Sledge Hockey Starts Back At Widnes This Weekend

Mayhem match action from the 2022 season (Photo by Haganovaphoto)

The Widnes-based Mayhem sledge team play their first fixture of the 2023 British Para Ice Hockey League season this Sunday 4th June when they take on reigning champions Cardiff Huskies at Planet Ice Widnes, 4.25pm face off.

The Mayhem are one of only 5 Para ice hockey teams across the country and the Widnes rink is more or less unique as its design includes special low level vision boards along the team benches and penalty boxes to make participation easier for sledge-mounted players.

The other venues currently hosting sledge hockey are Cardiff, Peterborough and also Sheffield – who have 2 separate teams the Steelkings and the Steelstings.  A long-term highly successful team based in Hull went into hiatus during the Covid lockdown and has yet to re-form, while previously mooted plans for a team of disabled servicemen based at Basingstoke have never come to fruition. 

As well as the Mayhem league team, the Widnes rink also plays host to the Great Britain international squad who meet for training sessions once a month.

The 5 league teams will play each other once at home and once away over the course of the summer to decide an overall league champion and there will also be an end of season play off weekend.

The full Mayhem fixture list for the 2023 league campaign is:

4th June: home v Cardiff

10th June: away @ Cardiff

17th June: home v Peterborough

24th June: away @ Peterborough

1st July: home v Steelkings

2nd July away @ Steelstings

16th July home v Steelstings

20th August away @ Steelkings

Admission to all Mayhem games at Planet Ice Widnes is free for all spectators.

Summer Classic Cup: Halton Huskies (Widnes) 7 - Blackburn Buccaneers 1

The Halton Huskies celebrate the team's 7th birthday in colourful style (Photo by Haganovaphoto)

Sunday 28th May 2023 – Summer Classic Cup: Halton Huskies 7 – Blackburn Buccaneers 1  

The Widnes based Halton Huskies moved to the top of the Summer Classic Cup group on goal difference with a 7-1 victory over the Blackburn Buccaneers at Planet Ice Widnes on Sunday.  

The game saw the 7th anniversary of the Huskies club and the players arrived wearing brightly coloured Hawaiian shirts to mark the occasion. 

Representatives of the Saints Sled Dog Rescue charity – who offer to help re-home unwanted Siberian Huskies and Alaskan Malamutes – were special guests at the game.

The Halton goals were scored by Jake Berry (2+1), Ethan Trickett (2+0), Matthew Kohler (2+0) and Nathan Hweitt (1+2) with Anthony Hough and Conor Cooper adding assists.  The Huskies netminder Rebecca Donnelly was named Most Valuable Player for the home side. 

Sunday’s result sees the Huskies tied on points at the top of the table with the Riverside Raiders but according to the rules of the competition, teams level on the same number of points are separated by overall goal difference – and not by games between the two teams, as is common in other ice hockey tournaments. 

The Huskies have two wins from their three games to date – with a goal difference of +17 - while the Raiders have two wins from two with a goal difference of +16.

The Raiders play away in Hull next Saturday 3rd June and are at home to Blackburn on Sunday 10th June. The Huskies are away in Blackburn on 4th June and then at home to Hull on 10th June as the second instalment of a mouth-watering “Widnes double bill” of ice hockey straight after the Raiders game.

If current form prevails in the intervening matches, the Huskies and Raiders look likely to battle out for to decide who finishes in top position in the group in their second meeting of the campaign on 1st July at Planet Ice Widnes. The top two teams in each of the regional Cup groups qualify for the play offs weekend which will be held in Sheffield over 8th & 9th August. 

Wild Women At WNIHL Play Off Weekend

The Widnes Wild women's team after their play off semi final against Cardiff (Photo by Mike Lennon)

Saturday 27th May 2023 – Play Off Semi Final (at Sheffield): Cardiff Comets 3 – DMUK Widnes Wild Women 1

The DMUK Widnes Wild women put in a spirited performance against Cardiff Comets in the Division 2 Play Off semi final before losing out 3-1 at iceSheffield on Saturday.

This was first time that the Wild women had ever played against Cardiff, so they were very much an unknown quantity, and taking on the South Division champions was always likely to be a bit of an uphill struggle.

Widnes had featured in two playoff semi finals before – in the Women’s Premier League back in 2016 and 2017 - and, on both occasions were beaten by Streatham but any hopes that this might have been a case of “third time lucky” were soon dashed as the Wild women got off to a nightmare start and conceded the first goal just 30 seconds into the game. 

Two more Cardiff goals followed and Widnes were left trailing 3-0 at the end of the first period.  They steadied the ship somewhat in the second - which played out goal-less - but this still left them with a metaphorical mountain to climb in the third period if they were to have any chance of progressing to the final.

Widnes had more of the play in the 3rd period and they were finally rewarded with a goal with 6 minutes left in the game when Leen de Decker beat the Cardiff netminder with a long range shot from out by the blue line.

The Wild women put the Cardiff net under increasing pressure in the latter stages, forcing several defensive penalties, but were unable to make the most of the resulting powerplay and the score remained 3-1 at the end of the game.  

The other semi final saw D2 North champions Solway Sharks beat South runners up Peterborough 5-1 to reach the final, where they overcame Cardiff to take the overall Division 2 National title.   

In the Division 1 play off final, Whitley Bay Beacons beat Swindon Topcats 5-1 while Solihull Vixens were beaten 1-3 by the Queen Bees in the Elite League final.

