Nostalgia : Peterborough Pirates Top Of The League! (1989)

(Source: Ice Hockey News Review, 14th October 1989)

• 7th October 1989: Nottingham Panthers 6 – Peterborough Pirates 7
• 8th October 1989: Whitley Warriors 7 – Peterborough Pirates 9

Yes – this really did happen. Just the once, and it lasted for just one week or so. But for this brief period in their 20 year history, the Peterborough Pirates were officially the top ice hockey team in the whole country.

True – it was a bit of a fluke, mainly down to a combination of two, rather unexpected, wins over a single weekend and other teams not having played as many games – but it was certainly fun to be a supporter of the Heineken League Premier Division leaders for a short while. 

The Peterborough Herald and Post newspaper – which had just been introduced to replace the long running weekly Peterborough Standard – dated 12th October 1989 “heralded” (pardon the pun...) the achievement as follows: 

“Pirates made a sensational start to their Heineken League campaign after just three wins in 12 challenge and cup matches as Heineken Champions Nottingham were dispatched 7-6 and tough North East outfit Whitley 9-7.”

“In 24 hours Pirates scored more away wins than in their three previous Premier Division years (one apiece in 1985-86 1987-88 1988-89) It was the first time Pirates scored consecutive top-flight away victories and in one weekend matched their away points haul of 1987-88 and 1988-89.”

“Saturday’s success was Pirates’ first in Nottingham and Sunday’s win was the first at Whitley for Peter Smith since leaving his native North East.”

Interestingly enough, the win away at Nottingham was the first Pirates appearance for new import Gary Stewart  

He had been brought in by head coach John Griffith to replace Wayne Crawford who had been controversially released the week before, as the coach had decided to play with two import defencemen to bring more stability to the team and offer more attacking options for home-grown players. 

With summer signing - and former NHLer - Michael Dark and returning long term favourite Todd Bidner filling the other import berths, this strategy appeared to be paying off – at least in the first few games of the league season.    

They actually won their next game as well – 9-7 at home to Ayr Raiders (a game that I was at) – on Sunday 15th October - but were caught up in the league standings as other teams played more games that weekend. 

The Pirates’ amazing start to the HBLP season came to an abrupt end the following weekend when they lost 10-6 away to Ayr and 9-3 away to Murrayfield on consecutive nights and they only won 4 more league games all season after that.

But it was good while it lasted!

Mayhem Players Off To GB Training Camp

Felicity Gregory on GB duty (Photo by Peter Hagan)

Four Mayhem sledge players will be travelling to Finland later this week to take part in a special international training camp.

Mark Colquitt, Felicity Gregory and Karl Nicholson have all been selected for the Great Britain Para Ice Hockey national team that will attend the 4-day event in Vierumäki – some 30 Km north of Helsinki where they will play exhibition matches against Sweden and the host nation.

Mayhem's Canadian player Peggy Assinck also travels as Head Coach while Peterborough Phantoms coach Ian Offers is Assistant Coach and Media Manager.

The Full GB squad for the trip is: 

• Damien Barker – Sheffield Steelkings
• Jon Le Galloudec – Cardiff Huskies 
• Tyler Christopher – Cardiff Huskies
• John Mellor – Cape Breton Sledgehammers
• Josh Davies – Cardiff Huskies
• Mark Colquitt – Manchester Mayhem 
• Felicity Gregory – Manchester Mayhem
• Karl Nicholson – Manchester Mayhem 
• Ben O’Brien – Sheffield Steelkings
• Stacey Quirk – Peterborough Phantoms
• Callum Shakespeare – Peterborough Phantoms
• Jodi Hill (NM) – Cardiff Huskies  
• Bryan Hackworth (NM) – Sheffield Steelstings

Widnes Wild NIHL Weekend Round Up - 5th & 6th October

Mikey Gilbert scored both Wild goals away at Whitley (Photo by Geoff White).

Saturday 5th October:  Leeds Knights 5 – Widnes Wild 2

Sunday 6th October: Whitley Warriors 9 – Widnes Wild 2

The Widnes Wild NIHL team’s disappointing start to the season continued with back to back away defeats – 5-2 at Leeds Knights on Saturday and 9-2 away to Whitley Warriors on Sunday.

The weekend saw a Widnes debut for 16 year old Tomas Vyrostek, who is a Solway Sharks junior player with Scottish international honours, and the return of a number of 2-way players to the team, but this – sadly – it wasn’t enough to change the fortunes of the struggling Wild side.

In the game in Leeds on Saturday, Widnes actually took the lead with a goal from Bailey Thomson in the 6th minute but they were then pegged back to 1-1 at the first period break.  Two unanswered goals in the second period saw the Knights edge into the lead and two more goals early in the third put them well in control.

Matt Tarpey pulled a goal back for the Wild with just 62 seconds left on the clock but it was too late in the game to spark a fightback and the match ended 5-2 to Leeds.

Away games in the north east are always tough affairs but Widnes fared quite well in the early stages of the match at Whitley on Sunday and the score was 1-1 after the first period, courtesy of a Wild goal from Mikey Gilbert. 

Unfortunately, 6 unanswered goals in the second period put paid to any hopes of the Wild bringing any points home from this lengthy road trip - and a second Gilbert goal in the third period was pretty much the only other thing for the travelling fans to cheer about in the resulting 9-2 defeat.

The weekend results mean that the Wild are still looking for their first league win of the season, with 6 straight defeats under their belts. They are joined at the bottom of the Moralee Division table by Sheffield Scimitars who also have “nul –points” after having lost 8 from 8 starts.   

Widnes will be hoping to kick-start their season with a win this Sunday 13th October when they take on Solihull Barons at Planet Ice Widnes, 5.30pm face off. 

*****

There were two matches for the Wild Academy Junior teams at the weekend.  The Academy Under 14 team beat Manchester Storm U14s 8-3 at Planet Ice Widnes while the Under 16 team lost 4-3 away to Leeds.

The Wild Academy are always keen to recruit new players across all age groups from Under 10 to Under 18 and hold training sessions on Tuesday and Thursday evenings at Planet Ice Widnes.

