Last Mayhem Home Game This Sunday

The Mayhem in action against Peterborough in a recent BPIHL home game at Widnes (Photo by @haganovaphoto)

The Mayhem sledge team play their last home fixture of the 2023 British Para Ice Hockey League season this Sunday 16th July when they entertain the Sheffield SteelStings at Planet Ice Widnes, 6.10pm face off.

There is a lot riding on this game as the Mayhem need to win in order to have any chance of qualifying for the end of season play offs.

Following Sunday’s match, the Mayhem have a long wait until 20th August to play their final game of the regular season away to the other Sheffield based team, the Steelkings.

You can follow the fortunes of the Mayhem sledge team on their Facebook page HERE.

Coach Lappin On Wild Women's Season

Wild women's team coach Adam Lappin (Photo by Wil Evans)

Following the end of the 2022/23 season WNIHL season, DMUK Widnes Wild women’s team head coach Adam Lappin has commented on the team’s achievements:

“The season went very well with some great development and growth from everyone.  We were aiming for a top 3 finish and we hit form at the right time to achieve this.” 

“The playoffs were a good experience for all, as there were not many in the team who had been exposed to that environment. We had a good plan, but we wanted all players to play their game and use it as a stepping stone for the new season, and to use the playoff weekend as a learning experience. Overall, I can not fault the ladies for their team spirit and overall team ethos.”

Talking about the Bristol Friendship Tournament, Lappin said: 

“It was a good end to the season with no pressure. The ladies were able to go and enjoy a good weekend of hockey in prep for a nice summer off. Bring on pre-season!”

*****

The 2023 Play Off Semi Final was the team’s 101st match since forming as the Wild Women for the start of the 2015/16 season. In that time they have won 34 games, lost 56 and drawn 11 – scoring 389 goals and conceding 562.

The Wild Women won the Division 1 North league title in the 2019/20 season and were runners up in the Women’s Premier League in 2015/16 and Division 2 North this - 2022/23 - season

Three More Widnes England Internationals

Rhys Edwards as an England player
(photo by EIHA)

Three more Widnes Wild players earned England international call ups when they were invited to take part in a weekend junior tournament in Bratislava, Slovakia.

Rhys Edwards was one of the leading players in the Wild senior NIHL team last season but, as he was only 16 at the start of the campaign, he has also been eligible to be selected for junior representative teams. He was joined on the trip by Wild NIHL player Kohen Taylor and Gabriel Lingard, who iced once for Widnes as a back up netminder last season. 

A group of England Under 16 and Under 17 players made the trip to take part in the 3-day tournament that saw them play against national teams from Ireland and Scotland, a Czech select side and also a local  Slovak junior team from the host Homoikovo rink.

Wild Academy Head Coach and Widnes NIHL player Mike Gilbert also accompanied the England team as a member of the coaching staff.

Edwards, Taylor and Lingard join an ever growing list of Widnes Wild players who have been have been given England call ups, following in the footsteps of  Sophia Green who played for England girls in Bratislava earlier in the year, Jared Knowles - who played in a Scotland v England tournament -   and Matty Barlow who played for England U23s against Denmark last season.

Halton Huskies at Ricky Barker Memorial Cup Tournament.

Halton Huskies 2023 Team Photo by @haganovaphoto

The Halton Huskies team went to Hull and back at the weekend to take part in the annual Ricky Barker Memorial Cup tournament.  The event is staged every year by the Hull Knights club in memory of the devoted off-ice official who died in 2017, aged just 53.

The Huskies stepped up a level to play in the Elite competition this year and they came up against much stronger teams in the Hull Knights (hosts), Blackburn Renegades, Sheffield Ice Tigers, Newcastle Coyotes and eventual tournament winners Leeds Lightning – losing all 5 of their group games.

Halton team manager Stephen Hay said of the weekend:  “We did play in the Elite division in the tournament, whereas we've been in the Dev league. I think that shows where we are as a club, in a middle space between the two. It's helped us identify what we need to improve on and how hard we've got to work if we want to move up a level. As always it was a great weekend and a well-run tournament.”

Cobras Finish Runners Up at Sheffield RecFest

The Connah’s Quay Cobras took part in the prestigious annual Sheffield Recfest tournament at the weekend, finishing in a very creditable second place overall.

