With the period looking like it would remain scoreless, with chances for both sides, Kazakhstan scored with 8 seconds remaining to lead 3-0 going into the third and final period. Roman Savchenko added to the first period strikes to give Kazakhstan the advantage.
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GB v Kazakhstan Updates – Period One
In the second game of the World Championships in Budapest GB face Kazakhstan. However after the opening 20 minutes GB are 2-0 down with a big performance needed to get back in the game!!
Despite early penalty trouble for Kazakhstan they took the lead through Konstantin Romanov at 17:42. Just 19 seconds later and it was 2-0 when Ilya Solarev beat Stephen Murphy to double the lead.
Emersic back to strike with the Lightning
The Milton Keynes Lightning announced at their end of season awards night that Slovenian forward Blaz Emersic will be returning to the Lightning fold for a third straight season.
Blaz Emersic returns to the Lightning in 2013-14
Emersic joined the Lightning in January 2011, following off-ice issues with the Slough Jets, and quickly became a fan favourite with his scoring ability registering 39 points in 28 games. He returned for 2011-12 and showed his vast experience and ability in front of net scoring 72 points from 34 goals. This past season he has once again been a consistent point scorer, coming second only to Leigh Jamieson for the season total, with 70 points overall.
Blaz is the kind of player that you know you can rely upon to put the puck in the back of the net, night in or night out, or be the set up guy. 103 assists over two and a half seasons shows that he is not afraid to be the set up guy.
Head coach Nick Poole said to the MK website; that signing Blaz was a statement of the club’s ambitions for next season. “He is one of the first names on the team sheet each matchday – and the fact that his is the first signing we can announce gives an indication of how strong a team we want to put together for next year. I’ve used the phrase before that he’s like a Rolls Royce, because his form is so consistent – and that is still true.
“Blaz is a leader in our room with his professional approach to the game, and is a great role model for younger players. Whenever I talk to the lads in the off season, the first question they always ask me is if Blaz is coming back – and that just shows how highly-regarded and respected he is by his peers.”
With Blaz taking up the first import slot on the team’s roster for next season it will be interesting to see if Poole re-signs this seasons imports, or goes for someone fresh next season.
GB suffer first game defeat to hosts.
Hungary 4 – 2 Great Britain
Great Britain opened their Division 1 A World Championship tournament in Budapest with a loss to the hosts, Hungary, in a 4-2 thriller.
The hosts had the better chances of the early exchange of the opening 20 minutes, however it was GB that got on the scoreboard first. With GB holding possession in the offensive zone, Ashley Tait fed the puck across ice to David Phillips on the blueline who fired a shot on goal. With Levente Szuper screened in front the shot floated through the five-hole to give them a 1-0 lead at 16:06.
GB celebrate the opening goal of the game against Hungary
The second period started with GB conceding their second penalty of the game as Jonathan Weaver was called for hooking. With the man advantage Hungary set about breaking down the GB defence. Working up the ice Marton Vas fed the puck to Balazs Ladanyi in the centre circle. Making his way to the left of the zone he centred the puck to the unmarked Gergo Nagy who one timed his shot past Stephen Murphy to level the scores early in the middle stanza.
Just before the mid-way point of the game Hungary took the lead for the first time. Janos Vas’ shot from the right was deflected away by Murphy but only as far as Marton Vas who fired the shot into the empty net from the left.
Less than two minutes later and GB were back in it at 2-2. Gaining the puck on the blueline Weaver made a quick pass to Rob Dowd who was rushing down centre ice. Despite a trip he was able to flick the puck on goal. With the initial shot blocked the puck bounced loose in front for Colin Shields to slot home and tie the scores.
Ladanyi put the hosts in front again at 36:37 for a lead they would not surrender. Working into the GB zone he fired a shot from the left face-off circle which was deflected past Murphy for 3-2. Hungary would have gone into the break with a two goal cushion, but their fourth effort was washed out, giving GB a glimmer of hope in the final 20 minutes.
