Oxford City Stars
Encyclopedia
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.
, they are the first team playing at senior level in the city. Oxford University had previously formed a team that had folded.
The Stars were entered into British League Division 2
and won the league championship in their inaugural season. In following season, the Stars progressed to Division 1 but were relegated back to Division 2 at the end of the 1986–87 season. Division 2 was renamed English Division 1 the following year.
The 1990–91 season saw the Stars win the English League Division 1 Title. This was one of Oxford's greatest moments with the team winning 23 of a possible 28 games.
The British Hockey League was replaced by the English National Hockey League in 1996 and Oxford Stars changed their name to the Oxford Chill.
During the 1997–98 season a failure at the rink saw the team playing their home games in Swindon
during which the team advanced to the English Premier Ice Hockey League
. For the following season the team was once again renamed as the Oxford Blades and lost every single game, 32 in total. These results led to the team collapsing in 1999 due to high running costs and poor attendance.
Development Team. This left the management with work to do finding replacements before the beginning of the 2006–07 season.
The 2006/07 season saw the Stars use more local players than in previous seasons with a number of younger players getting a chance in the team. Under the guidance of coach Darryl Morvan and his assistant Paul Foster the Stars started the season inconsistently but hit form at the right time and shocked everyone by sneaking in to the final play off spot with a last gasp win over local rivals Swindon in front of a partisan crowd in Oxford.
The play offs were a step too far for the young City Stars squad however they still had one last surprise up their sleeve when they beat league champions Invicta Dynamos 4-1 to ruin the Kent clubs play off hopes.
Despite fears over the future of Oxford ice rink the Stars entered the 2007/08 season with virtually the same squad as the previous season.
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 Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, 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...
. 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
Formed in 1984 with the opening of the Oxford Ice RinkOxford Ice Rink
Oxford Ice Rink is a 56 × 26m ice rink located on Oxpens Road in Oxford, England. It is a ten-minute walk from Oxford city centre and railway station....
, they are the first team playing at senior level in the city. Oxford University had previously formed a team that had folded.
The Stars were entered into British League Division 2
British Hockey League
The British Hockey League was the top-flight ice hockey league in the United Kingdom from 1982 until 1996, when it was replaced by the Ice Hockey Superleague and the British National League...
and won the league championship in their inaugural season. In following season, the Stars progressed to Division 1 but were relegated back to Division 2 at the end of the 1986–87 season. Division 2 was renamed English Division 1 the following year.
The 1990–91 season saw the Stars win the English League Division 1 Title. This was one of Oxford's greatest moments with the team winning 23 of a possible 28 games.
The British Hockey League was replaced by the English National Hockey League in 1996 and Oxford Stars changed their name to the Oxford Chill.
During the 1997–98 season a failure at the rink saw the team playing their home games in Swindon
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...
during which the team advanced to the English Premier Ice Hockey League
English Premier Ice Hockey League
The English Premier Ice Hockey League commonly abbreviated to EPIHL, or simply EPL, is a senior ice hockey league in England, and is run and administered by the English Ice Hockey Association...
. For the following season the team was once again renamed as the Oxford Blades and lost every single game, 32 in total. These results led to the team collapsing in 1999 due to high running costs and poor attendance.
2001-2003
Oxford City Stars returned for the 2000–01 season and finished third in the league. However they found themselves unable to sign enough players for the 2002–03 season and once again folded.2003-2004
The Stars returned and shone once again under the stewardship of club legend Dan Prachar who assembled an exciting team mixing players from Swindon and Oxford. With crowds improving and the team winning consistently the team finished second only to the all conquering Invicta Dynamos. They also smashed Oxford University in the annual Town v Gown and reached the national cup final only to lose out to Sheffield.2004-2005
Despite retaining most of their squad the Stars could not improve on the previous years success however they did sign a sponsorship deal with national restaurant chain Smollenskys.On a sad note high scoring import and team talisman Derek Flint left to go home to Vancouver.2005-2006
The Stars entered the Premier league cup as well as the English National league and this stretched the squad too far with the fixtures building up and morale fading.Along with the loss of Derek Flint the team struggled in the lower half of the team despite being able to beat any team on their day. Towards the end of the season coach Dan Prachar was replaced by veteran defenceman Paul Donohoe who steadied the ship till the end of the season.2006-2007
The off-season saw a number of Oxford players sign for the newly formed Swindon WildcatsSwindon 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...
Development Team. This left the management with work to do finding replacements before the beginning of the 2006–07 season.
The 2006/07 season saw the Stars use more local players than in previous seasons with a number of younger players getting a chance in the team. Under the guidance of coach Darryl Morvan and his assistant Paul Foster the Stars started the season inconsistently but hit form at the right time and shocked everyone by sneaking in to the final play off spot with a last gasp win over local rivals Swindon in front of a partisan crowd in Oxford.
The play offs were a step too far for the young City Stars squad however they still had one last surprise up their sleeve when they beat league champions Invicta Dynamos 4-1 to ruin the Kent clubs play off hopes.
Despite fears over the future of Oxford ice rink the Stars entered the 2007/08 season with virtually the same squad as the previous season.
Defence
- Mark Krater
- Andrew Shurmer
- Nick Eden
- Will Skaife
- Paul Gore
- Dale White
- Richard Wojciak
- Yousif Abu Saada
Forwards
- Dean Francis
- Andy Cox
- Darren Elliott
- Grant 'Ace' Bailey
- Ken Forshee
- Shannon Taylor
- Nick Oliver
- Joe Edwards
- Joe Boot
- Juraj Rusic
- Alan Green
- Michael Lucas
- Dax Hedges
- Sam Broughton
- Josh Florey
- Josh Oliver
- Mike Whillock
Defence
- Wayne Fiddes
- Andrew Shurmer
- Nick Eden
- Dale White
- Richard Wojciak
- Yousif Abu Saada
- James Francis-Barrie
Forwards
- Andy Cox
- Darren Elliott
- Grant 'Ace' Bailey
- Gareth Endicott
- Joe Edwards
- Alan Green
- Dax Hedges
- Josh Oliver
- Mike Whillock
- Ken Forshee
Defence
- Michael Breisner
- Tom Gilheany
- Iain Pagano
- Ben Chandler
- Andrew Holdaway
- Roberto Angeleri-Rand
Forwards
- Jack Robinson
- James Clarke
- Jacob Smith
- Marlon Williams
- Joe Oliver
- Joe Boot
- Warren Jones
- Sam Broughton
- David Tyler
- Nick Oliver
- Aiden di Toro
External links
- Official website
- Official Supporters Club website
- English Ice Hockey Association website
- http://www.oxford.gov.uk/leisure/oxford-ice-rink.cfm?frmAlias=/oxfordicerink/ Oxford Ice Rink webpages
Other associated teams
The Oxford City ice hockey club also has junior and women's teams as follows:-- Under 10s (English League South)
- Under 12s (English League South Division 2)
- Under 14s (English League South Division 2)
- Under 16s (English League South Division 2)
- Under 18s (English League South Division 1)
- Oxford Midnight Stars (Women's League Division 1 South)