This tournament is an impressive feat of planning  and logistics and featured 15 different teams taking part in 60 short-format games over the two days.

In the initial group games on the Saturday, the Cobras beat Basingstoke Hyenas 3-1, Cleveland Comets 5-0, Streatham Night Wolves 4-1 and lost 1-2 to Coventry Snipers. This saw them finish the day in second place in their group with 6 points – two behind Coventry, who had a 100% record. 

For the Sunday games, all of the teams were put into new groups reflecting their relative finishing positions on the Saturday and the Cobras were put in the top group along with Coventry, Milton Keynes Hurricanes, Grimsby Stormers and Tri-Base Lightning, who are a team that play at Cambridge and originated as a group of US servicemen from nearby airbases (hence the name...) but now include local players as well.     

The Cobras went on to beat Milton Keynes 3-0, Tri-Base 2-1, drew 1-1 with Grimsby and lost 3-0 to eventual champions Coventry Snipers.

Finishing second overall in a 15 team tournament that included many long-established and experienced teams is a great achievement for the Cobras team, have only been playing together since the start of this year.

They were the second highest scoring team over the weekend – bettered only by Solihull who played the second day in a lower group – were the only team to beat Milton Keynes Hurricanes in a game all weekend, and were only beaten themselves by the eventual champions Coventry. 

The Connah’s Quay netminder Paul Jones also received the award for best goalkeeper of the tournament.

Cobras’ coaches Scott and Emma Dutton said afterwards:

"We are incredibly proud of the team and everyone involved over the weekend, to finish second after only three games together is a massive achievement. We've had an amazing time as a team both on and off the ice and are looking forward to our next challenge."

The Cobras team for the tournament was:  Emma Dutton, Scott Dutton, Louie Bailey, Louis Ellwood, Mackenzie Wilkes, Luke Wainwright, Libor Krempasky, Sam Krempasky, Martin Rybka, Radovan Spavelko, Daniel Potter, Jason james, Peter Gazda, Stewart Cutting  & Paul Jones (NM).

Match Report: Shropshire Huskies 2 - Connah's Quay Cobras 8

The Connah's Quay Cobras team celebrate their first ever win - away at Shropshire Huskies on 1st July.

Saturday 1st July – Challenge Match: Shropshire Huskies 2 - Connah’s Quay Cobras 8

The Connah’s Quay Cobras team picked up their first ever win with a 2-8 victory away to Shropshire Huskies in Telford on Saturday.

The Deeside-based outfit have only been training together since the start of the year and this was their third game in total, having previously lost at home to Riverside Raiders and Trafford Thunder.

This was a very entertaining game to watch with lots of end to end hockey – and both teams enjoying a similar amount of puck possession and shots on goal - but the Cobras were able to make more of their chances when they had them. 

The Connah’s Quay side took the lead with a goal from Louis Ellwood on 3 minutes and the same player doubled the advantage 11 minutes later.  The score remained 0-2 to the Cobras at the first break  and, despite the Huskies having a much better second period, the goals continued to go the way of the visitors. Andrew Cooke made the score 0-3 on 32 minutes and then a goal from Kenny Williams just 70 seconds brought it to 0-4. 

A goal from Slavomir Sykora just 90 seconds into the third period edged the Cobras further ahead and the Huskies finally scored a goal of their own with 10 minutes left in the game. The 5-goal cushion was restored just 80 seconds later with a goal from Martin Rybka but then a second goal for the Huskies with 5 minutes left on the clock sparked a rather tense finale.

The home side withdrew their netminder in favour of an extra attacking player in the hope of mounting a late rally but this move was punished with a well-taken strike from his own blue line by Rybka resulting in an Empty Net Goal. The scoring was rounded off with a second goal of the game for Sykora with 59 seconds left on the clock to record a 2-8 victory.

The Most Valuable Player award (MVP) for the Cobras went to netminder Paul Jones who turned away 28 of the 30 shots that he faced.

The Connah’s Quay Cobras are in action again this weekend as they travel to Sheffield to take part in the annual Recfest tournament.  