Shortly after the break GB went close to equalising the scores once again when Matthew Myers big slap shot from centre ice only to be delfected away; but Phil Hill almost went close collecting the rebound and working his way around the back of the net, but Szuper was up to the task and the scores remained 3-2.
Hungary did grab a fourth in the game with less than 10 minutes to play. Arpad Mihaly worked behind the GB net before turning and releasing a shot on Murphy. With the shot going wide the puck worked is way around the boards to the blueline where Andras Horvath slapped the puck back into the zone, despite a block by Robert Lachowicz the puck dribbled through to Ladislav Sikorcin, with a big slap shot the puck beat Murphy on stick side to make it 4-2.
GB had a late chance on the powerplay but couldn’t make it count and so the game ended with defeat.
Head Coach Tony Hand said to IHUK; “This was a performance to be proud of but sadly it did not go our way. We perhaps were not spot on offensively in the first period, but we got better as the game went on.
“The guys gave everything they had and threw their bodies on the line. We must not get too down and must lift ourselves now for tomorrow’s game.”
GB see themselves in 4th place in the group behind opening day winners Italy, Kazakhstan and Hungary.
Kazakhstan beat Japan in the opening game of the tournament 5-2, before Italy provided a clinicaly performance to romp to a 4-0 victory over Korea.
GB will face-off against Kazakhstan in the second game today, after Italy beat Japan 4-1 in the early game of the day.
The last time the two countrys met at the final Olympic qualification game in Latvia, Kazakhstan had the measure of GB and won 6-0. This is definitely something GB will be hoping to revenge when they take to the ice at 3pm.
Lyle switches Bison for Wildcats
Lyle joins the Wildcats for the 2013-14 season. Photo by David Steadman
The Swindon Wildcats have announced what could arguably be their best signing for the 2013-14 season with the capture of Basingstoke Bison talisman netminder, Stevie Lyle just weeks after the play-off finals. The 33 year-old Cardiff born netminder joined the Bison last season, as they looked to over-turn their fortunes in the English Premier League, following three consecutive seasons with the Cardiff Devils in the Elite League.
Lyle, pulled out all the stops in his first season in the EPL with some huge performances during the season and was one of the reasons the Bison finished in their highest league position since dropping to the EPL from the Elite League. Despite finishing behind Milton Keynes’ Stephen Wall in the stats charts, Lyle was arguably the best netminder in the league and was voted in the EPL All-star first team. Lyle iced in 52 league games, which would have been 54 had he not been selected by Tony Hand to represent Great Britain in their 2014 Winter Olympic qualification tournament in Latvia in February, and faced 1,678 shots. He put up impressive numbers for the season; included a 2.43 goals against average and a 92.43 save percentage.
A huge, huge blow for the Bison and Doug Sheppard with very big skates to fill, and a fantastic pick up and first signing for Aldridge in his 6th season in charge of the Wildcats. He said in the announcement of his return for next season that he wanted to move the club forwards and upwards and what better way to start. Although the pairing of Skinns and Murdy is not a bad one, last season the Wildcats recorded 214 goals against whilst the Bison had the league’s lowest of 138; with only the Lightning and league champions Guildford coming close.
A player like Lyle gives you confidence at the back, however he cannot be relied upon totally to win you games. He can definitely give you an edge, which showed with the Bison this season, however you also need a strong defence and forward set-up so that you also score goals whilst not conceding them. The Wildcats had the best offensive line in the league last season with Jonas Hoog and Aaron Nell and these will be the next signatures Aldridge will be desperate to capture to ensure that once again the Wildcats have a strong squad, not only on paper, but also on the ice as well.
For Sheppard back in Basingstoke, he’ll surely be scratching his head as another key Brit he would have surely been hoping to keep has slipped through his grasp, less than two weeks into the summer recruitment period. He showed a year ago that he can recruit well on, and sign top players, whilst being on a medium sized “budget” and he will already have a feeling as to who could fill the void that has now been left by Lyle’s departure.
