Carlon makes the switch to the Lightning

The MK Lightning has confirmed the signing of British forward Tom Carlon for the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons; as they continue to show their intent on challenging for EPL honours next season.

It is a great pick-up for Head Coach Nick Poole, as he adds the highly-rated forward to his British contingent. He said that the chance to sign Tom for the Lightning on a two year deal was an opportunity not to be missed. “I’ve spoken with Tom over the past few summers about him coming to play in MK, and I’m very pleased that we have finally captured his signature. He is a big strong player that I’ve admired since I saw him play junior hockey. Over the last few years he has gained confidence and become one of our league’s best British forwards.

“Tom is ambitious, he wants to win trophies and we know he’ll fit right in with our style of play. He’s a very good skater with an excellent shot and will immediately improve our offence, and he brings a lot of experience at international level and also from his time in the Elite league. His size and strength will add to our forecheck and he will be a real thorn in the side of opposition defences.”

Carlon makes the switch to MK for 2013-14.

Carlon makes the switch from the Lightning’s local rivals; the Peterborough Phantoms after three and a half seasons with the Cambridgeshire club.

The Telford born forward began his junior development with the Telford Wildfoxes aged 14 and began to progress through the clubs rankings, with his skill and ability earning him call ups to the Great Britain Under 18 and Under 20 selection between 2003 and 2005. He has captained the GB U18’s and has won several gold medals at international level.

Icing full-time for Telford, Tom also enjoyed guest appearances with the Coventry Blaze in the Elite League and was signed on a permanent basis in 2006; when the club took the League Championship.

In 2007 he made the switch back to the English Premier League and headed south to join the Bracknell Bees. 2008 marked a switch back to his home-town team; however with the Tigers unable to compete in 2009 due to financial reasons he made the switch to join the new league champions for his first spell with the Phantoms. After two seasons he made the switch to join the Jets, but financial difficulties saw him released mid-season and he made a return to the Phantoms.

Tom is very capable in the forward position and has good positioning and awareness on the ice. He is also able to score and will give the Lightning added fire power across their forward lines. However he is not a player that will score 50 goals a season and his abilities are utilised elsewhere. A player that is not afraid to put his body on the line or through a hit when needed; he is a great addition to Poole’s team.

He is coming off the back of his second best season in the EPL in terms of point production having scored 54pts from 21 goals and 33 assists. It will be interesting to see if Tom can once again be part of a championship winning side and what role he will play in MK depending on the further signings made by Poole.

Bison’s Owen calls it a day

Greg Owen retires from ice hockey after 12 seasons.

Basingstoke Bison’s British star, Greg Owen, has announced his retirement from professional ice hockey, just over a week after the conclusion 2012-13 EPL season.

The 31 year old centre, is currently with the national squad ahead of their Division 1A World Championship in Hungary this coming week, however has advised that following the completion of the tournament on 20th April he will be hanging the skates up for good.

Owen got his first taste of ice hockey in 1996-97 icing for the Oxford City Stars in the English Division 1 for only 3 games. Over the next 4 years Owen represented both the GB under 18 and under 20 sides in the World Junior Championships; whilst also registered with the Notre Dame Hounds in the Junior A Saskatchewan Junior Ice Hockey League.

2001-02 saw Owen ice in his first full season for the Hounds, registering 70 points from 63 appearances. The following season saw a return to British shores when he joined the Bracknell Bees in the Ice Hockey Superleague. He split his time between the Bees and Milton Keynes Lightning in the 3rd tier English Premier League. Owen went on to score 63 points from 40 goals and 23 assists during 36 games for the Lightning whilst also helping them to capture the play-off title.

2003-04 saw a return to the Bees in the newly formed British National League (BNL). Owen went on to win the double with the Bees in 2004-05 as they claimed the BNL title and the Challenge Cup in only their second season in the league.

The 2005-06 season marked the first appearance that Owen would make for the Basingstoke Bison, during two separate spells with the Hampshire squad, having been signed from the champions by coach Mark Bernard. With Bernard’s departure in 2006, current Player/Coach Doug Sheppard took over the helm and with Owen back for a second season he formed the infamous partnership with line mates Brad Cruickshank and Greg Chambers. As part of the “Bison Line” Owen went on to have a break-out year in senior hockey scoring 54 points from 53 starts.