Wild Academy Under 12s At National Play Offs

The Widnes Wild Academy Under 12 team at the National Play Offs in Cambridge (Photo by Hannah Walker)

The Widnes Wild Academy Under 12 team made lots of new friends - and gained some useful experience - from their first ever visit to the EIHA Under 12 National Play Offs weekend, held in Cambridge.

The Wild youngsters had previously won the EIHA Under 12 North Division, finishing 5 points clear of runners up Leeds and both teams qualified for the weekend, along with the top two finishers in the Midlands, South East and South West Divisions, divided into two groups of 4. 

Widnes took on Midlands runners-up Solihull and South East runners-up Chelmsford on the Saturday, losing 1-7 and 2-6 respectively, and then played South West champions Guildford on Sunday morning, losing 0-3.

This record of 3 loses from their 3 games meant that they finished bottom of their group but it was a good learning experience for the young players  - and they played against two southern teams that they had never met before.

The top two teams from the two weekend groups  – Sheffield, Solihull Guildford and Slough - met up in the semi finals and Sheffield went to win the overall national title in the final.

Wild Academy Head Coach Mike Gilbert commented afterwards:

“Every team that makes it to the Nationals finals is full of talented players in all positions so it is always a tough set of games and all teams can beat each other.” 

“This was the first time ever a Widnes team had won the league and also made it to Nationals so massive credit to the team and players. They worked so hard to get their and should be proud of themselves! Something like this has lots of pressure - which is something the players haven’t had to deal with before - and our focus was for the team to be calm, confident, never give up and have as much fun as they could. I can tell you the team took the points on board and they definitely had them in mind throughout the whole weekend.” 

“Unfortunately we lost all 3 games. However, they were very end to end competitive games, thoroughly enjoyable for the players, and there were a lot of good points for Widnes.”

“This season has been an unbelievable one for the team and they have done themselves so proud. Also the volunteer group behind the team have done so well and put in so much effort for them. To thank you and well done to you all too!”

The Wild Academy are looking to recruit new players for the 2023/2024 season across all age groups from Under 10 to Under 18 and are holding a series of welcome sessions at the Planet Ice rink during May and June. 

Separate “Learn To Play” sessions are also available for anybody new who would like to take up the sport.  For more information, contact Academy Head Coach mike.gilbert@wildacademy.co.uk

Wild Junior Player In England Internationals

Widnes Wild Academy player Jared Knowles  (Photo by Geoff White)

Widnes Wild Junior Academy player Jared Knowles was the latest Widnes player to gain international honours after he was selected to play for the England Under 16 team in a weekend tournament against Scotland U16s in Dumfries.

The tournament saw Scotland play England at Under 14 and Under 16 levels with two games for each team on both the Saturday and Sunday.  

The Under 14 series ended in 2 wins for each team, with the hosts eventually taking the trophy with an over time winner.

The Under 16 series saw a 4-0 whitewash with the England youngsters only managing 3 goals all together and conceding a “character building” 30 in return.

In order to be selected for the England team, the players had to attend a number of selection camps in the run up to the tournament.

Jared joins an impressive - and ever growing - list of Widnes Wild players who have played for their country.  Katie Fairclough, Sophie Sinclair Reeks, Sarah Hutchinson and Nicole Jackson have all played for the GB women’s international team while Leen de Decker is the all time record appearances holder for her native Belgium. Wild NIHL player Matty Barlow also played for the England Under 23 team last season.

The full results for the weekend were:

U14s Series (at Dumfries)

Game 1: Scotland U14 5 – England U14 3

Game 2:  Scotland U14 5 – England U14 3

Game 3: Scotland U14 1 - England U14 3 

Game 4: Scotland U14 1 - England U14 3 

OT: Scotland U14 1 - England U14 0 

U16s Series (at Dumfries)

Game 1: Scotland U16 7 – England U16 0

Game 2: Scotland U16 4 – England U16 0

Game 3: Scotland U16 9 – England U16 2

Game 4: Scotland U16 10 – England U16 1

Halton Huskies To Face Blackburn Buccaneers This Sunday

Match action from the recent Riverside Raiders v Halton Huskies game at Planet Ice Widnes (Haganova Photo)

The Widnes based Halton Huskies team play their first home game of this year’s Summer Classic Cup this Sunday 28th May when they entertain the Blackburn Buccaneers at Planet Ice Widnes, 5.45pm face off.

The Huskies have played two away games in the cup so far, winning 1-13 away to strugglers Hull Knights and then narrowly losing out in a thrilling 4-3 penalty shoot out game to Riverside Raiders, also based at Widnes.

The full Huskies fixture list for the summer is:

28th May: home v Blackburn Buccaneers

4th June: away @ Blackburn Buccaneers

10th June: home v Hull Knights

1st July: home v Riverside Raiders

16th July away @ Connah’s Quay Cobras (challenge match)

Match Report: Connah's Quay Cobras 6 - Trafford Thunder 9

Connah's Quay Cobras team photo by Sophie Harrison-Jones (HJ Photography)

Sunday 21st May 2023 - Challenge Match: Connah's Quay Cobras 6 - Trafford Thunder 9

The Connah’s Quay Cobras put in a battling performance against the Trafford Thunder, narrowly losing out 6-9 in a highly entertaining challenge game at Deeside Leisure Centre on Sunday.

This was only the Cobras’ second ever game, with the team having just been formed at the start of the year, and the roster is composed of an interesting mix of youth an experience, including a number of former Deeside junior players, recreational players  and players with league experience.

