2016-17 RAIDERS ISSUE 7

2016-17 RAIDERS ISSUE 7.indd 1 09/11/2016 10:20:03

Actual 

Are the proud sponsors of 

LONDON RAIDERS ICE HOCKEY CLUB 

for a free quotation, contact 

www.actualservices.co.uk 

or telephone 

London: 020 7476 3596 - Anglia: 01371 874 420 - Romford: 01708 756 900 

***** 

"I would only use Actual for my moves having moved with them 3 times already!!! 

Great service once again, you never disappoint." 


welcome to lee valley 

NIHL SOUTH 1 I RAIDERS vs STARS I 12th NOVEMBER 2016 

Page 

6 

8 

11 

13 

14 

20 

24 

27 

28 

30 

contents 

Content 

Pooling Our Resources 

Across The Ice 

Coach Blyth 

Raiders 2016-17 

Match Report 

Stat Pack 

Around the NIHL 

Jack Love on Ice Hockey 

2016-17 Fixtures & Results 

Final Countdown - #20 Davis 

pages 24 & 25 pages 6 & 7 

a 

a 

Programme Design: Kingpin Sports Design I Print: Solopress I Photography: John Scott I 

Contributions: John Scott, Alan Blyth, Jacob Ranson, Jack Love, Paul Windebank, 

Dave Leach, Alan Blyth, Dave Carr 

WWW.LONDONRAIDERSIHC.CO.UK 

3 


STAFF DIRECTORY 

CEO: John Scott 

TEAM MANAGER: Kevin Davis 

HEAD COACH: Alan Blyth 

ASSISTANT COACH: Marek Nahlik 

PHYSIOTHERAPIST: Michelle Spight 

MATCH NIGHT MANAGER: Alan White 

EIHA LIAISON / STATISTICIAN: Dave Leach 

PENALTY BOX OFFICIALS: Gary King 

& Karen Woodward 

GOAL JUDGES: Mick Burman & Iain Burman 

GAME-CLOCK: Danny Oxley 

DJ: Dave Falconer 

ANNOUNCER: Graham Ford 

OFF ICE OFFICIAL: Glenn Chamberlain 

MERCHANDISE: Mel Treagust, Jayne Clifford, 

Paul Phipps, Steph Middleton, Claire Phipps, 

Paul Windebank 

50-50: Mel Treagust, Sarah Pellett-Shand 

WEBSITE: Stuart Warner 

TEAM PROMOTION: Gold & Blue Army 

* * * 

SAFETY WARNING: 

Stay alert at all times as pucks can leave the playing surface into the 

spectator areas at any time and could cause serious injury. The Raiders 

and Lee Valley Ice Arena cannot be held responsible for injuries caused 

and spectators are admitted on this understanding. Therefore please 

refrain from walking past the team and penalty benches during play. 

Lee Valley Ice Arena is a no smoking Arena in all areas, if you wish to 

smoke please use the outside facilities. 

Abusive and offensive behaviour will result in ejection from the Arena. 

The use of flash photography, air horns and whistles are strictly prohibited, 

but please feel free to take photographs but ensure the flash is 

turned off. Patrons who ignore this condition of entry may be asked to 

leave the Arena. 

4 




5 


Good evening and welcome to tonight’s 

game with the recently strengthened Oxford 

City Stars. Hopefully they will be visiting 

in good numbers here tonight in view of 

their lofty league position and steadily improving 

results. Well at least as many as we 

seem to take to all the rinks we visit. 

Oxford were recent beneficiaries in the 

great IOW sale but not to quite the same 

extent as Streatham who’s all star team we 

faced three weekends ago and slipped to a 

4-4 tie from a 4-2 lead at the second break. 

Reading updates from across the Atlantic 

it was great to see that we were more 

than a match for the combined might of 

Streatham and IOW. With Bracknell and 

Solent also reinforcing with ferrymen this 

league’s unpredictable results probably 

just became even more so. The previous 

weekends 10-5 drubbing of Invicta to an 

extent compensated for a 9 hour flight and 

a disastrous set of events that took another 

7 hours to transfer from the airport to a 

villa just 20 miles away. I would hasten to 

add none of this was the fault of our team 

sponsor Virgin Holidays. This is the second 

time I have used them for my holidays 

and again a fantastic service and a good 

price, helped by the Raiders discount of 

5%. If you have a holiday in mind it can’t 

hurt asking them for a price and a package 

can it. Indeed if any of our sponsors offer 

something you need I would urge you to 

get them to give you a quote. 

Tonight will be our third meeting with the 

yellows from the University City and in view 

of not meeting them in the cup means we 

will have played all but one of our league 

games with them. The last meeting here 

we felt was a little generous to them gaining 

a tie in the dying seconds of the game. 

I didn’t personally witness the one sided 

score line three weekends ago but will rely 

on the opinions I have canvassed that we 

will be hoping for a better slide of the puck 

tonight. 

Certainly a good result for the Raiders here 

tonight against a well rated Oxford side 

will reinforce the opinions that this year’s 

Raiders are top end material when the final 

league positions are recorded in the hockey 

annual. 

Tonight will be the home crowds first opportunity 

to welcome back Euan King and 

we expect that to be a loud welcome. I 

think most of us believe that we now have 

possibly the strongest net-minding duo in 

the league with two who can genuinely 

win games on their own. I am sure neither 

net-minder will be happy sitting out games 

and I’m equally sure that the coaching 

team will be starting with the in-form tender. 

If that makes them both even better our run 

of good results is sure to continue and our 

unbeaten home run extended. 

Euan’s debut last weekend saw a shut out 

and a 0-4 win in MK. That is a result any 

team in our league will be very pleased 

to record and MK have some seriously 

strong talent and coaching and good results 

against IOW, Streatham, Chelmsford 

and Oxford and no previous shut out so 

the importance of that score line cannot be 

underestimated. 

