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136-673: The Berkshire Bees are an ice hockey team from Slough , Berkshire , UK . They compete in the National Ice Hockey League (NIHL) National League, the second tier of English Ice Hockey. The Bracknell Bees were formed in 1987, under the ownership of John Nike OBE . Bees began life in the Heineken League Division Two, under the leadership of former Durham Wasps and Nottingham Panthers forward, Jamie Crapper, where they finished 6th. The following season, Heineken withdrew their sponsorship of
272-419: A centre and two wingers : a left wing and a right wing . Forwards often play together as units or lines , with the same three forwards always playing together. The defencemen usually stay together as a pair generally divided between left and right. Left and right side wingers or defencemen are generally positioned on the side on which they carry their stick. A substitution of an entire unit at once
408-401: A penalty shootout . If the score remains tied after an extra overtime period, the subsequent shootout consists of three players from each team taking penalty shots. After these six total shots, the team with the most goals is awarded the victory. If the score is still tied, the shootout then proceeds to sudden death . Regardless of the number of goals scored by either team during the shootout,
544-462: A vulcanized rubber hockey puck into the other team's net. Each goal is worth one point. The team with the highest score after an hour of playing time is declared the winner; ties are broken in overtime or a shootout . In a formal game, each team has six skaters on the ice at a time, barring any penalties, including a goaltender . It is a full contact game and one of the more physically demanding team sports. The modern sport of ice hockey
680-655: A Community Interest Company. This means that it is a non-profit making organisation dedicated to providing services and facilities to the community in which it operates, that being, Hull, Humberside and the East Riding. For the 2007–08 season Rick Strachan once again decided to change his signing policy, this time ditching the Eastern European, and predominantly Ukrainian approach, by signing North Americans such as Bryce Thoma , Paul Cabana , Rob Rankin , Brad Patterson , Jake Riddle and Garry Luini . Once again
816-405: A chest protector, a goalie mask, and a large jersey. Goaltenders' equipment has continually become larger and larger, leading to fewer goals in each game and many official rule changes. Ice hockey skates are optimized for physical acceleration, speed and manoeuvrability. This includes rapid starts, stops, turns, and changes in skating direction. In addition, they must be rigid and tough to protect
952-494: A creditable 6th of 8 was followed by a 3rd-place finish and then a fourth, before Bees did the unthinkable and took the Superleague title. Coach Dave Whistle, in only his second season as a coach, took the little club to the very top Things went downhill from there. A new club, Belfast Giants , tempted Whistle away with a lucrative package and he was closely followed by seven of the championship-winning squad. Whistle repeated
1088-575: A draw with English Premier League side Sheffield Steeldogs and impressive victories over Dutch sides Geleen Eaters and Tilburg Trappers in the P&;O Ferries Cup which saw them crowned champions. Just after Christmas, star forward, Jereme Tendler was suspended by the EIHL and UKDA after failing a drugs test following a game in Coventry. Tendler disputes the claim and is appealing however could be facing
1224-481: A few of whom are listed below: ( * ) Denotes a Non-British Trained player (Import) Ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates , usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey . Two opposing teams use ice hockey sticks to control, advance, and shoot
1360-851: A few weeks earlier, in the EPL Cup, winning the two legged final against the Hull Stingrays in March. Mike Ellis departed to become head coach of the Nottingham Panthers in May 2006 and was replaced on 25 May, by his assistant, Ryan Aldridge, with Lee Ealey-Newman bench coach. 10 months later, On 11 March 2007, the Bracknell Bees were crowned champions of the English Premier Ice Hockey League for
1496-537: A forward. The seventh defenceman may play as a substitute defenceman, spend the game on the bench, or if a team chooses to play four lines then this seventh defenceman may see ice-time on the fourth line as a forward. A professional ice hockey game consists of three periods of twenty minutes, the clock running only when the puck is in play. The teams change ends after each period of play, including overtime. Recreational leagues and children's leagues often play shorter games, generally with three shorter periods of play. If
