London Raiders
| London Raiders | |
|---|---|
 | |
| City | Romford |
| League | NIHL South Division 1 |
| Founded | 1987 |
| Home arena | Sapphire Ice and Leisure Centre |
| Colours | White, gold and blue |
| Head coach | Sean Easton |
| Captain | Tom Davis |
| Website | http://raidersicehockey.com/ |
| Franchise history | |
| 1987 – 2013 | Romford Raiders |
| 2013 – present | London Raiders |
The London Raiders are an ice hockey team based in Romford, participating in the South Division 1 of the National Ice Hockey League (NIHL), the third tier of British ice hockey.
They were known as the Romford Raiders when they were based at the Romford Ice Arena in the London Borough of Havering. They were founder members of the English Premier Ice Hockey League but have competed in the NIHL since 2012. Their development team was the Romford Spitfires, which played in Division 2 of the NIHL before being succeeded in 2009/10 by the Romford Fury.
The team moved to Leyton, East London, in 2013, when it adopted the new name London Raiders. Its team colours are white, gold and blue, and fans of the team are known as the Gold and Blue Army.[1] The team returned to Romford in 2018, keeping the London Raiders name.
History
The club was founded in 1987 under the name Romford Raiders and coached by Gord Jeffrey, who went on to become a hero amongst the Romford fans.
Some of the best-known players to play for the Raiders include Rob Stewart,[2] Dave Whistle[3] and Mike Ellis,[4] all of whom went on to play and coach at the highest levels in the UK.
The Raiders' first ever match was played on 13 September 1987, against the Oxford City Stars. Romford's first captain, Erskine Douglas, also scored the Raiders' first ever goal.
On 28 November 2010, during an English National League game against the Bracknell Hornets, Danny Marshall scored his 1,232nd point as a Raider when he assisted on a short-handed goal by Frankie Harvey. With that point, Marshall became the club's all-time leading scorer, surpassing Gord Jeffrey's long-standing record.[5]
In 2013, the Romford Ice Arena was sold by Havering Council to investors. The team subsequently had to move to Lee Valley Ice Centre and became the London Raiders.[6]
On February 3, 2018, the Raiders' played their first game at their new home back in Romford, the Sapphire Ice and Leisure Centre. London would come back to win 5-2 against the Cardiff Fire in front of a sell-out crowd. Former Romford Junior Olegs Lascenko scored the teams first ever goal at the new venue, however, it was Cardiff's Jackson Price who scored the first goal overall. [7]
Season Records
The following list details the Raiders' finishes in the league, and notes any playoff success.[8]
League
| SEASON | LEAGUE | P | W | T | L | OTW | OTL | F | A | Pt | RANK | POSTSEASON |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 - 1988 | Heineken League Division 2 | 26 | 25 | 1 | 0 | - | - | 379 | 213 | 51 | Champion | Promoted |
| 1988 - 1989 | Heineken League Division 1 | 24 | 6 | 2 | 16 | - | - | 145 | 201 | 14 | 11 | Relegated |
| 1989 - 1990 | Heineken League Division 2 | 24 | 17 | 1 | 6 | - | - | 217 | 152 | 35 | 2 | Promoted |
| 1990 - 1991 | Division 1 | 40 | 23 | 2 | 15 | - | - | 293 | 245 | 48 | 4 | Qualification loss |
| 1991 - 1992 | Division 1 | 36 | 15 | 5 | 16 | - | - | 262 | 256 | 35 | 6 | Qualification |
| 1992 - 1993 | Division 1 | 32 | 12 | 4 | 16 | - | - | 221 | 239 | 28 | 5 | - |
| 1993 - 1994 | Division 1 South | 44 | 27 | 5 | 12 | - | - | 328 | 235 | 59 | 2 | |
| 1994 - 1995 | Division 1 South | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1995 - 1996 | Division 2 South | 22 | 16 | 0 | 6 | - | - | 178 | 75 | 32 | 3 | Final group South |
| 1996 - 1997 | English League South | 22 | 20 | 1 | 1 | - | - | 192 | 46 | 41 | 1 | Qualification South |
| 1997 - 1998 | English League South | 20 | 11 | 3 | 6 | - | - | 195 | 88 | 25 | 5 | Championship Round South |
| 1998 - 1999 | English Premier League | 32 | 12 | 3 | 17 | - | - | 155 | 168 | 27 | 8 | Did not make playoffs |
| 1999 - 2000 | English Premier League | 24 | 5 | 2 | 17 | - | - | 78 | 127 | 12 | 5 | Did not make playoffs |
| 2000 - 2001 | English Premier League | 32 | 21 | 2 | 9 | - | - | 174 | 106 | 44 | 4 | Champion |