6 



The IOW results have now been removed 

from the records and if you purchase tonight’s 

match night magazine you will note 

some minor changes to the fixtures as a result 

of the loss of IOW. Please have a good 

study of the changes and update your busy 

social calendars accordingly! It also means 

that we have qualified for the cup semi finals 

and all teams will now be in the play 

offs. The way our boys have been playing it 

probably made little difference to us. 

Onto other social matters, the Romford 

market place will house a temporary ice 

pad from 18th November through into the 

new year. It is a first for the borough and 

tinged with a little irony that they couldn’t 

muster a temporary pad for the use of 

hockey or skaters. Several Raiders will be 

on hand on the opening Friday and also for 

the official ribbon cutting mid day Saturday 

so if you fancy a skate and to fraternise with 

the players be sure to meet us down there. 

It is also an opportunity to promote the 

sport and perhaps hand out some flyers 

so anyone who does come may be press 

ganged into promoting the team! 

period weary legs and the run should continue. 

Enjoy the game. 

John S 

and the committee 

Christmas is not so far away and by now 

you should have had a chance to view the 

various merchandise offerings put together 

by our hard working merch team. Get yourself 

down there in the break and see what 

unmissable “stuff” they have. 

Back to the game in hand. I am sure the 

lads will be looking for revenge for the last 

result against Oxford. Fast starts have become 

our tradition and tonight should be 

no different. We just need to avoid the last 


7 


A C R O S S T H E I C E 

OXFORD 

CITY STARS 

Oxford are a familiar face now this season, as they paid us a visit once already. 

But, the side have made changes, since our home and away fixtures this term. 

Much like a few teams around the league, picking up a few Wightlink players, since the 

side was forced to fold. 

Improving their already impressive side, who currently sit second in the table. 

The City Stars have brought in three new faces in the last few weeks with defence man 

Brendan Baird, forward Ben Paytner and the move that shocked the league. 

As, the yellows picked up experienced import Jaroslav Cesky, while releasing Ondrej 

Pekarlik. 

Not forgetting they also allowed spare import Boris Ruzicka to move to pastures new, 

when Milton Keynes Thunder made the move to bring the defence man in. 

Other than that, the side remains the same, although the Ealey Newman’s also left the 

club. 

Leaving and being announced for the Bracknell Hornets, the week after we last welcomed 

the opposition to Lee Valley Ice Rink. 

The well gelled team have two or three players to watch, as they can all change games. 

If they all show up it’s a tough night for anyone in the league. 

8 



The three are the new man, Jaroslav Cesky, who on his day can win a game with his 

playmaking abilities. 

While, the other two at house hold names in Oxford, sniper Alan Green and Joe Edwards. 

Alan has a wealth of experience and puts up good numbers every single season. 

While, Joe is extremely under-rated and is key to the City Stars success in the last few 

years. 


9 


preview 

12.11.16 - RAIDERS VS STARS 

MILESTONES 

EUAN KING 

recorded his first shut out 

for the Raiders in his 51st 

league appearance for the 

Raiders. In addition he also 

has one shut out against 

the Raiders in the cup 

defeat at Streatham earlier 

this season. 

SHUT OUTS 

Euan King’s shut out as 

Milton Keynes was the 

36th occasion a Raiders 

netminder had recorded 

a shut out. It was the sixth 

occasion that a shut out 

has been recorded against 

Milton Keynes Thunder 

(more than any other team). 

Michael Gray had the most 

recorded shut outs by a 

netminder with five (including 

four against Milton 

Keynes Thunder; and one 

shared with Glen Jackson. 

MICHAEL GRAY 

is now less than 223 

minutes away from being 

the only Raider netminder 

to post 10000 minutes between 

the pipes in games. 

This is 3000+ minutes 

more than second placed 

Russ Jackson. 

10 

HEAD 2 HEAD 

12 SEP 1993 

23 OCT 2016 

01 OCT 1995 

03 JAN 1999 

ALL TIME - LEAGUE GAMES 

19 

2 

230 

WINS 

TIES 

GOALS SCORED 

WINS 

TIES 

GOALS SCORED 

GOALS 

9 

10 

2 

166 

ALL TIME - ALL GAMES 

33 

2 

360 

13 

2 

237 

BIGGEST WINS - ALL TIME 

HOME WINS 

ROMFORD RAIDERS 13 

OXFORD CITY STARS 9 

AWAY WINS 

ROMFORD RAIDERS 

OXFORD BLADES 


4 

2 

LEADING POINT SCORER VS OXFORD 

CURRENT ROSTER 

MAREK NAHLIK 

JULIAN SMITH 

JJ PITCHLEY 

JOHN CONNOLLY 

2 

3 

8 

15 

ASSISTS 

11 

OXFORD CITY STARS 

LONDON RAIDERS 


ROMFORD RAIDERS 

tom davis 

BEST OF THE REST 

G 

8 

0 

3 

1 

POINTS 

20 

A 

3 

8 

2 

4 

PTS 

11 

8 

5 

5 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ALL STATISTICS SUPPLIED BY DAVE LEACH * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 


Good afternoon and welcome to Lee Valley 

for today’s Game against the Oxford city 

stars. 

and the display that we put on in Milton 

Keynes shows we are moving in the right 

direction. 

The last time both teams met was only a 

few weeks ago, however both teams have 

since undergone a couple of personnel 

changes. I believe that both teams have 

strengthened and tonight’s game will be 

closer than ever. Simon and the backroom 

staff at Oxford have put together a very 

strong team for this years campaign. The 

demise of the wightlink team has strengthened 

Oxford further. 

The team are currently carrying a number 

of injuries however I’m hoping that tonight 

we will be near full strength. 

So once again, let’s get behind the boys 

and raise the roof like only Raiders fans 

can. 

