked to have killed the game off.

The Ice Tigers scored a consolation goal at 51.21 while the Raiders were shorthanded on a roughing penalty but the 4-goal advantage was restored at 54.48 when Sam Plant scored ,assisted by Lewis, to round off the scoring for the night.

The Riverside Raiders are in home action next Sunday 16^th April when they face the Blackburn-based Wyre Seagulls in their next Summer Classic game at Silver Blades Widnes.  Face off is 4.30pm and admission is free.      

NIHL North Play Off Weekend Videos - Pre Order Now

You can now pre-order your very own DVD or digital highlights of this year’s NIHL North Playoffs being held at iceSheffield on the 8th & 9th April.

This year you can also buy a copy of any full game on DVD or via digital version.

- Highlights: DVD £10 (+£1 P&P) or digital version £7.99

- Full game: DVD £5 (+£1 P&P) or digital version £3.49

All of these include match commentary, previews, analysis and interviews as well as replays, slow motion and goal cameras! Better still, you will be supporting British hockey with your order as the teams will receive part of every purchase!

Orders will also be able to be placed at the Playoffs weekend, though we advise purchasing online which you will be able to from until a month after the Playoffs have been held

For more information or to place your order – go to www.pyromedia.co/NIHL

Bandy "Try It" Session at Planet Ice Peterborough, Sunday 19th March

There’s a great opportunity to be involved in a little bit of ice sport history next Sunday 19^th March as the first bandy event to be staged in this country for 100 years will take place at Peterborough Planet Ice arena – with an opportunity for ice skaters to go along and give the game a try.

It is a fitting venue for the renaissance as the game was originally played on the frozen fens back in the 1890s but lost its popularity in this country after the First World War, although it has continued to be a highly popular sport in many other countries to this day.

A new English Bandy Federation was set up earlier this year and members are now spreading the word and encouraging new people to become interested in the sport.

The driving force behind this project is new EBF President Lyn Gibb-de Swarte, a long term speed skater and coach who was also a founder member of the Streatham Strikers women’s ice hockey in the early 1980s.  She has announced plans for a purpose built 100m x 60m indoor bandy ice field – the only one in the country – at a new proposed “Littleport Ice Stadium” - to be constructed at Littleport near Ely in Cambridgeshire, which is in the very heart of fen skating country.

The facility will also have the only 400 meter speed skating track in the country, which will help introduce new people to that sport and also save British competitors having to travel to Holland for training and competitions – as that is where the nearest  full size oval track is situated.

The game of bandy has been described as both “soccer on ice, and ice hockey with a ball” and Lyn sums it up as” Bandy is a fast, skillful, non-contact sport that any skater can play - and the kit doesn’t cost a fortune either. It’s great fun to watch too, with similar rules to soccer.”

You don’t need have to have played any sort of ice sport before to be able to join in the session, although a basic level of skating ability is necessary.

The bandy try-it event at Peterborough runs from 8pm to 9.30pm on Sunday 19^th March and includes a half hour introduction to the game followed by an hour on the ice.  The cost is £5 per person and FREE for under-16s.  Balls and sticks will be provided  

The event will be overseen by top bandy coaches from Sweden and also the Czech Head Coach Michael Bratt who has over 20 years’ experience coaching in Sweden, Holland & Russia and now back in his native land.

To find out more about the game of bandy and forthcoming events, check out the English Bandy Federation’s website HERE

 

Riverside Raiders (Widnes) Announce Summer Classic Dates

The Widnes based Riverside Raiders recreational team have announced they they will be taking part in the 2017 Summer Classic competition, sponsored by www.puckstock.com . 

The competition consists of 5 teams who will play each other home and away on a league basis. The other teams are the Sheffield Ice Tigers B team – who play their home games at iceSheffield, Blackburn Buccaneers and Wyre Seagulls who both play at Blackburn Arena and Grimsby Stormers whose rink has now been granted a six month reprieve and will now - happily - be able to host home games.
 

The Riverside Raiders fixtures are as follows (home dates in bold):

Saturday 8^th April 2017: away @ Sheffield Ice Tigers “B” – 10.30pm  

Sunday 16^th April 2017: home v Wyre Seagulls - 4.30pm
Saturday 13th May 2017:  away @ Grimsby Stormers (new date added...)
Sunday 21^st May 2017: home v Grimsby Stormers - 4.30pm
Sunday 28^th May 2017: home v Sheffield Ice Tigers “B” Home - 4.30pm
Saturday 3^rd June 2017: away @ Wyre Seagulls (Blackburn) - 6pm
Sunday 2nd July 2017 - home v Telford .4.30pm (NOTE - Challenge match)  
Saturday 8^th July 2017: away @ Blackburn Buccaneers - 6pm  
Sunday 23^rd July 2017: home v Blackburn Buccaneers - 4.30pm

The Raiders home games are all at Silver Blades Widnes with 4.30pm face off times and free admission. You can follow the Riverside Raiders via their Facebook page HERE

Altrincham Aces / Trafford Metros Reunion Match - 8th April at Silver Blades Altrincham

For anybody who remembers the good old days of the Heineken British League period - which was a golden age for our sport in terms of rink building, league expansion, TV coverage and development of British players -  here is an event not to be missed.

