Chelmsford Chieftains
| Chelmsford Chieftains | |
|---|---|
 2012–13 Chelmsford Chieftains season | |
| Division | English National Ice Hockey League South (1) |
| Founded | 1987 |
| Home arena | Riverside Ice and Leisure Centre |
| City | Chelmsford, Essex, United Kingdom |
| Colors | Black, gold and white
|
| Owner(s) |  Derek Bartlett |
| Head coach | Gary Clarke |
| Captain | Dan Wright |
| Minor league affiliates | Chelmsford Warriors English National Ice Hockey League South (2) |
The Chelmsford Chieftains are an Ice Hockey team based in Chelmsford, Essex that are currently playing in the English National Ice Hockey League. Since the team was founded in 1987, the Chieftains have played their home games at the Riverside Ice and Leisure Centre.
Chelmsford played their first game against the Peterborough Titans in September 1987. They had been placed in the then "Heineken League Division Two", and successfully beat the Titans 11-4, with the first ever goal being scored by a young player called Stuart Steeves. It was his only goal that season.
After competing in the English Premier Ice Hockey League for nine seasons between 1998 and 2008, the Chelmsford Chieftains took a decision based largely upon finances to withdraw from the league at the end of the 2007/2008 season, and instead to enter the ENIHL. The hockey governing body in the UK, the EIHA, informed the club that they would be playing in Division 1 for the 2008/2009 season. However, at the league A.G.M., many of the clubs supported a motion to overturn the league's decision and the Chieftains were placed in Division 2. The Chieftains had already assembled a squad capable of playing in Division 1 and at such a late stage, the squad could not be rebuilt. The outcome was that the Chieftains started the season in a very strong position.
The Chieftains continued their domination of the ENL2 for the remainder of the 2008/09 season going the entire league season dropping just 1 point to Invicta Mustangs at the start of the season. From then until the end of the season the Chieftains won every single game with an average score of 8-2.
In 2009/10 they faced a much tougher test, but still managed to finish a respectable fourth with just champions Invicta Dynamos, Cardiff ENL Devils and Bracknell Hornets finishing above them. Although 4th place was disappointing to many, when you think that the Essex side was in fact 1 point from being in 2nd place and 7 points from being equal with the Dynamos, it was actually a very successful season. Onto the end of season playoffs and the Chieftains managed to come within 4 minutes of securing a place in the final against Bracknell Hornets, but went down in Essex to Whightlink Raiders but won the respect of every team in the league for their hard work and 'never say die' attitude.
2010-11 was a successful season for the Chieftains despite a tough start to the season with the refurbishment of the rink running over and delaying the start. Once things got underway the club made quick progress up the league and were soon in contention for top spot. It was neck and neck for much of the season and only in the final few weeks did the Wightlink Raiders cement their place at the top of the table and be declared champions. The Raiders had been the only side the Chieftains had failed to beat during the regular season and Birrell was keen to make sure that that didn't continue in the playoffs. A quarter final match up saw the Chieftains despatch the MK Thunder in a much tougher encounter than expected and then the Romford Raiders were the opponents in the semi-finals. Romford had had the pressure on the Chieftains throughout the season and almost caught them into second place, so it was always going to be a close match up. In a lively encounter, on and off the ice, the Chieftains came away with the spoils to set up the showdown everyone wanted to see - League Champions Wightlink Raiders V Runners-up Chelmsford Chieftains. In a massive shock, the Chieftains won the first leg on the Isle of Wight 4-2 and were in control of the tie, but knew they couldn't rest on their laurels as the second leg could still go either way.
No-one could have predicted the dominance of the Chieftains in the second leg and they ran out 5-1 winners in front of a crowd of over 1000 fans at the Riverside and sent the locals into a frenzy! The delight on the players faces was that of unbridled joy and happiness as silverware, in a tougher competition than the ENL2 season, had finally come back to the Essex capital.
2011-12 looks set to be a much much tougher campaign with all teams in the league improving and no game is a given, but on paper the Chieftains should be one of the favourites and there is definitely an air of expectation around Chelmsford to be up there challenging for the double.
At the conclusion of the season Dean Birrell announced he would be moving upstairs to a new role of Director of Coaching in Chelmsford which would oversee the coaching of the Chieftains and Warriors. Taking his place would be MK Lightning forward Gary Clarke who takes over from the Scot in a player-coach role for the 2011-12 campaign.
The mantra of the club is very much "Local players" and this is reflected in the current make-up of the team. Each season more and more young players are making the step from the junior system to the seniors either directly with the Chieftains or with their ENL2 side the Warriors. This season Rory Garrett has stepped up full-time and other youngsters will be getting ice time with the Warriors and possibly Chieftains.