Our last meeting back in Oxford we seriously 

underperformed that day and will be 

looking to put together a professional and 

competent display and showing what we 

really are capable of. 

Coyr 

Before last weekends break, we travelled to 

Milton Keynes and put on our best defensive 

display for a couple of years. We set 

ourselves targets at the start of the season 

Alan 


11 


* 2016 - 2017 * 

SAM ROBERTS 

5 

JOHN CONNOLLY 

7 

BAILEY CHITTOCK 

9 

WARM UP: THE SPIGHT FAMILY 

HOME: JASE & FIST BUMP KID JAMIE CRAIG 

AWAY: JEFF @ CAPITAL CALIBRATION SERVICES 

12 

WARM UP: RUBY 

HOME: ROGER FORD 

AWAY: MATT & LINDSEY UDALL 

14 

WARM UP: LYNN DELDERFIELD 

HOME: THE LARDNER’S 

AWAY: KINGPIN SPORTS DESIGN 

15 

ZIGGY BEESLEY 

JACK COOPER 

JJ PITCHLEY 

WARM UP: FAB N’ FAB 

HOME: HARRIS FAMILY 

AWAY: AQUALIA POOLS & SPAS 

17 

WARM UP: LAURENCE THORN 

HOME: BOB DELDERFIELD 

AWAY: DAVE IN THE BIN 

20 

WARM UP: THE CAHILL’S 

HOME: FENCES & HEDGES GARDENERS 

AWAY: AQUALIA POOLS & SPAS 

21 

SLAVOMIR BUDA 

TOM DAVIS 

MATT FRANCE 

WARM UP: CHARLIE CONROY 

HOME: RAY FITZHUGH 

AWAY: HARRIS/HAYNES FAMILY 

WARM UP: ANTHONY TAPSELL 

HOME: OLIVIA FORD 

AWAY: MARILYNS TUTORING 

WARM UP: ABBI MITCHELL 

HOME: HAYNES FAMILY 

AWAY: BIG MART 

12 



22 

26 

33 

MARK ROBINSON 

JULIAN SMITH 

MICHAEL GRAY 

WARM UP: NANNY ROBINSON 

HOME: JONES FM 

AWAY: ELENA, JAMES & JASON 

WARM UP: GRAHAM & MEL 

HOME: DAVE IN THE BIN 

AWAY: HERBY 

WARM UP: MADDIE THE CHEERLEADER 

HOME: ALAN WHITE 

AWAY: GLENN CHAMBERLAIN 

ROSS CONNOLLY 

77 

MAREK NAHLIK 

83 

JAMES PENTECOST 

89 

WARM UP: IN MEMORY OF BRENDA 

HOME: PAT & MARTIN 

AWAY: GOLD & BLUE ARMY 

92 

WARM UP: JAYNE CLIFFORD 

HOME: STEWART & CHRIS 

AWAY: ADEY 

95 

WARM UP: JAMES SCHALL 

HOME: ABBI MITCHELL 

AWAY: BOB DELDERFIELD 

HC 

EUAN KING 

JACOB RANSON 

ALAN BLYTH 

WARM UP: PHOEBE & ANNALISE 

HOME: AVAILABLE 

AWAY: AVAILABLE 

WARM UP: MARTIN KEEN 

HOME: H E LAWRENCE 

AWAY: LAURENCE THORN 


13 


Raiders had to settle for a point from 

their latest National League cup outing against 

Streatham after letting a two-goal lead slip in the 

final period in Lee Valley. 

Raiders were without new signing Euan King 

and defenceman Ross Connolly, but welcomed 

goalie Michael Gray back from his suspension. 

The visitors had the first chance of note, as Steve 

Fisher forced Gray into action, while JJ Pitchley 

fired wide at the other end. 

Streatham import Sean Scarborough thought he 

had opened the scoring with a wraparound effort, 

but the net had left its moorings, and Raiders 

were handed a powerplay when Ryan Giles was 

called for interference. 

The hosts could not make their extra man count 

and then fell behind as former Raider Michal 

Oravec struck for Streatham, converting a rebound. 

match report 

london raiders 4 streatham ihc 4 

saturday 29 october 2016 - nihl south cup 

sidelines to leave the teams skating 4-on-4, the 

visitors lost James Warman to a holding penalty 

and Raiders took the lead with a powerplay goal 

from Nahlik. 

It was soon 4-2 as Pitchley broke away to 

beat Sanderson with a neat finish, forcing new 

Streatham head coach Jeremy Cornish to call a 

timeout to settle his side down. 

And Norcliffe tested Gray after the restart, before 

the Raiders goalie thwarted Streatham during a 

scramble on the edge of his crease. 

Webb went close to a third goal for the visitors 

just before the end of the middle session, as his 

attempted tip-in went wide. 

But a penalty against Slavomir Buda early in nthe 

final session gave Streatham the chance to cut 

the gap to one on the powerplay as Fisher’s shot 

was saved by Gray and Callum Best converted 

the rebound. 

MATCH REPORTLondon 

Julian Smith forced Will Sanderson into a save 

with a shot from the blue line, but Raiders lost 

Marek Nahlik to a holding penalty late in the 

opening period. 

Streatham were unable to capitalise either side 

of the break and Sanderson was grateful to see 

his defence clear a loose puck after Tom Davis 

let fly. 

Raiders were back on terms soon after, though, 

as Jacob Ranson scrambled the puck past 

Sanderson and James Pentecost went close on 

a powerplay. 

Streatham regained the lead while shorthanded 

as Rose streaked clear and outwitted Gray and 

were then handed a powerplay chance as Pitchley 

was called for slashing. 

But the home side levelled with a shorthanded 

goal of their own as Nahlik stole the puck and 

centred for Davis to fire home a first-time shot. 

Jack Tarczyski and Warman were both hit with 

delay of game minor penalties in quick succession, 

with Pentecost just unable to tip in Nahlik’s 

shot from the blue line, before Buda and Oravec 

tussled on the boards. 

