Milton Keynes Thunder

DFC Milton Keynes Thunder
City Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire
League English National Ice Hockey League
Founded 2001
Home arena The Thunderdome
Colors White, blue and silver
              
Head coach United Kingdom Lewis Clifford
Captain United Kingdom Jamie Randall
Affiliates Milton Keynes Lightning
Championships
Regular season titles N/A
Playoff championships N/A

The DFC Milton Keynes Thunder are an ice hockey team from Milton Keynes, England and are the second team in the town behind Milton Keynes Lightning.

They currently play in the English National Ice Hockey League (ENIHL) South Division One league.

As well as being the official affiliates to Milton Keynes Lightning, the team is committed to youth development with practically all players coming from the Milton Keynes junior ice hockey system.

Current staff

Milton Keynes Thunder staff
Executive Operations
  • Chairman – Ian Cook
  • Ownership – Dave Fairhurst
  • Official photographer – Claire Stanton
  • Match night announcer – Fiona Heron
  • Match night music – Ben Cook
 Hockey Operations
  • General Manager – Dave Fairhurst
  • Head Coach – Lewis Clifford
  • Assistant Coach – Andy Watt
  • Strength & Conditioning Coach – Tom Smith
  • Goaltending Coach – Mark Woolf
  • Player's Assistant – Tom Smith
  • Equipment Manager – Tom Smith
  • Team Trainer – Nefra Germain
  • Dietician/Nutritionist – Tom Smith

2010–11 roster

Goaltenders
Number Player Catches Place of birth
1 Mark Woolf L London, England
31 Jake Scriven L Luton, England
Defencemen
Number Player Shoots Place of birth
3 Paul Gore R Luton, England
9 Matt Roberts R England
13 Nidal Phillips R Milton Keynes, England
16 Simon Howard R London, England
22 Sam Fairhurst R England
24 David Coffey R Scotland
29 Aidan Mahmud R London, England
55 Lee Featherstone L England
Forwards
Number Player Shoots Place of birth
2 Aram Todd R England
5 Jamie Line R Toddington, England
10 Kieron Goody R England
12 Lewis Clifford R Bletchley, England
14 Paul Jamieson R England
19 Jamie Randall R England
20 Martin Snape L England
28 Tom Mboya R England
47 Michael Lucas R England
61 Ross Bowers R Luton, England
81 Harrison Goode L England
82 Connor Goode L England
97 Dan Chaplen R Luton, England

Overseas players

Thunder have only had three non-EIHA (overseas) players since the team's inception. Slovakian defenceman Ivan Turan become the first import in team history after wishing to remain in the Milton Keynes area following his release the previous season from EPL affiliate Milton Keynes Lightning. Donations from fans enabled Thunder to pay the costly ITC card needed to sign Turan and he made his debut at the beginning of the 2006–07 season. Also signed in 2006–07 was local Canadian Todd Bakergeorge who had spent previous seasons playing with local recreational side Milton Keynes Jesters. For the 2007–08 season Bakergeorge was replaced by Pavol Hudak, who like Turan is of Slovakian origin. Turan and Hudak both departed the club during the summer of 2008, being replaced by sloviakan defenceman Kristian Simo who signed from ENL rivals Peterborough Islanders and Michal Lauko

Jerseys

At the end of the 2005–06 season the club's original jersey's were auctioned off to fund new designs for the 2006–07 season. The jersey features yellow letters and numbers on the rear with the word "thunder" printed across the bottom, with yellow numbers on both sleeves with a small thunder logo shoulder patch. Traditionally the white jersey is worn for home games, the black jersey for road games, however there have been occasions when this jersey has been worn for home fixtures due to colour clashes with visiting teams. For the 2008/9 season the team will sport new uniforms, with the designs similar to previous years with a new secondary colour of sky blue.

History

Season-by-season record

Last 5 seasons, league stats only

Records as of 19 May 2008.