We’ve still got weeks and months ahead of us before the season re-starts in September and it is already getting interesting and exciting as to who will sign where.
The full Swindon Wildcats press release is available here.
Team GB to be shown on British Television
For the first time in its history the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship will be broadcast live on TV in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The 2013 World Championships, including Great Britain’s Division 1A games will be shown live on the Premier Sports channel.
Premier Sports, is operated through Britain’s BSkyB platform (SKY), under channel #428. Infront Sports & Media, is the marketing partner of the IIHF and they secured the agreement with Premier Sports ahead of this week’s tournament in Hungary which will show GB’s games live and in full length. In addition to showing GB’s games live, they will also broadcast 20 games of the 2013 Ice Hockey World Championship taking place in Stockholm and Helsinki between 3rd and 19th May.
Premier Sports, is currently only available by subscription, and is received through satellite in over 10 million homes. The channel is no strange to Ice Hockey coverage, having broadcast games from the NHL, and the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship will slot nicely into it’s ever expanding sports portfolio.
It is a very clever move by the IIHF to bring both Team GB’s games, as well as the 2013 World Championships, into the British market. Although the coverage will only be available via Premier Sports satellite subscription channel it is a step in the right direction to raise the profile and interest in Ice Hockey in Britain. As shown with the 2012 summer Olympics in London, the nation get behind to support their national teams, even in sports they may not have a clear understanding of. Regardless if anyone knows what Ice Hockey is or how it is played, if viewers see that Team GB are competing they will most likely turn on and sit-back to watch.
There are only a few nagging issues in regards to the format of the deal; being only through a satellite subscription channel, you may lose the general viewing audience, with the potential that the only viewers will be those that know of the sport or already have the channel and kick back to watch. But as I said it is a step in the right direction to bring Ice Hockey to the forefront of sport in Britain.
The viewing schedule for the games is as follows;
Game 1 (14/04/13) – GB v Hungary (6:30pm)
Game 2 (14/04/13) – GB v Kazakhstan (3:00pm)
Game 3 (17/04/13) – GB v Italy (3:00pm)
Game 4 (19/04/13) – GB v Japan (3:00pm)
Game 5 (20/04/13) – GB v Korea (11:30am)
Aldridge set to lead Wildcats for 6th year running
The Swindon Wildcats have announced that head coach Ryan Aldridge will be returning to the club for a sixth successive campaign in 2013-14, and will be available to play as in previous seasons. Despite the disappointment of missing the play-off semi-finals for a third season running the club have moved quickly to start making the preperations for next season as early as possible.
Aldridge returns for a sixth season in charge of the Wildcats.
Aldridge returned to his home town club in 2008 after less than two months in charge of the Basingstoke Bison in the Elite League (EIHL); following on and off ice issues with the Hampshire side. He joined Head Coach Pete Russell as a player/coach for the remainder of the season leading the club to 8th place in the league standings.
The 2009-10 season saw Aldridge return to the club as player/coach with the club finishing in 8th place in the league standings for a second successive season. The Wildcats faced the league champions, the Milton Keynes Lightning, in the play-off quarter finals and an 10-8 aggregate score saw them proceed to the semi-finals in Coventry where they faced Guildford, but their path to the final was halted by a 5-2 loss.
The following season, Aldridge was once again back to lead the Wildcats charge in the EPL and a 7th place league finished marked a slight improvement over the previous two seasons, however was no where near where the club wanted to be. For 2011-12 Aldridge showed his clout in the recruiting department as he signed the entire top line of the Bracknell Bees; consisting of Jaroslav Cesky, Nicky Watt and Michal Pinc to the Link Centre. Jonas Höög made a return for a second season, whilst local boy Aaron Nell split his time between the Coventry Blaze and Wildcats. At the back Tom Murdy signed full time from the Blaze and he was joined mid season by Dean Skinns who had been released by the Bison. Despite a strong team on paper the Wildcats could only manage a 7th place finish for a second year running, whilst losing out to the Manchester Phoenix in the play-off quarter finals.