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#17327811143541632-571: A further update after the 30-day statutory consultation period. In July 2020, the Bees announced that the Hive would be permanently closed with immediate effect, after a financially viable plan to keep the complex open could not be found. The Bees assured fans that positive progress was being made in finding a new home for the 20/21 season and beyond, stating "whilst the Hive may have closed, the club will live on. Whilst bricks and mortar are important, this club
1768-549: A game is tied after regulation, then a 20-minute period of 5-on-5 sudden-death overtime will be added. If the game is still tied after the overtime, another period is added until a team scores, which wins the match. Since 2019, the IIHF World Championships and the gold medal game in the Olympics use the same format, but in a 3-on-3 format. In ice hockey, infractions of the rules lead to a play stoppage whereby
1904-412: A goal scored by the other team. Major penalties assessed for fighting are typically offsetting, meaning neither team is short-handed and the players exit the penalty box upon a stoppage of play following the expiration of their respective penalties. The foul of boarding (defined as "check[ing] an opponent in such a manner that causes the opponent to be thrown violently in the boards") is penalized either by
2040-528: A larger blade and a wide, flat shaft. This stick is primarily intended to block shots, but the goaltender may use it to play the puck as well. Ice hockey is a full-contact sport and carries a high risk of injury. Players are moving at speeds around approximately 20–30 mph (30–50 km/h) and much of the game revolves around the physical contact between the players. Skate blades, hockey sticks, shoulder contact, hip contact, and hockey pucks can all potentially cause injuries. Lace bite , an irritation felt on
2176-507: A minor or major penalty at the discretion of the referee, based on the violent state of the hit. A minor or major penalty for boarding is often assessed when a player checks an opponent from behind and into the boards. Some varieties of penalty do not require the offending team to play a man short. Concurrent five-minute major penalties in the NHL usually result from fighting. In the case of two players being assessed five-minute fighting majors, both
2312-436: A neck protector. Goaltenders use different equipment. With hockey pucks approaching them at speeds of up to 100 mph (160 km/h) they must wear equipment with more protection. Goaltenders wear specialized goalie skates (these skates are built more for movement side to side rather than forwards and backwards), a jock or jill, large leg pads (there are size restrictions in certain leagues), blocking glove, catching glove,
2448-442: A new owners to be found and make the relevant arrangements with John Nike Leisuresport, who would issue the operating licence. Unfortunately, with parties interested, deadlines came and went and were extended, but no deal could be reached. At the last moment in the absence of any alternative owner, Eleftheriou and Robinson announced that they would continue with revised budgets, rather than see the club fold. Unfortunately, by that stage
2584-539: A penalty, but was an infraction in the NHL before recent rules changes, is the two-line offside pass . Prior to the 2005–06 NHL season, play was stopped when a pass from inside a team's defending zone crossed the centre line, with a face-off held in the defending zone of the offending team. Now, the centre line is no longer used in the NHL to determine a two-line pass infraction, a change that the IIHF had adopted in 1998. Players are now able to pass to teammates who are more than
2720-409: A player may receive up to nineteen minutes in penalties for one string of plays. This could involve receiving a four-minute double-minor penalty, getting in a fight with an opposing player who retaliates, and then receiving a game misconduct after the fight. In this case, the player is ejected and two teammates must serve the double-minor and major penalties. A penalty shot is awarded to a player when
2856-613: A representative in the top-flight division of British Ice Hockey for the first time since the Humberside Hawks played in the Premier Division of the British Hockey League in the 1995–96 season. In the first four years of its life, the club was in the unique position of competing in all three of the country's senior leagues and it is a major achievement that Hull hockey has moved on and can now provide
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#17327811143542992-415: A shot or pass play. Officials also stop play for puck movement violations, such as using one's hands to pass the puck in the offensive end, but no players are penalized for these offences. The sole exceptions are deliberately falling on or gathering the puck to the body, carrying the puck in the hand, and shooting the puck out of play in one's defensive zone (all penalized two minutes for delay of game). In