Despite the overall scoreline, the Cobras easily gave as much as they got, out-shot their opponents by more than 2 to 1 over the course of the game and were unlucky to come up against former Altrincham Aces and Manchester Minotaurs league netminder Aran Fox - who was also once on the Manchester Phoenix Elite League roster - in the Trafford goal.

Trafford took the lead just two minutes into the game and were 0-3 up by the time the Cobras managed to score their first goal – from former Deeside Dragons player Sam Krempasky on 16 minutes.

A further goal for the Thunder saw them leading 1-4 at the first break and they extended their lead yet more with a 5th goal just 40 seconds into the second period.

Two more Trafford goals followed but a goal from former Dragons junior Luke Wainwright doubled the Cobras tally for the game on 28 minutes and a strike from former Slough Jet Stewart Cutting 5 minutes later further narrowed the score.

Trafford fought back with two more goals of their own to lead 3-8 at the second break but the Connah’s Quay team were growing in confidence and looking ever better as the game went on. 

A goal early in the 3rd period put the Thunder 3-9 ahead and, despite the Cobras continuing to pepper the visitors’ net with shots, the game seemed pretty much over as a contest.

However, the home side moved up a gear in the closing stages and three unanswered goals – from Wainwright on 48 minutes, and a brace from former Dragon and Bradford Bulldog Gez Evans  on 49 and 55 – made the score look infinitely more respectable.

The MVP awards went to Radovan Spavelko for Connah’s Quay and John Leach for Trafford.  An honourable mention must also go to Aran Fox in the Thunder goal who saved 90 of the 96 shots that he faced for an impressive  Save % of 93.75

Full Line Ups and Statistics

Connah’s Quay Cobras:  Matthew Harrison Jones, Stewart Cutting (1+1), Gez Evans (2+0), Kenny Williams, Evan McKinney, Louis Ellwood (0+2), Mike Filek (0+1), Brad Bannon (2PIM), Luke Wainwright (2+1), Paul Jones, Slavomir Sykora, Radovan Spavelko, Libor Krempasky (0+1), Sam Krempasky (1+0)

Netminder:   Paul Jones – 60 Mins, SA 42, GA 9, 78.57 Sv% 

Trafford Thunder:  Aaron Baldwin (1+1), Adam Kennedy (1+0, 2PIM), Alexander Fisher (0+1), Andrew Walch, Aran Fox (2PIM), Benjamin Pepper-Proctor (3+1), David Saville-Elliott (0+1), John Leach (3+1), Jonathan Pennell (0+1), Jospeh Rigby, Lee Hadfield, Mark Arnold (0+3), Michael Turnbull, Robert Ollier, Stephen Redfern (2PIM), Warren Baldwin (1+2)

Netminder: Aran Fox – 60 mins, SA 96, GA 6, 93.75 Sv% 

Connah's Quay Cobras To Play Trafford Thunder at Deeside

Connah's Quay Cobras team photo by Sophie Harrison-Jones (HJ Photography)

The Deeside-based Connah’s Quay Cobras team play only their second ever game this Sunday 21^st May when they host Trafford Thunder in a challenge match at Deeside Leisure Centre in Queensferry, 8.30pm face off.

The Cobras are a new side in recreational ice hockey, having been formed at the start of the year after the Deeside venue re-opened following a 2 ½ year closure due initially to the Covid lockdown and then the building subsequently being used as an NHS vaccination centre.

They played their first match on 16^th April 2023 when they narrowly lost 4-8 to the Widnes-based Riverside Raiders team.  

The Connah’s Quay team features an interesting mix of youth and experience and includes a number of former Deeside junior players and rec players from other teams. 

Several former league players are also on the roster, with notable names including former Deeside Dragons NIHL players Kenny Williams, Scott Egerton and Sam Krempasky, ex Riverside Raider, Dragon and Bradford Bulldog Gez Evans, Stewart Cutting of Slough Jets and Swindon Wildcats and former women's league players Cath Thornton of Flintshire Furies and Emma Dutton of Manchester Phoenix.

The game against Trafford faces off at 8.30pm on Sunday and admission is free.

You can find out more about the Connah’s Quay Cobras via their Facebook page HERE and their website HERE.

De Decker Leading Points Scorer Heading Into Play Offs.

Wild Women captain Leen de Decker (#5) in action against Grimbsy Wolves (Photo by Annie Bennison)

DMUK Widnes Wild women captain Leen de Decker finished up as the team’s top points scorer for the regular season with 24 goals and 11 assists. The Belgium national team record holder for international appearances, she was one of four ever present players to have played in all 14 league games, along with Rachael Pearce, Charlotte Cramp and Jennifer Hickey.

De Decker was pushed all the way in the scoring standings by former GB Under18 international Katie Fairclough, who finished just 3 points behind with 20 goals and 12 assists from 13 games – including 2 hat tricks and an impressive 5-goal haul in the home game against Kingston Diamonds.

Last season’s top scorer Preston Gennoe weighed in with 13 goals and 10 assists while Pearce, Cramp, Danielle Skilander and Lucy Kirkham also made double figures.

De Decker is one of the longest serving players on the Wild women’s team, having been part of the group that moved to Widnes from Altrincham in 2015 to set up the new club.

Stephanie Drinkwater, Lucy Kirkham, Vanessa Crickmore-Clarke, Elizabeth Loss and Catherine Fell are the other founder member of the Wild women still to be playing with the club and, with a combined total of over 450 appearances between them, the team will be relying heavily on their experience when it comes to the play offs over the Bank Holiday weekend.