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

Match Report: Deeside Ducks 3 - Bradford Bulldogs 4 (NIHL Laidler Division)

Josh Jones (#73) was the MVP for Deeside Ducks against Bradford (Photo by Paul Breeze)

5^th October 2024 – Laidler Division: Deeside Ducks 3 – Bradford Bulldogs 4

The Deeside Ducks narrowly lost out in a highly entertaining and closely fought 3-4 defeat to the Bradford Bulldogs at Deeside Leisure Centre on Saturday.

The game started well for Deeside as Michael Speare fired them into the lead after just 36 seconds but Bradford struck back and were level 4 minutes later. Deeside edged ahead once again on 15 minutes with a goal from Josh Jones but the visitors again had an answer and equalised just 24 seconds later to leave the score standing at 2-2 at the first period break.

The second period was very close - with chances for both teams - but produced no goals, and the score remained at a finely balanced 2-2 with just 20 minutes left to play.

The Bulldogs were fastest out of the traps for the third period and finally got their snouts in front with a goal 31 seconds in. 

Despite having outshot the visitors by some margin over the course of the game, the Ducks were finding it difficult to break down the stubborn Bradford defence – but they got a helping hand with just over 6 minutes left to play.

A Bulldogs player was banished from the ice for a dangerous cross check, for which he was handed a 5 plus game penalty by the match officials. This meant that the Ducks would have a man advantage for pretty much the rest of the third period.

Charlie Spridgeon pulled Deeside back level with a powerplay goal two minutes later and the Ducks pushed forward to try and force a late winner. Unfortunately, they got caught out at the back and Bradford fired in a shorthanded goal to retake the lead with just 3 minutes left to play.

Deeside were unable to bounce back from this – even with their continued man advantage - and they even withdrew their netminder in favour of an extra attacker for the last 30 seconds, but the game finished 3-4 to Bradford.

The Ducks are without a game this weekend and then have three away trips in a row – away to Sheffield on 20^th October, Telford on 26^th October and Bradford on 3^rd November – before their next home match, which will be against Telford Tigers on Sunday 17^th November at Deeside Leisure Centre.

 

Coach’s Comments

After the game, Ducks Head Coach Gary Shaw said: 

The team went into the game open minded as both clubs are building, with Bradford a little ahead of us because they have had a more stable junior setup.

With a bit more confidence after the first win of the season, the team started well bringing some of the work we had done in training. We moved the puck well and broke out of our own defensive zone easily, but our offensive play still needs work gaining the zone to make different decisions and gain better possession.

Once we got into the zone, we made some good progress and we went ahead - only for Bradford to come back and take advantage of our indecision in the defensive zone.

So, the conversation between the periods was to make the right decisions and play the puck low in the zone and take the opportunity to shoot in good areas.

The game was back and forth with both netminders making some good saves. We applied some good pressure but came up empty handed for most of our efforts.

We focused on telling the team to be patient and do the right things, at the start of the period Bradford had stepped up their game and for the first five minutes we struggled to get into our game.

The game was still to and fro and we scored to equalise as the game progressed it was down to who would make the fewer mistakes that would take the spoils. So Bradford took the lead with us making a mistake on the half way line, they chipped the puck out and then went on to score.

Then Bradford took a five minute penalty in the last six minutes of the game and we had a lot of chances but shot the puck high and wide, with three minutes of the game left we scored the equaliser, still having the advantage of the penalty we pushed for the winner. But, as before we lost the puck on half way and they went on to score the winning goal.

After the final whistle, we spoke about the mistakes that had lost us the game – and also about shot variety, because we had shot the puck high a lot and quite a lot missed the net and ended up with an easy exit from the zone for the opponents.

Although we had lost right and fair, we had a lot of positives to take out of the game, and as a coaching team have again identified where we need to work on to improve their game and hopefully make us stronger and harder to beat.

As we move on, the players can hold their heads up high as they are getting better with each game and their bond with each other is growing."

You can follow the progress of the new Deeside Ducks team as they continue on their debut season in the NIHL Laidler Division on their Facebook page HERE

 

Match Report: Deeside Ducks 4 – Sheffield Titans 3 (NIHL Laidler Division)

Ducks' MVP against Sheffield Rory Sillery (Photo by Chris Jones)

Sunday 29^th September – NIHL Laidler Division: Deeside Ducks 4 – Sheffield Titans 3

The Deeside Ducks picked up their first ever win with a 4-3 victory over Sheffield Titans at Deeside Leisure Centre on Sunday

Two goals from Kieran Clarkson, one from Cody Ogden and a short-handed winner from captain Chris Jones with 14 minutes left to play secured the historic first league win for the Ducks.

Ducks’ Head Coach Gary Shaw said of the game:

“The team went into this game with a line less then we have playing to see if it would benefit the players as we had run 4 lines before to get everyone ice time.”

“The game was a very close affair and Sheffield went 2 goals up capitalising on mistakes made by our players. The team rallied and pulled a goal back before the end of the period.”

“With a tight second period and end to end plays the period ended goal less. So the first goal in the 3rd period was a big factor and we instructed the team to compete in Sheffield's zones and to keep the puck low and only shoot if a good opportunity arose.”

“And doing this Kieran Clarkson came around the net and banked the puck in off the goalie into the roof of the net to tie the game short-handed. A few minutes later, another short-handed goal from Cody Ogden put us in front.”

“Having spoken to Chris Jones about shooting more in-between the periods he took a speculative shot from our on blue line and, with the netminder not ready, the puck ended in the net. Sheffield scored again to draw it to a one goal advantage but we managed to hold out for the first win for the Ducks.”

The Deeside Ducks are next in action this Saturday 5^th October when they take on the Bradford Bulldogs at Deeside Leisure Centre – 5pm face off.

Match Report: Kingston Sharks – Deeside Ducks (Abandoned after 20 mins) NIHL Laidler Division

Players discuss the damaged ice surface at Hull (Photo by Maxine Roscoe)

Saturday 28^th September – NIHL Laidler Division: Kingston Sharks – Deeside Ducks (Abandoned after 20 mins)

The Deeside Ducks Laidler Division game away to Kingston Sharks was abandoned after a single 20 minute period had been played on Saturday evening at Hull Arena.