3128-560: A strong British content including Slava Koulikov , and the Phillips brothers, hopes were high. A 'top four finish' was predicted by the coach but this turned out not to be ambitious enough. Stingrays were overtaken for second place in the last fortnight by Guildford and Newcastle, the team made the Winter Cup semi-finals and gained a play-off place. Amazingly it could have been even better had star defenceman Minard decided not to quit
3264-492: A team losing a skater during regulation instead causes the other side to add a skater. Once the penalized team's penalty ends, the penalized skater exits the penalty box and the teams continue at 4-on-4 until the next stoppage of play, at which point the teams return to three skaters per side. International play and several North American professional leagues, including the NHL (in the regular season), now use an overtime period identical to that from 1999–2000 to 2003–04 followed by
3400-409: A tie occurs in tournament play, as well as in the NHL playoffs, North Americans favour sudden death overtime , in which the teams continue to play twenty-minute periods until a goal is scored. Up until the 1999–2000 season, regular-season NHL games were settled with a single five-minute sudden death period with five players (plus a goalie) per side, with both teams awarded one point in the standings in
3536-483: A variety of other countries. The first IIHF Women's World Championship was held in 1990, and women's play was introduced into the Olympics in 1998 . Ice hockey is believed to have evolved from simple stick and ball games played in the 18th and 19th centuries in Britain, Ireland, and elsewhere, primarily bandy , hurling , and shinty . The North American sport of lacrosse , derived from tribal Native American games,
3672-462: Is a full-contact sport, body checks are allowed so injuries are a common occurrence. Protective equipment is mandatory and is enforced in all competitive situations. This includes a helmet with either a visor or a full face mask, shoulder pads, elbow pads, mouth guard, protective gloves, heavily padded shorts (also known as hockey pants) or a girdle, athletic cup (also known as a jock, for males; and jill, for females), shin pads, skates, and (optionally)
3808-757: Is about people, family and community". In August 2020, the Bees announced they would be playing their home games out of the Slough Ice Arena, sharing with the Slough Jets organisation. Due to the change of location, the Bracknell Bees Ice Hockey Club became the Bees Ice Hockey Club. This name remained until 2024, when the club became known as the Berkshire Bees. Bees have had several stand-out players,
3944-410: Is also a penalty in certain leagues in order to reduce the chance of injury to players. Often the term checking is used to refer to body checking, with its true definition generally only propagated among fans of the game. One of the most important strategies for a team is their forecheck . Forechecking is the act of attacking the opposition in their defensive zone. Forechecking is an important part of
4080-459: Is called a line change . Teams typically employ alternate sets of forward lines and defensive pairings when short-handed or on a power play . The goaltender stands in a, usually blue, semi-circle called the crease in the defensive zone keeping pucks out of the goal. Substitutions are permitted at any time during the game, although during a stoppage of play the home team is permitted the final change. When players are substituted during play, it
4216-418: Is called changing on the fly . An NHL rule added in the 2005–06 season prevents a team from changing their line after they ice the puck. The boards surrounding the ice help keep the puck in play and they can also be used as tools to play the puck. Players are permitted to bodycheck opponents into the boards to stop progress. The referees, linesmen and the outsides of the goal are "in play" and do not stop
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4352-500: Is delighted with the prospect of the continuation of the Bracknell Bees under the operational direction of PSM with its undoubted business intentions to grow the team and its reputation. 2013/15 season, the first for PSM was not without its tests. Some difficult decisions had to be made, including the mid-season release of head coach, Gareth Cox, replaced by his assistant, Lukas Smital , who became player coach. Shortly after, import forward, Kamil Tvrdek , who signed from MK Lightning in
4488-528: Is if a team opts to pull their goalie in exchange for an extra skater during overtime and is subsequently scored upon (an empty net goal), in which case the losing team receives no points for the overtime loss. Since the 2015–16 season, the single five-minute sudden-death overtime session involves three skaters on each side. Since three skaters must always be on the ice in an NHL game, the consequences of penalties are slightly different from those during regulation play; any penalty during overtime that would result in