Wild Women Qualify For Play Offs

The DMUK Widnes Wild women's team after their last home game of the 2022/23 of the season against Leeds Roses (Photo by Paul Breeze) 

The DMUK Widnes Wild women’s team have qualified for the end of season play offs - to be held in Sheffield at the end of the Month.

They achieved this without even having to step out onto the ice after their closest rivals Telford lost a crunch match against already confirmed champions Solway Sharks, meaning that they will no longer be able to overtake the Wild Women in the league table.

The Widnes ladies had already finished their regular season schedule with a 9-2 win over Leeds Roses at the end of April but the WNIHL season runs until the end of May and other teams in the division still have games to complete. The Telford match result means that the Wild women are confirmed in second place in the table with 11 wins from their 14 league games, and can look forward to the Play Off weekend at iceSheffield.

This will be the first time that Widnes have appeared in the end of season tournament since 2017 when they finished 4th in the Women’s Premier League and lost to Streatham Storm in the semi final. In the normal run of events, they would also have played in the 2020 tournament after having won the Division 1 North title that season but all sports were suspended due to the Covid pandemic and the Play Offs never took place.

This year’s event will see the top two teams from Division 2 North – Solway and Widnes – take on the top two finishing teams from Division 2 south – Cardiff and Peterborough – in semi finals and final to decide an overall winner.  The team that wins the final will also be eligible for promotion to Women’s Division 1 for next season.

The women’s play off weekend takes place at iceSheffield over the Bank Holiday Weekend of 27th to 29th May and features teams from all 6 women’s competitions - Elite League, Division 1, Division 2 North and South and Under 16 girls North and South - with 13 games over the 3 days.   

The WNIHL Division 2 Semi Finals take place at 6pm and 8.15pm on the Saturday and the final will be played at 3pm on the Sunday.

The full schedule for the weekend is:

Saturday 27th May 2023

09.00 – WNIHL Division 1 Semi-Final 1

11.15 – WNIHL Division 1 Semi-Final 2

13.30 – WNIHL Elite Semi-Final 1

15.45 – WNIHL Elite Semi-Final 2

18.00 – WNIHL Division 2 Semi-Final 1

20.15 – WNIHL Division 2 Semi-Final 2

Sunday 28th May 2023

09.00 – WNIHL Division 1 Final

11.15 – WNIHL U16 Semi-Final 1

13.15 – WNIHL U16 Semi-Final 2

15.00 – WNIHL Division 2 Final

17.15 – WNIHL Elite Final

Monday 29th May 2023

09:00 – WNIHL U16 Final

10.45 – WNIHL Playoff

Admission tickets cost £5 per person for the whole weekend and can be booked via the EIHA website at: https://eiha.ticketco.events/uk/en/m/e/wnihl_finals_weekend

A livestream option is available for anybody who is unable to travel to Sheffield, and can be booked via the same ticket link.

Summer Classic Cup: Riverside Raiders 4 - Halton Huskies 3 (PS)

 

Riverside Raiders' Eemeli Vuorihovi (#24) put the Huskies goal under pressure (Photo by @haganovaphoto) 

Sunday 7th May – Summer Classic Cup: Riverside Raiders 4 – Halton Huskies 3 (PS)

The Riverside Raiders moved clear at the top of the Summer Classic Cup group table after a thrilling victory over the Halton Huskies at Planet Ice Widnes on Sunday.

There was very little to choose between the teams throughout the game and, in the end, the result had to be decided in a nerve wracking penalty shoot out.

The Raiders were the home team for the game but, as the Huskies also use the Widnes rink as their home base, there was a good vocal support for both teams.

With local rink pride at stake as well as the cup points, the opening phase was very tense as both teams tested each other out and it wasn’t until the 7th minute that the first breakthrough actually came.

Thomas Pendlebury fired the Huskies into the lead but it didn’t last long as David Geroc equalised for the Raiders just 2 minutes later. Two minutes after that, the Raiders went in front as Louis Grogan fired in during a delayed penalty call and the home team held a very narrow 2-1 lead at the first period break.

The second period was just as closely fought and the game could easily have gone either way but, as it was, the Huskies made the more of their chances on goal.  Brendan Lucas levelled the scores on 24 minutes and then, with just 2 minutes left on the clock, Jake Berry edged the visitors back in front.

The Raiders rallied after the second break and equalised with a well-taken goal from Ben Donkin on 45 minutes. The tension mounted around the rink as the clock ticked down – with both sides desperate to try and score a late winning goal.

However, the score stubbornly remained 3-3 after 60 minutes and the tie had to be decided by a nail biting penalty shoot out, with 3 players from each team taking shots.

Adam Jenkins fired home the first penalty shot for the Raiders and that turned out to be the winning goal, as all of the other penalties were saved.

The result means that the Raiders head the Cup group with 2 wins from 2 games with Halton Huskies  and Blackburn Buccaneers both on 1 win each, with all teams having beaten bottom team Hull Knights.

The Raiders are next in action on Saturday 3rd June when they are away to Hull, 5pm face off, and are then at home to Blackburn Buccaneers the following Saturday 10th June – 4.15pm start – at Planet Ice Widnes.