The home side had taken the lead 1m17 into the game and led 5-0 by the first period break.  However, the surface of the ice was damaged during the routine ice cleaning operation between periods and it took over an hour for the rink staff to plug up the resulting hole and get the ice to freeze properly again.

With the amount of time lost - and concerns about player safety - the match was called off at that point and the remaining two periods were not played.

Ducks’ Lead Coach Peter Bleackley commented:

“We expressed concerns regarding player safety - but rules apparently state that both coaches have to agree that the surface is unsafe. Their coach would not as they don’t have any available dates to replay and they didn’t want to forfeit. I decided player safety was more important after the team sitting for more than an hour. The ref agreed.”

The sport’s governing body – England Ice Hockey - will now have to decide whether the game should be replayed, although that will depend on ice time being available for an alternative date that suits both teams.

Depending on the outcome of the Association’s investigation into the matter, other possible scenarios include:

1)    allowing the result to stand as a 5-0 win to the Sharks, in which case the players’ appearances and match stats for the game will be included in their records,

2)    awarding it as an unplayed “no fault” draw with one league point being given to each team - in which case player stats are not recorded - or

3)    awarding it as a 5-0 forfeit win, with one or the other of the teams possibly being subject to further disciplinary action by way of a fine or points deduction.

Match Report: Widnes Wild 2 – Leeds Knights 7 (NIHL Moralee Division)

Jonathan Williamson was the Wild NIHL team’s MVP against Leeds (Photo by Keith and Jenny Davies)

Sunday 29th September 2024 – NIHL Moralee Division : Widnes Wild 2 – Leeds Knights 7

The Widnes Wild NIHL team lost their 4th league game in a row with a 2-7 defeat at the hands of Leeds Knights at Planet Ice Widnes on Sunday. 

The Leeds Knights NIHL 1 team are new to the Moralee Division this year and they have assembled an impressive roster that includes three overseas born players – among them a US AAA trained junior - as well as Matty Barlow and Alex Mitchell, who both played for Widnes for the past two seasons.

This cross-Pennine derby game was niggly from the off and was littered with minor penalties throughout. The only goal of the first period came on 13 minutes and it fell to the visitors who took the 0-1 lead into the first interval.

Bailey Thomson equalised for the Wild on 28 minutes but Barlow fired the Knights back in front just 30 seconds later. 2 more goals put Leeds further ahead and they led 1-4 at the second period break.

The Knights went 1-5 up just 36 seconds into the third period but Jono Williamson pulled a goal back for Widnes 3 minutes later.  However, this wasn’t enough to spark a late revival and two more goals for Leeds late on made the score look a little more one-sided than the game actually was.

It was Leeds’ first win of the season after 4 straight defeats and the result leaves Widnes and Sheffield both adrift at the bottom of the Moralee Division table, still looking for their first points.

The Wild have back to back away games at the weekend when they play away to Leeds on Saturday 5th October and then make the long trip to the North East to take on Whitley Warriors on Sunday.

They are next at home on Sunday 13th October when they take on Solihull Barons at Planet Ice Widnes, 5.30pm face off.

*****

The Wild Junior Academy hosted games for their Under14 and Under 16 teams against their Nottingham counterparts at Planet Ice Widnes on Saturday. The Under 14s lost 1-13 to Nottingham while the Under 16s lost 2-4.

The Academy Under 18 team lost 4-3 away to Telford while the Under 10s took part in a 4 team tournament at Blackburn where they played against Manchester Storm and Deeside U10s as well as the host team.  Under 10s games are played for fun and no scores are recorded.

The Wild Academy are always keen to recruit new players across all age groups from Under 10 to Under 18 and hold training sessions on Tuesday and Thursday evenings at Planet Ice Widnes.

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

Match Report: Kingston Diamonds 4 – Widnes Wild Women 4 (WNIHL Div 2 (N)

New Wild Women signing Ruth Leopold in action for Swindon – Photo by Flyfifer Photography

Sunday 29th September 2024 – WNIHL Div 2 (N): Kingston Diamonds 4 – Widnes Wild Women 4

The Widnes Wild women’s team started their 2024/25 Division 2 North season with a 4-4 draw away to the Kingston Diamonds in Hull on Sunday. 

The game saw Wild debuts for new signings Jennifer Greenwood, Ruth Leopold, Nicole Rainey and Niamh Horsfield – and returns to the team for Sav Sumner and Charlotte Jackson after spending some time away with other clubs. 

The two teams were very closely matched throughout this game and the first period remained goal-less until the very last minute when Jennifer Hickey opened the scoring for the Wild with just 35 seconds left on the clock.

Two goals early in the second period put the Diamonds in the lead and they edged further ahead with a goal on 30 minutes to lead 3-1 at the second interval.

The Wild Women visibly upped their game in the third period and two goals in two minutes – from Katie Fairclough and Leen de Decker – put them on level terms with 13 minutes left to play.

Kingston got their noses back in front with a 4th goal on 50 minutes but de Decker equalised again with 4 minutes left on the clock to secure the point for Widnes.

The Wild Women have two more away fixtures - at Sheffield on 12th October and Whitley Bay on 27th October - before their first home game against Whitley Bay Beacons on Sunday 24th November at Planet Ice Widnes, 4.25pm face off.

*****

Ruth Leopold is a new face in a Widnes shirt this season but has been very well-known around the women’s game for many years. She started playing for the Blackpool Blades women’s team in 1987/88 and then moved to the Blackburn Falcons in 1991. 

She joined the newly formed Sheffield Shadows for the 1993/94 season – scoring the club s’ first ever goal – then moved down to Bristol for work and joined the Swindon Top Cats in 1995. Ruth won a number of Division One titles with Swindon and also had a WPL title-winning year with Slough in 1998/99 before returning to the Top Cats and later playing for the Bristol Huskies.

Talking about joining Widnes for the new season, Leopold said; 

“I moved back up to Lytham last year and thought I had retired, but was inspired by Rachael (Pearce) to come back and started training with Blackburn women. I enjoyed that so wanted to play league hockey again, and I decided to come along to Widnes.” 

“I am really looking forward to the season, where I hope my experience can be an asset to help the team. I am very grateful to the Wild for giving me a chance to continue playing the sport I have loved for 37 years!”