Trophies won:
1989 Essex Cup
1990/91 Autumn Trophy
1992/93 British League Entry Playoffs
1996/97 Essex/Kent Cup
1996/97 Essex Cup
1999/00 English League Premier Division Playoffs
1999/00 Data Vision Millenium Cup
1999/00 English League Premier Division
2008/09 English National League South Division 2
2010/11 English National League South Division 1 Playoffs
2011/12 English National League South Division 1 Playoffs
2011/12 Essex Cup
2012/13 National Ice Hockey League South Division 1
2012/13 National Ice Hockey League South Division 1 Playoffs
Runners up in major competitions excluding league:
1996/97 Playoff finalists
1997/98 Playoff finalists
1995/96 Autumn Trophy Finalists
2010/11 English National League South Division 1
2011/12 English National League South Division 1
2012/13 National Ice Hockey League South Cup
2012/13 South East Cup
LEAGUE HISTORY:
| Season | Name of League | Final Position | # of teams | Played | Won | Lost | Drawn | OT Win | OT Loss | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Difference | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987/88 | British League Div 2 | 2nd | 14 | 26 | 19 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 201 | 107 | 94 | 39 | |
| 1988/89 | English First Div | 5th | 8 | 28 | 10 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 148 | 153 | -5 | 23 | |
| 1989/90 | English First Div | 3rd | 7 | 24 | 15 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 222 | 140 | 82 | 33 | |
| 1990/91 | English First Div | 3rd | 8 | 28 | 17 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 269 | 213 | 56 | 36 | |
| 1991/92 | English First Div | 8th | 9 | 32 | 15 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 277 | 276 | 1 | 33 | |
| 1992/93 | English League Conference B | 2nd | 6 | 32 | 22 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 357 | 168 | 189 | 47 | |
| 1993/94 | British League Div 1 South | 8th | 8 | 44 | 10 | 32 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 260 | 374 | -114 | 22 | |
| 1994/95 | British League Div 1 | 10th | 12 | 44 | 10 | 30 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 274 | 404 | -130 | 24 | |
| 1995/96 | British League Div 1 | 10th | 14 | 52 | 16 | 31 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 267 | 377 | -110 | 37 | |
| 1996/97 | English League Div 1 South | 2nd | 12 | 22 | 18 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 175 | 51 | 124 | 37 | |
| 1997/98 | English League Div 1 South | 2nd | 11 | 20 | 16 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 187 | 69 | 118 | 33 | |
| 1998/99 | English League Prem Div | 4th | 9 | 32 | 14 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 195 | 181 | 14 | 32 | |
| 1999/00 | English League Prem Div | 1st | 5 | 24 | 19 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 138 | 85 | 53 | 39 | |
| 2000/01 | English National Prem League | 2nd | 9 | 32 | 23 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 203 | 106 | 97 | 48 | |
| 2001/02 | English National League South | 5th | 10 | 18 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 72 | 28 | 23 | |
| 2002/03 | English National Prem League | 5th | 12 | 42 | 24 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 245 | 170 | 75 | 54 | |
| 2003/04 | English Premier Ice Hockey League | 4th | 9 | 32 | 18 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 211 | 149 | 62 | 39 | |
| 2004/05 | English Premier Ice Hockey League | 7th | 9 | 32 | 10 | 14 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 128 | 130 | -2 | 28 | |
| 2005/06 | English Premier Ice Hockey League | 11th | 13 | 48 | 10 | 33 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 149 | 284 | -135 | 25 | |
| 2006/07 | English Premier Ice Hockey League | 8th | 12 | 44 | 20 | 21 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 194 | 184 | 10 | 43 | |
| 2007/08 | English Premier Ice Hockey League | 9th | 11 | 40 | 12 | 24 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 151 | 189 | -38 | 29 | |
| 2008/09 | English National League Two South | 1st | 9 | 32 | 31 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 282 | 67 | 215 | 63 | |
| 2009/10 | English National League One South | 4th | 10 | 36 | 23 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 213 | 89 | 124 | 52 | |
| 2010/11 | English National League One South | 2nd | 11 | 40 | 28 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 253 | 101 | 152 | 64 | |
2012/13 Squad[1]
| Goaltenders | ||
|---|---|---|
| Number | Player | |
| 35 | |
Ben Clements |
| 40 | |
Ryan Bainborough |
| Defencemen | ||
|---|---|---|
| Number | Player|- | |
| 10 | |
Alex Green |
| 17 | |
Alex Staples |
| 21 | |
Sean Easton |
| 28 | |
Danny Wright (C) |
| 92 |  |
Michael McKay |
| 6 |  |
Tibor Schneider |
| 23 | |
Sean Barry |
| Forwards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Number | Player | |
| 08 | |
Cameron Bartlett |
| 09 | |
Grant Bartlett |
| 11 | |
Darren Brown |
| 15 | |
Ross Brears |
| 19 | |
Danny Hammond |
| 71 | |
Julius Sinkovic |
| 91 | |
James Ayling |
| 14 | |
Gary Clarke |
| 05 | |
Thomas Castle |
| 25 | |
Michael Ranby |