You can find out more about the Connah’s Quay Cobras by following their Facebook page HERE

British Para Ice Hockey League: Mayhem v Sheffield Weekend Report

Overworked Mayhem sledge netminder Darren Pomfrett – photo by @haganovaphoto

Saturday 1st July 2023 – British Para Ice Hockey League: Mayhem 0 – Sheffield Steelkings 16

Sunday 2nd July 2023 – British Para Ice Hockey League: Sheffield SteelStings 6 – Mayhem 0 

The Mayhem sledge team endured a goal-less weekend with back to back defeats at the hand of Sheffield based opposition.

The home game on Saturday against the Steelkings was a bit one-sided as the Mayhem were low on numbers and missing several key players, while the Sheffield team had a fully staffed roster to rotate.

The visitors took the lead on 3 minutes, doubled the advantage 2 minutes later and were 0-3 up by the mid way point of the first period.

The Mayhem had their chances as well – but they were outshot 16 to 3 in the first 15 minute period and, by the time the first break came around, the score stood at 0-6 to the Steelkings.

The onslaught continued in the second period with the Mayhem being outshot 19 to 1 and conceding 6 more goals in the process. Lack of numbers meant that the home side got more tired as the game went on, whereas the visitors were able to keep their players fresh with regular line changes.

The third period played out in similar vein with a 14 to 1 shot count and 4 more goals for the visitors, meaning that the Steelkings and their vocal band of travelling fans were able to head back across the Pennines with a comprehensive 0-16 victory. 

Mayhem netminder Darren Pomfrett received the MVP award after his hard work in goal, which saw him face an eye watering 48 shots - of which he saved 32.

A similarly depleted Mayhem team made the reverse journey on Sunday to take on Sheffield’s second team, the SteelStings, in the Steel City.

They fared slightly better on this occasion, only losing 6-0 to, again, numerically superior opposition.

The weekend results leave the Mayhem rock bottom of the league table with 6 losses from their 6 games to date and in danger of missing out on the end of season play offs.

They are next in action on Sunday 16th July when they take on the SteelStings at Planet Ice Widnes.   

Match Report: Halton Huskies 2 - Riverside Raiders 4 (Summer Classic Cup)

Huskies v Raiders goal-mouth action – Stephen Harvey (Raiders #32) and Ethan Trickett (Huskies #91) vying for position watched by Raiders netminder Ian Thirkettle – photo by @haganovaphoto

Saturday 1st July 2023 – Summer Classic Cup: Halton Huskies 2 – Riverside Raiders 4

The Halton Huskies lost out in the battle to finish top of the Western Conference group table in the Summer Classic Cup competition after a 2-4 defeat at the hands of the Riverside Raiders at Planet Ice Widnes on Saturday.

Despite the Huskies and Raiders teams both being based at the Widnes rink – rather like the San Ciro stadium being the shared home of both AC Milan and Inter - this was technically a “home game” for the Huskies, as the previous meeting between the two teams back in May had been the Raiders’ home fixture.

This was a highly entertaining game to watch and was played in very good spirit – despite the winner takes all aspect with both teams vying to finish in top spot

The Huskies took the lead in the 4th minute with a goal from Anthony Hough but the Raiders equalised 8 minutes later with a powerplay goal from Adam Jenkins to punish a roughing call.

Despite the Huskies outshooting the Raiders by 13 to 7 over the course of the period, the score remained 1-1 at the first break and indeed continued to do so until 13 minutes into the second period. At that point, Kai Gennoe fired the Raiders into the lead and the score stood at 1-2 after two periods of play.

A powerplay goal for Rory Sillery 7 minutes into the third period put the Raiders 1-3 ahead  and then another powerplay strike just 40 seconds later – from Louis Grogan - edged the away side even further ahead.

The Huskies didn’t give up, however, and had their own chances - with a total shot tally of 38 to 36 in their favour over the course of the game – but Ian Thirkettle put in a superb performance in the Raiders’ net to keep them at bay. Halton’s efforts were eventually rewarded with a second goal on 53 minutes  from Ethan Trickett but it wasn’t enough to spark a late rally and the match finished 2-4 to the Raiders.