Raiders Line Up & Stats: Luke Pengelly (4PIM), David Geroc (1+0), Emma Pearson, Andrew Birch, Adam Jenkins (1PS), Alex Newman, Eemeli Vuorihovi, Louis Grogan (1+0) Stephen Harvey, Rory Sillery (2PIM), Ian Thirkettle, Alain Barthelemy, Shawn McBride, Shaun Sillery, Ben Donkin (1+0, 4PIM), Ratislav Geroc

Netminder:  Thirkettle – 60 mins, 42 SA, 3 GA, 3 GAA, 92.86 Sv%

Huskies Line Up & Stats: Jonathan Lomax (2PIM), Robert Lomax (2PIM), Jeff Chapman Watson, John Buckell, Brendan Lucas (1+0), Conor Cooper (2PIM), Adam Darbyshire, Rebecca Donnelley, Anthony Hough, Stephen Hay, Thomas Pendlebury (1+0), Jack Davies, Matthew Kohler, Nathan Hewitt, Edward Ridding, Jake Berry (1+1, 2PIM), Callum Fraine.

Netminder:  Darbyshire – 60 mins, 39 SA, 3 GA, 3 GAA, 92.31 Sv%

Summer Classic Cup: Riverside Raiders (Widnes) 18 - Hull Knights 3

Riverside Raiders 2023 team photo by Mike Teinert

Saturday 29th April – Summer Classic Cup: Riverside Raiders 18 – Hull Knights 3

The Widnes based Riverside Raiders got their 2023 Summer Cup campaign off to a flying start with a comprehensive 18-3 victory over Hull Knights at Planet Ice Widnes on Saturday.

The game was very close early on as both teams tested out the other’s strengths and weaknesses, and the first breakthrough did not come until the 12th minute when Kai Gennoe opened the scoring for the Raiders. Three more goals followed in the first period for the Widnes side – from Ben Donkin, Adam Jenkins and Rory Sillery – and the Raiders led 4-0 at the first break.

The Raiders kept up the pressure in the second period and a goal from David Geroc just 2 minutes from the restart edged them further ahead. Second strikes from Jenkins and Geroc and a goal from Louis Grogan saw the Raiders leading 8-0 before Hull finally got on the scoresheet with a goal on 35 minutes.  A second goal of the game from Gennoe rounded off the scoring for the period and the Raiders led 9-1 at the second break.

By this time, the game was already over as a contest and the Raiders really went to town in the third period. Eemeli Vuorihovi fired them into double figures with just 19 seconds gone on the clock and Andrew Birch made the score 11-1 23 seconds later.

Adam Jenkins scored his hat-trick goal on 42 minutes before Hull scored their second goal of the game to bring the score to 12-2. David Geroc rounded off his hat-trick on 46 minutes to restore the 11 goal advantage but Hull stubbornly hit back again with their 3rd goal 70 seconds later. 

But that was as good as things were to get for the visiting Knights as five unanswered goals for the Raiders – from Sillery, Birch, Jenkins, Geroc and Gennoe – in the latter stages rounded off a resounding performance.

The win sees the Raiders move to the top of the 4-team qualifying group, level on points with Halton Huskies - who also beat Hull in their first game, but by a lesser 13-1 scoreline.

The Riverside Raiders are next in action this Sunday 7th May when they take on the Huskies in a top of the table all-Widnes derby at Planet Ice Widnes, 4.15pm face off. Admission is free, as is parking. 

Full Raiders Line-up:

Kai Gennoe (3+5), Emma Pearson (0+2), Andrew Birch (2+0), Alex Newman, Adam Jenkins (4+3, 2PIM),  Eemeli Vuorihovi (1+2), Lewis Grogan (1+0), Miles Radford, Stephen Harvey (0+1), Rory Sillery (2+1, 2PIM), Ian Thirkettle, David Geroc (4+2), Shawn McBride (0+1), Alain Barthelemy (0+1, 2PIM), Ben Donkin (1+1, 4PIM), Ratislav Geroc (2PIM).

Netminders:  Ian Thirkettle (20 mins, 0 GA) / Miles Radford (40 mins, 3 GA)

Match Report: Connah's Quay Cobras (Deeside) 4 - Riverside Raiders (Widnes ) 8

The Riverside Raiders won the Summer Classic Cup play off title in 2017 (Photo by Chris Johnstone)

Sunday 16th April 2023 – Challenge Match:

Connah’s Quay Cobras (Deeside) 4 - Riverside Raiders (Widnes) 8

Period Scores 2-3, 1-2, 1-3

Shots on Goal: Cobras 51 - Raiders 41

Penalties In Minutes:  Cobras 8 - Raiders 6 

The Widnes-based Riverside Raiders got their preparations for the 2023 Ice Hockey Summer Classic Cup series under way with a 4-8 win away to Connah’s Quay Cobras in Deeside on Sunday. 

The team for Sunday’s game saw the welcome return of familiar faces such as Adam Jenkins, Ben Donkin, Mike Teinert and Eemeli Vuorihovi and the addition of former Widnes Wild women’s captain Emma Pearson, erstwhile Wild netminder Ian Thirkettle and graduates from the Wild Junior Academy Rory Sillery and Alain Barthelemy, among others.

The Connah’s Quay team also featured an interesting mix of youth, rec and experience including former Deeside Dragons league players Kenny Williams, Scott Egerton and Sam Krempasky, ex Riverside Raider and Bradford Bulldog Gez Evans and former Manchester Phoenix women’s players Cath Thornton and Emma Dutton - so it was a really good test for the Raiders side.

The Raiders took the lead with just 28 seconds on the clock with a goal from Rory Sillery and further strikes from Kai Gennoe and Adam Jenkins saw them leading 0-3 after 6 minutes.

