BLACKBURN, UK – Rumour, upheaval and lots of questions – another typical summer for ice hockey in the north of the UK. Would Fife Flyers join the Elite League and finally kill off the lopsided Northern League? Would Billingham be allowed to return to ENL1? Would Dumfries-based Solway Sharks be voted into the league? These were just a few of the burning questions posed during a hectic summer. In each case the answer was yes. With Fife gone and the Northern League consigned to the memory banks, ENL North did a bit of re-structuring. Billingham merged with Northern Stars to become Billingham Stars, while Trafford Metros were spared relegation to create a nine team top division. Solway duly joined ENL2 along with fellow new-boys Fylde Flyers in an eight team division. Billingham’s return to the fold resulted in chaos in the North-East. Former players, including star netminder James Flavell, the Thornton brothers and Paul Windridge jumped ship from double champions Whitley Warriors to join what appears to be a formidable line-up. Warriors were further hit by the departures of Coach Simon Leach along with star forwards Adam Reynolds and Karl Culley. Former Billingham player Garry Dowd was handed the unenviable task of trying to rebuild a team capable of making it a hat-trick of titles. Former captain Bryan Dunn was coaxed out of retirement and ex-Newcastle Viper Rob Wilson returned to boost a heavily depleted squad. Matt Bradbury replaced Martyn Etheridge as Nottingham Lions coach while Les Millie came and went in charge of Sheffield Spartans to be replaced by Chris Wilcox. Jared Owen’s Blackburn Hawks lost top scorer Dave Meikle, but added forwards Brian Worrall and Jordan Bannon from Trafford Metros along with rugged defenseman Scott Glover from the Spartans. Coventry Blaze retained the bulk of last season’s roster although ace netminder Josh Nicholls joined Telford Tigers in the EPL. Slovakian forward Karol Jets stayed in Telford with the Titans who also added former Tigers Paul Rigby and Ashley Stanton to their ranks. Newly promoted Solihull Barons were a dealt a major blow with the departure of top forward Dean Tonks to New Zealand. If Solway’s acceptance into the ENL came as a surprise then the news they’d signed two forwards with Elite League experience was nothing short of shocking. Adam Reynolds topped the scoring charts for Whitley last term and was tipped to move to at least EPL level. When the Sharks added former Viper Nathan Salem it became clear they intended to reach ENL1 at the first time of asking. So, onto the season in division 1 and Trafford Metros lead the way after winning four of their first six games. Boosted by being able to ice Ciaran Long and Josh Ward from Manchester Phoenix EPL, the Metros have seen off Nottingham (twice), Solihull and Telford. The pair missed the defeats against Telford and Sheffield. Telford were expected to struggle but currently sit in second after an impressive start. Ryan Stanton and Karol Jets both scored twice in a thrilling 6-6 draw with Coventry and Jets repeated the feat in a pair of 7-4 wins over Whitley and Solihull. Billingham are third after wins over Blackburn and Coventry (twice) with the Hawks in fourth following victories over Solihull and Sheffield. Whitley are level on points with the Hawks – Callum Watson hit a hat-trick in a 6-2 win over Sheffield and the Warriors also edged a five-goal thriller with Coventry. Nottingham lie sixth after bagging wins over Coventry and Sheffield, but they fell 3-2 to Solihull to hand the Barons their first points of the season. Coventry’s only victory so far was a 4-0 win over the Spartans. Meanwhile in division 2 Solway’s campaign is off to a flyer with 66 goals in their first five games. Nathan Salem has scored 11 with Adam Reynolds weighing in with 9 as the Sharks have breezed past Sheffield Senators, Bradford Bulldogs, Flintshire Freeze, Lancashire Raptors and Hull Stingrays. Sutton Sting also boast a perfect record following wins against Hull, Bradford, Flintshire and Sheffield. Chris Jones and James Parsons both hit hat-tricks as Freeze beat Bradford 6-4 while Fylde began with a 4-0 success over the Raptors. Northern Cup Whitley and Solway shared the spoils in a cup double header. Sharks stunned the Warriors with a thumping 7-1 win at Dumfries Ice Bowl with Reynolds (2) and Salem both on the score sheet. Whitley gained revenge on home ice edging a tight contest 4-3. Solway top the group after grabbing a narrow 2-1 victory against Billingham. Contact the writer at comment@prohockeynews.com