The result means that the Riverside Raiders finish top of the table with 6 wins and 12 points from their 6 group games, with the Huskies coming second with 4 wins and an overtime loss, 3 points behind.

Both teams have qualified for the play off stage of the competition where they will meet the top two teams in the Eastern Conference over the weekend of 5th/6th August at iceSheffield.

Wild Women Finish 6th In Bristol Tournament

The DMUK Widnes Wild women at the 2023 BWIHF Tournament in Bristol 

The DMUK Widnes Wild women’s team enjoyed a roller coaster weekend down in the South west, as they took part in the annual Bristol Women’s Friendship Tournament for the first time since 2018.

This is a fairly unique competition as it involves teams from the different EIHA divisions – Elite League, Division 1 and Divisions 2 North & South - all playing against each other in one big qualifying group. Over the course of the Saturday - and the early part of Sunday - all the teams play each other and the top four in the final group standings go on to play in semi-finals and then a final – played with a slightly longer match time - on the Sunday evening.

Widnes actually led the table after the first round of games after a 6-0 slaughtering of the Cardiff team who had beaten them in the Play Off semi final 4 weeks earlier. 

An eye watering 20 shots peppered the Cardiff net over the 15 minute game and the goals came from  Katie Fairclough (2), Lise Gillen (2), Catherine Fell & Rachael Pearce. Widnes netminder Stephanie Drinkwater ended up with the bizarre combination of a shut out and a 0% Save Percentage, as the overwhelmed Cardiff team didn’t manage a single shot on goal.  

The Wild women went on to draw 0-0 with Caledonia Steel Queens, lose 3-1 to Nottingham – with the Widnes goal coming from Ellen Tyrer - beat Streatham 1-0 (goal from Lise Gillen) and then lose 4-0 to hosts Bristol to end the day in 6th place in the table with 5 points from 5 games.

Sunday’s group games saw a 3-0 win over Oxford – with goals from Katie Fairclough, Victoria Connelly and Leen de Decker - a 1-1 draw with the Firebees (goal from Rachael Pearce) and a 3-0 win over Coventry (Fairclough, Connelly & Laura Marcroft).  

This led to an exciting finale in the group stage where Widnes played their last game knowing that they needed to beat Milton Keynes to climb into 4th place in the table and qualify for the semi final. Unfortunately, MK won that game 1-0 leaving the Wild women in 6th place overall out of 10 teams with a record of 4 wins, 3 losses and 2 draws.

The semi finals saw Bristol beat Caledonia 1-0 and Nottingham beat Milton Keynes 3-2.  In a bit of a shock result, Nottingham then beat Bristol 3-2 in the final - the only game that the host team had lost all weekend.

Katie Fairclough was the Wild women’s top points scorer for the weekend with 4 goals and 2 assists in the 9 group games. Leen de Decker was second with 1+3, Lise Gillen weighed in with 3+0 while Rachael Pearce and Victoria Connelly both contributed 2+1.

The Wild women now have a few weeks’ break before they return to training in August in preparation for the new 2023/24 WNIHL season. 

Match Report: Blackburn Buccaneers 1 - Riverside Raiders 3 (Summer Classic Cup)

Netminder Ian Thirkettle was the MVP in the Riverside Raiders’ win away in Blackburn (Photo by Paul Breeze)

Sunday 25th June – Summer Classic Cup: Blackburn Buccaneers 1 – Riverside Raiders 3

The Riverside Raiders moved back to the top of the Summer Classic Cup group table with a 1-3 win away over the Blackburn Buccaneers on Sunday.

The opening phase was very tense and closely fought and it took until the 15th minute for the first breakthrough, with David Geroc firing the Raiders into the lead.  4 minutes later the advantage was doubled by Shawn McBride and the score remained 0-2 at the first period break.

A third goal for the Widnes team from Michael Durbin on 38 minutes edged them further ahead and took the score to 0-3 after two periods.  

 With 10 minutes left in the game, tempers boiled over and a mass scuffle saw 5 players banished to the penalty box – 3 from the Raiders and 2 from the Buccaneers.  In the aftermath of this, Blackburn finally managed to fire in their only goal of the game and that rounded off the scoring for the evening.  

