Lancashire Raptors
Encyclopedia
The Lancashire Raptors are a British Ice Hockey team based in Blackburn, Lancashire. They are currently members of the English National Ice Hockey League
, and have play in the North 2 division. Their home ice is the 3,200 seat Blackburn Arena.
restructured the age limits for competing players, reclassifying the under 19 age limit as under 18. This left many 19 year old players in the country without a team to play for regularly. One such team affected was the Blackburn Ice Hockey Development Association (BIHDA), the junior development programme for the Blackburn Hawks
; those that were deemed not good enough to play for the Hawks were left with the choice of either recreational hockey or giving up on the sport. This is were the Blackburn Junior Hawks committee stepped in with the decision to set up a second senior team playing out of the Arena alongside the Hawks.
This team, unlike the Hawks, would get no funding from the Arena: the players would primarily fund the team through monthly subs on the same basis as the junior teams.
Mark Ward was selected to be the Raptors coach after expressing his interest in running the team which alongside his wealth of knowledge of the sport, having been a previous coach of the Hawks and many years of playing, made him the ideal man for the job.
The Raptors have completed four seasons competing in the ENIHL North Division 2, following the split in the league for 2008−9. The start of the 2011-12 campaign saw a mass exodus of players to the new Subzero Ice Rink in nearby Cleveleys to play as part of the newly formed Fylde Flyers club. Following the departure of long standing coach Mark Ward, new coach Gary Buckman, also formerly a coach for the Blackburn Hawks joined the Raptors setup. The Spirit of the Raptors remains the same, to bring through young players from the Blackburn Junior Hawks program into fully fledged senior league play.
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...
, and have play in the North 2 division. Their home ice is the 3,200 seat Blackburn Arena.
History
In April 2007, the English Ice Hockey AssociationEnglish Ice Hockey Association
The English Ice Hockey Association is the governing body responsible for the administration of all ice hockey in England and Wales and was formed in 1982...
restructured the age limits for competing players, reclassifying the under 19 age limit as under 18. This left many 19 year old players in the country without a team to play for regularly. One such team affected was the Blackburn Ice Hockey Development Association (BIHDA), the junior development programme for the Blackburn Hawks
Blackburn Hawks
The Blackburn Hawks , are a British ice hockey team based in Blackburn, Lancashire. They are currently members of the ENIHL, and have previously played in the British National League and the English League Premier Division...
; those that were deemed not good enough to play for the Hawks were left with the choice of either recreational hockey or giving up on the sport. This is were the Blackburn Junior Hawks committee stepped in with the decision to set up a second senior team playing out of the Arena alongside the Hawks.
This team, unlike the Hawks, would get no funding from the Arena: the players would primarily fund the team through monthly subs on the same basis as the junior teams.
Mark Ward was selected to be the Raptors coach after expressing his interest in running the team which alongside his wealth of knowledge of the sport, having been a previous coach of the Hawks and many years of playing, made him the ideal man for the job.
The Raptors have completed four seasons competing in the ENIHL North Division 2, following the split in the league for 2008−9. The start of the 2011-12 campaign saw a mass exodus of players to the new Subzero Ice Rink in nearby Cleveleys to play as part of the newly formed Fylde Flyers club. Following the departure of long standing coach Mark Ward, new coach Gary Buckman, also formerly a coach for the Blackburn Hawks joined the Raptors setup. The Spirit of the Raptors remains the same, to bring through young players from the Blackburn Junior Hawks program into fully fledged senior league play.
Season-by-season Record
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes.| Season | League | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | PIM | Finish | Playoffs/Post-season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007/08 | ENIHL (North Division 2) | 22 | 2 | 19 | 1 | 5 | 57 | 164 | NA | 2nd from bottom in division | N/A |
| 2008/09 | ENIHL (North Division 2) | 24 | 2 | 20 | 2 | 6 | 65 | 201 | NA | Last in division | N/A |
| 2009/10 | ENIHL (North Division 2) | 24 | 8 | 15 | 1 | 17 | 116 | 146 | NA | 4th | N/A |
| 2010/11 | ENIHL (North Division 2) | 24 | 9 | 14 | 1 | 19 | 131 | 160 | NA | 5th | N/A |
| 2011/12 | ENIHL (North Division 2) | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | NA | In progress | N/A |
Current squad 2011-12
- 1 Matt Milhench (N/M)
- 1 Matt Phair (N/M)
- 2 Paddy Thomson
- 3 Wez Nixon
- 4 Ryan Hindle
- 5 Paul Burns
- 6 Nick Saxton (N/M)
- 8 Christian Wareing
- 9 Ken Armstrong
- 10 Michael Vigelskas
- 11 Steven Hetherington
- 12 Ben Abbott
- 13 Jack Skipp
- 14 Josh Lee
- 15 Paul Mercer
- 16 Tom Helm
- 21 Troy Evans
- 22 Michael Alexander
External links
- Lancashire Raptors, Official Website