Twenty years and still worthy of attention

LONDON, UK – Twenty years ago the English National League was dubbed as the most newsworthy competition in British hockey. An anomaly gave the competition a unique edge over the higher tiers in 1991/92 but as we approach 2011/12, can the same glowing reference be relevant today?
 
The anomaly causing all the fuss was the newly formed Sheffield Steelers team who then either revolutionised or set British hockey upon a destructive path depending on whose opinion is courted. One thing that cannot be disputed is the numbers of fans attracted to the shiny new Sheffield Arena with its loud music, customer friendly facilities and winning team.
 
The first game was a 3-3 tie with Chelmsford in front of just 300 fans however by the end of the season over eight thousand people with a growing knowledge of the sport and a taste for Tina Turner packed into the ‘House of Steel’ to watch their new resident heroes take on (and usually thrash) the likes of Oxford City Stars, Sunderland Chiefs and Haringey Greyhounds.
 
8,300 fans watched the Steelers lose narrowly to Medway Bears and then a record 9,750 turned up to watch them against the Chiefs as the Sheffield management squeezed in more seats to the venue to satisfy demand.
 
Only the Kent based Bears put up any real resistance across the whole season, and the Luc Chabot inspired side literally rained on the Steelers parade   as they snatched the English Division 1 (as it was then known) league title by a single point. These days the Bears are now pretty much the Invicta Dynamos and the Steelers… well, that’s a whole other story.
 
The English National League may no longer be a nationwide competition due to its North/South conference split, however there are many similarities despite the sands of time taking their toll on the players and some of the clubs.

 
The Dynamos have been a consistent force at this level for many years and will yet again be a contender in the coming season. New imports Ryan Ellis and Justin Noble will do exceptionally   well to get anywhere near the 225 points Chabot notched for the Bears in 1991/92 but they have hockey CV’s that inspire confidence and with the likes of Andy Smith and Robbie Brown up front, games are unlikely to be dull at the Ice Bowl.
 
The only remaining Bear’s still playing in UK hockey are Jamie Randall who will appear against the Dynamos this year in MK Thunder colours, and Ali Rodger who is involved with the Invicta Mustangs in ENL2. 
 
Other teams competing at the same level today as they were in 1991/92 include Streatham, Oxford, Chelmsford, Solihull and Wightlink (then known as Solent).
 
Streatham had the great Fred Perlini in their ranks following a one year absence from the High Road rink along with aggressive Brits like Jim Johnston and Mark Salisbury. This season the Redskins will again have rink issues to deal with, as the 80 year old arena finally closes its doors and the team will have to spend half of the season at a temporary rink in Brixton.
 
Veterans Norman Pinnington and Warren Rost are likely to provide a solid spine to the team and Johnston’s nephew Joe will be icing for the Redskins continuing the family line. Twenty years ago, Rost was sporting a mullet on the West Coast of Scotland with the Ayr Raiders and Pinnington was starring for the imaginatively named Basingstoke Beavers in British Division 1.
 
Oxford were led out in 1991 by newly appointed player coach Dan Prachar whose vastly inferior budget meant that they struggled against the big boys. Current Stars supremo Ken Forshee faces similar challenges but he will be hoping the end of season report is not entitled ‘Where the Stars don’t shine’ as Prachar’s was.
From that Stars team, only captain Darryl Morvan is still involved in hockey at this level and can be found on the bench of Milton Keynes Thunder. Forshee will also be hoping his side do not suffer an ice plant failure as the Stars of 91/92 did when they were forced to play all their games in November on the road with no gate money flowing in.
 
Oxford have a solid squad in 2011/12 with steady net minding courtesy of Chris Douglas and some exciting youngsters like Josh Oliver and Dax Hedges however the loss of Alan Green to Chelmsford could potentially lead to a shortfall of goals. The league was always referred to as ‘a scorers’ league in the past however defences have improved significantly since the point fests of the nineties, luckily for the Stars.
 
Chelmsford finished in 5th place in 1991/92 but they will be starting as one of the early league title favourites this season. Back then it was the Mark Stokes show as the rampant import netted 102 goals in 32 games supported by the equally prolific Rick Smith.
Another prolific scorer will be at the helm at the Riverside this year as the ultimate sniper Gary Clarke begins his fledgling coaching career with a big budget Chieftains side hell bent on repeating play-off glory and going one better with a grand slam.
 