A special reunion game featuring players from the Altrincham Aces and Trafford Metros teams from that memorable period is being staged at the Silver Blades rink in Altrincham on Saturday 8th April. Admission is £3 per person and face off is at 4.30pm.  The café and bar will be open and a souvenir match programme is being prepared.   

Final line ups have yet to be announced but there will be two teams of Aces and Metros legends with the following players having already been confirmed:

Stephen Shepherd, Ian Hough, Alan Hough, Ged Smith, Brian Collier, Nick Crawley, Tony Harcourt, Pete Broadhurst, Paul Broadhurst, Paul Fleury, Simon Mills, Russ Richardson, Arran Richardson, Martyn Barratt, Tony Casson, Gregg Allen, Kevin Cassidy, Steve Nurse, Paul Morgan, Bernie Snagg, Laurence Paul, Andy Bennett, Ian Broomfield, Billy Price, Gary Shearman, Brian Jokat, Ari Mikkola

Netminders: John Dunford, John McGarrigle, Charlie Birch, Dave Clancy

Bench Coaches: Dave Shepherd & Tony Lacey
Match Officials:  Paul Bayliss & Les Heighway
Goal Judges: Gary Weightman & Nigel Higgs

For more information - and to keep up with the latest event news - join the event page on Facebook HERE

There will be a 50/50 draw and a raffle / tombola on the day to raise funds for the Trafford Tornados Junior club.  Prizes are keenly sought for the raffle and any donations can be handed to an event organiser, Tornados club official or at the Altrincham rink box office.  

Last Few Copies of IHR 2016 Still Available - order YOURS Now!

While everybody is enjoying the climax to yet another thrilling of NIHL ice hockey and looking forward to cup finals, play offs and the like, don’t forget that you can relive all the excitement of LAST season’s competitions in the Ice Hockey Review 2016 NIHL Yearbook.

It covers all teams that played in NIHL North and South Divisions 1&2 in the 2015/2016 season with facts, figures and photos covering all league cup and play off competitions – and a lot more besides.

You can order your copy by mail order  HERE  or you can also get copies form Chris Randall on the Isle of Wight.

Also - for the first time, copies are available to buy from Silver Blades ice rink shops at Widnes, Blackburn, Solihull, Altrincham, Gillingham and Cannock.  

As soon as this season is finished, we will be starting work on the 2017 NIHL Yearbook and details of our special earlybird offers will be announced during the summer.

Big thanks to Matt Donnachie of Pyro Media for this great photo ( http://pyromedia.co/ )

Antony Morris Memorial Cup Game At Widnes - 8th January 2017

There’s an early New Year opportunity for sports fans to enjoy an entertaining evening out and support two very good causes as the annual Antony Morris Memorial cup ice hockey game is staged at the Silver Blades ice rink in Widnes on Sunday 8^th January 2017.

Antony was a recreational player with the Widnes Wildcats and he died after a fall on a night out in Liverpool in November 2015 aged just 29.

The game will be played between the two Widnes senior recreational teams, the Widnes Wildcats and the Riverside Raiders, and funds raised on the night will be split between the Ronald McDonald House charity which enables families to remain close by while their children are in hospital and the Cathie Stankevitch Foundation social inclusion charity. 

Admission to the event is free and face off is at 5.30pm .

 

There will be collection buckets on the door and a raffle. Other fundraising measures will be announced in due course and anybody interested in attending, donating a raffle prize or otherwise supporting the event can find out more information via the “Riverside Raiders (IHC) Widnes” or “Widnes Wildcats” groups on Facebook.

Have You Got YOUR copy yet?

Invicta Dynamos' Arran Strawson
with his copy of the NIHL Yearbook
(Photo by Chris Randall)

Update from NIHL South editor Chris Randall’s trip to Streatham:

“It's not just hockey fans who like to get their hands on a copy of the NIHL Yearbook. None other than South Yorkshire born defence man Arran Strawson makes sure he gets his copy every year. He likes to look back and reflect on his team, the Invicta Dynamos – season’s fortunes, as well as the league in general.”

You can order your copy now via the website HERE  in person from Chris Randall on the Isle of Wight  HERE , via Amazon  HERE or coming soon to a skate shop / supporters club near you!