For this past season, it was all change again in the Wildcats squad. Aldridge announced before the season started that he’d prefer to coach from the bench, but would play if required. He eventually iced in 37 games due to injuries within the team and scored 26 points. Returning for a third season was Höög, joined on the top-line by Nell who retired full-time to the EPL squad.
Skinns and Murdy also returned for a second season, however a serious injury to Murdy would see Skinns take the number 1 mantle during the season.
The Wildcats started the season with Matias Perkkiö, Michal Kapicka, Jan Melichar alongside Höög in the import set-up. However a mid-season move for giant defenceman, Tomas Fojtik from the Telford Tigers, saw the departure of Kapicka after only 19 starts.
The Wildcats, had a less successful year than the last, in terms of overall victories however finished in a third successive 7th place in the league standings. In the play-offs they faced the Bison and after an initial 3-3 in the first leg of the play-off quarter finals; were eventually edged out in overtime in the return leg in Basingstoke, losing 2-1 to once again miss out on the finals weekend.
Despite the limited success Aldridge has enjoyed with Swindon it is a smart move by the Berkshire side. Consistency in terms of coaching and players is sometimes key to success on the ice. Having finished in the bottom 5 of the league standings for the past 5 years they will surely be looking to overturn their fortunes next season and despite the debate about what Aldridge has won with the Wildcats, there is not dispute that he is a decent coach in the EPL. Having had a strong squad on paper for the past two seasons and only reaching 7th in the league standings will be a bitter pill to swallow; however lessons will hopefully have been learnt at the Link Centre and next season they will be able to compete consistently on the ice week in and week out.
It will now just be interesting to see who will return and who Aldridge can capture to lead the Wildcats to a better finished than 7th in 2013-14.
Bracknell Bees set for new management
A new management team is in order for the EPL’s Bracknell Bees, after the current duo announced they are stepping down after 5 and half seasons in charge at the Hive.
Katie Eleftheriou and Stuart Robinson took over the operating license of the club in December 2007 following the financial collapse of then owner, David Taylor. The pair have guided the club through the hard times over previous years and leave the club in a lot better position than when they took over; both on and off the ice.
The Bees were formed in 1987, under the ownership of John Nike and joined the Division 2 of the Heineken League. Their first honours were gained during the 1989-90 season when they won the English League Division 1 title and gained promotion to the Heineken Premier Division.
The Bees joined the newly formed Ice Hockey Superleague (ISL) for the 1995-96 season and were expected to be one of the smaller teams in comparison to their arena based rivals. However Coach Dave Whistle took the Bees to the title in 1999-00 to claim only the club’s second league title in their history.
The Bees withdrew from the ISL at the end of the 2002-03 season and with Manchester and Ayr ceasing operations; it spelt the end of the ISL as a viable league in Britain. They joined the British National League (BNL) finishing third in their first season. However the team romped to claim the league and cup double during only their second season.
After the double winning season (04-05) John Nike announced that he would no longer be funding the team; however would remain owner of the Bees name/branding. Local estate agent David Taylor stepped up to form a new team and was granted a license by John Nike to use the Bracknell Bees name.
With the BNL folding, the Bees joined the English Premier League, which effectively became the second tier level of British Ice Hockey behind the Elite League.
In only their second season in the EPL, new coach Ryan Aldridge took the team to the league title, whilst also capturing the play-off crown for a season double. In 2007 the Taylor’s announced that they would be taking over ownership of the Basingstoke Bison in the EIHL alongside the Bees and that Aldridge would depart to coach the new team.
The Taylors ran into financial difficulties early in the season and their contract with Planet Ice to run the Bison was terminated. The troubles were mirrored at the Bees and following rumours of unpaid bills, player wages and team unrest, the Taylors announced in December 2007 that they were to relinquish the operating license for the Bees.
This brings us fall circle back round to the current management team of Katie and Stuart.
