Category Archives: Lions TV

Lions To Remain In Division Two Next Season

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The Nottingham Lions have announced that they intend to remain in NIHL Division Two North for the forthcoming 2013/14 season.

The Lions were crowned league champions back in March after finishing five points clear of their nearest promotion rival but they have decided to decline their option to make the step-up to Division One hockey this coming September.

Head Coach Matt Bradbury caught up with www.nottinghamlionsenl.com and LionsTV this week to explain the reasoning behind the teams’ decision, saying;

“It’s been a very difficult decision but the main factor behind it is mainly the development of our players and the financial burden – it’s key that we take those potential trip hazards seriously”.

 

 

Bradbury’s squad would have faced numerous road trips to far-flung destinations such as Solway, Whitley Bay and Billingham next season, putting a massive strain on their finances and the personal circumstances of their amateur players and volunteer coaching staff.

Nottingham would also have faced an uphill struggle to compete with the financial clout of some of the division’s bigger teams and Bradbury was honest about the Lions’ chances of keeping-up with the big boys, adding;

“It is a bit of divide – you’ve got the top four, top five clubs in Division One and realistically we would be a bottom four, bottom three team next season and do we want to take that gamble where we are set to lose a considerable amount of money with the travel and it also wouldn’t give us the opportunity to blood our younger players.”

“We’ve got a crop of young talent coming through and by taking this decision to stay where we are we will be able to develop our talent further and it’s key to the development of hockey in Nottingham.”

Last months EIHA meeting attended by all NIHL clubs saw Nottingham lead a proposal to form a new ‘Central’ league, which would have sat alongside the current North and South divisions.

Potentially, the new league would have cut travel times and costs for all teams, increased participation and aided development of local talent as well as creating more local derby clashes but the plan failed to achieve enough support to be ratified, thus making up the Lions’ mind to stay where they are.

The boys celebrate with the championship trophy.

Nottingham are not the first team to make a decision like this as just a few days earlier, Division Two South champions Oxford City Stars also declined their promotion to their respective next level for almost identical reasons given by the Lions.

Bradbury still remains positive however and believes there is still a very bright future for the club, adding;

“We’ve got ambition but we’re being realistic – we didn’t expect to win the league last year but we put together consistency, we put together youth and experience and we were able to develop at the same time.”

“It’s easy to be critical of what we’ve done but at the end of the day we’re using our home grown talent and we’ve got to be proud of that achievement.”

“We’ll put together a strong team again, we’ll work together, we’ll develop ice hockey in Nottingham and then we’ll evaluate and see where we are at the end of next season.”

Despite not making the move to the next level, Nottingham will be looking forward another season of exciting local derby clashes against Sheffield Senators and Solihull Barons alongside fresh opposition in the form of recently-relegated Trafford Metros and the newly-formed Widnes Wild.

So don’t forget to keep checking www.nottinghamlionsenl.com over the coming days and weeks for all the latest signing news as the Lions’ roster begins takes shape with another exciting season approaching.

Lions Bash Barons To End Season In Style

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Nottingham Lions 6 Solihull Barons 2.

The Nottingham Lions showed just why they are already the NIHL Division Two champions with a convincing victory over second-placed, Midlands rivals Solihull Barons at the Capital FM Arena on Sunday evening.

Lions’ Ben Wood takes on the Baron’s Richard Crowe.

The Lions were keen to set the record straight after last weekend’s uncharacteristic 8-0 defeat in Solihull and did just that, with a commanding display in front of their biggest crowd of the season.

The Barons came into the game knowing they had to win to secure second place in the table and a two-legged promotion/relegation play off with their Division One-based local rivals Coventry Blaze.

However, the visitors got off to the worst possible start conceding twice in the opening two minutes. Gareth O’Flaherty pounced on a defensive error to put Nottingham ahead after just forty-six seconds, followed by Michael Rose who then doubled the Lions’ lead.