Despite the departure of Sheppard, following the appointment of Ryan Aldridge as player/coach of the Bison, Owen returned to the Herd for a third season in 07-08, registering almost a point per game as he racked up 52 points in 54 appearances.

France came a-calling in 2008 as Owen made his first move abroad since his early career to join Briançon in the French Ligue Magnus. A more competitive league than the EIHL saw Owen score just 21 points during the 25 starts. He was also called up to represent GB during their 2010 pre-Olympic qualifying rounds in Poland. However GB finished 3rd in their group and missed out on qualifying for the final Winter Olympic selection.

A year later marked the return back to the UK and the EIHL as Owen joined the Coventry Blaze. He was reunited with former line-mate Chambers and with Head Coach Paul Thompson adding Cruickshank at the 2010 trade deadline, the former “Bison Line” was once again together however this time causing terror for the Blaze. The Blaze tasted success with the capture of the EIHL league title and Owen’s first title in the top flight league.

Despite returning for a further two seasons with the Blaze, they could not reach the same heights as in previous years, and following the conclusion of the 2011-12 season he announced that he would prefer to move closer to home (Reading); sparking a many rumours as to his intended destination.

With Sheppard returning to lead the Bison for the 2012-13 season, he looked to put a competitive team together to launch a full challenge in the EPL. Turning to previous team-mates Sheppard announced that former Bison and 06-7 team-mate, Owen had signed for the season ahead alongside his former line-mate Chambers.

Sheppard lead the Bison to their best ever league finish in the EPL with 2nd and also taking them to their first play-off finals weekend, reaching the semi-finals where they lost to eventual winners Manchester.

Having assembled a competitive team, Sheppard would have surely been hoping to keep the core of his players for the next season, with Owen being one of huge experience and influential to their title challenge.

The loss for the Bison will prove a huge void to fill ahead of the 2013-14 EPL season with Owen still one of the top Brit centres in both the EPL and EIHL. Many expected him to be re-signed by Sheppard for a further season as they continue to lead the Herd charge back to success; however you cannot fault or be angry against a guy that wants to give up a huge part of his life and passion for his family.

Owen is one of those players that can frustrate the hell out of an opposition. He plays a clean, fast and clinical game on the ice. He can create plays and act as a set-up man which was evident during the seasons he spent alongside Cruickshank and Chambers; but he can also hit the net himself when required. His first season in the EPL saw him amass a season high points total from 30 goals and 37 assists for 67 points. He was the second highest point scorer for the Bison, behind only Chambers; and he was also 6th highest British point scorer for the whole league.

Owen played with a level or maturity and experience, which would on some occasions, make him oblivious to the watching fan, as he went about his business on the ice and did it well! He was also a leader and respected by both his team-mates and fellow players.

Sheppard commented to the Basingstoke Gazette, “I am so glad to have played with Greg and he was a great leader for the team. I can understand that he now wants to spend time with his family.”

So what is next for Owen and the Bison? Well I am sure Owen will continue to be involved in ice hockey in some capacity whether it is watching and cheering on the Herd next season or in another way. For Sheppard the search now starts for a replacement and what big shoes they’ll have to fill.

Good luck in everything you do in your future Greg!!!

Elite League Play-off Finals Just Around the Corner

Not only are the EPL play-off finals being held this weekend but also the Elite League as well at the National Ice Centre in Nottingham. It is an exciting point of the season for every ice hockey fan concerned. Thousands of fans will be packing out the Skydome Arena in Coventry for the EPL finals and also at the National Ice Centre for the Elite finals.

We have already had a look at the EPL quarter-finals so now time to take a quick look at the Elite league’s winners and losers from last weekend and who is in contention for the play-off title.

Now having been adrift of the EIHL this season and their new conference system I am not too sure as to how the play-off quarter-finals are decided, as it is not simply a 1 to 8 in the league standings as in the EPL.