The result means that the Raiders have an impressive 5 wins from their 5 games and all attention now turns to their final group game this Saturday 1st July when they take on rink-mates Halton Huskies at Planet Ice Widnes.

The Huskies are in second place in the group table just 1 point behind the Raiders and Saturday’s game will decide who finishes up in top spot.

Both Widnes-based teams have already qualified for the play off phase of the competition as they can’t be overtaken by the other teams in the group but the team with the higher finishing position, theoretically, gets an easier draw in the semi finals.

The previous meeting between the Raiders and the Huskies produced a highly entertaining 3-3 draw and had to be decided by a dramatic penalty shoot out, so both teams will be keyed up for this Saturday’s deciding game.

Face off on Saturday is at 6pm – straight after the Mayhem v Sheffield sledge match - and admission is free, as is parking.

Match Report: Peterborough Phantoms 1 – Mayhem 0

Photo by @Haganovaphoto

Saturday 24th June – British Para Ice Hockey League: Peterborough Phantoms 1 – Mayhem 0

The Mayhem sledge team narrowly lost out to the Peterborough Phantoms for the second weekend in a row with a 1-0 defeat away on the edge of the Fens on Saturday. 

The previous game had been very closely contested throughout with the Phantoms eventually winning 2-4 but this one was even closer and the first two periods played out goal-less.  Both netminders were in especially fine  form and the tension continued to rise around the rink as the clock ticked down on the final period.

The deadlock was finally broken when Peterborough’s Craig Shakespeare fired home the puck on 38 minutes to take the lead.  With such a narrow margin, the result remained undecided until the very last seconds but despite late pressure from the Mayhem, the Phantoms held out for the 1-0 victory.

The Mayhem are next in action this Saturday 1st July when they take on the Sheffield Steelkings at Planet Ice Widnes – 4.25pm face off.  They are away in Sheffield the next day when they face the second Sheffield team, the SteelStings, 4.50pm start.  

Wild Women Head To Bristol Tournament

The Widnes Wild women's team with the  Fair Play Trophy at the 2018 BWIF Tournament  (Photo by Flyfifer)

The DMUK Widnes Wild women’s team head off to Bristol this Saturday and Sunday 24th /25th June to take part in the annual BWIF weekend tournament. 

The “Bristol Women’s International Friendship Tournament” – to give its full title – is now in its 25th year and was played for a number of years at Swindon after the previous Bristol rink closed down and a replacement facility was being built.

It is a fairly unique competition as it involves teams from the different EIHA divisions – Elite League, Division 1 and Divisions 2 North & South - all playing against each other in one big qualifying group, and there have been teams from abroad taking part in previous years as well.  

The tournament is a veritable masterpiece of planning and logistics and this year’s schedule features 10 teams playing a total of 48 games. The group games are just 15 minutes each in duration, with running clock, and the next game follows immediately afterwards with a brief pause for ice cutting at certain points during the day.  

Over the course of the Saturday - and the early part of Sunday - all the teams play each other and the top four in the final group standings go on to play in semi-finals and then a final – played with a slightly longer match time - on the Sunday evening.

Alongside the Wild women, the other teams taking part this year are: hosts Bristol Huskies, Nottingham Vipers, Streatham Storm, Oxford Midnight Stars, Firebees (Slough), Coventry Phoenix, Milton Keynes Falcons, Cardiff Comets and the Caledonia Steel Queens from Edinburgh.

This is the first time that the Wild women have taken part in the BWIF tournament since 2018 and they did fairly well on their previous visits, finishing second in the tournament in 2017 - where they lost out to the host Swindon Elite League team 3-0 in the final – and coming mid-table in 2018 but winning the Fair Play award.

The tournament runs from 2pm to 10pm on Saturday and 2pm to 9pm on Sunday at Planet Ice Bristol.  Spectator tickets are available on the door at £3 per day or £5 for both days.

You can find out more about the BWIF tournament via their Facebook page HERE

and follow live updates of the matches and standings over the weekend via the tournament website HERE 

British Para Ice Hockey League: Mayhem 2 - Peterborough Phantoms 4

Saturday 17th June – British Para Ice Hockey League: Mayhem 2 – Peterborough Phantoms 4

The Mayhem sledge team put in a battling performance but narrowly lost out 2-4 to the Peterborough Phantoms at Planet Ice Widnes on Saturday.