You can watch video coverage of the whole of the Kingston Diamonds v Wild Women match on the Diamonds’ YouTube channel HERE 

Widnes Wild Women Season Preview

Wild Women's Head Coach Steve Furber (left) with Assistant Coach Paddy Horner and Player Coach Leen de Decker (Photo by Widnes Wild Women IHC)  

The Widnes Wild women’s team have announced their leadership teams in preparation for the new 2024/25 WNIHL season, which starts this weekend.

The Head Coach for the new season is Steve Furber, with Thomas (Paddy) Horner as Assistant Coach.  Leen De Decker, Katie Fairclough and Suzie Miller will all be Player / Coaches. 

Charlotte Cramp returns as team captain in the role that she filled so admirably last season and Rachael Pearce and Elizabeth Loss are Alternate Captains.

The Wild Women will, once again, be playing in WNIHL Division 2 North where they will take on opposition from: Hull, Sheffield, Whitley Bay, Edinburgh, Telford and Leeds.  

Last year’s strugglers Grimsby withdrew from the league during the summer and a new 3-team Northern Cup competition has been introduced between Widnes, Telford and Sheffield to provide extra matches to make up the shortfall.

The Wild Women start their season with a trip to Hull and back this Sunday 29th September when they take on the Kingston Diamonds. They then have two more away fixtures before their first home game against Whitley Bay Beacons on Sunday 24th November at Planet Ice Widnes, 4.25pm face off.

The full Wild Women’s fixture list for the 2024/25 season is:

• 29th Sept: away @ Kingston
• 12th Oct: away @ Sheffield
• 27th Oct: away @ Whitley
• 24th Nov: home v Whitley
• 7th Dec: away @ Caledonia
• 15th Dec: home v Sheffield (Cup)
• 12th Jan: away @ Telford
• 26th Jan: home v Telford
• 2nd Feb: away @ Sheffield (Cup)
• 16th Feb: home v Telford (Cup)
• 9th Mar: home v Sheffield
• 16th Mar: home v Kingston
• 22nd Mar: away @ Leeds
• 13th April: home v Leeds
• 27th April: home v Caledonia
• 3rd May: away @ Telford (Cup)

Wild Women's home games are on Sunday afternoons at Planet Ice Widnes, 4.25 pm face off.  Admission is free for all spectators and there is ample free parking outside the venue.  

Match Report: Widnes Wild 2 – Deeside Dragons 7 (NIHL Moralee Division)

Luke Alston was the Wild's MVP in the home defeat against Deeside (Photo by Steve Cunningham)

Sunday 22nd September – Moralee Division: Widnes Wild 2 – Deeside Dragons 7

The Widnes Wild NIHL team’s disappointing start to the season continued with a 2-7 defeat at the hands of local rivals Deeside Dragons at Planet Ice Widnes on Sunday.

Due to the close proximity of the two teams – and regular interchanges of players over the years - matches with the Dragons are always feisty affairs and this was no exception.

A short-benched Widnes - caused by mounting injury worries - actually scored first with a goal by Kai Hathaway but three strikes for the Dragons – including a brace from former Wild favourite Jakub Hajek - saw the visitors leading 1-3 at the first period break.

Luke Alston narrowed the deficit to just one goal midway through the second period but two goals late on handed the Dragons a 2-5 lead with one period left to play.

The game was pretty much dominated by Deeside’s new import and former Leeds Knights National Division player - American Jake Witowksy – and he rounded off an impressive hat trick to go with his three assists to bring the score to 2-6 midway through the third period.

A seventh goal for the Dragons late in the game further rubbed salt in the Wild wounds and bragging rights remain at the western end of the M56 – at least until the next Widnes / Deeside encounter.

The Wild are next in action this Sunday 29th September when they are at home to the new Leeds Knights 2 team in the Moralee Division at Planet Ice Widnes, 5.30pm face off.

Match Report: Coventry NIHL Blaze 13 – Deeside Ducks 1 (NIHL Laidler Division)

Deeside Ducks' first ever away game - against Coventry NIHL Blaze (Photo by Maxine Roscoe)

Saturday 21^st September: NIHL Laidler Division – Coventry NIHL Blaze 13 – Deeside Ducks 1

The Deeside Ducks had a difficult time on their first ever away trip – losing 13-1 to a highly organised Coventry Blaze side on Saturday.

Continuing their policy of encouraging young talent and providing a stepping stone into senior league hockey, the Ducks gave NIHL debuts to three more promising players – Mackenzie Wilkes, Liam Yarwood and 16-year old Deacon Wilkes.

Deeside found themselves up against it right from the start and were 3-0 down by the end of the first period. It was 8-0 after two periods and they were 12-0 down by the time Michael Speare scored their first ever away goal in the third period. The netminding partnership of Callum Preston and Paul Jones were kept busy all night but managed to keep out 55 of the 68 shots that they faced between them.  Deacon Wilkes was named the Ducks’ Most Valuable Player (MVP) for the match.

After the game, lead coach Peter Bleackley said:

 “I’m not going to make any excuses. We just didn’t gel as a team last night. We’ve lots of areas to work on in training and I am putting this down to a bad day at the office. Coventry were a well organised team and played good simple hockey from the start. They outworked us and took every opportunity and capitalised on it.”

 “We will dust ourselves off and the team are looking forward to this weekend. It is early days for us all as a new development team and we just need to bring to the games the energy and competitive levels that we have at training.”

The Ducks have another away game this Saturday 28^th September then they go to Hull and back to face the Kingston Sharks, who they lost very narrowly to 4-5 in their first game of the season. They are then at home on Sunday to Sheffield Titans at Deeside Leisure Centre, 5pm face off.

(Note: gamesheet not provided so match details are incomplete).

Sheffield Steelkings Win BPIHL Play Offs

Sheffield Steelkings celebrate winning the 2024 BPIHL Play Off title at Nottingham (Photo by Sheffield Steelkings PIHC)

British Para Ice Hockey Play Offs 2024 (14^th & 15^th September - at Nottingham)

• Semi Final 1: Cardiff Huskies 4 – Mayhem 3
• Semi Final 2: Peterborough Phantoms 2 – Sheffield Steelkings 5
• 3rd Place Game: Peterborough Phantoms 7 – Mayhem 4
• Play Off Final: Cardiff Huskies 2 – Sheffield Steelkings 6

The Sheffield Steelkings won the British Para Ice Hockey play off title for the second year in a row with a 6-2 win over league champions Cardiff Huskies in Nottingham on Sunday.

