Romford Raiders
| Romford Raiders | |
|---|---|
 | |
| City | Romford, London, England |
| League | NIHL South Division 1 |
| Founded | 1987 |
| Home arena |
Romford Ice Arena Capacity: 1,500 Ice size: 184ft x 85ft |
| Colours | White, Gold and Blue |
| Owner(s) | Rocky Horror Sports |
| Head coach | Danny Marshall |
|
Website romfordraiders.co.uk | |
The Romford Raiders are an ice hockey team based at the 1,500 seat Romford Ice Arena in Romford, Havering, east London. They were founder members of the English Premier Ice Hockey League but now compete in the National Ice Hockey League (NIHL). Their development team was the Romford Spitfires who played in Division 2 of the NIHL before being succeeded in 2009/10 by the Romford Fury. The team colours are white, gold and blue.
History
The club was founded in 1987 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, Dave Whistle and Mike Ellis, all of whom went on to play and coach at the highest levels in the UK.
Romford's first ever match was played on 13 September 1987, against the Oxford City Stars. Romford's first captain, Erskine Douglas, also scored Raiders' first ever goal.
The Club also have a range of other teams including the Rascals (U10s), Raptors (U12s), Hurricanes (U14s), Hornets (U16s) and Tornadoes (Recreational). Each of the Romford teams is named after aircraft. Romford is situated within the London Borough of Havering which has a strong and important aviation history. The airfields in Hornchurch were used in the Battle of Britain and World Wars I and II. RJIHC Site
On November 28, 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 clubs all-time leading scorer, surpassing Gord Jeffrey's long-standing record.[1]
Honours
- 1987/1988: Heineken League Division 2 Champions; promoted to Division 1.
- 1989/1990: Heineken League Division 2 runners-up; promoted back to Division 1 after play-offs.
- 1990/1991: Fourth in Division 1; narrowly missed on promotion to the Premier League.
- 1991/1992: Reached play-offs.
- 1996/1997: English League (Southern Conference) Champions.
- 2000/2001: English Premier League play-off Champions.
- 2001/2002: English Premier League Cup Winners.
- 2004/2005: English Premier League Cup Winners; reached play-off finals.
- 2011/2012: English national league south division 1 Winners.
- 2011/2012: South East trophy Winners.
- 2011/2012: English national league south division 1 Playoff finalists.
2012/13 Squad[2]
| Goaltenders | ||
|---|---|---|
| Number | Player | |
| 30 |  |
Shane Kemp |
| 33 | |
Michael Gray |
| Defencemen | ||
|---|---|---|
| Number | Player | |
| 11 | |
Billy Phillips |
| 19 | |
Jason Buckman |
| 26 | |
Julian Smith |
| 36 | |
David Oliver |
| 44 |  |
Andrius Kaminskas |
| 90 | |
Ryan Giles |
| Forwards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Number | Player | |
| 2 | |
Frankie Harvey |
| 6 | |
Danny Marshall (Player Coach) |
| 7 | |
AJ Smith |
| 8 | |
Matt Turner |
| 9 | |
Grant Taylor |
| 12 | |
Shaun Wallis |
| 14 | |
JJ McGrath |
| 18 | |
Shaun Yardley |
| 20 | |
Tom Davis |
| 88 |  |
Juraj Huska |
Former coaches
- Rob Stewart
- Warren Rost
- Brent Pope
- Troy Walkington
- Shaun McFadyen
- Henrik Olsson
- Mike Johanson
- Dan Dorion
- Robert Spalenka
- Jesse Hammill
- Erskine Douglas
Notable players
Frankie Harvey- Alan Blyth
- Andy Gillon
- Adam Copland
- Evander Grinnell
- Danny Hammond
- Matt Hoxby (Death)
- Ric Hughes
- Mark Lee
- Norman Pinnington
- Andrew Sharp
- Mark Williams
- Andrius Kaminskas
Richard Pniewski- Erik Bochna
- Andrej Sporina
- Jan Galko
- Pavol Valko
- Richard Tomalin
- Tari Suwari
Timo Kauhanen- Jaakko Komulainen
- Jani Lehtovaara
- Mikko Nurminen