This was a very entertaining game to watch - between two very closely matched teams – and the result remained in doubt right until the very end. 

The Mayhem took an early lead with a goal from Tom Kimm just 39 seconds into the game.  However, the Phantoms equalised 3 minutes later and then edged into the lead on 8 minutes.

A second goal for the home side - from GB international Anthony Booth in the 10th minute - levelled the scores again and it remained 2-2 at the first period break.

Peterborough retook the lead 4 minutes into the second period and, while the Mayhem enjoyed plenty of puck possession and had their chances in front of goal, they were unable to make any of them count.  

It was a similar story in the third period, where the Mayhem outshot the visitors  by some margin but a clinical strike for the Phantoms on 38 minutes doubled their lead and rounded off a 2-4 victory.

The Mayhem are away to Peterborough in the return fixture this Saturday 24th June – 4.10pm face off – and are next at home on Saturday 1st July when they take on the Sheffield Steelkings at Planet Ice Widnes, 4.25pm start.

Widnes Academy Under 14s Win Sheffield Tournament

The victorious Wild Academy Under 14 team with the trophy in Sheffield (Photo by MyTeamPhoto)

The Widnes Wild Academy Under 14 team won their first ever trophy after a victorious weekend at the prestigious Sheffield U14 Tournament. 

The Wild youngsters had enjoyed a successful regular season in the EIHA Under 14 North West Division, finishing second overall in the league table and this competition gave them the opportunity to renew acquaintances with Manchester and also take on teams from Sheffield, Nottingham, Sutton and Solent (Gosport), who play in different regional divisions.

As it turned out, the Widnes U14s won all of their group games – beating home team Sheffield 3-0, Sutton Sting 2-1, Nottingham 3-1, Manchester Storm 3-0 and Solent Devils 2-1 and then met Solent again in the final, which they won 3-2 in overtime.

Following on from the Under 12s’ league title win this season and the Under 10s tournament win last year, this trophy win is the latest in a growing list of successes that demonstrate how much progress is being made with the various Wild Academy teams.

A number of Widnes players were selected for the Showcase representative teams this year and Jared Knowles and Sophia Green were also handed England debuts.

You can find out more about the Widnes Wild Academy on their Facebook page HERE

Wild Women Awards Evening

Laura Marcroft receives her Unsung Hero award from (l to r)  Thomas Horner (coach), Leen de Decker (team captain) and Steve Furber (coach)

The DMUK Widnes Wild women’s team held their end of season awards evening on Saturday at the Village Hotel in Warrington where the following accolades were presented for the 2022/23 season:

Coaches’ Award - Charlotte Cramp

Best Defence - Lucy Kirkham

Best Forward - Phoebe Patient

Most Points - Leen De Decker

Players’ Player - Charlotte Cramp

Unsung Hero - Laura Marcroft

Most Improved - Sophie Hill

Popular cult figure Pauline Hayward was also presented with a light hearted award for being the “Toughest Player” after continuing to play through the home game against Grimsby with a fractured patella!

Summer Classic Cup: Halton Huskies 20 – Hull Knights 1

Huskies' Jake Berry (#92) scored 7 goals in the game against Hull (Photo by @haganovaphoto)

Saturday 10th June – Summer Classic Cup: Halton Huskies 20 – Hull Knights 1

The Halton Huskies team moved back to the top of the Summer Classic Cup table with a comprehensive 20-1 victory over the Hull Knights at Planet Ice Widnes on Saturday.

Having already beaten the Humbersiders 1-13 away in their earlier meeting – and with the Knights struggling winless at the bottom of the table  – this game always looked like being a home banker for the Huskies and that is exactly what happened.

They opened the scoring with a goal from Jack Davies on 3 minutes and then subsequent strikes from Jake Berry, Edward Ridding and Jeff Chapman Watson saw the Huskies leading 4-0 at the first period break.

The second period continued in similar vein with a goal from Conor Cooper two minutes from the restart, two more unanswered markers from Berry and then a second for Cooper for an 8-0 lead.