 

Offers and discounts available for retailers, clubs and fundraisers – drop us a line HERE !

Last Few Days For The Earlybird Offer!

The Ice Hockey Review 2016 NIHL Yearbook is bigger and even better than ever and will be published at the end of October. 

There is a special earlybird offer at present – running until 20^th October - where you can pre-order your copy at the “better-than-last-year’s price” of £7.50 inc free UK p&p.   After that date, it will revert to its normal selling price £8.50 plus p&p.

 

The earlybird offer is only available via this website and all earlybird orders are – naturally - despatched first.  

 

Please click on the link HERE below for more information and purchase links.

 

 

2016 Yearbook To Feature Women's Hockey For The First Time!

We are pleased to announce that the 2016 edition of the Ice Hockey Review Yearbook will be featuring women’s hockey for the first time!

The new edition –which will be available at the end of the October – will have brief details of Women’s Elite League, Women’s Premier League and National League 1 North & South regular season and playoff competitions, with colour photos of the winning teams at each level and some of the leading players.

We believe that this is the first time that women’s hockey in Britain has been featured in this much detail in a formal publication for quite a few years and, if there is a sufficient level of interest, we would like to extend our women’s coverage further in future years.

There is currently a special “earlybird offer” price for copies of the 2016 Yearbook that are ordered through the website before 20^th October. After that date, the price will revert to its normal selling price of £8.50 plus p&p.

For order link and more information on the book’s other content, click HERE 

Photo:  Widnes Wild women’s team playing Milton Keynes Falcons in the first ever women’s game to be staged at Silver Blades Widnes in February 2016 (photo by Geoff White – www.gw-images.com )

   

Earlybird Offer Extended To 20th October!

Due to a temporary glitch with the book printing company, the publication date for the Ice Hockey Review 2016 NIHL Yearbook has had to be put back a couple of weeks and will now be the end of October rather than the beginning.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause but the plus side is that the Earlybird Offer now runs until the 20^th October. Any copies ordered via the website prior to that date will still be available at the “better than last year’s price” of £7.50 with free UK P&P.

To order copies or more for information about this year’s book, please follow the link HERE

 

Widnes Wild Women's Team 2016/17 WPL Season Preview

The Widnes Wild Women’s ice hockey team get their Women’s Premier League season underway with a home game against Milton Keynes Falcons this Sunday at Silver Blades Widnes.

This is the Wild team’s second season at WPL level and last season – the first time women’s league hockey had been played at Widnes - they finished runners up in the league standings to the all-conquering Swindon Top Cats who went the whole season unbeaten.  The Wild women were one of only two teams to take a point off the eventual champions and, with the Top Cats now having been promoted to the Women’s Elite League, there are hopes that the Widnes team might be able to go one better this time around.    

Assistant Captain Emma Brown said: "The women's team is largely unchanged from last season with the majority of players resigning. We have a couple of new faces who haven't played on a women's team before, Sav Sumner and Sal Roberts, but who are looking forward to the new challenge and are fitting in well with the existing team. We also have a new coach, Owen Tennant, who has brought a new dynamic to our on Ice sessions and we are hopeful he can help us build on our previous success.

Last season Widnes competed well against MK with a draw and a very closely fought loss. We are hoping to improve on these results and get a win in our first game of the season, starting as we mean to go on.”

The WPL has 7 teams this season as opposed to last season’s 8, due the Whitley Bay Squaws dropping out at a late stage in the summer.  Last season’s champions Swindon have been promoted to the WEL and Kingston Diamonds - who won the Division 1 North v Division 1 South Play Off at iceSheffield - have moved up into the WPL.

The Widnes Wild women’s team Women’s Premier League fixtures for the 2016/17 season are as follows (home games in bold):

11th September - home v Milton Keynes Falcons
25^th September - away @ Chelmsford Cobras

23rd October - home v Slough Phantoms
30^th October – home v Nottingham Vipers
27^th November – home v Kingston Diamonds
11^th December: away @ Nottingham Vipers
8^th January: away @ Streatham Storm
15^th January: home v Streatham Storm
4^th February: away @ Slough Phantoms
12^th February: home v Chelmsford Cobras
7^th May: away @ Milton Keynes Falcons
27^th May: away @ Kingston Diamonds

The Wild women’s team’s first home game of the season is against Milton Keynes Falcons this Sunday.  Face off is at 5.30pm - and admission is free!

Photo: action from last season’s home game between Widnes Wild women’s team and Milton Keyes Falcons – the first ever WPL game played at Widnes.  Photo by Geoff White ( www.gw-images.com)  
30th October 2016 v Nottingham Vipers
27th November 2016 v Kingston Diamonds
15th January 2017 v Streatham Storm
12th February 2017 v Chelmsford Cobras