Season GP W L T Pts GF GA Finish Playoffs
2003–04 16 9 5 2 20 62 42 3rd, ENL South 1st Round
2004–05 18 7 7 4 18 51 66 5th, ENL South Did not qualify
2005–06 20 8 8 4 20 84 74 6th, ENL South Did not qualify
2006–07 22 5 13 4 14 79 99 9th, ENL South Did not qualify
2007–08 16 9 5 2 20 67 50 4th, ENL South A Did not qualify
2008–09 28 7 16 5 19 73 114 7th, ENL South 1 Did not qualify – defeated Vectis Tigers 12–7 on aggregate in Promotion/Relegation playoff
2009–10 36 6 27 3 15 107 228 8th, ENL South 1 Did not qualify

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against

Team captains

Coaching staff

Head coaches

  • 2001–2003 – Mark Johnson
  • 2003–2008 – Michael Knights
  • 2008–2009 – Paul Gore
  • 2009–present – Lewis Clifford

Assistant coaches

  • 2001–2004 – Chris Anderson
  • 2001–2004 – Jimmy Ryan
  • 2004–2008 – Paul Gore
  • 2008–present – Lewis Clifford

Bench coaches

  • 2001–2004 – Davey Phillips
  • 2004–2005 – Andy Linton
  • 2005–2006 – Dave Fairhurst
  • 2006–2007 – Phil Wooderson
  • 2007–2009 – Matt Roberts
  • 2009–present – Andy Watt

Scoring leaders

These are the end of season scoring leaders for the past 4 seasons, including league, cup and playoff games. Previous season scoring records are unknown.

Points
Season Player Pos GP G A Pts P/G
2004–05 Michael Knights D 19 7 14 21 1.10
2005–06 Michael Knights D 20 15 18 33 1.65
2006–07 Tom Hurley LW 13 16 8 24 1.85
2007–08 Dan Chaplen* RW 13 9 12 21 1.61
2008–09 Michal Lauko RW 19 11 13 24 1.26
2009–10 Michael Knights D 22 10 15 25 1.14
Goals
Player Pos GP G G/G
Ben White C 21 9 0.42
Michael Knights D 20 15 0.75
Tom Hurley LW 13 16 1.23
Tom Roles RW 23 14 0.60
Michal Lauko RW 19 11 0.58
Jamie Holland C 23 17 0.74
Assists
Player Pos GP A A/G
James Roberts RW 18 15 0.83
Michael Knights D 20 18 0.90
Mark Krater RW 21 11 0.52
Keiron Goody* C 24 14 0.58
Tom Roles RW 26 14 0.54
Michael Knights D 22 15 0.68

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games Played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game; G/G = Goals per game; A/G = Assists per game; * = current Thunder player

Link with MK Lightning

Since the club's inception in 2001, MK Thunder have looked to allow players the opportunity to play at a higher level. In 2002 the city was to be the birthplace of a new English Premier League team named the Milton Keynes Lightning. A partnership was formed whereby players from the Thunder would be given the opportunity to progress onto training and playing for the higher league club to further their careers. To date this partnership has seen many players play on a 2 way contract (playing for both clubs when there are not fixture clashes) along with several progressing into earning full time contracts with the Lightning. The link has worked in the other direction also, with players from the higher team icing for the Thunder on rehab assignments or to play full time with the Thunder when the demands of EPL ice hockey were no longer possible alongside their other commitments. To date the following players have benefited from this link up and have progressed from the ENL with Thunder to playing, part or full time, with the EPL Lightning.

  • Allen Sutton
  • Paul Jamieson
  • Leigh Jamieson
  • Mark Conway
  • Mark Krater
  • Lee Featherstone
  • Ross Bowers
  • Aram Todd
  • Keiron Goody
  • Paul Gore
  • Ivan Turan
  • Michael Knights
  • Lewis Clifford
  • Iain McGill
  • Alexander Parris
  • Tom Ledgard
  • Carl Stevenson
  • Mark Woolf
  • Tom Hurley
  • Jacob Heron
  • Ross Green
  • David Coffey
  • Andy Moore
  • Aidan Mahmud
  • Jamie Line
  • Bari McKenzie
  • Tom Roles
  • Kim Taylor

External links