The top four finishers in the league qualified for the play offs in the Lace City and the semi finals on the Saturday saw league champions Cardiff Huskies take on 4^th place Mayhem and runners up Peterborough Phantoms paired up with third place Sheffield Steelkings at the National Ice Centre.

The Mayhem put in a superb performance in their semi semi-final and led for much of the game. They were eventually overhauled by two late goals from Huskies’  Tyler Christopher with the winner coming just 3 minutes from time for a narrow 4-3 Cardiff victory.

Sheffield beat Peterborough 5-2 in the other semi-final with goals from Jake Oakley (2), Daniel Clarke (2) and Connor Grocock.  The league’s top scorer Gary Farmer scored both goals for the Phantoms.

The third place game on the Sunday paired Peterborough with the Mayhem.  Gary Farmer scored 4 goals and Callum Shakespeare 3 in the 7-2 Phantoms victory while Karl Nicholson (3) and Tom Kimm were on target for the Mayhem.

Sheffield got off to the better start in the final against Cardiff and were 4-0 up by the time the Huskies managed to score their opening goal.

Tyler Christopher and Jon Le Galloudec scored the Cardiff goals but Strikes from Oakley (2), Paul Brown (2) and one each for John Plummer and Daniel Clarke were more than enough for the Steelkings to see off the league champions in a 6-2 victory. 

Widnes Wild NIHL Weekend Summary - 14th / 15th September

Wild youngster Kai Hathaway was on target against Billingham (Photo by David Tattum / DJT Ice Hockey Photos)

The Widnes Wild NIHL team had a losing start to their NIHL Moralee Division season with a 9-2 defeat away to Hull Jets on Saturday and a 3-6 home loss to defending champions Billingham Stars at Planet Ice Widnes on Sunday.

The home game on Sunday saw Billingham leading 1-4 at the first period – the only Wild goal coming from Widnes youngster Luke Alston - and the game was pretty much done and dusted at that point.  

Widnes had more of the play in the second and third periods – drawing each of them 1-1 - with goals from Mikey Gilbert and Kai Hathaway helping to keep the score respectable. 

The Wild are next in action this Sunday 22nd September when they take on local rivals Deeside Dragons at Planet Ice Widnes, 5.30pm face off.

Match Report: Peterborough Phantoms 7 – Mayhem 4 (BPIHL Play Off 3rd Place Match)

Karl Nicholson scored 5 goals at the Play Off weekend (photo by Blindside Trading Cards)

Sunday 15th September – BPIHL Play Off 3rd Place Match: Peterborough Phantoms 7 – Mayhem 4

With Sheffield Steelkings beating Peterborough 5-2 in the other semi final, this set up a Phantom v Mayhem tussle for 3rd place on Sunday. 

Peterborough took the lead after just 57 seconds with a goal from the league’s top scorer Gary Farmer but Rob Allen put the Mayhem on level terms 2 minutes later.

A second goal from Farmer in the 10th minute edged Peterborough back in front and they led 2-1 at the first period break.

Two unanswered goals in the second period – from Callum Shakespeare and Farmer again saw Peterborough build up a commanding lead and the score stood at 4-1 at the second interval..    

Two more goals early in the third period – from Shakespeare and Farmer – further extended the Phantoms’ lead to 6-1 but this sparked a late surge from the Mayhem.

Three quick goals from Karl Nicholson in 4 minutes, brought the score to a tantalisingly close 6-4 with 90 seconds left on the clock and everything still to play for. However, 26 seconds later, Callum Shakespeare scored his hat-trick goal for Peterborough and that was to be the last goal of the game.

The 7-4 victory saw Peterborough secure the third place finish, while Sheffield beat Cardiff 6-2 in the final to retain the Play Off crown that they had previously won last year. 

Mayhem Head Coach
Peter Hagan
(Photo by Blindside
Trading Cards)

Looking back over the Play Off weekend, Mayhem Head Coach and Team Manager Peter Hagan said:  

“After missing out last year, we were thrilled to make this years play offs - especially as they were held at Nottingham – and, although the results didn’t go our way, I’m really happy how we performed - especially against Cardiff, the league champions. You can see the progression that the squad has made and those close losses will turn into wins soon, we have no doubt about it.”

“We went in without our goalie who had surgery last week, and 3-4 players missing through work & injury, so we were up against it and huge thanks go to Sheffield & Cardiff for loaning us a netminder so we could compete.”

“We have a strong foundation to build on for 2025 and are excited for the future. We are recruiting & continuing looking for sponsors to help, and hopefully can bring silverware to Widnes soon.”

Match Report: Cardiff Huskies 4 – Mayhem 3 (BPIHL Play Off Semi Final)

Mayhem’s Felicity Gregory contests a face off against Cardiff. (photo by Blindside Trading Cards)

Saturday 14th September – BPIHL Play Off Semi Final: Cardiff Huskies 4 – Mayhem 3

The Mayhem sledge team took part in the British Para Ice Hockey League’s end of season play offs at Nottingham’s prestigious National Ice Centre over the weekend and, although they lost both of their games, they gave a good account of themselves and helped to sign the season off in style.

The top four finishers in the league qualified for the play offs and the semi finals on the Saturday saw league champions Cardiff Huskies take on 4th place Mayhem and runners up Peterborough Phantoms paired up with third place Sheffield Steelkings.

The Mayhem had lost both of their league encounters with Cardiff during the regular season – but only by narrow margins – and this semi final game was just as closely fought.

The first period was goal-less – which is quite unusual in ice hockey - and both teams had an equal number of shots on goal, but the Mayhem took the lead 36 seconds into the second period with a goal from Karl Nicholson.

Cardiff quickly struck back and equalised just 44 seconds later with a goal from their top scorer Tyler Christopher but a second goal from Nicholson 67 seconds after that restored the slim Mayhem advantage.  

