Bristol Pitbulls - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Bristol Pitbulls are a professional ice hockey

Ice hockey

Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

team based in Bristol

Bristol

Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, playing in the English National Ice Hockey League

English National Ice Hockey League

The English National Ice Hockey League is an amateur ice hockey league below the English Premier Ice Hockey League which is administered by the English Ice Hockey Association. It is split into two conferences, north and south...

, division 1. They were division 2 league champions in 2009/10 season.

History

The Bristol Pitbulls were founded in June 2009. Bristol was without a Senior Ice Hockey team for 16 years until Bristol born Richie 'Gravy' Hargreaves established the Pitbulls.

Hargreaves entered the team into the English National Ice Hockey League

English National Ice Hockey League

South Division Two for the 2009/10 season, despite being offered the chance to jump straight into Division One. According to an interview explaining his decision, Hargreaves decided his team 'wasn't ready' and that 'building a strong franchise & fan-base' were the most important thing in the first year.

The Pitbulls are based at the John Nike Ice Rink in Frogmore Street, Bristol. In their first friendly of the 2009/10 season they played the Oxford City Stars

Oxford City Stars

The Oxford City Stars are an ice hockey team based in Oxford, England. They currently play in the English National League, South. A second team was formed in the summer of 2010 and they compete in the English National League South Division 2.-1984-1999:...

from ENIHL South Division One. Both Richie Hargreaves and his Brother Mike 'Killer' Hargreaves, who is also the Captain for the Pitbulls in their first year, used to play for the Stars. The Pitbulls lost 7-4 on home ice, but won 6-4 in a return leg against the Stars in Oxford the following day.

2009/2010 season

After a successful pre-season and a heavy recruitment period, the Pitbulls took to the ice for their opening match of the season facing off in the ENHL Cup with a double-header against the Vectis Tigers

Vectis Tigers

The Wightlink Tigers are an amateur English ice hockey team from the Isle of Wight, they are currently in pool A of the southern conference of the ENIHL. Although no promotion or relegation system exists between the leagues , the ENIHL is seen as the third tier of English ice hockey...

on the weekend of 5 September 2009.
The Pitbulls finished that weekend with a 100% record after beating the Tigers 9-3 on home ice, and emerging victorious by 8-6 on the road.

On 19 September 2009 the Pitbulls competed in their first league match of their inaugural season against the Slough Harrier Hawks in which they achieved a 13-2 victory over the Hawks.

On 20 September 2009 the Pitbulls played the Cardiff Satans and achieved a 2-2 draw.

Most recently, the Pitbulls qualified for the semi-final of the ENHL Cup with three games to spare.

Club Roster 09/10

{|
|-
!colspan=6 |Goaltenders
|- style="background:#cf1f29; color:#fff;"
!width=5%|Number
!width=5%|
!!width=20%|Player
!width=20%|Owned & Loaned By
!width=4%|Acquired
!width=15%|Date of Birth
!width=20%|Birthplace
|- style="background:#eee;"
| align=center|35
| align=center|

Salisbury

Salisbury is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England and the only city in the county. It is the second largest settlement in the county...

, England

England

Bristol

, England

England

|- style="background:#eee;"

{|
|-
!colspan=6 |Defencemen
|- style="background:#cf1f29; color:#fff;"
!width=5%|Number
!width=5%|
!!width=20%|Player
!width=20%|Owned & Loaned By
!width=4%|Acquired
!width=15%|Date of Birth
!width=20%|Birthplace
|- style="background:#eee;"
| align=center|6
| align=center|

Bristol

, England

England

Bristol

, England

England

Cardiff

Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...

, Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

Bristol

, England

England

Bristol

, England

England

Bristol

, England

England

Bristol

, England

England

|}
{|
|-
!colspan=6 |Forwards
|- style="background:#cf1f29; color:#fff;"
!width=5%|Number
!width=5%|
!!width=20%|Player
!width=20%|Owned & Loaned By
!width=4%|Acquired
!width=15%|Date of Birth
!width=20%|Birthplace
|- style="background:#eee;"
| align=center|9
| align=center|

Swindon

Swindon is a large town within the borough of Swindon and ceremonial county of Wiltshire, in South West England. It is midway between Bristol, west and Reading, east. London is east...

, England

England

Bristol

, England

England

Bristol

, England

England

Telford

Telford is a large new town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England, approximately east of Shrewsbury, and west of Birmingham...

, England

England

Cardiff

, Wales

Wales

Bristol

, England

England

Swindon

Swindon is a large town within the borough of Swindon and ceremonial county of Wiltshire, in South West England. It is midway between Bristol, west and Reading, east. London is east...

, England

England

| align=center|Adrian Esposito

Adrian Esposito

Adrian Esposito is a professional ice hockey player currently playing for the Bristol Pitbulls in the English National Ice Hockey League and the Sydney Bears in the Australian Ice Hockey League.-Background:...

Eastwood, South Australia

Eastwood is a suburb of Adelaide, South Australia in the City of Burnside.-Government:Eastwood is covered by the federal Division of Adelaide.At State Government level, Eastwood is a part of the electoral district of Unley.-References:...

Bristol

, England

England

Current League/Cup Stats

League Stats
Cup Stats

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Competition
! Date
! Venue
! Vs.
! Score
|-
| align=center|ENHL Cup
| align=center|05/09/2009
| align=center|Home
| align=center|Vectis Tigers

Vectis Tigers

Vectis Tigers

Basingstoke Buffalo

The Basingstoke Buffalo are an ice hockey team from Basingstoke, Hampshire, England. They are members of the Southern section of the English National Ice Hockey League and play their home matches at the Planet Ice Silverdome. The Buffalo are the second senior team in Basingstoke behind the...

Swindon Wildcats

The Swindon Wildcats are a professional ice hockey team based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. They are member of the English Premier Ice Hockey League . Since their inception, the Wildcats have played their home games at the 2800 capacity Link Centre. The club was founded in 1986, as the Swindon...

Lee Valley Lions

The Lee Valley Lions are an ice hockey team based in Leyton, east London where they play out of the Lee Valley Ice Centre They are the senior Ice Hockey team at the rink which they share with the , the Eastern Stars and London Devils recreational teams and, the University of London Union Ice hockey...

Basingstoke Buffalo

Swindon Wildcats

Vectis Tigers

Vectis Tigers

Swindon Wildcats

Swindon Wildcats

Lee Valley Lions

Basingstoke Buffalo

Basingstoke Buffalo

| align=center|
|-
| align=center|League
| align=center|20/03/2010
| align=center|Home
| align=center|Solent & Gosport Devils
| align=center|
|-
| align=center|League
| align=center|21/03/2010
| align=center|Away
| align=center|Invicta Mustangs
| align=center|
|}

External links

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