4624-540: Is thanks to fans, volunteers, sponsors and partners that the club was saved. In May 2020, the Bees announced that the JNL Bracknell Complex were "commencing meaningful statutory consultations on potential staff redundancies." due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic . Fans were assured that season tickets would be refunded, should the club be unable to participate in the upcoming 20/21 season, promising
4760-403: Is the left wing lock , which has two forwards pressure the puck and the left wing and the two defencemen stay at the blueline. Offensive tactics include improving a team's position on the ice by advancing the puck out of one's zone towards the opponent's zone, progressively by gaining lines, first your own blue line, then the red line and finally the opponent's blue line. NHL rules instated for
4896-548: Is the highest tally for points the team has gained since becoming the Stingrays in 2003, beating the previous record of 39. The team also achieved in excess of .500 hockey in the period from Christmas to the end of the season, the first time it had done so over a sustained period. Shortly before the 2010–11 EIHL season was about to begin, club owners Mike and Sue Pack announced the team was to no longer operate due to financial issues. However, on 17 August 2010, only six days after
5032-457: The dump and chase strategy (i.e. shooting the puck into the offensive zone and then chasing after it). Each team uses their own unique system but the main ones are: 2–1–2 , 1–2–2, and 1–4. The 2–1–2 is the most basic forecheck system where two forwards go in deep and pressure the opposition's defencemen, the third forward stays high and the two defencemen stay at the blueline. The 1–2–2 is a bit more conservative system where one forward pressures
5168-746: The Hornets . Smítal was already the head coach of the Bracknell Ice Hockey Club and upon his return to the Bees, also took on the role of head coach to their senior team, Bracknell Hornets , while Cox also took on the head coach role with the Under 18 team, Bracknell Drones. Together, the pair set about rebuilding the Bees from the bottom up, bringing back former Bees, Martin Máša , Matt Foord, Shaun Thompson , Carl Graham , Tom Annetts and Brad Watchorn, and adding some players used to competing at
5304-747: The "Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup" and was first awarded in 1893 to recognise the Canadian amateur champion and later became the championship trophy of the National Hockey League (NHL). In the early 1900s, the Canadian rules were adopted by the Ligue Internationale de Hockey sur Glace , in Paris , France, the precursor to the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). The sport was played for
5440-416: The 2006 season redefined the offside rule to make the two-line pass legal; a player may pass the puck from behind his own blue line, past both that blue line and the centre red line, to a player on the near side of the opponents' blue line. Offensive tactics are designed ultimately to score a goal by taking a shot. When a player purposely directs the puck towards the opponent's goal, he or she is said to "shoot"
5576-670: The 2006/2007 season, following a 3–0 shut-out of the Romford Raiders , as the only remaining contenders for the title, the Sheffield Scimitars lost at Milton Keynes. Not content with one trophy though, Bees followed it up with their first ever play-off success at the SkyDome Arena in Coventry, overcoming the Peterborough Phantoms 2–1 in a semi-final shoot-out, before defeating archrivals and
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5712-585: The BNL in order to join the premier EIHL. As this would leave the BNL with only five teams; and thus with little option but to fold, the Capitals and Vipers temporarily withdrew their applications so as to allow the remaining BNL teams to apply for EIHL status. However, terms could not be agreed between the EIHL and the remaining five BNL teams; leading the Capitals and Vipers to resubmit their original applications and join
5848-591: The Bees to the Hornets and giant Latvian defenceman, Sergejs Louskins both departed, and Bees went with two import defencemen in Jan Bendik and Marcel Petran. Petran had a good offer from abroad during the season and left, to be replaced by Pavel Strycek. The tweaks worked and Bees made the play-offs, with a 6th-place finish, but after a first leg win against Manchester, a 7–2 defeat in Altrincham saw Bees exit at
5984-423: The EIHL; which ultimately resulted in the closure of the BNL. This led the Stingrays, along with fellow former BNL members Bracknell Bees and Guildford Flames , to move to the English Premier Ice Hockey League . The Stingrays embarked on what was the only viable option and a team was put together which we thought could be effective in that league. But with the work permit regulations ruling out re-engaging any of