And it was all square again with less than 10 

minutes to play as Compton’s inch-perfect pass 

sent Scarborough through the middle of the ice 

to deke Gray and score. 

Play continued to swing from end to end, at a 

furious pace, and Raiders lost Nahlik to a minor 

penalty with six minutes remaining, but Raiders 

survived the shorthanded spell and almost regained 

the lead when Nahlik returned, only to be 

denied by Warman’s timely poke-check. 

Buda showed quick hands to release a shot on 

the turn, but Sanderson was equal to the task as 

the puck looked to be heading for the top corner 

of the net, and neither side could find a late winner 

as honours finished even. 

And after Scarborough joined Pitchley on the 

14 



MATCH REPORT 

Euan King enjoyed a perfect return to a London 

Raiders jersey with a shutout against MK Thunder 

last night. 

King turned aside 22 shots from the hosts, while 

Marek Nahlik netted twice for Raiders to help secure 

a fine win. 

Raiders travelled without Thomas Beesley and 

saw King pick up an early delay of game minor 

for firing the puck over the plexi glass. 

Tom Mboya went close on the powerplay, while 

former Raider Jakub Klima tested King’s glove 

hand with a shot that looked destined for the top 

corner. 

But the visitors took the lead when James Pentecost 

finished off a good move to claim his first 

goal for the club. 

David Wride denied Pentecost a second, while 

King kept out a drive from Nidal Phillips at the 

other end, before the Thunder player took a 

hooking penalty to give Raiders a powerplay. 

Although they applied good pressure, Raiders 

could not create any clear chances and they 

were given another opportunity when Ross Bowers 

was binned for slashing. 

The hosts held firm, though, and were awarded a 

penalty shot when Jamie Line was taken down, 

only for King to thwart his attempt. 

Jack Cooper and Bowers had chances at either 

end in the closing seconds of the opening period, 

with Raiders forward Jacob Ranson called 

for holding the stick after the restart. 

Line and Bowers combined well on Thunder’s 

powerplay, but King kept out a close-range effort 

and Slavomir Buda then went close to a second 

at the other end of the rink. 

Tempers began to boil, with JJ Pitchley and 

Marek Nahlik both sent to the ice in separate 

incidents, but there were no penalty calls. 

match report 

milton keynes thunder 0 london raiders 4 

sunday 30 october 2016 - nihl south 1 

Nahlik went close to tipping in Cooper’s big shot, 

while Wride caught a shot from Pitchley, who 

was left furious at a challenge by Ryan Coffey. 

Both players received minor penalties to leave 

the two sides skating 4-on-4, but Pitchley returned 

to the ice to link up well with Buda and 

Ranson, who was denied by a diving Wride as 

the scoreline remained unchanged after 40 minutes. 

Strong defensive work by Julian Smith prevented 

Klima getting on the end of a pass from Bowers 

at the start of the third period, before Raiders 

doubled their advantage through Buda’s unassisted 

effort. 

And the visitors went 3-0 up less than a minute 

later as Nahlik fired into the bottom left corner of 

the net from close to the face-off circle. 

A stunning point-blank save from Wride denied 

Raiders a fourth, as the home side were kept under 

pressure, but he had no chance with Nahlik’s 

second goal of the night, as the Slovakian 

banged home a pass from captain Tom Davis 

with just over five minutes remaining. 

King held firm in the closing stages to preserve 

his clean sheet and give Raiders increased 

hope for the season. 


15 


NO 

PLAYER 

5 SAM ROBERTS 

7 JOHN CONNOLLY A 

9 BAILEY CHITTOCK 

12 THOMAS BEESLEY 

14 JACK COOPER 

15 JJ PITCHLEY 

17 slavomir buda 

20 TOM DAVIS C 

21 MATT FRANCE A 

22 MARK ROBINSON 

26 JULIAN SMITH 

33 michael gray nm 

83 MAREK NAHLIK 

77 ROSS CONNOLLY 

89 JAMES PENTECOST 

92 euan king nm 

95 JACOB RANSON 

OFFICIALS 


NO G A A TYPE TIME 

1 : 

2 : 

3 : 

4 : 

5 : 

6 : 

7 : 

8 : 

9 : 

10 : 

NO OFFENCE MINS TIME 

: 

: 

: 

: 

: 

: 

: 

: 

: 

: 

: 

: 

: 

: 

: 

man of the match 

RAIDERS 

STARS 

man of the match - sponsored by 

MARTIN KEEN 

: 

: 

: 

: 

: 

vs 

16 



vs 

NO 

PLAYER 

3 JOSH FLOREY 

7 JOSH OLIVER 

9 ANDY COX 

10 JAKE FLOREY 

12 HALLAM WILSON 


13 MICHAEL WHILLOCK 

16 ALAN GREEN 

18 JASON IKIN 

21 JOE OLIVER 

28 DOM HOPKINS A 

55 MATT JORDAN 

66 JOE EDWARDS 

71 DAX HEDGES A 

77 DARREN ELLIOTT C 

79 BEN NETHERSELL 

89 JOONAS LIIMATAINEN 

94 LOGAN PRINCE 

95 TOM ANNETTS NM 

98 MARK DUFFY NM 

BRENDAN BAIRD 

JAROSLAV CESKY 

BEN PAYNTER 

GOALS 1 2 3 TOTAL 


STARS 

NO G A A TYPE TIME 

1 : 

2 : 

3 : 

4 : 

5 : 

6 : 

7 : 

8 : 

9 : 

10 : 

NO OFFENCE MINS TIME 

: 

: 

: 

: 

: 

: 

: 

: 

: 

: 

: 

: 

: 

: 

: 

SHOTS 


STARS 

1 2 3 TOTAL : 

: 

: 

: 

PENALTIES 1 2 3 TOTAL 

: 


STARS 



2016-17 RAIDERS ISSUE 7.indd 17 09/11/2016 10:21:01

# 

20 TOM DAVIS 


london raiders 

SHIRT 

OFF THE 

BACK 

ROBERTS 

5 

To stand a chance of winning Sam Roberts game 

worn home shirt, purchase a ticket for just £2 and 

if Sam draws your number at the end of tonight’s 

game you will get his shirt! 