The third period saw the Knights’ fortress constantly under siege and the Hull goal was peppered with an incredible 50 shots over the final 20 minutes.  This sustained pressure led to 12 more goals for the Huskies coming from, in order:  Berry, Cooper, Berry, Jon Lomax, Ridding, Matt Hohler, Chapman Watson, Kohler, Berry, Callum Fraine, Berry and then Jack Davies with his second of the game with just 1 second left on the clock.

Hull did actually manage a consolation goal of their own in among all of that – on 46 minutes – to deny Halton netminder Rebecca Donnelly what would have been a well deserved shut out, but she did receive the Huskies’ MVP award for the second game in a row.

Credit must also go to the overworked Hull netminder Grew Lawley who managed to save an impressive 88 of the 108 shots that he faced over the course of the game. 

The Huskies have one match left to play in the Cup group when they take on Widnes rink-mates Riverside Raiders on Saturday 1st July at Planet Ice Widnes in a game that will decide the overall group winners.

British Para Ice Hockey League: Cardiff Huskies 13 – Mayhem 1

The Mayhem away at Cardiff (Photo by Peter Bradbury) 

Saturday 10th June – British Para Ice Hockey League: Cardiff Huskies 13 – Mayhem 1

The Mayhem sledge hockey team came back from South Wales on the wrong end of a 13-1 defeat after a tough game against defending league champions Cardiff Huskies on Saturday

As with the previous week’s home game against the same opposition, Cardiff had a much stronger bench and the Mayhem team - who have lost several key players from last year’s squad – struggled to match them in terms of speed and puck possession.

Cardiff powered into a 3-0 lead in the first period and were 8-0 ahead after the second. The Huskies scored 5 more goals in the third period and the clock was ticking down to zero when a breakthrough eventually came for the struggling Mayhem.

Their duck was finally broken when a rocket shot from out by the halfway line from Dean Lahan beat the netminder with just 61 seconds left to play. That strike rounded off the scoring for the game and made sure that the Widnes-based team, at least, avoided suffering a shut out.

The Mayhem are at home this Saturday 17th June when they take on the Peterborough Phantoms at Planet Ice Widnes – 4.25pm face off. 

Summer Classic Cup: Riverside Raiders 9 - Blackburn Buccaneers 5

Riverside Raiders' Rory Sillery receives the MVP award from Blackburn captain Michael Walsh (Photo by Paul Breeze)

Saturday 10th June – Summer Classic Cup: Riverside Raiders 9 – Blackburn Buccaneers 5

The Widnes based Riverside Raiders extended their winning streak to 4 in 4 games in the Summer Classic Cup with a 9-5 win over the Blackburn Buccaneers  at Planet Ice Widnes on Saturday.

Despite the eventual scoreline, this was a very close game for much of the time and was played in great spirit throughout.

The Buccaneers actually opened the scoring on 3 minutes but the Raiders equalised with a strike from Adam Jenkins 3 minutes later. The home side edged into the lead 18 minutes with Jenkins’ second goal of the game but Blackburn fought back to level again with 60 seconds and the score stood at 2-2 at the first period break.

The second period was similarly closely contested but the Raiders were able to make more out of their chances. Rory Sillery fired them back into the lead on 23 minutes and the advantage was doubled by David Geroc on 27 minutes.  

A hat-trick goal from Adam Jenkins early in the third period put the Raiders 5-2 ahead and they looked to be easing their way to victory.  However, a goal for the Buccaneers on 46 minutes sparked a frenetic spell that saw  goals follow in quick succession – two for each side - with strikes from Luke Pengelly and Jenkins, again, for the Raiders bringing the score to 7-4.

Jenkins scored his 5th goal of the game on 52 minutes and an eventful last 90 seconds saw a 5th goal for the Buccaneers and last gasp Raiders strike for Rory Sillery just as the final buzzer was sounding.

The resulting 9-5 win meant that the Raiders moved briefly to the top of the Summer Classic Cup table, albeit in the knowledge that they would be overtaken again if the Halton Huskies won their game that followed immediately afterwards.

The Raiders are next in action on Sunday 25th June when they travel to meet the Buccaneers away in East Lancashire, 4.45 pm face off.  