Just a week after the Taylors walked away from the club Bees fan Katie and Supporters Club chairman Stuart came together to create, Bees Ice Management Ltd; and took over the operating license of the team for the remainder of the season. Despite the off-ice difficulties the Bees had a fairly successful campaign, finishing 3rd in the league, winning the EPL cup and finishing runners up to the Slough Jets in the play-off final.
The following season saw changes afoot for the team, as Adam Bicknell became head coach and was joined by Peter Russell as bench coach. The team suffered heart-break in the cup and play-off finals and finished the season without a trophy for the first time in 5 seasons.
During the 2008-09 season Katie and Stuart had announced that they would not be running the team beyond the end of the current season. However without a new owner forthcoming, they announced last minute, that they would continue to run the club under revised budgets; rather than let the club fold.
Coach Adam Bicknell retired from professional hockey to concentrate on local league football and so the search for a new coach began. With the Telford Tigers struggling financially, their coach Claude Dumas joined the Bees for the 09-10 campaign. Dumas signed the fan favourite pairing of Michal Pinc and Jaroslav Cesky for the new season as well as Andrius Kaminskas. With a budget much less than the top teams in the league, the Bees struggled to compete and ended the season in their worst league position of 9th since dropping to the EPL.
Dumas retired at the end of the season and was replaced by the Bracknell Hornets coach Gareth Cox. Cox kept hold of the majority of the previous year’s team including Pinc and Cesky. Once again the team struggled to compete on an even-keel with the other teams and ended the season in last place, once again failing to make the play-off finals.
Lukas Smital and Martin Masa re-joined the Bees for the 2011-12 campaign having both played for the club during the double championship season in 04-05. Smital joined Cox as assistant coach and together the pair looked to re-build the team for the season ahead. Other returnees for the season included netminder Tom Annetts; following a 2 year spell in Basingstoke, defenceman Carl Graham, and forwards Matt Foord, Rob Lamey and Shaun Thompson.
Despite a competitive squad the Bees once again missed out on the play-offs, by a sole point to the Peterborough Phantoms; for a third successive season in the bottom two.
This current season (2013-13) saw much of the same with Cox building on the foundations of the previous year’s work. Once again a competitive squad was assembled including imports Marcel Petran (who departed in December for Arlan Kokshetau), Jan Bendik and Pavel Strycek.
The team looked to have regained some of their competitive edge and won 24 of the 54 regular season games, to finish in their highest league position in 4 years, as they beat the Swindon Wildcats into 6th place and were finally a play-off contender once more. The Bees faced the eventual play-off champions, the Manchester Phoenix in the quarter finals and lost 10-6 on aggregate.
So after 5 and half years at the helm of the Bees, it does seem a good time for the pair to step down and allow new management to take the team onwards and up. From near financial collapse in 2007 to play-off quarter finalists in 2013, whilst on a much smaller budget compared to teams around them, you have to take your hat off and congratulate Katie and Stuart on the hard work they have done and achievements they have made. Although success on the ice has been hard to come by with three seasons in the bottom two of the table, the off-ice development of the team, means there is a future ahead for the Bees.
With attendances on the rise with attractive hockey on display at the Hive, sponsorship for the team strong (despite the economic climate) and the team starting to make their way back up the rankings you have to say the new management will have a lot to live up to.
The club will ultimately be looking for a top 5 finish next season, having greatly improved during this current campaign. Anything other than beating or matching this year’s results in 2013-14 will be seen as a step backwards, for a club that was once at the top of British ice hockey.
Expect to see a good core of this season’s players return for another year with the odd change and improvement made here or there.
The John Nike Group will be announcing who will be appointed as the new licencee of the Bees for the years ahead; in the coming weeks.
Backroom calling for GB legend
All-time Great British legend David Longstaff will be joining the back room staff for the upcoming Division 1A World Championship tournament in Hungary later this week.
Longstaff, a veteran with 101 caps at international level, retired from playing duty earlier this year after nearly 20 years in the GB set-up. He made his first appearance for GB in 1994 and has been a vital addition in major tournaments and world championships since.