2016-17 RAIDERS ISSUE 7.indd 19 09/11/2016 10:21:17

stat pack 

2016-17 standings & scores 

nihl league 

POS TEAM 

GP 

W 

T 

L 

PIM 

GF 

GA 

+/- 

PTS 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

CHELMSFORD CHIEFTAINS 


STREATHAM IHC 

INVICTA DYNAMOS 

SOLENT DEVILS 


MILTON KEYNES THUNDER 

BRACKNELL HORNETS 

7 

7 

7 

5 

8 

4 

5 

9 

6 

5 

3 

3 

3 

2 

0 

1 

1 

1 

1 

0 

0 

1 

2 

0 

0 

1 

3 

2 

5 

1 

3 

8 

52 

102 

229 

76 

155 

101 

73 

140 

40 

43 

21 

22 

21 


11 

13 

18 

29 

21 

12 

22 


25 

44 

22 

14 

0 

10 

-1 

0 

-14 

-31 

13 

11 

7 

6 

6 

5 

2 

2 

nihl cup 

POS TEAM 

GP 

W 

T 

L 

PIM 

GF 

GA 

+/- 

PTS 

1 

2 

3 

4 

INVICTA DYNAMOS 


CHELMSFORD CHIEFTAINS 

STREATHAM IHC 

6 

5 

5 

6 

5 

2 

2 

1 

0 

1 

0 

1 

1 

2 

3 

4 

172 

100 

235 

111 

27 

22 

14 

15 

19 

20 

16 

23 

8 

2 

-2 

-8 

10 

5 

4 

3 

results 

Saturday, November 5 

Oxford 5-4 Bracknell (BBO Cup) 

Sunday, November 6 

Chelmsford 2-1 Streatham 

Invicta 7-1 Bracknell 

MK 7-4 Oxford (BBO Cup) 

