The Boys of Summer

BASINGSTOKE, UK – What has been one of the hottest summers on record has provided plenty for people to talk about. The talk around the office water cooler hasn’t just been about the weather or the days spent at a beach, or travelling down to the countryside to really embrace the weather and the great British landscape, but for many, the talk has been about ice hockey and the action that was provided by John Cleighton Hills Memorial Cup.
 
Pro Hockey News has been covering the competition from the start and what a season it has been. Early on in the season, the talk was about high penalty minutes and how one team was dominating the individual scoring leaders table, but then the playing field evened out, well at least for most of the teams.
 
The weekend saw a fitting finale to the Summer season as the top four teams faced off in the finals weekend in Swindon’s Link Centre. Swindon has always played a great host to the finals weekend and the crowds that gather to watch the finals has always been admirable. Given that this is recreational hockey and the big name stars of the Elite, EPL or even ENL teams are nowhere to be seen. This year’s finalists were the league champions, Chelmsford Nighthawks, Swindon Panthers, Solent & Gosport Scorpions and Peterborough Eagles.
 
The Nighthawks, who dominated the season, were the odds on favourites to do the double against Swindon. Remember that Swindon did the double last season.
 
The third place final took place first before the grand show down. The match between Solent and Peterborough was going to be fiercely fought as the two teams had previously met and always managed to play close fought games. There were no odds on favourites going into the game, though the travel distance favoured Gosport side. However, despite a spirited show from the Gosport side, Peterborough was the stronger team and finished third.
 
This was only the second season for Peterborough in the John Cleighton Hills Summer Cup, and an achievement that will not go un-noticed by the other teams. 
 
The third place match then set stage to the main event, between Chelmsford and the hosts, Swindon. The game was intense and saw Swindon draw first blood to go ahead in the game. Chelmsford were down for the start of the second and then things started to get out of hand. Not from the players, but the referees. Where the game had flown nicely, the flurry of penalties called in the second and third period put a whole new spin on the game. Swindon lost two players to game misconducts and soon after the Swindon coach, Paul O’Donovan ejected was also ejected from the game.
 
This left the Panthers short on the bench and gave Chelmsford the opportunity to go ahead. The Nighthawks used its opportunities, but by the third period the Panthers were breathing down their necks.
 
However, with the shortened bench and no head coach, the Panthers were struggling to keep up with the offence. Despite valiant efforts, the Nighthawks were crowned as the champions. Chelmsford won the double set of trophies this year in an unbelievable fashion with winning 17 games straight.
 
So now that the boys of summer are gone and the Summer Cup has offered some of the most intense hockey seen at the recreational levels for some time, it is time for the teams to take a break and start preparing for the next Summer Cup. No doubt the teams will be active through the winter.
 
On a personal note, it has been a pleasure to follow the cup and take part in it, despite missing half of the season to knee surgery. Pro Hockey News will be back next summer with more John Cleighton-Hills Memorial Cup coverage.
 
Contact the author Janne.virtanen@prohockeynews.com