The Cobras hit back with two goals of their own to go into the first break at 2-3 down and then score again 90 seconds into the second period to level the score.

Two goals for the Raiders – from David Geroc on 36 minutes and Eemeli Vuorihovu just 45 seconds later - put them back in control and the score stood at 3-5 after two periods.

The third period saw the Raiders edge further ahead with goals from Andrew Birch on 53 minutes and Gennoe, again, on 56 and a hat-trick strike from Gennoe just 14 seconds later put the visitors 3-8 up with just over 3 minutes left on the clock.

The Cobras fired in one last goal 11 seconds after that – a hat trick goal for Sam Krempasky – and that rounded off the scoring for the game.

The Raiders 2023 Summer Classic Cup campaign gets under way on Saturday 29th April when they take on the Hull Knights at Planet Ice Widnes, 6pm face off.

This year’s Ice Hockey Summer Classic tournament sees 16 teams from across the north of England competing in 4 groups of 4, playing each other home and away. The top teams in each group will meet in a championship play off weekend in Sheffield later in the summer. 

The full Riverside Raiders 2023 Cup fixtures are:

29th April: home v Hull Knights

7th May: home v Halton Huskies

3rd June: away @ Hull Knights

10th June: home v Blackburn Buccaneers

25th June: away @ Blackburn Buccaneers

1st July: away @ Halton Huskies

The two games against the Halton Huskies should be especially entertaining as both teams are based at the Planet Ice rink in Widnes.

 

Telford Win Laidler Playoffs At Widnes

Widnes Wild players Adam Jasecko (Hull #24) and Evan Coles (Aces #39) in action at the Laidler Playoffs (Photo by Fiona Haggar)

The Planet Ice rink in Widnes played host to the Laidler Division Play Off finals weekend for the 4th time in a row and saw Telford Tigers coming away with the title.

Most neutral observers had expected recently crowned league champions Hull Jets to win the Play Offs for a second year in a row and repeat the achievements of Solihull Barons who won hitherto unmatched back to back league and play off doubles in 2013 and 2014 and Widnes Wild who won three Play Off finals in a row in 2017, 2018 and 2019.  However, this time it was the team that finished second in the league that took the honours, mirroring the situation last season when the two sides fortunes were reversed.    

The two semi-finals - played on the Saturday – went pretty much to league form, with league champions Hull beating 4th place finishers Altrincham Aces 9-1 and league runners up Telford seeing off 3rd place Sutton Sting 4-3.

Although Widnes Wild no longer play in this division, the Hull game had plenty of interest for local fans as the Jets team included former Wild players  Tom Brierley, Boris Giba, Kieran Beach, Ryan Kemp and Richard Haggar as well as two current Wild players – Kohen Taylor and Adam Jasecko who also play at Hull on a 2-way deal.

The Aces team featured former Wild players Sam Dunford, Sarah Hutchinson and CJ Ashton and current 2-way netminder Evan Coles.

The final on the Sunday saw Hull take on the Telford team that they had already beaten 3 times out of 4 during the league season so it was quite a surprise when the Tigers took a 0-3 lead into the first period break.

The second period played out goal-less but Telford extended their lead with 3 more goals in the third period before Hull finally found the back of the net themselves with a consolation strike from Haggar on 57 minutes.  This was only the Jets’ 3rd defeat all season and broke a run of 18 consecutive wins stretching back to December.

North West Lions In Czech Tournament

North West Lions' Adam Wrixon puts the Nijmegen netminder under pressure at the Benesov tournament (Photo by Jiří Bošek) 

The North West Lions team brought a lot of positives back from their first overseas trip after taking part in the international tournament at Benesov in the Czech Republic, where the representative team –which is made of players from teams that play at Widnes, Altrincham, Deeside and Blackburn – came up against opposition from Slovakia, Switzerland, the Netherlands and the host nation.

The Lions team was originally formed in 2020 but the Covid lockdowns and subsequent foreign travel restrictions made it logistically impossible for them to take part in previous overseas tournaments so this venture was pretty much a step into the unknown.

It turned out to be quite a baptism of fire for the Lions as they lost all 4 of their 4 “Group A” games - 2-10 to HK Atlantis Zvolen from Slovakia, 13-0 to Kokory Foxes from the Olomouc in the Czech Republic, 7-1 to HC AHL from České Budělovice and 1-5 to HC Jonny Lugano from Switzerland.

In the play off game, where teams from Group A met teams from Group B in order to decide final tournament placings, they had a much closer game against Dutch team Chihuahuas Nijmegen – largely matching them in terms of puck possession and shots on goal before eventually losing out 2-8. This meant that the Lions finished in 10th place out of 10 but they certainly grew as a team as the tournament went on, gained a huge amount of experience - and made a lot of new friends!  

Adam Wrixon ended the tournament as the Lions top scorer with 4 goals and 1 assist, Luke Stone had 1+2, Adam Lappin 1+0 and Andy Way 0+2.

Netminder Mike Welch was kept pretty busy in the Lions net, facing 106 shots over the 5 games and ending up with a 71.14% Save Percentage.

The full North West Lions squad for the tournament was Mike Welch (netminder), Adam Lappin, Thomas Quigley, Josh Grocutt, Marc Taylor (defence) and Andy Way, Adam Wrixon, Chris Preston, David McMullan, Chris Alker, Luke Stone (forwards).