6120-611: The EPIHL. Coach Mike Ellis put together a mix of youth and experience and they tasted some success in their first EPL season. As well as finishing a respectable 5th in the league, Bees made it to the play-off final, beating the Sheffield Scimitars in the semi-finals at the SkyDome Arena in Coventry . Bracknell came up short in the final though, against the Milton Keynes Lightning . However, The Bees did go one better
6256-629: The Elite League. They beat every team in the league except for the Cardiff Devils at least once, including a spectacular 6–1 victory over the Nottingham Panthers in the final game of the regular season. In the playoff quarter-finals Stingrays were defeated by the Devils 8–4 on aggregate. The 2011–12 pre-season has seen the Stingrays get off to a promising start, beginning with a home victory and an away draw against owners Coventry Blaze ,
6392-399: The Elite League. Widely expected to provide one sided games, the reality was a little different and most of the games provided sporting contests worthy of the name. Although the Stingrays had to endure a couple of bad losses during this competition they also achieved memorable victories over Coventry, London and Sheffield at home, and also took the points off Cardiff on the road. Goalie Kudrna
6528-423: The IIHF and the NHL. Both of these codes, and others, originated from Canadian rules of ice hockey of the early 20th century. Ice hockey is played on a hockey rink . During normal play, there are six players on ice skates on the ice per side, one of them being the goaltender. The objective of the game is to score goals by shooting a hard vulcanized rubber disc, the puck , into the opponent's goal net at
6664-575: The ISL at the end of the 2002–2003 season. With Manchester and Ayr having ceased operations during the season, the Bees announcement finally spelt the end of the ISL as a viable league. The Bees joined the British National League and were instantly tipped as being major contenders for the title. However, they finished just fourth in their first season, before going on to win the league and cup double in their second season. Ironically, as with
6800-411: The ISL winning team, the Bees were coached by an ex Bees player, Mike Ellis, again coaching in his second season. After the double winning season, Mr Nike announced that he was no longer going to be funding the Bees. Up stepped local Estate Agent, David Taylor. David was a sponsor of the Bees and along with his wife Sharon and coach Mike Ellis, they set up a new club. Mr Nike granted them a licence to use
6936-410: The NHL, a unique penalty applies to the goalies. The goalies now are forbidden to play the puck in the "corners" of the rink near their own net. This will result in a two-minute penalty against the goalie's team. Only in the area in front of the goal line and immediately behind the net (marked by two red lines on either side of the net) can the goalie play the puck. An additional rule that has never been
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#17327811143547072-610: The National Hockey League, a number of leagues have implemented the "four-official system", where an additional referee is added to aid in the calling of penalties normally difficult to assess by one referee. The system is used in every NHL game since 2001, at IIHF World Championships , the Olympics and in many professional and high-level amateur leagues in North America and Europe. Officials are selected by
7208-595: The PSM business plan offered the best all round package for the Bees and Bracknell", commented Director Martin Weddell. "Their recognition of the efforts put in by the previous team and their innovative future plans were key factors in making our due diligence decision. We put forward the business proposal of PSM to John Nike Founder & Chairman, who has agreed to the granting of the Bees Licence to PSM, commenting that he
7344-566: The Seahawks. Once at the top, it was a struggle and Bees were regularly mid-table or below, before eventually being relegated in 1995, under the leadership of Mike Urquhart . That sparked a new beginning for the club. Urquhart left and was replaced by Jim Fuyarchuck, who re-installed the feel-good factor at the Hive (Nickname of the Bees home, the John Nike Leisuresport Complex) Bees again finished third in
7480-446: The Stingrays failed to make a consistent impact on the league as they finished in 10th, and last place, 5 points behind 9th placed Basingstoke Bison . The Stingrays once again finished outside the playoffs in 2008–09, missing out on the post season by seven points, for the third year in a row. At the end of the season, Stingrays coach, Rick Strachan, was asked to step down. Stingrays co-owners Sue and Mike Pack cited financial reasons for
7616-642: The Taylors announced in December 2007 that they were to relinquish the operating licence for the Bees. At the time in spite of the off ice difficulties, the Bees were sitting in second place in the English Premier Ice Hockey League , 1 point adrift of leaders, Guildford Flames , were through to the semi-finals of the EPL cup and in a good position in the Knock-out cup. Within a week of the Taylors walking away from