Solihull dominated the game physically; ex-Panthers and Steelers hardman Perry Doyle was given a 2+10 penalty for a check to the head on Matt Greaves, who subsequently had to leave the ice injured. He was later joined on the treatment table by his team-mate Jospeh Steeples, who headed for the locker room early with a suspected concussion.

To their credit, Matt Bradbury’s men refused to be bullied out of the game and let their hockey do the talking, scoring another two without reply. American Luke Branin fired home on eleven minutes before promising, young forward Dan Hazeldine coolly added a fourth three minutes later.

Richard Slater did restore some hope for the Barons before the end of the period, reducing their deficit to three.

The second period saw a resilient Lions side comfortably soak-up a number of Solihull attacks, whilst continuing to look dangerous on the break.

However, Nottingham couldn’t find a way past Barons’ goalie Sam Hewitt during the period, Ryan Rathbone came the closest, hitting the metalwork from close range.

Sam Gospel making one of his eighteen saves.

The game’s half-way point saw a change of personnel in the Lions’ goal as Alan Levers made way for Sam Gospel and once again, both goalies showed why they have been so hard to beat all season, stopping sixteen and eighteen shots respectively.

Neil Adams finally made the breakthrough for Solihull on thirty-seven minutes to ensure the final twenty minutes could still result in a victory for either side.

Three minutes into the third period, the Barons’ Michael Rodger was sent to the box for tripping and it didn’t take long for Nottingham to capitalise with the extra man as Joe Wightman cemented his position as the Lions’ top-scorer with his twenty-sixth goal of the season on the power play.

Assistant Captain Ben Wood then put to bed any chance of a late Solihull comeback, scoring Nottingham’s sixth of the night, making sure that what has been a fantastic season for the Lions ended with another two points on the board.

The final buzzer was met with another round of jubilant scenes as the Lions players and coaches were presented with their winners medals and captain Luke Thomas then raised the championship trophy to many cheers and applause from their supporters.

The boys celebrate with the championship trophy.

The Barons must now hope that the Hull Stingrays can beat third-placed Deeside Dragons next weekend to keep their hopes of promotion alive, whilst the Lions now look forward to playing Division One hockey once again, next September.

LionsTV interviews with Lions’ Matt Bradbury and Luke Thomas as well as Solihull Barons’ Chris Allen will available to view here from Monday evening.

Game Stats:

Ben Wood 1+1, Michael Rose 1+1, Daniel Hazeldine 1+0, Ryan Rathbone 0+1, Luke Branin 1+1, Joe Wightman 1+1, Christy Johnson-Brown 0+1, Gareth O’Flaherty 1+1.

Period Scores: 1st 4-1, 2nd 0-1, 3rd 2-0.

Shots: 1st 12-12, 2nd 16-8, 3rd 16-14. Total 44-34.

Penalty Minutes: 1st 4-12, 2nd 0-0, 3rd 0-6. Total 4-18.

Lions MOTM (sponsored by The Castle Inn): Joe Wightman.

Goal-Crazy Lions Bring Down Flyers

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Nottingham Lions 15 Fylde Flyers 0.

After clinching the NIHL Division Two North title last weekend, the Nottingham Lions showed no sign of taking their foot off the gas by thrashing of the Fylde Flyers at the National Ice Centre on Sunday evening.

Joe Wightman fires home the Lions’ third goal of the evening.

Having despatched of the Blackburn Eagles by the same gigantic scoreline just seven days earlier, the league champions ripped their hapless visitors to shreds in one of their most dominant performances of the season.

Michael Rose opened the scoring inside the first three minutes with his sixteenth goal of the campaign, followed three minutes later by top-scorer Joe Wightman, who marked his return to the squad with a goal after missing out on last weekend’s celebrations.

Captain, Luke Thomas, after going all season without a goal, finally opened his scoring account on seven minutes before Simon Hunt found the net seconds later to put the game out of the Lancashire side’s reach, to all intents and purposes.

The Lions showed the Flyers no mercy in the second period as they hit a further seven goals without reply.