Cardiff drew level again on 23 minutes with a strike from Jon Le Galloudec but a goal from Tom Kimm edged the Mayhem back in front to lead 2-3 at the second period break.

The third period was similarly close but two goals from Christopher – on 37 minutes and 42 minutes – levelled the scores and then put Cardiff in front for the first time in the game.  The Mayhem were unable to manage a late reply and the Huskies went on to book their place in the final with a narrow 4-3 victory. 

Match Report: Deeside Ducks 4 - Kingston Sharks 5 (NIHL Laidler Division)

Ducks netminder Callum Preston receives the MVP award from team sponsor Richard Beevers, CEO of Customer Plus (Photo by Paul Breeze)

Saturday 14^th September 2024 – NIHL Laidler Division: Deeside Ducks 4 - Kingston Sharks 5

The Deeside Ducks put in a plucky performance in their first ever league game, only narrowly losing out 4-5 to the Kingston Sharks at Deeside Leisure Centre on Saturday.

The Ducks team has been set up this season to provide a stepping stone between the highly regarded Deeside junior set up and the senior Dragons side and comprises mainly younger players with a few older heads to offer experience and stability.  As such, the game saw NIHL debuts for 12 players who had never played at this level before.

Before the face-off, there was a minute’s applause in memory of Ken Taggart - the former player, referee and long time Chairman of the English Ice Hockey Association – who died earlier in the week at the age of 78.

Once the puck had dropped, the visitors were quickest out of the blocks and took an early lead after just 42 seconds. However, the Ducks managed to settle down and their first ever league goal came on 12 minutes 32 seconds scored by Thomas Milnes, assisted by Charlie Spridgeon.

The score remained 1-1 at the first period break and although they had been outshot by almost 3 to 1, the Ducks had given a good account of themselves.

The second period saw 2 unanswered goals for the Sharks and they edged further ahead early in the third period to lead 1-5 with 15 minutes left to play.

The Ducks second goal of the game came on 50 minutes with team captain Chris Jones firing in a delayed penalty strike punishing a Sharks tripping call and this served to spark a late Deeside fightback.

Further goals for the Ducks – from Cody Ogden on 54 minutes and the same player on 57 minutes - drew the home side to within one goal of their opponents. 

Both teams called timeouts in the latter stages to discuss last ditch tactics, wrenching up the tension around the rink, but there was no further scoring and the game finished 4-5 to the Kingston Sharks.

The MVP awards were donated and presented by Mr Richard Beevers, CEO of Customer Plus - who are one of the Ducks team sponsors for the season.

These went to Joe Gray for Kingston and Deeside netminder Callum Preston who managed to turn away an incredible 42 of the 47shots that he faced over the 60 minutes.

Speaking about the game afterwards, Head Coach Gary Shaw said:

“For the first competitive game for the newly formed Ducks, the team performed well together. They had to overcome not really knowing each other’s game as they have been on the ice for less than 2 months and only 1 practice game. The experienced players in the team helped the junior players at this level.”

“As the game progressed, they made a few mistakes, which we expected to happen, and we can see as a coaching team what we need to focus on to be able to build on this performance. We have a good base to build on, and as the team grows together from this strong performance, we should see that they will have a good competitive season.”

The Ducks now have two away games – away to Coventry NIHL Blaze this Saturday 21st September in a combined league and cup game and then to Kingston in Hull the following Saturday.

They are next at home on Sunday 29th September when they take on the Sheffield Titans at Deeside Leisure Centre, 5pm face off.

You can follow the progress of the new Deeside Ducks team as they embark on their debut season in the NIHL Laidler Division on their Facebook page.   HERE

Ducks Line-Up v Kingston Sharks:

Paul Jones (NM), Charlie Spridgeon, Michael Speare, Louis Morgan, Gary Dixon, Stewart Cutting, Henry Phillips, Thomas Milnes, Kieran Clarkson, Heather Clarkson, Ben Roscoe, Louis Ellwood, Cody Ogden, Callum Preston (NM), Chris Jones, Joshua Jones, George Spofforth, Kenny Williams, Rory Sillery, Luke Wainwright, James Morgan, Jack Davies

Bench staff:  Peter Bleackley (Coach), Steven Fellows (Coach), Angela Wilkes (Manager).

The Wild #64 Shirt Explained

Widnes Academy players who have joined the Wild NIHL team for the 2024/25 season - #12 Luke Alston, #19 Jared Knowles, #6 Kai Hathaway and #64 Robbie Thomson – along with coaches Mikey Gilbert and Gary Eddleston (Photo by Steve Cunningham)

Eagle-eyed Widnes fans will have noticed that the #64 shirt has been in evidence again at Wild matches this season.

The number 64 was previously worn by original Wild netminder Greg Ruxton who played in the very first in Widnes game back in August 2013 and stayed with the club for four seasons from 2013 to 2017.

Ruxton was forced to give up playing due to a recurring knee injury and his career at the Wild was recognised with a special on-ice ceremony in October 2017, which also saw his #64 shirt “retired”.

Commenting on the resurrection of the #64 shirt, Wild GM Steve Cunningham explained:  “We spoke to Greg and he is happy to honour the number and not retire it.” 

Greg Ruxton in goal for the Wild (Photo by Geoff White)

Renegades Beat Huskies in Play Off Final

The Blackburn Renegades win silverware for the third year in a row.

Sunday 8th September – Blood, Sweat & Beers Play Off Final: Halton Huskies 5 – Blackburn Renegades 8

The Blackburn Renegades secured the Blood, Sweat and Beers Play off title after a 5 - 8 victory over Halton Huskies at Planet Ice Widnes on Sunday.

The Renegades had won the cup - in its various guises - for the past two seasons the Huskies had won the league stage of the competition this year.

The two teams had shared remarkable 10-10 draws in both of their meetings in the group stage of the competition so this season’s finale between the top two finishers was always going to be a bit of a spectacle.

The game was played at a high tempo throughout, in very good spirit and in front of a huge crowd at the Widnes rink.

*****

The Huskies will be holding their end of season awards night at the Hub Venue in Widnes on Saturday 9th November from 5.30 to 9pm. 