The league champions, Nottingham, took on the Fife Flyers in the first match-up in Kirkcaldy. Despite their good fortunes against the Flyers in the league campaign, the Panthers would head into the return leg on Sunday 2 goals behind. However a 3-0 blanking of the Flyers on home ice secured their spot in the semi-finals and kept up hopes of the grand slam this season.

The Belfast Giants took on the Edinburgh Capitals and a 3-1 victory at the Odyssey Arena on Saturday set up and exciting return leg in Scotland on Sunday. The Capitals took the lead in the first period, but by the end of the second period the scores were level at 2. An early goal in the third period by Colin Shields almost guaranteed the Giants a place in the semi-finals. A goal 5 minutes from time by the Capitals set up a thrilling end to the game but the Giants were able to take it 7-4 on aggregate.

The Cardiff Devils would go to battle with Gardiner Conference winners the Braehead Clan. In one of the more thrilling quarter-finals the Clan took a 7-5 advantage on home ice into the second leg at the Cardiff Bay Arena on Sunday. Gerad Adams’ men were hoping to overturn the two goal deficit. By the end of the opening period the teams were level on aggregate scoring with Blight and Jones getting the goals. An early second period strike put the Devils ahead in the contest a lead they would not give up for the remainder of the match. Running away 7-2 victors on the night, secured the Devils of their 10th consecutive appearance at the finals weekend in the Elite League.

The final match-up of the quarter finals saw Paul Thompson’s Blaze take on Ryan Finnerty’s Steelers; with it possibly being the final games for both coaches.
The Steelers took the lead on Saturday at the Skydome Arena. Fata opened the scoring for the visitors in the opening period but a pair of goals split between the two sides saw a one goal game going into the third period. Michel’s strike early in the third gave the Steelers a 2 goal margin but a comeback goal late in the third from Gutherie kept the encounter close going into the second leg in the Steel City. Gutherie continued the second leg as the first ended and bagged the Blaze a equalising goal early in the first. His second of the night just over 10 minutes into the game gave the Blaze a goal lead on aggregate scoring.

The Steelers struck back in the middle frame and took the lead once again; bit a goal from Cameron early in the third period levelled the scores once again and forced the game into overtime. A hat-trick strike with less than two minutes into the extra period from Gutherie secured the victory for the Blaze and ensured Thompson’s stay on the bench would be extended by an extra week.

It was disappoint however for Finnerty’s men who had failed to reach the play-off finals weekend for the second season in a row.

So with the quarter-finals all done and dusted there is just the matter of the semi-finals on Saturday before the final on Sunday.

The Panthers take on the Devils and will be hoping to secure their place in the play-off final, to have any hope of becoming only the second team in EIHL history to complete the season grand-slam of league, cup and play-off titles.

The second semi-final sees the Giants and Blaze go toe-to-toe. Thompson will be hoping for one final piece of silverware to add to his tally with the Blaze before heading to Sweden in the summer. The Giants will be looking to end the season on a high having missed out on the league title they so desperately wanted to keep.

Semi-final one – 13:00pm
Panthers v Devils

Semi-final two – 17:00pm
Blaze v Giants

Panthers defeat Steelers to win Challenge Cup

With all the excitement of the play-off quarter finals and the Under 18 World Championships this past week, I had forgotten to report on fact that the Nottingham Panthers defeated the Sheffield Steelers in the EIHL Challenge Cup on Tuesday.

Having won their first Elite league title last month, the Panthers entered the second leg of the Challenge Cup with a 4-1 lead over the Steelers; but a 2-1 loss on the night earned them a 5-3 aggregate victory over the Steel city.

It means that Coach Corey Neilsen has mirrored the accomplishments of the Guildford Flames in the English Premier League, to become the 2012-13 Double-double champions. More impressively the victory sees the Panthers secure their fourth consecutive Challenge Cup crown and sixth overall in the Elite League era.

It was the visitors that broke the deadlock first when Lee Esders goal gave the Steelers a 1-0 lead shortly before the end of the first period.

