Lightning strike in first weekend of games

CARDIFF,
UK – With ENL 1 Playoffs still under way and an exciting final to the EPL season, this has produced plenty of chatter amongst UK hockey fans. A sure sign that summer is almost here, is that the first games of the John Cleighton-Hills Memorial cup were played on the 10^th and 11^th of April, with newcomers Cardiff Bay Lightning doing the honours of kicking off the cup competition with matches against Solent And Gosport Scorpions and Swindon Panthers.
 

Cardiff Bay Lightning may seem like an enigma to many teams as the team has come from relative obscurity to the competition. However, looking at the team’s history, it would seem like the new Welsh boys are looking to upset some of the more veteran teams. Despite being a young team, Cardiff Bay Lightning is far from a fresh faced team to hockey competitions. The team has competed in many challenge matches across the
UK before entering the EIHA Recfest competition in 2009, making the team hungry to play in a competitive cup competition.
 
Additionally the Lightning used their local rivals and Cleighton-Hills Memorial Cup veterans, Cardiff Titans to see how well they were doing and how the teams’ development was progressing.
“We have guys who are fresh to hockey, though the majority comes from the Cardiff Junior Development Program, so we wanted to make sure that we were able to compete in the cup competition.” Team Manager Phil Teasdale explains. “The Cardiff Titans were a dominant force in this competition, so it was important that we used them as a measure of our abilities.”

The first weekend’s competition saw Cardiff claim its first win on Saturday the 10^th of April. The Gosport Scorpions side made the trek to the C ardiff rink to witness the home side skate away with two points in a closely contested match. Cardiff had its first win with a score line of 4-2.
 
Playing in a double header weekend the Cardiff side were confident from Saturday’s result as they faced off against the reigning champions, Swindon Panthers the day after. Despite their efforts, the reigning champions skated away with a convincing 19-2 win.  
 
All in all, not bad for a team that was only formed in the 2007-2008 season, when few of the Cardiff ice rink faithful, along with their friends formed the Lightning with a 30 strong squad.
 
The Lightning was very pragmatic in their approach to the game before entering the cup.
“Many of the teams in the competition have had the same core players for years,” says Teasdale. “We have always aspired to play in the competition since the start. We wanted to ensure we had the experience and the ability to play at this standard of competition and we believe we now have what it takes to take on the best teams this competition has to offer.”
 

With the competition now under way, it would seem that Cardiff is quickly becoming a hot-bed of hockey for the UK. With Elite, ENL, University and a number of recreational teams based out of Cardiff, there is a good buzz among the hockey community.
“We are excited to enter this years’ competition and look forward to competing in what we believe is the highest level of competition within recreational ice hockey,” Teasdale says. “It is an exciting time for the whole of the Cardiff hockey community.”
 
The chatter on the John Cleighton-Hills Memorial Cup website is tipping Cardiff Bay Lightning as a hot favourite to stage an upset this season and the win against strengthened Solent & Gosport Scorpions side surely has the team believing in its abilities.
 
All teams should be aware that a severe Lightning warning has been issued to the Memorial Cup this year.
 
For more information, please visit: http://summercup.drover.ca/
For more images of the John Cleighton-Hills Memorial cup please visit www.icehockeyphotography.co.uk
Contact the author via Pete.lewis@prohockeynews.com