Josh Grocutt - who has previously played league hockey with Widnes Wild, Solent & Gosport Stars and Oxford City Stars said of the trip: 

“We went into the tournament with high expectations but soon learnt the level was a lot higher then we had anticipated, however it brought together 12 strangers who don’t normally play together and now have a strong hockey bond. I am definitely looking forward to going again, knowing what we need next time to compete.”

North West Lions Benesov Tournament Schedule:

Friday 31st March (9am)

North West Lions 2 - HK Atlantis Zvolen (Slo) 10 

Period Scores: 2-10, 0-0

Shots On Goal: Lions 10 – Zvolen 18

Penalties In Minutes: Lions 0 - Zvolen 6 

Lions scoring: Wrixon 1+1, Stone 1+2

Netminder: 18 shots / 10 goals (64.29%)

Friday 31st March (4pm)  - Group A

Kokory Foxes (CZE) 13 – North West Lions 0 

Period Scores: 6-0, 7-0

Shots On Goal: Foxes 27 - Lions 13

Penalties In Minutes: Foxes 0 - Lions 2 (Grocutt 2 - slashing) 

Netminder: 27 shots / 13 goals (67.50%)

Saturday 1st April (4.30pm) – Group A

HC AHL České Budělovice (CZE) 7 – North West Lions 1.

Period Scores: 2-0, 5-1

Shots On Goal: AHL 17 - Lions 5

Penalties In Minutes: AHL 0 - Lions 4 (Grocutt 2 – slashing, Lappin 2 - kneeing) 

Lions Scoring: Wrixon 1+0, Way 0+1

Netminder: 17 shots / 7 goals (70.83%)

Sunday 2nd April (9am) – Group A

North West Lions 1 - HC Jonny Lugano (CH) 5

Period Scores: 0-3, 1-2

Shots On Goal: Lions 16 – Lugano 23

Penalties In Minutes:  Lions 4 (Stone 2, unsportsmanlike conduct, Stone 2 – interference)

Lions Scoring: Wrixon 1+0, Way 0+1 

Netminder: 23 shots / 5 goals (82.14%)

Sunday 2nd April (11.20am) - 9th v10th Play Off 

North West Lions 2 - Chihuahuas Nijmegen (NL) 8

Period Scores: 1-3,1 –5

Shots On Goal: Lions 21- Chihuahuas 21

Penalties In Minutes: M 0-0

Lions Scoring: Lappin 1+0, Wrixon 1+0, Stone 0+1

Netminder: 21 shots / 8 goals (72.41%)

You can find out more about Yellow Hockey and their future tournaments on their website at: www.yellowhockeygames.com

2023 Laidler Play Off Finals To Be held At Planet Ice Widnes

The Planet Ice rink at Widnes has been selected to stage the Laidler Division play off finals over the weekend of 1st and 2nd April.

This is the 4th season time in a row that the Laidler end of season event has been held at the Widnes venue and it is the latest in a growing list of prestigious events to be held there – with the most recent being a 3-game series of international matches between the Great Britain women’s under16 team and their Norwegian counterparts in February.

The Widnes Wild team won the Laidler play off finals twice at Planet Ice Widnes back in 2018 and 2019 but, as they no longer play in that division, it means that the arena is now a perfect neutral venue for the 4–team event, and was also used to stage last season’s finals.

The two semi finals will be played on Saturday 1st April – face off times 4.15pm and 7.30pm – and the final will face off at 3.15pm on the Sunday.

The top four finishing teams in the Laidler Division table qualify for the semi finals and Hull Jets, Telford Tigers 2, Sutton Sting and Altrincham Aces have already secured the four slots. 

Tickets for the Laidler Play Off finals at Widnes cost £25 for adults, £15 for children and £20 for concessions for the weekend and can be booked online here: https://iceaccount.co.uk/nihl-play-off-weekend/.

Weekend tickets cover all three games over the weekend – ie both semi finals plus the final. An announcement on the availability of single day tickets for the final will be made on the day of the semi finals.

The Play Off finals event for the Wilkinson Division (South 2) will take place at Alexandra Palace the same weekend and the finals for the Moralee Division (North 1) and Britton Division (South1) will be held at Planet Ice Altrincham and Planet Ice Milton Keynes respectively the following, Easter, weekend 8th to 10th April.

Find out more HERE: https://eiha.co.uk/2023-nihl-playoff-final-weekends-confirmed/ 

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The Widnes Wild team’s home tie in the Moralee Division play off quarter finals will be played at Planet Ice Widnes on Sunday 2nd April. The face off time will be 7.15pm to accommodate the Laidler final, which will be played beforehand. 

North West Lions To Take Part in Czech Tournament

Chris Preston icing for the North West Lions team (Photo by Geoff White) 

Former Widnes Wild players Chris Preston and Josh Grocutt have been selected to play for the North West Lions representative team in an international tournament in the Czech Republic at the end of the month.

The tournament is being held at Benesov, on the outskirts of Prague, from 31st March to 2nd April and also features a team from the Netherlands, two each from Slovakia and Switzerland as well as 4 teams from the host nation, playing in two groups of 5.

The Lions’ schedule in Group A is (all times CET):

31st March: v HK Atlantis Zvolen (SVK), 9am 

31st March: v Kokory Foxes (CZ), 4pm

1st April: v HC AHL (CZ), 4.35pm 

2nd April: v  HC Jonny Lugano (CH), 9am

with semi finals and a final being played on the Sunday after the group stages have been completed.