20 



stat pack 

PLAYER 

ONDREJ PEKARIK 

ALAN GREEN 

DOM HOPKINS 

DARREN ELLIOTT 

RICHARD FACEY 

DANNY HAMMOND 

CALLUM BEST 

JURAJ HUSKA 

GRANT BARTLETT 

JOE EDWARDS 

ASHLEY JACKSON 

ALEX MURRAY 

MAREK NAHLIK 

ADAM ŘEHÁK 

CAMERON BARTLETT 

CALLUM FOWLER 

JOSHUA OLIVER 

BEN EALEY-NEWMAN 

STEVEN FISHER 

JOSH FLOREY 

2016-17 league 

- top 20 point scorers - 

TEAM 

OXFORD 

OXFORD 

OXFORD 

OXFORD 

SOLENT 

CHELMSFORD 

STREATHAM 

CHELMSFORD 

CHELMSFORD 

OXFORD 

INVICTA 

SOLENT 

LONDON 

INVICTA 

CHELMSFORD 

INVICTA 

OXFORD 

BRACKNELL 

STREATHAM 

OXFORD CITY 

GP 

6 

7 

6 

6 

8 

7 

7 

5 

6 

7 

5 

8 

4 

5 

7 

4 

7 

7 

7 

6 

G 

5 

6 

6 

2 

8 

5 

5 

4 

7 

4 

5 

2 

8 

3 

2 

3 

3 

4 

3 

3 

A 

13 

8 

8 

10 

4 

6 

5 

6 

2 

5 

4 

7 

1 

5 

6 

5 

5 

3 

4 

4 

PTS 

18 

14 

14 

12 

12 

11 

10 

10 

9 

9 

9 

9 

9 

8 

8 

8 

8 

7 

7 

7 

PIM 

18 

4 

2 

0 

24 

0 

6 

0 

2 

10 

2 

8 

8 

16 

8 

6 

4 

16 

18 

6 

PLAYER 

- top 10 netminders - 

EUAN KING 

JAMES RICHARDSON 

JOHN DIBBLE 

CHRISTIAN COLE 

DAMIEN KING 

MATT COLCLOUGH 

SONNY PHILLIPS 

BEN CLEMENTS 

MICHAEL GRAY 

TOM ANNETTS 

TEAM 

LONDON 

INVICTA 

INVICTA 

SOLENT 

INVICTA 

STREATHAM 

CHELMSFORD 

CHELMSFORD 

LONDON 

OXFORD 

GP 

1 

5 

1 

7 

6 

2 

6 

7 

3 

6 

SOG 

22 

3 

28 

240 

189 

58 

68 

168 

88 

195 

GA 

0 

0 

1 

14 

12 

4 

5 

13 

8 

18 

SO 

1 

1 

0 

0 

1 

0 

0 

1 

0 

0 

SVE% 

100.00% 

100.00% 

96.43% 

94.17% 

93.65% 

93.10% 

92.65% 

92.26% 

90.91% 

90.77% 


21 


stat pack 

PLAYER 

MAREK NAHLIK 

KAMIL KINKOR 

TOM DAVIS 

JOHN CONNOLLY 

JAMES PENTECOST 

JJ PITCHLEY 

THOMAS BEESLEY 

SLAVOMIR BUDA 

ROSS CONNOLLY 

JACOB RANSON 

SAM ROBERTS 

BAILEY CHITTOCK 

JACK COOPER 

EUAN KING 

JULIAN SMITH 

HARRY BUCKINGHAM 

MATT FRANCE 

MICHAEL GRAY 

DAN LANE 

MARK ROBINSON 

PLAYER 

MICHAEL GRAY 

EUAN KING 

DAN LANE 

raiders 2016-17 league 

- point scorers - 

GP 

4 

2 

4 

4 

3 

4 

3 

2 

2 

4 

4 

4 

4 

1 

4 

2 

4 

3 

1 

3 

G 

8 

4 

0 

0 

1 

3 

0 

2 

0 

0 

0 

1 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

GP 

2 

1 

1 

A 

1 

2 

5 

4 

3 

1 

2 

0 

2 

2 

2 

0 

1 

1 

1 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

MINS 

120.00 

60.00 

60.00 

PTS 

9 

6 

5 

4 

4 

4 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

1 

1 

1 

1 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

SOG 

88 

22 

41 

PIM 

8 

14 

4 

4 

0 

12 

0 

0 

2 

8 

0 

4 

4 

0 

18 

0 

25 

10 

0 

0 

GA 

8 

0 

9 

a 

a 

- netminders - 

SO 

1 

0 

0 

GA.AV 

4.00 

0.00 

9.00 

SVE% 

90.91% 

100.00% 

78.05% 

NEXT HOME FIXTURE VS INVICTA DYNAMOS 

SATURDAY 19th november - face off 17:30 

22 



DOWNING 

DIARY 

The season has finally started for me in the 

CPJHL playing for the Essa Stallions. My first 3 

weeks in the Canada have been very eventful. 

From getting my first experience of a double Big 

Mac to moving in with my billets and becoming 

a new member of the ‘Young’ family and staying 

with Ethan James, who some of you may 

remember from the Romford junior system and 

also the GB under 18’s goalie. 

As you might expect everyday life is very hockey 

orientated, the ability to watch hockey as freely 

as you want and go outside and play a pickup 

game really is a massive change and on top of 

that I’m on the ice everyday of the week. (Hopefully 

I can improve my muffin shot) 

I have to admit, at times it was a massive adjustment, 

when you’re on the ice everyday and 

things aren’t going your way it can really be a 

mood changer but having a good group of boys 

and a family you can turn to can really help. 

Our first game was in Seaforth which is roughly 

200km West of Barrie. We were packed into a 

small school bus with hockey bags surrounding 

us like Lego and drove for two and a half hours 

to their home rink. The game was very scrappy 

as both teams were extremely new to each other 

but we managed to grind out a 7-0 win with myself 

picking up a goal and two assists. 

Our biggest test came a week later in our home 

opener against the Grey Highland Hawks. They 

were pitted to be the best team in our division 

and had a few big signings from the GMHL and 

various other imports from different leagues. The 

game started off well for us as I managed to 

score a very scrappy goal that put us up 1-0 early 

on. We then proceeded to put up the pressure 

with Stephen Eccles putting us up 2-0 shorthanded. 

It was at this point when things started 

to change. We managed to pick up numerous 

penalties and a few fights along the way and by 

the third period it was 3-3. We finally broke the 

deadlock late in the third with Eccles picking up 

another goal off a beautiful rebound sealing the 

win for us. 

It really was a great start but I was quickly 

brought back down to earth when just minutes 

after the win 3 boys were traded and heading 

to Ottawa in the morning. It really hit home that 

even though this is junior hockey this is a very 

serious league. 3 boys all from different parts of 

the world having their kit packed up heading on 

a 5 hour bus journey to another new home for 

another new team before the season had even 

really begun. The hockey out here is really on a 

knife edge no matter who you are you can be 

gone in the morning before you even know it but 

hopefully I can grind out a spot on this team for 

the season until I return to London and add to 

my game. 

I hope the season goes well for the raiders and 

everything goes from strength to strength. COYR 

If you wish to keep updated with the league and 

watch live streams of the games, the website of 

the league is: 

www.cpjhl.com 

The team website is: 

www.essastallions.com 


23 


AROUND THE 

In future generations children will ask, just 

what was the BBO Cup? We still don’t know 

what the acronym stands for. Will it go the 

way of the Benson and Hedges Cup, the 

Autumn Cup and the Findus Cup or will 

it blossom and become the premier NIHL 

competition of the future? 

WITH DAVE CARR 

SATURDAY 5th NOVEMBER 2016 

haunt his old club in a Hornets jersey. 

It didn’t happen, and Oxford won a thrilling 

contest 5-4 in front of a noisy home crowd. 

Alan Green hit a late winner for the Stars to 

add to two goals from Josh Florey and one 

each from Jake Florey and Darren Elliott. 

The last weekend of the competition started 

with Oxford hosting Bracknell in a late 

face off at Oxpens Road with the rumour 

mill suggesting recently released Stars import 

Ondrej Pekarik would come back to 

haunt his old club in a Hornets jersey. 

Ben Ealey Newman scored against his old 

club for Bracknell with Kamil Kinkor, Ryan 

Handisides and Danny Hughes adding 

one each. 

SUNDAY 6th NOVEMBER 2016 

There were fireworks at the Thunderdome 

as the Milton Keynes Thunder lifted the 

BBO Cup in style with an impressive 7-4 

home win over Oxford City Stars. 

Jakub Klima and Ross Bowers top scored 

with a brace each to add to lone goals from 

Alex Whyte, Jamie Line and Ryan Coffey. 

Boris Ruzicka didn’t line up against his 

old club, whose goals came from Jaroslav 

Cesky with two and one each for Andy Cox 

and Mike Whillock. 

Cesky also had a penalty shot saved by inform 

Thunder goalie David Wride. 

Sadly there was no trophy presentation for 

the Thunder who will hopefully receive it 

next week once it is removed from its Hatton 

Garden vault. 

The game of the day the Riverside, Chieftains 

vs Streatham and it turned out to be a 

great advert for the league with fast paced 

hockey and a close scoreline that saw 

Chelmsford edge out the Londoners 2-1. 


