The 'bible' of British ice hockey since 1976
 

The Ice Hockey Annual 2011-12 - in full colour! - is now on sale. Order it direct from us for only £8.00, post free!   Just one of the many compliments we've had - "I’ve received the book and it’s perfect, thank you very much. There seems to be so little written about ice hockey so it’s great that you take the time and effort to produce this lovely book." Hazel Martinali, Southend-on-Sea. Here's the link to the Annual's page on Facebook.

NEWS BLOG UPDATE

24 March 2012

Your Editor has now begun work on the 37th edition of the Annual so, regrettably, I shall not be able to update this site regularly. 

Stewart Roberts

GB MEN'S SENIOR TEAM

Tony handed tricky task

Manchester Phoenix's player-coach, Tony Hand MBE, has been appointed head coach of the GB team, replacing Coventry's Paul Thompson who has resigned. 

Ice Hockey UK, the governing body, confirmed that the 44-year-old Edinburgh-born forward will lead GB at the forthcoming World Championships (Division 1A) in Slovenia and the next three tournaments in 2013, 2014 and 2015.   

The highest scorer in the history of the British game, Hand is greatly respected throughout the sport as a player.

As a coach, however, some feel he has yet to prove himself as none of his recent successes have come in the top tier Elite League.  He was voted coach of the year last season when he led the Phoenix to the English Premier League title, and he took Dundee Stars to the British National League and play-off double in their first season, 2001-02. 

The GB players are selected almost exclusively from the Elite League, too, and Hand will inherit a talented team which Thompson led to the verge of promotion to the world's elite division last year in Ukraine.

Only days after taking up the post, however, Tony appointed American Doug Christiansen as his assistant. Christiansen is the coach of Elite League leaders, Belfast Giants - Hand coached the Giants in 2004-05 - and was previously with Hand's home town side, Edinburgh Capitals.

Hand's main difficulty will not be with his own squad but with the opposition.  The line-up of nations Britain have to beat is the most formidable for years.

This is because the championships have just undergone a radical shake-up.  Instead of the 12 Division I teams being split into two equal strength groups (1,3,5,7,9,11 and 2,4,6,8,10,12), this year Britain will compete against the five other leading nations in group A while the countries ranked 7-12 will be in group B.  Britain is currently ranked fifth in A. 

The top two teams in group A will be promoted to the elite division and the last placed nation will be relegated to group B. 

One puzzle the Great One may need to solve is where he will be on the opening day of the championships should Manchester qualify for the league's play-off final.  GB's opening game against their hosts is scheduled for the same day!

World Championship page  World rankings after last year's Championships.

STEWART'S BLOG

20 years ago, was ice hockey better or worse?

 28 September 2011

The new season of Elite League highlights is underway on Sky Sports, and while the actual game clips leave a bit to be desired (see later), I'm enjoying the quiz (don't ask how I'm faring) and the questions put to Rick Strachan. 

Nottingham's assistant coach was asked this week: 'Has the game changed for better or worse since you came here [in 1990-91] and, if so, how?'

Rick's reply was: "The game was amateur then.  The players practiced twice a week at 10.30 at night.  Now it's fully professional with the players practicing five times a week, during the day, and in the gym.

"So it's improved.  It's a better standard, better to watch.  British ice hockey as a whole has come in on leaps and bounds." 

True enough.  I reckon the speed and skill on display at Guildford, where I go regularly these days, is far higher than it was in, say, the Wembley finals 20 years ago.  Not as physical, perhaps, but technically light years ahead - especially the netminding.

Given the huge changes in the sport in the intervening decades, I thought it would give older fans a nostalgia kick and enlighten the newer ones if we took a peek at The Ice Hockey Annual for season 1990-91 to see in what other ways the game has altered since then. 

► The league and play-offs were sponsored by Heineken lager and the cup by Norwich Union insurance.

► The Wembley weekend attracted over 25,000 fans.

► BBC Grandstand screened four live games during the season.

► The British Ice Hockey Association, which ran the whole sport, imposed a limit of four non-British trained players on each team.

► Durham Wasps won the Heineken League, Premier Division by 15 points from Cardiff Devils.  Humberside [Hull] Seahawks won Division One.

► After play-offs, Bracknell Bees and Humberside Seahawks were promoted to the Premier Division.

► The top five scorers in the Premier Division were, in order: Rick Brebant (Durham Wasps), Claude Dumas (Whitley Bay), Danny Shea (Peterborough Pirates), Steve Moria (Cardiff Devils), Tony Hand (Murrayfield Racers). 

► Brebant scored - wait for it - 209 points in 35 games.  Seahawk Scott Morrison did even better in Div One with 220 points, also in 35 games.

► The rinks attracting the biggest crowds were, in order: Nottingham (average 2,868), Cardiff (2,498), Durham (2,480), Bracknell (2,361) and Fife (2,334).

► Britain finished fifth in Pool C of the World Championships in Copenhagen.  Hand was the top scorer with 21 points (nine goals).  The team had six dual nationals.

► At Swindon in January 1991, Zoe Hathaway became the first woman to referee a top league game.

► Blackburn Arena opened in November 1990 and Sheffield Arena in July 1991. 

► Richmond Flyers played their last ever game at the end of the season.  The rink was scheduled to close at the end of 1991.

► Soviet league champions Moscow Dynamo played six games in Britain.

► Best quote - "I reckon I'll play for another three or four years but after that, who knows?"  Tony Hand who was reported to have applied to join the police force in July 1991.

For me, the year 1991 was most noteworthy for the opening of the sport's first major arena in Sheffield, an event that was to be as important to the Nineties, and beyond, as Heineken had been to the Eighties.

So, was ice hockey better or worse 20 years ago – or just very different?  You decide.

Before ending, I must return briefly to the Sky Sports show.  Some fans have complained that the presenters are talking too much.  Dave Simms' response should be of concern to us all. 

"The show is as good as the [game] highlights," he said.  "Anna [Woolhouse] and I were only on as much because some clubs sent very little footage or poor quality footage.  If you want less of us then the clubs should invest in sending good quality stuff through." 

This is shocking as Rapid Solicitors have just come on board to help with the costs of producing the programme so the league can continue to have this important exposure.  And the fans, too, are paying good money for the privilege of watching on Sky Sports.

So please sharpen up your act, folks, otherwise we're going to be condemned to hearing even more from Simmsy every week….!

How about 60 years ago?

Before we leave you, this YouTube clip originated around the time your Editor was born!

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Amazon Review of The Ice Hockey Annual 2010-11: 

'Published since 1977, this is an invaluable source for stats and commentary on the previous season. The focus is on the sport in the UK, with sections looking at the players, teams and leagues, but there is also an International Round-up at the end.

'Ice hockey is arguably the most exciting spectator sport, with the atmosphere in even the smallest rinks electric on game night. But reading the sections 'Diary of a Season' and 'Review of the Year' will help to explain why ice hockey in the UK remains a minor league sport, even though it attracted crowds of up to 17,245 as recently as the 1996-97 season.

'The amazing and often hilarious stories of ineptitude by greedy and unrealistic owners simply have to be read to be believed.

'If ice hockey in the UK had been as consistently well presented and organised as The Ice Hockey Annual it would have become a major part of our sporting lives long ago. Author Stewart Roberts deserves considerable credit for preparing and publishing the equivalent of football's Rothman's Yearbook ... and this year it's in full colour.

'Simply a must for any ice hockey fan.'

John Halton (Lancashire), 28 Dec 2010

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