Early in the second and it became a one goal game as Steven Goertzen double the lead in the 23rd minute. With the Panthers trying to find a rhythm to the game it was Bruce Graham that steadied the ship pulling a goal back just over the mid-way mark.

The Panthers’ only goal of the game was enough to see out the final 30 minutes and kill of any chance of a Steelers comeback in the third period. Despite losing 2-1 on the night, only their fifth loss on home ice this season, the 4-1 lead taken from the first leg of the final was enough to ran away 5-3 winners on aggregate.

It will have come as huge relief for the Panthers who battled their way through the Play-off quarter finals against the Fife Flyers the weekend before.

With the double secured; who can stop the Panthers from becoming only the second team in EIHL history to complete the season grand-slam. On Saturday the Panthers take on the Cardiff Devils in the first semi-final match and will hold home-ice advantage with the play-off finals weekend being played out of the National Ice Centre.

Nottingham end their 57 year drought by winning the 2012-13 EIHL league title

The GMB Nottingham Panthers were celebrating their first league title since 1956 last weekend after defeating the reigning champions and their closest rivals the Belfast Giants 5-3 at the Odyssey Arena; to become the 2012-13 Rapid Solicitors Elite League Champions.

It was a close encounter between the two sides in which neither were able to get the upper hand in the opening 40 minutes as the scores were level at three a piece going into the final period. However strikes from Pat Galivan and Matt Francis with an empty net goal sealed the victory for the visiting side.

The Panthers sealed the league title with 6 fixtures remaining, including a return game against the Giants the following night at the Odyssey Arena, from the weekend’s away double-header.
From the 50 league games already played the Panthers have recorded 40 victories and just 10 losses including one shoot-out loss.
Following a disappointing 2011-12 season in which the Panthers missed out on the title by just 4 points to the Belfast Giants, Coach Corey Neilson went about restructuring the team for the current campaign. Notable casualties of this action was long serving Panther defenceman Danny Myers being shown the door, only to end up at their closest rivals across the Midlands in Sheffield.
Other departed players were Sami Ryhanen (Dundee Stars), Rhett Gordon (Retired), Scott Champagne (Belfast Giants), Brock Wilson (Missouri Mavericks), Marcus Maynard (Telford Tigers) and fans favourite David-Alexandre Beauregard (Tulsa Oliers).

One of the notable acquisitions for the 2012-13 season was that of ex-Coventry Blaze captain Jonathan Weaver. Other arrivals were Oliver Betteridge, Pat Galivan, Eric Werner and David Ling.
Following an early season injury to Neilson, replacement was found in the form of Guy Lepine, who returned to the club for a third successive season.
The Panthers were also one of the EIHL clubs to benefit by the NHL lockout in America and signed a star of their own in September. Anthony Stewart of the Carolina Hurricanes arrived on a short term contract for the Panthers. The right winger eventually iced in 19 games and scored 11 points from 6 goals and 5 assists.

With the lock-out coming to an end and the departure of Stewart in December, Neilson moved quickly and signed Kelsey Wilson, a former Nashville Predator signing in 2006, however had been icing for the Trenton Titans in the ECHL.
In the New Year it was announced that Beauregard would be returning to the Panthers from the States to help with their title push and last third of the season. It was a timely arrival by the Canadian as Galivan was setback with injury.
The Panthers faced an early February set back as a number of its star players; David Clarke, Robert Lachowicz, Matt Myers and Steve Lee, were selected as part of Tony Hand’s GB roster to travel to Latvia for the 2014 Winter Olympic qualification round.

Despite recovering from his early season injury, Neilson made the brave decision to hang up his skates for the season ahead and coach the team from the bench. Some will say it was the right decision to make after seeing the Panthers hold off the charge from the Giants throughout the season to top the league standings. However the champions remain on level terms with the Giants in the Erhardt Conference standings.
So what is next for the Panthers….