Tickets cost £5 per person – with children getting free admission – and should be booked in advance via the Halton Huskies IHC Facebook page HERE

As well as the presentation of the player awards, there will also be a buffet and a raffle.

Widnes Wild V Telford Weekend Report

Joel Bark was the Wild MVP in the home game against Telford on Saturday (Photo by Steve Cunningham)

Saturday 7th September – Challenge Match: Widnes Wild 3 – Telford Tigers 5

Sunday 8th September – Challenge Match: Telford Tigers 4 - Widnes Wild 1 

The Widnes Wild NIHL team had a disappointing weekend with back to back defeats at the hands of last season’s Laidler Division champions Telford Tigers, losing 3-5 at home on Saturday and 4-1 away on Sunday.

The home game on Saturday saw a rather depleted Wild line up compared  with the three full lines that had battered Bradford Bulldogs the week before but they managed to take a 2-0 lead in the first 10 minutes with goals from new team captain Andrew Hopkins and former Solway Sharks and Edinburgh Capitals player Andrew Craik, who joined the Wild during the summer.

Telford pulled a goal back to bring the score to 2-1 at the first break and then scored two unanswered goals in the second period to lead 2-3 after 40 minutes of play.

Outstanding Wild youngster Jared Knowles equalised two minutes into the third period with his third goal in two games for Widnes but two more goals – including an empty net strike after netminder Charlie Henry had been taken off in favour of an extra attacker - secured the win for the Tigers.

The away game on Sunday was pretty close in its early stages but Telford eventually took the lead on 15 minutes.  They doubled the advantage 90 seconds into the second period and Widnes finally opened their own account with a Damarni James goal on 26 minutes.

A penalty shot early in the third period edged the Tigers further ahead again and a goal from former Wild import Filip Supa rounded off the scoring for the game with 10 minutes left to play. 

The NIHL season proper starts this weekend with a road trip to Hull and back this Saturday 14th September when the Wild play Hull Jets in their first league fixture of the season.  They are home on Sunday when they take on last season’s league champions Billingham Stars at Planet Ice Widnes, 5.30pm face off.

*****

The Widnes Wild Junior Academy had their first games of the new season at the weekend.

The Under 19 team won 3-9 away at Solihull on Saturday and the Under 18 team lost 1-8 away to Kingston (Hull) on Sunday.

The Wild Academy runs teams in all age groups - ie Under 10s, Under 12s Under 14s, Under 16s and Under 18s - and also has a team in the Under 19 league that has been newly formed for this season.

The Academy are always keen to recruit new players across all age groups and hold training sessions on Tuesday and Thursday evenings at Planet Ice Widnes.

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

Deeside Ducks Sign Gary Dixon

Deeside Ducks' latest signing Gary Dixon (Photo by Peter Sheffield)

The Deeside Ducks have announced the signing of Gary Dixon to further boost their squad for their debut 2024/25 Laidler Division season.

The 38 year old forward is a highly experienced player who has spent most of his 22 year senior career at Deeside playing with the Flintshire Freeze and the Dragons.

Dixon has played some 320 competitive games at NIHL level, scoring 49 goals and 138 assists and picking up 488 penalty minutes.

He was part of the Dragons team that won the Laidler Division league and Play Off double in the 2015/16 season and last season he played 20 league games in the Moralee Division helping the team to a well-earned 4th place in the league table.

Talking about joining the Ducks, Gary said:

“One of my main reasons for supporting this exciting project is to help the club create a pathway for our home-grown generation of junior Dragons players to progress into senior hockey.”

“I feel this has been lost over the last few years, though not due to any fault of its own, and the club is currently thriving as a whole under Snip (Junior Head Coach James Parsons).”

“There has been a lot of positive feedback regarding the club’s name and branding so I am looking forward to seeing how far this club can grow.  It’s time to play two-way hockey!”

Commenting on Dixon’s signing, Deeside Juniors Head Coach James Parsons said:

“Dicko brings a wealth of experience not only on the ice but also in the dressing room. He has played in N1 and N2 for many years, and I am looking forward to him sharing his experience and guidance with the younger players. Welcome to the team, Ham!”

The Ducks’ first league game is at home to Kingston Sharks on Saturday 14th September at Deeside Leisure Centre, 5pm face off.

You can follow the progress of the new Deeside Ducks team as they embark on their debut season in the NIHL Laidler Division on their Facebook page HERE

Deeside Ducks Laidler Division Fixtures Announced

The Deeside Ducks have announced their full list of Laidler Division fixtures for their first ever season on NIHL ice hockey.

The first league game is on Saturday 14th September at home to Kingston Sharks and the regular NIHL season runs through until March, finishing up with a Play Off Finals weekend in April.

The full list of Deeside Duck fixtures for the 2024/25 season is as follows  ( * = combined league and cup games):  

• 14th Sept: home v Kingston
• 21st Sept: away @ Coventry*
• 28th Sept: away @ Kingston
• 29th Sept: home v Sheffield
• 5th Oct: home v Bradford*
• 20th Oct: away @ Sheffield
• 26th Oct: away @ Telford*
• 3rd Nov: away @ Bradford*
• 17th Nov: home v Telford*
• 23rd Nov: away @ Coventry
• 30th Nov: home v Coventry*
• 8th Dec: away @ Altrincham*
• 14th Dec: home v Bradford
• 15th Dec: away @ Billingham
• 21st Dec: home v Altrincham
• 4th Jan: away @ Sutton
• 5th Jan: home v Altrincham*
• 12th Jan: away @ Bradford
• 26th Jan: away @ Telford
• 1st Feb: home v Sutton
• 2nd Feb: away @ Altrincham
• 8th Feb: home v Nottingham
• 16th Feb: home v Coventry
• 1st Mar: home v Billingham
• 8th Mar: home v Telford
• 15th Mar: Play Off QFs
• 16th Mar: Play Off QFs
• 22nd Mar: Play Off QFs
• 23rd Mar: away @ Nottingham
• 29th Mar: Play Off QFs
• 30th Mar: Play Off QFs
• 5th Apr: Play Off Semi Final
• 6th Apr: Play Off Semi Final
• 12th April: Play Off Finals Weekend
• 13th April: Play Off Finals Weekend

Ducks home games face off at 5pm at Deeside Leisure Centre with doors opening at 4.15.