Rather like the British Lions rugby union representative team, the North West Lions team was set up especially to play tournament matches abroad and, as its name suggests, comprises players taken from the north west rinks of Widnes, Deeside, Altrincham and Blackburn.

The full North West Lions squad for the Benesov tournament is Mike Welch (netminder), Adam Lappin, Thomas Quigley, Josh Grocutt, Marc Taylor (defence) and Andy Way, Adam Wrixon, Chris Preston, David McMullan, Chris Alker, Luke Stone (forwards).

Josh Grocutt made 10 appearances for Widnes Wild during the 2013/14 season, having previously played for Oxford City Stars and Solent & Gosport Sharks. He has since played with and coached recreational teams at Widnes. 

Chris Preston made 105 Wild appearances from 2013 to 2017, scoring 15 goals, 23 assists and accruing 105 penalty minutes.  He previously played for the Blackburn-based Lancashire Raptors and was more recently a junior coach and rec player at Blackburn.  

You can find out more about the Benesov tournament on the organiser's website at www.yellowhockeygames.com 

GB V Norway Women's Under 16 International Games At Widnes

Team GB Women's Under 16s in action against Norway U16s at Planet Ice Widnes (Photo by Keith Moon - www.framedandfocused.co.uk)

The Planet Ice rink in Widnes played host to three prestigious international matches over the weekend with the Great Britain U16 women’s team taking on their Norwegian counterparts in a 3-match series.

Following on from a similarly significant England Under 23 game against Denmark at the end of last season and numerous NIHL, Para and Women’s play off tournaments, it represents another glowing endorsement of the capabilities of the rink, its staff and local match volunteers in staging important events.

The 3 games all ended in defeats for the GB girls, with Norway winning 1-8 on Thursday afternoon, 0-4 on Friday afternoon and 0-4 again on Saturday evening.  There was an obvious gulf in class and experience between the two teams, with the visitors outshooting the hosts by a considerable margin in each game and having the upper hand for long periods over the course of the series.      

The solitary goal for GB was scored at 48.18 in the game on Thursday by Alisha Potts, who usually plays for the Leeds Knights Under 18s junior team and also played up a level for the GB Under 18 women’s team at the World Championships, assisted by Tahlia Davidson–Wright, another GB Under 18 international who plays for the Queen Bees in the Women’s Elite League.

The top goal scorer for Norway over the three game series was Tilde Simensen who scored 4 goals in the first game on Thursday.  Norway captain Miriam Toet-Uddveg scored a hat-trick in the 0-4 win on Friday, Kausa Braten scored 3 goals overall, Oda Bruland Austefjord and Thea Lothe scored 2 each and single strikes for Timea Sturkova and Edle Rise Moe in the last game on Saturday completed the series goalscoring for the visitors.

Great Britain Head Coach Nicci Wardell said that her side continued to show improvements over the three-match series: “We continue to show big improvements and we were with them for good periods. The girls continued to impress us all,  resulting in their efforts being rewarded with a tighter game. Their commitment to continually improving themselves as a team has been really pleasing to see. They have bought into everything we have asked of them in terms of structure and systems.”

Rebecca Clayton - who was tournament host, looking after the two teams for the series - said:  “All the games were exciting to watch. GB didn’t give up until the very end and were in good spirits throughout”.

GB Under 16s Women's Games To Be Played At Widnes

Following on from the successful staging of an England Under 23 game at the end of last season, the Planet Ice rink at Widnes is to host more international games as the Great Britain Under 16 girls team take on their counterparts from Norway next week.

There are 3 games in the series with matches being played on Thursday 9th February (face off 1pm), Friday 10th February (1pm) and Saturday 11th February (7pm). Admission for spectators is free.

Book Review: "The NHL In The UK" by Stuart Latham

You can never have too many ice hockey books!  

Somebody once said that – and it may well have been me, to be honest – and I lead by example here as, despite my own dedicated ice hockey bookshelf having long ago passed the point of the last straw that propelled the camel through the eye of the needle, I can always find room for another of Stuart Latham’s publications.  

His latest book is called “The NHL in the UK” and as the title suggests, it focuses on players who played “across the pond” in the North American NHL (National Hockey League) before coming to the UK to play British ice hockey.

Over the years, that number has increased from an occasional one or two back in the days when there were only the “Original 6” NHL teams to play for, through various league expansions and lock-outs and makes up quite an impressive list. 

This book starts off with details of tours by NHL teams that have played games against UK opposition and then moves on to fascinating facts about all sorts of players from the 1930s onwards who played their trade over here, with some staying longer than others.

There are interviews with many stars of the British game – some recent and some from further back - and names that leap out at me include Tony Hand Fred Perlini, Garry Under, Sean McMorrow, and Jared Staal, and there are in-depth features about players such as Ron Plumb, Mike Ware, Mike Blaisdell, Doug Smail, Jere Gillis, Mark Pavelich and Todd Bidner.

There is also a fascinating section about the London Lions exhibition team from 1973/74  that was set up by the Detroit Red Wings to try and promote the idea of a European league and which, over its 6 months of existence, featured a number of former, fringe or future NHL players.

So, in summary, if you are instead in ice hockey - be it the British game, the professional game in North America, and maybe a bit of both – you are sure to find something to interest you in “The NHL in The UK”.

Stuart has compiled a whole host of individual club histories as well, featuring many British ice hockey clubs and has also penned books about rugby, cricket, football and lots more besides.  If you drop him a line to  stuartlatham65@sky.com , I’m sure he’ll happily send you his full mail order list.