London Raiders
| League | NIHL South Division 1 |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1987 |
| Colours | White, gold and blue |
| Head coach | Sean Easton |
| Captain | Tom Davis |
| Franchise history | |
| 1987 – 2013[1] | Romford Raiders |
| 2013 – present | London Raiders |
The London Raiders are an ice hockey team who play their home games at the Lee Valley Ice Centre,[2] participating in the NIHL South Division 1.
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 later competed 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 were white, gold and blue.
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, Dave Whistle and Mike Ellis, 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.[3]
The Romford Raiders became the London Raiders after 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.[2]
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[4]
| Goaltenders | ||
|---|---|---|
| Number | Player | |
| 32 |  |
Michael Gray |
| 33 | |
Frankie Sabine |
| 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
Jj Pitchley- 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
References
- ↑ Mick Cahill
- 1 2 "NIHL News – Romford Raiders Find Salvation In Their Darkest Hour". Ice Nation UK. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
- ↑ "romfordraiders.co.uk". Retrieved 6 May 2016.
- ↑ "romfordraiders.co.uk". Retrieved 6 May 2016.