Ticket prices are: Adults - £7.00, Children - £3.00, Dragons season ticket holders - £3.00 (must show season ticket to qualify), Concessions - £3.00, Junior Dragons - free entry with Junior Dragons pass.

You can read more about the format of this season’s Laidler Division, Laidler Cup and Play Offs HERE

And you can follow the progress of the new Deeside Ducks team as they embark on their debut season in the NIHL Laidler Division on their Facebook page HERE

Huskies In Play Off Final On Sunday

The Halton Huskies will be looking to secure a league and play off “double” as they take on the Blackburn Renegades in the Play Off final of the Blood, Sweat and Beers Cup this Sunday 8th September at Planet Ice Widnes, 4.00pm start.

The Huskies finished top of the Cup table with 6 wins from their 8 games and the only points that they dropped were in their two meetings with the Renegades which - somewhat amazingly - both ended in highly entertaining and close fought 10-10 draws.

The Renegades won last year’s competition and finished second in the table this time around with 3 wins and 2 draws from 8 games so will be keen to try and get one over on the Huskies in this big season finale.

Both teams have some former league players on their rosters so it should be a great game to watch. Admission is free for all spectators and there is also ample free parking.

 

Captains Aboard At Widnes

New Wild Captain Andrew Hopkins with Bez Hughes (left) and Jonathan Williamson (right) - Photo by Steve Cunningham 

Prior to the home game against Bradford, the Wild NIHL team unveiled their captaincy team for the 2024/25 season.

Andrew Hopkins is the team captain for the new season, taking over the role that was vacated by Tom Jackson when he was appointed player coach during the summer.  The Alternate Captain roles (AC) go to Bez Hughes and Jonathan Williamson.  

The role of Alternate Captain is very important because, in ice hockey, only the Captain is allowed to discuss decisions with the match referee. If the Team Captain is on the bench at the time of the call, he is not allowed to rush onto the ice to query it and, therefore, each playing line has an Alternate Captain to ensure that this role is always covered throughout the game.

After Jackson, Bez Hughes is the Wild’s longest serving player, having originally joined for the 2014/15 season. 

Match Report: Widnes Wild 12 – Bradford Bulldogs 2 (Challenge Match)

Jared Knowles scored 2 goals and 2 assists on his Wild senior debut.

Sunday 1st September 2024 – Challenge Match: Widnes Wild 12 – Bradford Bulldogs 2

The Widnes Wild NIHL team got the new season off to a winning start with a comprehensive 12-2 victory over Bradford Bulldogs on Sunday at Planet Ice Widnes.

The Bulldogs are a Laidler Division side - and play one division below the Wild – so one can’t really read too much into the result of this pre-season friendly match but it was certainly a good first outing for Player Coach Tom Jackson’s new look Widnes team and it gave fans the chance to see all the new signings together on the ice.

The game saw an unprecedented number of Wild debuts handed out, following a busy summer of player movements, with 9 brand new names featuring on the roster. Forwards Kai Hathaway, Robbie Thomson & Andrew Craik, defencemen Ross Chalmers, William Daley, Joe Howie & Scott Kirkpatrick and netminders Charlie Henry & Harry Campbell all made first appearances in Wild colours. 

Widnes Academy junior player Jared Knowles made his first senior appearance for the club while former Wild players Tristan Grimshaw and Matt Tarpey both returned to the team after a number of seasons away.  The Bradford team also looked quite familiar as former Wild players Jake Lowndes, Tom Mardell, Keiron Furlong and Joel Bark were all on the Bulldogs line up.

Despite so many new faces playing together for the first time, the new look Widnes team seemed to gel very well.  Damarni James scored the first goal of the new season in the second minute and the Wild raced into a 6-0 lead by the end of the first period with further goals from James (again), Knowles, Grimshaw, Tarpey and Craik.

The second period saw goals from Mikey Gilbert, Andrew Hopkins and Chalmers and the third, Chalmers Knowles and Tarpey for a 12-2 win.

The Wild will probably face a tougher test this coming weekend when they have a home and away double header against last season’s Laidler Division champions Telford Tigers.  The home game is on Saturday 7th September, 7pm face off, and the away game is the next day in Telford, with the puck dropping at 6pm.

The NIHL season proper starts the weekend after with a road trip to Hull and back on Saturday 14th when the Wild play Hull Jets in their first league fixture of the season.  They are home the next day when they take on last season’s league champions Billingham Stars at Planet Ice Widnes, 5.30pm face off. 

Deeside Ducks First Public Appearance

Deeside Ducks Team – 31^st August 2024 (Photo by Paul Breeze)

Back Row: James Morgan, Gary Dixon, Charlie Spridgeon, Chris Jones, Kieran Clarkson, Callum Preston, Heather Clarkson, Paul Jones, Luke Wainwright.  Front Row: Michael Speare, Mackenzie Wilkes, Jack Davies, Rory Sillery, Cody Ogden, Josh Jones, Ben Roscoe, Deacon Wilkes.

The Deeside Ducks made their first public appearance on Saturday as fans were invited to watch an “On Ice Session” at Deeside Leisure Centre.

Members of the Ducks squad were joined on the ice by a group of local recreational players and a number of former Dragons to bring an air of realism to the training session as they continue to prepare for their debut league season.

The ducks further strengthened their roster during the  week with the signing of 4 new players – all of whom are products of the highly respected Deeside junior development system and are, indeed, two sets of brothers!

20 year old forward Mackenzie Wilkes is a former Deeside junior player who “aged out” during the Covid closure period and has recently been playing for the Connah’s Quay Cobras recreational team while his younger brother - 16 year old defenceman Deacon Wilkes - played for the Dragons Under 16 and Under 18 teams last season.

The other pair of brothers are the Morgan brothers Louis and James.

Despite being only 23, defenceman Louis Morgan already has an impressive senior career having played Moralee Division hockey for 4 seasons with the Dragons senior team, while his older brother James Morgan – a 27 year old defenceman - played for the Dragons juniors for a number of years before taking a break from the sport.

The Ducks’ first league game is at home to Kingston Sharks on Saturday 14th September at Deeside Leisure Centre, 5pm face off.