Hunt grabbed his second of the game three minutes in, shortly to be followed by a Joseph Steeples strike.

Alan Levers dealing with one of the fourteen shots he faced.

American, Luke Branin then fired home two quick goals just after the half-hour mark to take his tally up to nineteen for the season before defenseman Jack Baveystock and young forward Ryan Rathbone both made a rare appearances on the scoresheet.

Veteran, Stuart Parker then scored the Lions’ eleventh of the night with thirty-eight seconds remaining to ensure the final twenty minutes would be a formality for both teams.

Nottingham showed no sign of letting-up on their already doomed visitors however, after ex-Panther, Hunt completed his second hat-trick in as many games, thirty seconds into the third period.

Parker then popped up to score his second of the night and his eighth goal in eight games since coming out of retirement.

With nine minutes remaining, winger Gareth O’Flaherty was rewarded with a goal on the powerplay, after already claiming three assists.

The period also saw a string of penalties being taken by both sides after the previous forty minutes had seen the sin bins devoid of bodies. This culminated in the Flyers’ Troy Evans and the Lions’ Steeples ‘dropping the gloves’ after a scramble in the Fylde goalmouth resulted in a full-blown fight which saw both culprits squeeze in some hefty punches before they both received 2+2 for roughing.

There was still time for the Lions to finish off the night’s scoring courtesy of Christy Johnson-Brown, who hit home his twelfth of the campaign, with ten seconds left on the clock to secure another fifteen goal treat for the Nottingham faithful and ensuring a long and miserable journey home for a lacklustre Flyers side who never really got out of first gear.

Dan Hazeldine firing off a shot.

LionsTV post-game interviews with Lions’ head coach Matt Bradbury and netminder Alan Levers will be available to view here from Monday evening.

The Lions’ thoughts now turn to next Sunday’s trip to local-rivals, Solihull Barons (6pm face off). Nottingham claimed a narrow 2-1 victory at the Hobs Moat Road rink back in December and the Lions will know they’ll be in for a much tougher weekend than in recent weeks as the Barons fight to finish in the second-place play-off spot.

Game Stats:

Craig Wallis 0+1, Joseph Steeples 1+2, Luke Thomas 1+3, Jack Baveystock 1+2, Ben Wood 0+1, Michael Rose 1+1, Simon Hunt 3+4, Ryan Rathbone 1+0, Luke Branin 2+2, Joe Wightman 1+3, Christy Johnson-Brown 1+0, Stuart Parker 2+2, Gareth O’Flaherty 1+3.

Period Scores: 1st 4-0, 2nd 7-0, 3rd 4-0.

Shots: 1st 24-5, 2nd 34-9 3rd 33-4. Total 91-18.

Penalty Minutes: 1st 0-0, 2nd 0-0, 3rd 16-6. Total 16-6.

Lions MOTM (Sponsored by The Castle Inn):  Luke Thomas.

Lions Run Rampant To Secure League Title

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Nottingham Lions 15 Blackburn Eagles 0.

The Nottingham Lions were crowned champions of the NIHL Division Two North on Sunday evening thanks to a resounding victory at home against the Blackburn Eagles.

Champions!! – Post-game celebrations in a steamy Lions dressing room.

Nottingham took all the spoils in a triumphant night at the National Ice Centre as they enjoyed a massive win in front of a larger than usual home crowd. It leaves them five points clear of second placed Solihull Barons with a total of 36.

The Lions came out playing at full intensity – an unusually high scoring first period was the result. Daniel Hazeldine was the first to net one with help from Elliott Perrin and Stuart Parker on the assists.

Less than 40 seconds later veteran Simon Hunt got on the score sheet and then Parker was involved again in the third goal in as many minutes as Nottingham took advantage of the power play opportunity.

The Lions’ dominance continued throughout the rest of the period as the Eagles, who have failed to register any points this season, had no answer to the onslaught of attacking play from Nottingham. In fact, net minder Alan Levers only had to make three stops in 20 minutes.