24 


Darren Brown, fresh from a broken skate 

appeal earlier in the week, repaid the 

fans with an excellent goal and then Liam 

Chong added the other. Sean Scarbrough 

scored for Streatham with both goalies 

Matt Colclough and Ben Clements putting 

in a masterclass of goaltending for their respective 

sides. 

The result leaves Streatham with a big gap 

to make up on the league leaders after a 

poor start to the season despite recent improvements. 

In the final game of the day Bracknell Hornets 

pushed Invicta hard in the early stages 

of their match at Silverblades before once 

again fading badly in the later stages and 

losing 7-1. 

The impressive Adam Rehak scored a hat 

trick for the Mo’s with the returning Callum 

Fowler scoring two and both Mason Web 

ster and Ashley Jackson also scoring. 

Ben Ealey-Newman scored Bracknell’s 

consolation with new signing Sam Cheema 

ejected on a slashing call earlier in the 

game. 

Invicta also had Mason Webster ejected on 

a checking to the head penalty. 

Haydn Wootton and Harvey Hind-Pitcher 

dropped the gloves to add a further talking 

point. 

In other news, veteran stripey Blaine Evans 

bought a 50/50 ticket. Sleep well dear 

readers. 

The results leave Chelmsford ahead in the 

league with quite a gap opening up, whilst 

Milton Keynes enjoy their BBO trophy and 

order themselves a trophy cabinet for the 

Thunderdome. 

WWW.LONDONRAIDERSIHC.CO.UK 25 


5% DISCOUNT 

to Raiders fans for all holidays booked through the below office. 

Debenhams Marketplace, Romford, Essex. RM1 3ET 


Jack Love 

.....On Ice Hockey 

In the aftermath of the cessation of Wightlink 

Raiders’ season it was hardly surprising that a 

number of their players found new teams to join 

but perhaps the biggest move was with coach 

Jeremy Cornish taking over at Streatham, now 

named Redhawks, and bringing with him several 

of the former Wightlink team. Exiting through 

the swing doors as Cornish and his men arrived 

were several of the Streatham team who no 

longer fitted into the plans for this season. 

Oxford City Stars were quick to snap up former 

Wightlink Czech import Jaroslav Cesky who will 

doubtless be of much use to their ‘Goals For’ 

statistics. Cesky made a name for himself some 

seasons back at Bracknell (2009-2010) where 

he teamed up with fellow countryman Michal 

Pinc to form a formidable goal scoring duo that 

was credited with over 200 points that season. 

Despite their efforts the rest of the Bees team 

was not up to much and failed to reach the Playoff 

finals but such was the Pinc & Cesky reputation 

that the programme for the EPL Play-Off 

finals carried an article about the pair who had 

become known affectionately by some fans as 

Pinky & Perky. Once the partnership was broken 

neither player seemed to be able to repeat their 

goal scoring feats and Cesky later settled for a 

role with Wightlink where he netted 53 goals with 

82 assists over 2 seasons (not including the current 

one). 

The EPL game a fortnight ago between Swindon 

Wildcats and Basingstoke Bison was hyped 

up on the basis that last season’s encounters 

were “superb”. I don’t know what the quality of 

the play was at this year’s first meeting of the two 

but there were only 3 goals with visitors Bison 

winning 2-1 but the main talking point was and 

multi-contestant altercation just as the half-way 

stage was about to be reached. Wildcats’ number 

96 Kyle Smith exited the game with an astronomic 

49 minutes in penalties after leaving the 

bench to join in the fracas. Team mate Aaron Nell 

was also excused further part in the game after 

being adjudged 3rd Man in one of the bouts - 

a double blow for Swindon as Nell sustained 

a shoulder injury in the battle. For Bison, Aaron 

Conolly (no. 63) received marching orders with a 

match penalty for roughing. The 3rd period was 

by all reports a quieter affair but by the time it 

was all over Swindon had amassed 100 penalty 

minutes and Basingstoke 67. A busy night for referee 

Dan Boardman who perhaps unsurprisingly 

reaped criticism from the ranks of both sets of 

fans for the way he dealt with the trouble. Plenty 

of video and discussion on all the usual media 

outlets. 

Great Britain’s women’s team have been battling 

hard in Astana, Kazakhstan participating in 

Group G of their Olympic Qualification Preliminary 

Round 2 tournament where they were pitted 

against teams from the host nation, Mexico and 

Poland. The opening game in the Barys Arena 

saw GB beat Mexico on the afternoon of Thursday 

3rd November thanks to 3 final period goals 

that nullified the Mexicans 2-0 first period lead. 

The next game later the same day gave Kazakhstan 

a 4-1 victory over Poland then on Friday afternoon 

GB were matched with Poland who won 

4-3 with GB this time unable to fully climb back 

from a 2 goal deficit in the opening period. The 

Friday evening game gave the hosts their second 

win of the tournament beating Mexico 3-1 

then on Sunday, the final day of the competition 

Poland raced to a 5-0 win against Mexico in a 

midday game and to round it all up the unbeaten 

Kazakhstan won 3-1 against GB in a game that 

faced off at 1600 local time. GB’s marker by captain 

Katie Henry coming in the 54th minute so 

reducing Kazakhstan’s 2-0 lead from the opening 

frame. With a little under a minute and a half 

remaining GB called a time-out and when play 

resumed it was minus netminder Nicole Jackson, 

replaced with an additional skater but any hope 

of tying the game was dashed with a 3rd goal by 

the Champions who took advantage of the empty 

net inside the final minute. 

The results mean that Kazakhstan advance to 

the Olympic Qualification Preliminary Round 3 , 

with GB 3rd placed with 3 points and winless but 

not disgraced. A great effort by the British ladies. 