The pressure will be on Clarke and newly appointed Captain Dwayne Newman to deliver, and their recruitment looks likely to give them every chance of achieving their expectations. In David Wride they have one of the best goalies in the league and the front trio of Ross Brears, James Ayling and Tom Long will all be amongst the goals. If Chelmsford can get anywhere near the 1000 plus crowds they enjoyed at the back end of 2010/11 then the Riverside will be an exciting place to be.
 
Solihull are the only team out of those remaining to compete in the Northern half of the ENL. The Barons enjoyed an excellent Dean Tonks inspired season last year cementing their return to the third tier of the league structure. Twenty years ago they suffered the blow of dropping three leagues from the top tier after failing to provide the governing British Ice Hockey Association with a required £60,000 bond needed to secure their top flight status.
Managed by current GB and Steelers media man Dave Simms at the start of the campaign, the Barons finished in sixth place with Dan Sweeney providing the main goal threat. Simms ended up joining the cream of the previous season’s Barons squad in Steelerland and Solihull have never made it back to the top flight since.
 
This season will be tough for the newly promoted Barons under the tutorage of Darren Bellerby however they will relish the chance to take on old rivals like Telford, Coventry and Blackburn amongst others.
 
Another interesting story of 1991/92 was the opening of the Ryde Arena on the Isle of Wight. A hockey team was quickly formed called the Solent Vikings and they struggled for much of the campaign despite featuring hotshot imports Dave Mcgahan and Sean Murphy, not to mention current Streatham Coach Barry Spours and North London Hounds owner Nick Rothwell on their roster (before he also debunked to Sheffield mid-season).
 
Spours even made the highlight reel of the season as he dropped the gloves with Rocket Ron Shudra in front of thousands at the Arena.
 
With the arena celebrating its 20th birthday this year, the current residents Wightlink Raiders will be hoping they can also be celebrating come the end of 2011/12. The current ENL South champions managed to retain charismatic player coach Jeremy Cornish and amazingly will also feature a certain Steve Gannaway, who played 27 games for the Vikings in the first year of hockey on the island.
 
Elsewhere in the English National League in 2011/12 there promises to feature plenty of incident, action and entertainment. In the North, the much heralded return of Billingham re-ignites a much missed North East rivalry with the Whitley Warriors.
 
The fact that former Billingham hero Gary Dowd will be a player coach for the Warriors adds extra spice, however with the North East talent spread over two teams, will either be able to challenge for honours? Probably yes.

One issue likely to become a big talking point is the name change of the Teeside based Billingham Bombers to Billingham Stars. This has happened due to the amalgamation of both Billingham and the Northern Stars (previously Sunderland and then Newcastle ENL), which has happened due to the Stars lack of home ice and the desire of Billingham to compete in ENL North division 1 rather than start again in the league below.
 
If that sounds confusing, it is worth noting that exactly twenty years ago, Cleveland Bombers opted to change to a Billingham moniker so name changes are not uncommon in that part of the world.
 
Blackburn Hawks will be one team hoping to try and make some headway as Jared Owen looks to improve on last season’s fourth place finish and he will be pleased to secure top scorer Aaron Davies for the upcoming campaign.
 
Coventry ENL Blaze and Sheffield will again be a challenging but last season’s runners up Nottingham Lions look to be embarking on a transitional year.
 
Bristol continue to surprise and court headlines of their own thanks to quality signings such as Egidijus Bauba, the Lithuanian international who scored over 50 points in the EPL last season with Swindon, plus solid ENL scorers like Steve Fisher and player-coach Richie Hargreaves.
 
Add this quality to the Pitbulls various fan initiatives, unique scoreboard and various ‘dog on ice’ related photos shoots, life is certainly not boring at Frogmore Street.
 
Another venue that is rarely boring is Rom Valley Way, where despite the bizarre ban on vuvuzelas and drums, there is always some news to report on.
 
Romford have again secured the services of club legend Danny Marshall and he in turn managed to get star sniper Juraj Huska and teen prodigy Frankie Harvey to commit to another season with the Raiders.
 
None of the Raiders line up of 1991 will feature in 2011/12 however defence man Ben Pitchley will no doubt be present for many of the games as his son ‘JJ’ has made the switch back home from the Bracknell Hornets.
 
The English National League of 2011/12 may have a lower standard of import and in some cases lower crowds than of twenty years ago but it will feature teams full of talented local players, larger than life characters and prospects en route to higher things.
 
You can read all about the teams, the players, the fans and the dogs here at Pro Hockey News this season. Let’s hope for an exciting season.
 
Contact the author david.carr@prohockeynews.com
With thanks to the Ice Hockey Annual by Stewart Roberts for historical data. Buy back copies at: http://www.icehockeyannual.co.uk/