Well firstly they will face the Sheffield Steelers in the first leg of the Challenge Cup final on Wednesday, before the return fixture at home on 2nd April; and will definitely look to retain the cup for a fourth consecutive season. The Panthers have dominated the Challenge Cup competition since its formation in the 2003-04 season and have won it on 5 occasions.
Following the completion of the regular season the Panthers will turn their attention to the Play-offs, again a competition they have done well in, having won the championship on three occasions including the past two seasons.
So can the Panthers really dominate the final two competitions that they have a long standing success in and become only the second team, in EIHL history, to complete the coveted grand slam of all three competitions…..

2012-13 EIHL League Champions – Nottingham Panthers

Import Select Team to face Team GB

Hull player-coach Sylvain Cloutier and Sheffield Steelers coach Ryan Finnerty have confirmed their final import selection for the special team to face Team GB in a exibition match this evening at Ice Sheffield. The match, a pre-tournament warm-up, for Tony Hand’s men will feature 11 Elite League players in addition to 5 players from the English Premier League (EPL) and in particular Sheffield Steeldogs and Manchester Phoenix.

Netminders

Dalibor Sedlar (Steeldogs)
Greg Blais (Stingrays)

Defence
Chris Frank (Steelers)
Matt Stephenson (Steelers)
Shane Lovdahl (Stingrays)
Corey Neilson (Panthers)
Dmitri Rodin (Stingrays)
Ondrej Pozivil (Phoenix)

Forwards
Simon Ferguson (Steelers)
Steven Goertzen (Steelers)
Jereme Tendler (Stingrays)
Dominic Osman (Stingrays)
David Beauregard (Panthers)
Lubomir Korhon (Steeldogs)
Joachim Flaten (Phoenix)
Micahl Psurny (Phoenix)

James Hutchinson joins the Herd

The Basingstoke Bison made the announcement yesterday that they had secured the services of the recently gassed British defenceman James Hutchinson for the remainder of the season.

Hutchinson started the season with the Peterborough Phantoms; registering 11 points from 17 starts, however the club were forced to release him due to increasing financial issues which resulted in an emergency fans forum last week to discuss the future of the club.

Hutchinson first iced for the Phantoms during the 2000-01 season; taking part in 4 games and registering 2 points at just 16 years old.

His next appointment was for the Isle of Wight Raiders in 2002-03 before he joined the Bison in 03-04 for their first season in the newly formed Elite League where he scored 2 points from 44 starts whilst also representing the Great Britain Under 20’s team.

In 2004-05 he moved onto the Dundee Stars in the now defunct British National League. The 2005-06 season saw Hutchinson’s first foray into foreign waters after a move to the Morzine-Avoriaz in the French league. The following season he was back in the UK and split the season between the Manchester Phoenix in the EIHL and with the Phantoms in the EPIHL. He spent two further seasons with the Phantoms, securing the treble in 2008-09, before another move back to the EIHL; this time with the Hull Stingrays, for the 2009-10 season. The following season he returned back to the Phantoms.

The 2011-12 season saw Hutchinson back in the EIHL, however not with the initial team he signed for, after being sacked by the Braehead Clan just weeks after agreeing to join them. This saw the Belfast Giants come calling for an experienced British defenceman and is was a dream move which saw him add the Elite crown to his already impressive tally of championships won.

Hutchinson has a wealth of experience both at the EPIHL level and in the EIHL and is an asset for any team. He is a strong defenceman that can hold his ground and break down plays. Although not high scoring at Elite level, he can bring a bag full of points in the EPL and has relatively low PIM’s which is great as he is out on the ice doing his job rather than sitting in the box.

Many questioned the actions and thinking of Coach Sheppard when he announced that the Bison were to go with a full quota of import forwards rather than the traditional 3/1 split which is often seen by EPL clubs. Of course the release of the towering Fojtik in favour of Jaroslav Cesky had many fans up in arms and worrying about the stability at the back; however the Bison have a strong contingent of British defenceman and arguably the best netminder in the league.

However with the likes of Kurt Reynolds, Tony Redmond and now Hutchinson; the Bison have some of the best British defenceman in the EPL currently. He should fit in well with the style of play Sheppard has induced on the Bison and should rack up plenty of points from the blue-line. A four point lead at the top of the standings is surely only going to get larger if the Bison continue as they have been.