7752-537: The Ukrainian core of the previous team, the recruitment was going to be key. The season proved to be a tough one and although the club gained a cup-final spot after a memorable 16 shot penalty shoot out victory over the Guildford Flames the club failed to pick up the silverware after being edged out by Bracknell. A young British contingent struggled against some of the more experienced and mature squads and
7888-417: The aim is to build a sustainable sporting entertainment experience for the supporters, raise attendance at home games, and recognise the role played by many in the wider Bees family. "The Bees have to be financially viable, history tells us that. Next season, we intend to introduce fresh sponsorship and advertising packages as well as innovative ticket incentives for all our loyal supporters. It’s time to get out
8024-415: The app determines that a particular impact has the potential to cause brain injury, it will alert the coach who can in turn seek medical attention for the individual. Defensive ice hockey tactics vary from more active to more conservative styles of play. One distinction is between man-to-man oriented defensive systems, and zonal oriented defensive systems, though a lot of teams use a combination between
8160-453: The arm chair and get down to the Hive", stated Cross. The new owners also see the Bracknell Bees as being the top segment of the overall Bracknell Ice Hockey Club with the junior teams being instrumental in developing future Bees, with a clear focus on the wider value of the junior setup within the local community. On the personnel front, Beeching moved quickly to re-sign Head Coach Gareth Cox and Player/Assistant Coach Lukas Smital who had led
8296-403: The away leg to the newly crowned champions. The big plus of the season was the increase in crowd sizes, helping to put Bees in a strong position for the next season 2014/15 season was a big struggle, with Bees winning just 7 of their 48 league games, finishing bottom of the league. The positive part of the season was the emergence of several young prospects. Vanya Antonov, in his first full season
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#17327811143548432-477: The blue and centre ice red line away. The NHL has taken steps to speed up the game of hockey and create a game of finesse, by reducing the number of illegal hits, fights, and "clutching and grabbing" that occurred in the past. Rules are now more strictly enforced, resulting in more penalties, which provides more protection to the players and facilitates more goals being scored. The governing body for United States' amateur hockey has implemented many new rules to reduce
8568-528: The bulk of the previous season's double-winning team, but lost influential forward, Lukas Smital. Smital was replaced by Michal Kanka and Peter Jasik and the team continued to enjoy success, before off-ice problems started to set in. The Taylors ran into financial difficulties early in the season and their contract with Planet Ice to run the Bison was terminated. The troubles were mirrored at the Bees and following rumours of unpaid bills, player wages and team unrest,
8704-423: The closure of the club was confirmed, a takeover by Elite League rivals Coventry Blaze was confirmed, enabling the team to take its place in the Elite League for the 2010–11 season. Despite their financial difficulties and a late start to the 2010–11 season (which resulted in the team having to play an unenviable 10 games in 20 days towards the end of the season) Stingrays managed a respectable 7th-place finish in
8840-699: The club announced on its official website that it has been placed into liquidation. The city has a long history of ice hockey, with the Seahawks , later named Hawks operating between 1988 and 1999, and were succeeded by the Thunder until 2003. The Stingrays were formed in 2003 replacing the Hull Thunder as members of the British National League . The new owners, Mike and Sue Pack along with Rick Strachan, who served as head coach through
8976-577: The club entered the next season in the BNL keen to apply the lessons learnt and to start to climb the ratings. Although still very much having to keep a close eye on the purse strings, the squad had a much stronger feel to it when the first puck dropped on the 2004–05 campaign. Coach Strachan brought in Scott Wray , Jeff Glowa , Craig Minard and Ladislav Kudrna in nets to join Alipov, Nikolaev, Burgess, Gomenyuk as his eight import contingent and with
9112-489: The club in November leaving a young British defence to be marshalled by Gomenyuk. Another blow followed when free-scoring Scott Wray had to return home for personal reasons. Not surprisingly the replacements proved not to be as effective and the team's form suffered. That season was memorable for the 'crossover' competition that pitched the British National League teams against their bigger spending, import heavy neighbours in