27 


2016-17 FIXTURE 

DATE OPPONENTS COMPETITION FACE-OFF SCORE M.O.M 

SEPTEMBER 

SAT 24 OXFORD CITY STARS NIHL LEAGUE 17:30 6 - 6 t Pitchley 

OCTOBER 

SUN 02 BRACKNELL HORNETS NIHL LEAGUE 17:30 4 - 2 w Roberts 

SAT 15 CHELMSFORD CHIEFTAINS NIHL CUP 17:30 6 - 5 w Chittock 

SAT 22 INVICTA DYNAMOS NIHL CUP 17:30 10 - 5 w Pitchley 

SAT 29 STREATHAM HOCKEY NIHL CUP 17:30 4 - 4 t Gray 

NOVEMBER 

SAT 12 OXFORD CITY STARS NIHL LEAGUE 17:30 - 

SAT 19 INVICTA DYNAMOS NIHL LEAGUE 17:30 - 

SAT 26 STREATHAM HOCKEY NIHL LEAGUE 17:30 - 

DECEMBER 

SUN 04 BRACKNELL HORNETS NIHL LEAGUE 17:30 - 

SAT 10 MILTON KEYNES THUNDER NIHL LEAGUE 17:30 - 

SAT 17 MILTON KEYNES THUNDER NIHL LEAGUE 17:30 

JANUARY 

SAT 07 SOLENT DEVILS NIHL LEAGUE 17:30 - 

SAT 14 CHELMSFORD CHIEFTAINS NIHL LEAGUE 17:30 - 

SAT 28 INVICTA DYNAMOS NIHL LEAGUE 17:30 - 

FEBRUARY 

SAT 18 CHELMSFORD CHIEFTAINS NIHL LEAGUE 17:30 - 

SAT 25 CUP SEMI FINAL 

MARCH 

HOME FIXTURES 

SUN 05 SOLENT DEVILS NIHL LEAGUE 17:30 - 

SAT 11 STREATHAM HOCKEY NIHL LEAGUE 17:30 - 

SAT 18 CUP FINAL 

SAT 25 PLAY-OFF QUARTER FINAL 

APRIL 

SAT 01 

SAT 08 

PLAY-OFF SEMI FINAL 

PLAY-OFF FINAL 

28 



RES & RESULTS 

AWAY FIXTURES 

DATE OPPONENTS COMPETITION FACE-OFF SCORE M.O.M 

SEPTEMBER 

SUN 18 INVICTA DYNAMOS NIHL CUP 17:15 4 - 2 l Beesley 

SUN 25 STREATHAM HOCKEY NIHL CUP 18:45 0 - 2 l Gray 

OCTOBER 

SUN 23 OXFORD CITY STARS NIHL LEAGUE 18:15 9 - 3 l J. Connolly 

SUN 30 MILTON KEYNES THUNDER NIHL LEAGUE 18:30 0 - 4 w Nahlik 

NOVEMBER 

SUN 13 SOLENT DEVILS NIHL LEAGUE 19:00 - 

SUN 20 CHELMSFORD CHIEFTAINS NIHL CUP 18:30 - 

SUN 27 STREATHAM HOCKEY NIHL LEAGUE 18:45 - 

DECEMBER 

SUN 11 CHELMSFORD CHIEFTAINS NIHL LEAGUE 18:30 - 

SUN 18 INVICTA DYNAMOS NIHL LEAGUE 17:15 - 

JANUARY 

SUN 08 SOLENT DEVILS NIHL LEAGUE 19:00 - 

SUN 15 BRACKNELL HORNETS NIHL LEAGUE 18:00 - 

SUN 22 INVICTA DYNAMOS NIHL LEAGUE 17:15 - 

SUN 29 MILTON KEYNES THUNDER NIHL LEAGUE 18:30 - 

FEBRUARY 

SAT 11 BRACKNELL HORNETS NIHL LEAGUE 18:00 - 

SUN 12 CHELLMSFORD CHIEFTAINS NIHL LEAGUE 18:30 - 

SUN 19 STREATHAM HOCKEY NIHL LEAGUE 18:45 - 

SUN 26 CUP SEMI-FINAL 

MARCH 

SUN 12 OXFORD CITY STARS NIHL LEAGUE 18:15 - 

SUN 19 CUP FINAL 

SUN 26 PLAY-OFF QUARTER FINAL 

APRIL 

SUN 02 

SUN 09 

PLAY-OFF SEM FINAL 

PLAY-OFF FINAL 


29 


with....Tom Davis 

5 of the best 4 Come Dine With Me 

Who do you consider to be the best player in the 

World? 

Best Player in world of all time has to be Gretzky but 

currently I would say Patrick Kane. 

Best game you have ever played in? 

My first Conference game for South East and scoring 

against Scotland. 

The best piece of advice you’ve received in 

hockey? 

Always train and work hard and to never give up 

Four people, dead or alive, sporting or otherwise, 

that you would invite to dinner and the reasons 

for choosing them? 

my first choice would have to be Mohammad Ali as 

he is the World’s greatest, the 2nd would have to be 

Adam Sandler as he is my favourite movie actor. The 

3rd would be Dynamo for a bit of entertainment and 

my last choice would be Michelle keegan..... 

I think we all know why!! 

Who is the best player you have played against? 

Your best mate in hockey? 

I’m close to a few of the boys on the dressing this 

season, my all time best mate in hockey would have 

to be JJ McGrath. 

3 favourite things 

Holiday destination? 

New York 

Film? 

Happy Gilmore - I must have seen it a hundred times!! 

Song? 

Not to sure I have a favourite song to be honest. I can 

listen to anything that has an up beat to it. 

2 things for Room 101 

Two things that really annoy you? 

Soap Opera’s & Justin Bieber. 

1 Wish 

One match you would love to play in? 

Would have to be the winter classic. Just the atmosphere 

and outdoor rink looks amazing. 

30

2016-17 RAIDERS ISSUE 7

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template ?