Book Review: BRITISH ICE HOCKEY RECORDS 1896-2023: LEAGUE AND CUP TABLES INCLUDING IRISH CHAMPIONSHIPS - by Brian McColl

BRITISH ICE HOCKEY RECORDS 1896-2023: LEAGUE AND CUP TABLES INCLUDING IRISH CHAMPIONSHIPS - by Brian McColl

If, like me, you enjoy spending hours and hours looking back at old ice hockey league tables and playing records, then you will DEFINITELY like this new book.  

Brian McColl has – somewhat bravely – taken on the gargantuan task of trying to make sense of all the various league and cup competitions that have taken place in British ice hockey over the years  and set them out in an easy to follow manner that is fascinating to look through.  

I don’t, as a rule, tend to like A4 size books (mine are always A5…) but I think Brian has got the format just right for this one and the page layouts are very clear and well set out.

Having done a lot of hockey research and writing myself over the years, I know how much work has gone into pulling all of this information together and can fully appreciate the time and effort that have been involved. As it happens, there are quite a few things in here that I have never even heard of before – like the early Irish competitions and some of the home cup tournaments – so it really is quite an eye opener!

As you can probably work out from the title, the book covers all competitions dating right back to the opening of the very first ice rinks during the Victorian age and comes bang up to date with the current 2022/23 season.

As well as season by season listings of all league and cup standings there are other very useful lists of things such as: 

- League, play off and cup winners

- International Club competitions

- A to Z of all teams and their leagues

- and lots more besides.

There is a comprehensive section on the women’s leagues since the early 1980s and also a run down of youth league winners for the same period.  

So, if you are in any way interested in British ice hockey history - especially “who won what when” - this book is definitely for you! 

295 pages  / ISBN: 9798390332801

Mail order link:  https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0C6VWR9DG

Summer Classic Cup: Wins for both Riverside Raiders and Halton Huskies

The Riverside Raiders and Halton Huskies are locked together at the top of the Summer Classic Cup table (Photo by Haganovaphoto) 

The fascinating Widnes-based tussle at the top of the Summer Classic Cup table continued at the weekend as both the Riverside Raiders and Halton Huskies teams won away games over Hull and Blackburn respectively.

The Raiders travelled to Hull and back on Saturday and came home along the M62 with a 2-9 victory courtesy of goals from Andrew Birch (2), David Geroc (1+1), Eemeli Vuorihovi (2+2), Rory Sillery (1+0, and hat trick from former Sutton Sting junior and current Manchester university player Frederick Talbot-Berube (3+2) on his debut. Alain Barthelemy (1), Shaun Sillery (2) and Luke Pengelly (1) all added assists.

The game was actually a lot closer than the final scoreline suggests and Raiders netminder Ian Thirkettle was on fine form to keep out all but 2 of the 31 shots that he faced.

The Huskies came back from East Lancashire with a 2-6 victory over the Blackburn Buccaneers on Sunday that keeps them narrowly ahead in the overall table.

They took the lead after just 83 seconds and were leading 0-4 by the time Blackburn managed to finally get off the mark early in the second period. 

The Buccaneers gave as good as they got in this game and actually outshot the Huskies by 54 to 47 overall but Adam Darbyshire in the Halton net put in an excellent performance to keep them at bay. A late exchange of goals before the second break and a 6th strike for the Huskies early in the third period rounded off the scoring for the game. 

The Halton Huskies scorers were Matt Kohler (2+1), Jake Berry (2+1), Edward Ridding & John Buckell (both 1+0) and Nathan Hewitt (0+4). 

The weekend wins for both teams see them move further ahead at the top of the Summer Classic Cup table.  The two Widnes based sides have 3 wins each but the Huskies have an extra point from an overtime loss against the Raiders, after the match finished as a draw in regulation time. The Raiders have a game in hand and the two teams will clash again on 1st July in what might well be the cup group decider.

Before that, they still have other games to play and both the Raiders and Huskies are at home this Saturday 10th June in a tantalising double header at Planet Ice Widnes.

The Raiders take on the Blackburn Buccaneers, face off 4.15pm, and the Huskies play Hull Knights straight afterwards, 6.30pm start.  Admission to both games is free for spectators – as is parking.