9248-472: The club was ceasing operations due to a lack of funds to complete the 2010–11 season, but a takeover by Elite League rivals Coventry Blaze was confirmed on 17 August 2010, enabling the team to take its place in the Elite League for the 2010–11 season. At the end of the 2011–12 season Coventry Blaze announced their intention to sell the Stingrays. The Coventry-based ownership accepted an offer from Stingrays' bench coach Bobby McEwan in May 2012. On 24 June 2015,
9384-504: The club, Bees fan Katie Eleftheriou and then Supporters Club Chairman Stuart Robinson formed Bees Ice Management Ltd to take over the operating licence and came up with a rescue plan to see the club through to the end of the season, if fans were willing to help through pledging donations. This they did and the club successfully completed the season, finishing in 3rd place in the league, winning the EPL cup and finishing runner up to Slough Jets in
9520-525: The decision to retire from hockey at the end of the 2009–10 season, Gareth Cox was appointed as the new head coach. Cox had been the coach the Bracknell Hornets English National League team for a number of years, leading them to a playoff title before moving to the Bees. He brought a number of young players with him from the Hornets and kept the core of Dumas' squad from the previous year together including EPL player of
9656-471: The departure of Strachan, who was eventually replaced by Sylvain Cloutier on 9 April 2009. Rick Strachan remains a director of the club. Cloutier is backed up by former teammate Curtis Huppe as Assistant Coach, and both will continue playing. The Stingrays finished 8th in the 2009–10 Elite League season, gaining 43 points from 56 games, finishing only 3 points behind the 7th place Newcastle Vipers . This
9792-484: The end of the 2008–09 season, came with a promise of financial stability. The initial challenge for the club was to re-establish the belief that the Hull Arena could host a team playing professional hockey at all, following a previous history of failed attempts, some valiant and some best forgotten. Unfortunately the damage to the sport's credibility in the city was a burden that was not easily shaken off and some of
9928-452: The event of a tie. With a goal, the winning team would be awarded two points and the losing team none (just as if they had lost in regulation). The total elapsed time from when the puck first drops, is about 2 hours and 20 minutes for a 60-minute game. From the 1999–2000 until the 2003–04 seasons, the National Hockey League decided ties by playing a single five-minute sudden-death overtime period with each team having four skaters per side (plus
10064-431: The fans stayed away waiting for what they thought was the inevitable to happen. But the ownership were true to their word and a season was completed without any of the previous crises that had become common place. Stability was established and although success on the ice proved more elusive, as Rick Strachan said at the time "The bus is moving in the right direction." The team had very much an Eastern European feel to it and
10200-455: The feat, winning the ISL in his second season. Meanwhile, Whistle was replaced by Enio Saccillotto, who never managed to recover from only having three players return. Bees did finish a creditable third in his first season, but never really looked like one of the better teams in the league. From this point forwards, the Bees never looked like returning to the 'top table' of British Ice Hockey. The Bees eventually announced that they were to leave
10336-411: The final score recorded will award the winning team one more goal than the score at the end of regulation time. In the NHL if a game is decided in overtime or by a shootout the winning team is awarded two points in the standings and the losing team is awarded one point. Ties no longer occur in the NHL. Overtime in the NHL playoffs differs from the regular season. In the playoffs there are no shootouts. If
10472-456: The first division (No longer sponsored by Heineken ) but this time, they missed out to Milton Keynes Kings in the promotion play-offs. However, this did not matter, as the following season saw the formation of a new league – The Ice Hockey Superleague (ISL) which was the country's first fully professional league since the 1950s. Bees were expected to be one of the smaller teams in this big league, playing against teams with big arenas. However,
10608-528: The first time at the Olympics during the 1920 Summer Games —today it is a mainstay at the Winter Olympics . In 1994, ice hockey was officially recognized as Canada's national winter sport. While women also played during the game's early formative years, it was not until organizers began to officially remove body checking from female ice hockey beginning in the mid-1980s that it began to gain greater popularity, which by then had spread to Europe and