Just before the 12th minute, Hazeldine scored his second and Michael Rose made it six without reply less than a minute later.

Nottingham then saw fit to toy with their opponents for the next five minutes, biding their time until Hunt flicked the puck into the roof of the net just before the break for his hat-trick.

Gareth O’Flaherty fires home another Lions goal.

The second period was a less eventful affair, with Matt Greaves scoring in the 25th minute and Hunt getting yet another goal six minutes after – his eighth of the season. Again Levers and Sam Gospel only had seven shots to deal with in the entire period.

It seemed that Nottingham were happy to defend their lead and were not desperate to increase it, although they did manage 18 shots at the Blackburn goal in total.

While the period didn’t produce many goals, it did yield the most penalty minutes in the game. Blackburn accrued 26, clearly frustrated at their lack of possession and goal scoring opportunities.

However, Nottingham did their fair share of roughing, with Hunt relishing the chance to get in the face of a few of the Eagles players. However, it was Cameron Good who racked up a 10 minute penalty in the 37th minute for incitement.

The final period produced similar results to the first. Ryan Rathbone opened up the scoring for Nottingham this time after 45 minutes, with assists from Hunt and Hazeldine.

The Lions then netted twice in the following five minutes courtesy of Jospeh Steeples and Parker respectively – it was his sixth goal in seven games for Nottingham.

Rose got his second goal of the night and fifteenth of the season with little more than five minutes left to go – the league title looked a certainty at this point with no way back for Blackburn.

The Lions could have been excused for relaxing a little but they stayed focused until the very end and thumped in two more to close out the match in style. The goals came from American Luke Branin and Gareth O’Flaherty respectively.

As the buzzer rang to signal the end of the game the whole team skated out on to the ice to celebrate together and the fans cheered on as the champagne flowed. Blackburn could only look on with forlorn faces as they had no answer to Nottingham’s relentless form in front of goal.

Four goal hero Simon Hunt receives his Man of the Match award.

Sunday evening was the culmination of a fantastic season for the club, which has seen some new faces establish themselves in the team and some old faces return to the fold in what was always a promotion campaign.

Quality performances from both individuals and the team has ensured Matt Bradbury’s men have bounced straight back after last season’s unfortunate relegation. Despite a couple of bumpy patches, the Lions have looked unstoppable on the ice and can look forward to playing Division One hockey come September.

LionsTV goal highlights, post-game interviews and celebrations will be available to view in the next 24 hours by clicking here.

While Nottingham are now officially league champions, they still have three games left this season. The first of them is at home to last Saturday’s opponents Fylde Flyers with face off at 19:15. Ticket details are available by clicking here.

Match Stats:

Luke Thomas 0+4, Daniel Hazeldine 2+2, Stuart Parker 2+4, Gareth O’Flaherty 1+2, Michael Rose 2+3, Simon Hunt 4+2, Luke Branin 1+2, Christy Johnson-Brown 0+1, Cameron Good 0+2, Ryan Rathbone 1+2, Matt Greaves 1+0, Elliott Perrin 0+2, Joseph Steeples 1+0.

Period Scores: 1st 7-0, 2nd 2-0, 3rd 6-0.

Penalty Minutes: 1st 2-6, 2nd 16-26, 3rd 4-2. Overall 22-34.

Shots: 1st 25-3, 2nd 18-7, 3rd 24-3. Overall 67-13.

Lions MOTM (Sponsored by the Castle Inn): Simon Hunt.

Eagles Fall Prey To Rampant Lions

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Blackburn Eagles 2 Nottingham Lions 13

The Nottingham Lions are just four points away from being crowned NIHL Division Two North Champions after they romped to a huge win over Blackburn Eagles at Blackburn Arena on Saturday night.

A young, short-benched Lions side showed little sign of weakness despite missing the likes of Stuart Parker, Christy Johnson-Brown and Craig Wallis as they overwhelmed their lowly hosts with a barrage of ninety-one shots.