He is coming off the back of a league and cup double for the Guildford Flames in the English Premier League and his experience and eye for talent will be greatly used during the tournament.
Longstaff commented to the IHUK website; “I am very proud and honoured to be asked to join the GB staff by Tony Hand. I loved playing for the national side and now to back with GB again is fantastic.”
“We have a great group of guys here and I am looking forward to being involved.”
Head Coach Tony Hand added: “Lobby had a fantastic playing career for GB and he is a terrific addition to our staff.
“He has always been a popular player in the dressing room and his 101 caps at international level prove he has the experience.
“We will use that experience and he will scout other teams at the tournament – something which is very important when you play five games in such a short space of time.”
It is a smart move by Hand and the GB organisation to include Longstaff within the team; in a support capacity. Whilst he will not be lacing up the skates, his eye for the game and ability to read plays will prove vital as GB lock horns with the likes of Italy, South Korea, Kazakhstan and the hosts Hungary during the round robin tournament.
Hand names 22 man squad for World Championships
Great Britain’s Head Coach Tony Hand has named his 22 man squad for the World Championships in Hungary later this month; showing minor changes to the roster that made the trip to the pre-olympic qualifers in February. A strong 41 man squad was announced just over a week ago, with notable inclusions from English Premier League (EPL) teams; two of which have made the final cut.
Four changes have been made to the team that was originally selected for the final Olympic qualifers in Latvia in February. Steve Lee, who was replaced by Jonathan Weaver for Latvia due to injury, has been included from the start. Fellow defender, Luke Boothroyd, has also been included fresh from his play-off winning services for the Manchester Phoenix. Forwards Ben Davies (Cardiff Devils) and Aaron Nell, of the EPL Swindon Wildcats, have also made the cut in the 22 man squad.
Luke Boothroyd has been included in the team to fly to Hungary. Photo by David Steadman
Unfortunately Ben O’Connor has been denied release from his KHL club to attend the tournament; whilst Rod Sarich, Mark Garside and Jason Hewitt will also miss out.
GB have began their training camp this week, following the EIHL and EPL play-off finals weekend, before heading out to Hungary on Friday.
They will face the hosts in the first match of the Division One – Group A tournament. The teams play a single round-robin series. Each teams plays each opponent once and the winner of the event will be promoted to the Top Division. The last-ranked team will be relegated to Division I Group B.
Coach Hand said: “All games are tough at this level and they will be five difficult games for us throughout the tournament.
“We are taking a strong team away with us, even though we have key guys out. I would love the team to come away with a medal.
“We are looking forward to the three-day camp now and get ourselves prepared for an important week.”
Netminders
Ben Bowns (Hull Stingrays)
Stephen Murphy (Belfast Giants)
Defencemen
Danny Meyers (Sheffield Steelers)
Dave Phillips (Belfast Giants)
Mark Richardson (Cardiff Devils)
Mark Thomas (Sheffield Steelers)
Steve Lee (Nottingham Panthers)
Luke Boothroyd (Manchester Phoenix)
Jonathan Weaver (Nottingham Panthers)
Forwards
David Clarke (Nottingham Panthers)
Robert Dowd (Troja-Ljungby)
Robert Farmer (Braehead Clan)
Ben Davies (Cardiff Devils)
Phil Hill (Cardiff Devils)
Robert Lachowicz (Nottingham Panthers)
Matthew Myers (Nottingham Panthers)
Greg Owen (Basingstoke Bison)
Craig Peacock (Belfast Giants)
Aaron Nell (Swindon Wildcats)
Ashley Tait (Sheffield Steelers)
Colin Shields (Belfast Giants)
The schedule of the games are as follows;
14th April@19:30 – Hungary v GB
15th April @16:00 – GB v Kazakhstan
17th April @16:00 – GB v Italy
19th April @16:00 – GB v Japan
20th April @12:30 – GB v South Korea
Through the Plexi 