| 2001 - 2002 | English Premier League | 28 | 18 | 2 | 8 | - | - | 169 | 79 | 38 | 4 | Qualification |
| 2002 - 2003 | English Premier League | 42 | 19 | 6 | 17 | - | - | 218 | 199 | 44 | 8 | Qualification |
| 2003 - 2004 | English Premier League | 32 | 21 | 2 | 9 | - | - | 198 | 131 | 44 | 3 | Qualification |
| 2004 - 2005 | English Premier League | 32 | 17 | 2 | 13 | - | - | 144 | 113 | 36 | 4 | Semifinal loss |
| 2005 - 2006 | English Premier League | 48 | 24 | 5 | 19 | - | - | 214 | 204 | 53 | 7 | Qualification |
| 2006 - 2007 | English Premier League | 44 | 14 | 4 | 25 | - | 1 | 175 | 234 | 33 | 9 | Did not make playoffs |
| 2007 - 2008 | English Premier League | 40 | 16 | - | 20 | 1 | 3 | 137 | 176 | 37 | 8 | Qualification |
| 2008 - 2009 | English Premier League | 54 | 22 | - | 24 | 5 | 3 | 197 | 259 | 57 | 6 | Quarterfinal loss |
| 2009 - 2010 | English Premier League | 54 | 5 | - | 46 | 1 | 2 | 147 | 370 | 14 | 10 | Did not make playoffs |
| 2010 - 2011 | English National League South Division 1 | 40 | 29 | 5 | 6 | - | - | 244 | 101 | 63 | 3 | Conference SF loss South 1 |
| 2011 - 2012 | English National League South Division 1 | 36 | 31 | 0 | 5 | - | - | 235 | 93 | 62 | Champion | Conference Final loss South 1 |
| 2012 - 2013 | NIHL South Division 1 | 32 | 22 | 2 | 8 | - | - | 205 | 115 | 46 | 3 | Semifinal loss South |
| 2013 - 2014 | NIHL South Division 1 | 32 | 17 | 3 | 12 | - | - | 142 | 128 | 37 | 4 | Quarterfinal loss South |
| 2014 - 2015 | NIHL South Division 1 | 36 | 9 | 3 | 24 | - | - | 120 | 191 | 21 | 8 | Semifinal loss South |
| 2015 - 2016 | NIHL South Division 1 | 36 | 11 | 2 | 23 | - | - | 135 | 174 | 24 | 8 | Quarterfinal loss South |
| 2016 - 2017 | NIHL South Division 1 | 28 | 11 | 4 | 13 | - | - | 92 | 105 | 26 | 5 | Semifinal loss South |
| 2017 - 2018 | NIHL South Division 1 | 32 | 16- | - | 13 | 2 | 1 | 121 | 106 | 37 | 4 | Conference SF loss |
Cups
| SEASON | LEAGUE | P | W | T | L | OTW | OTL | F | A | Pt | RANK | POSTSEASON |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 - 1989 | Autumn Trophy | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | - | - | 43 | 62 | 5 | 3 | Did not make playoffs South & East |
| 1989 - 1990 | Autumn Trophy | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | - | - | 33 | 38 | 2 | 3 | Did not make playoffs South East |
| 1990 - 1991 | Autumn Cup | 8 | 1 | 0 | 7 | - | - | 45 | 70 | 2 | 5 | Did not make playoffs Group C |
| 1991 - 1992 | Autumn Cup | 8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | - | - | 38 | 66 | 4 | 5 | Did not make playoffs Group C |
| 1992 - 1993 | B&H Cup | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | - | - | 34 | 63 | 2 | 4 | Did not make playoffs Group B |
Current Roster
The following players are on the Raiders roster as of the start of the 2017-18 season.[9]
Netminders
- 92 Euan King !
- 30 Zach Grandy-Smith
- 33 Michael Gray (Joined mid-season)
Defence
- 95 Andy Munroe
- 36 Callum Burnett
- 21 Callum Wells
- 14 Jack Cooper
- 7 John Connolly
- 26 Julian Smith
- 55 Sean Barry
Forwards
- 22 Alan Lack
- 23 Brandon Ayliffe
- 15 JJ Pitchley
- 92 Jake Sylvester
- 83 Marek Nahlik
- 8 Matt Turner
- 23 Olegs Lascenko
- 24 Ollie Baldock
- 5 Sam Roberts !
- 12 Thomas “Ziggy” Beesley
- 20 Tom Davis
- 88 Juraj Huska
- 41 J.J. McGrath !
(!) denotes players who have departed the club during the season
External links
References
- ↑ "Gold and Blue Army (@Goldandbluearmy) | Twitter". twitter.com. Retrieved 2017-09-05.
- ↑ "Rob Stewart". Elite Prospects. Retrieved 2017-09-07.
- ↑ "David Whistle Team Staff Profile". www.eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 2017-09-07.
- ↑ "Mike Ellis hockey statistics and profile at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved 2017-09-07.
- ↑ "Elite Prospects - Players' All-Time Stats for London Raiders". www.eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 2017-09-07.
- ↑ "NIHL News – Romford Raiders Find Salvation In Their Darkest Hour". Ice Nation UK. Retrieved 2017-09-07.
- ↑ "Romford Recorder - Lascenko leaves mark with first Raiders goal on new Romford Ice". Romford Recorder. Retrieved 2018-02-14.
- ↑ "London Raiders Team History and Standings". Elite Prospects. Retrieved 2017-09-07.
- ↑ "London Raiders Roster – Ice Hockey in London". londonraidersihc.uk. Retrieved 2017-09-09.