Ben Wood and Joseph Steeples crowd out Nick Saxton’s goal.

The scoring started just over five minutes into the game when Daniel Hazeldine continued his fine scoring form with a powerplay goal for the visitors after Darren Shaw sat a two-minute minor interference penalty.

Blackburn then tied the game at one each ten minutes later through assistant captain Paul Mercer, after the bouncing puck finally crossed the line following a moment of defensive confusion in front of Sam Gospel’s goal.

Thirty seconds later Hazeldine gave the Lions the lead once again, the youngster netted his fifth goal of the season with assists coming from Joe Wightman and Luke Branin, proving how clinical anyone on their line can be.

A minute later Mikey Rose doubled the traveling sides’ lead. Once again coming from some slick passing in the Eagles defensive zone.

Two minutes before the break, Lions leading goal scorer Joe Wightman added fourth goal, putting the forward onto forty-five points for the season with some great passing and possession hockey in the build up.

Wightman scored his second goal of the night seven minutes into the second period with Branin providing yet another assist in the build up, the American’s twentieth of the season.

Thirty seconds later Rose broke away as a pass found him with lots of space in the neutral zone. However, when skating through on goal he was tripped resulting in a penalty shot being awarded to the utility man. He dusted himself off, skated up to the Eagles netminder Nick Saxton before firing the puck into the back of the net for Nottingham’s sixth.

Joe Wightman and Scott Barnett exchange blows.

Ben Wood was the next player to get himself on the scoresheet when he got the better of Saxton, inflicting more misery on the home side.

Just over twenty seconds later Reece Glossop got in on the act, scoring his fifth point of the season and the last goal of the period for Matt Bradbury’s men.

The third period started with an Eagles goal, reducing the deficit to six as Harry Bolton scored his first senior goal.

A minute later, Branin scored his first goal of the night, this time with Wightman turning provider and making the evening feel just that little bit longer for the Eagles.

With just over ten minutes to go Joe Steeples put the Lions into double figures, scoring his first goal of the season and only his third point all year.

At 55.19 Elliot Perrin had to leave the ice after taking a stick to his face, not helping the already short-benched Lions side. Dave Williams subsequently received a 5+game for the high-stick which signaled a turning point for the Eagles’ as their discipline began to go off the rails as their frustration started to show.

Heading into the last five minutes, anyone who thought the Lions would slow the pace down was proved wrong when Gareth O’Flaherty netted his first of the night with a powerplay goal. Wightman and Branin once again assisting.

Just less than three minutes left and O’Flaherty added another, again on the powerplay and in the final minute Branin scored his second of the night with yet another powerplay goal to finish off a busy night’s scoring.

Ben Wood finds the net.

With Sheffield only managing to claim a point up in Hull on the same evening, the Lions now know that a road win at Fylde Flyers on Saturday (5pm), followed by another two points at the National Ice Centre against Blackburn on Sunday evening (7.15pm) would see them crowned champions, securing promotion back to Division 1 at the first time of asking.

LionsTV post-game interviews with players and coaches from both teams are now available to view on the Lions’ official online TV channel by clicking here.

Ticket details for next Sunday’s potential championship-winning game against Blackburn Eagles are available here.

Game Stats:

Daniel Hazeldine 2+1, Mikey Rose 2+0, Joe Wightman 2+4, Ben Wood 1+3, Reece Glossop 1+0, Luke Branin 2+5, Joe Steeples 1+1, Gareth O’Flaherty 2+0, Cameron Good 0+2, Luke Thomas 0+1, Jamie Hovell 0+1, Jack Baveystock 0+1, Elliot Perrin 0+1.

Period Scores – 1st 1-4, 2nd 0-4, 3rd 1-5.

Penalty Minutes – 1st 4-0, 2nd 6-6, 3rd 21-0, Overall 44-6.

Shots – 1st 8-22, 2nd 5-39, 3rd 7-29, Overall 20-91.

Lions MOTM – Sam Illsley.