10744-511: The front of the foot or ankle, is a common ice hockey injury. Compared to athletes who play other sports, ice hockey players are at higher risk of overuse injuries and injuries caused by early sports specialization by teenagers. According to the Hughston Health Alert, prior to the widespread use of helmets and face cages, "Lacerations to the head, scalp, and face are the most frequent types of injury [in hockey]." One of
10880-427: The game , too many players on the ice , boarding , illegal equipment, charging (leaping into an opponent or body-checking him after taking more than two strides), holding, holding the stick (grabbing an opponent's stick), interference, hooking , slashing , kneeing, unsportsmanlike conduct (arguing a penalty call with referee, extremely vulgar or inappropriate verbal comments), "butt-ending" (striking an opponent with
11016-411: The game when the puck or players either bounce into or collide with them. Play can be stopped if the goal is knocked out of position. Play often proceeds for minutes without interruption. After a stoppage, play is restarted with a faceoff . Two players face each other and an official drops the puck to the ice, where the two players attempt to gain control of the puck. Markings (circles) on the ice indicate
11152-406: The game. There are typically two linesmen who are mainly responsible for calling "offside" and " icing " violations, breaking up fights, and conducting faceoffs, and one or two referees , who call goals and all other penalties. Linesmen can report to the referee(s) that a penalty should be assessed against an offending player in some situations. The restrictions on this practice vary depending on
11288-401: The goalie). In the event of a tie, each team would still receive one point in the standings but in the event of a victory the winning team would be awarded two points in the standings and the losing team one point. The idea was to discourage teams from playing for a tie, since previously some teams might have preferred a tie and 1 point to risking a loss and zero points. The exception to this rule
11424-402: The goaltender carries a stick consisting of a long, relatively wide, and slightly curved flat blade, attached to a shaft. The curve itself has a big impact on its performance. A deep curve allows for lifting the puck easier while a shallow curve allows for easier backhand shots. The flex of the stick also impacts the performance. Typically, a less flexible stick is meant for a stronger player since
11560-404: The governing rules. On-ice officials are assisted by off-ice officials who act as goal judges, time keepers, and official scorers. The most widespread system is the "three-man system", which uses one referee and two linesmen. A less commonly used system is the two referee and one linesman system. This system is close to the regular three-man system except for a few procedure changes. Beginning with
11696-465: The head and most types of forceful stick-on-body contact are illegal. A delayed penalty call occurs when an offence is committed by the team that does not have possession of the puck. In this circumstance the team with possession of the puck is allowed to complete the play; that is, play continues until a goal is scored, a player on the opposing team gains control of the puck, or the team in possession commits an infraction or penalty of their own. Because
11832-568: The heads, as well as checks to unsuspecting players. Studies show that ice hockey causes 44.3% of all sports-related traumatic brain injuries among Canadian children. Some teams in the Swiss National League are testing out systems that combine helmet-integrated sensors and analysis software to reveal a player's ongoing brain injury risk during a game. These sensors provide players and coaches with real-time data on head impact strength, frequency, and severity. Furthermore, if
11968-666: The ice. Loafing , also known as cherry-picking , is when a player, usually a forward, skates behind an attacking team, instead of playing defence, in an attempt to create an easy scoring chance. Hull Stingrays Hull Stingrays were a British ice hockey club from Kingston upon Hull who was a member of the Elite Ice Hockey League from 2003 until 2015. They played their home games at Hull Arena . The Stingrays replaced previous clubs Humberside Seahawks (1988–1999) and Hull Thunder (1999–2003). On 10 August 2010, owners Mike & Sue Pack announced that
12104-417: The illegal actions of another player stop a clear scoring opportunity, most commonly when the player is on a breakaway . A penalty shot allows the obstructed player to pick up the puck on the centre red-line and attempt to score on the goalie with no other players on the ice, to compensate for the earlier missed scoring opportunity. A penalty shot is also awarded for a defender other than the goaltender covering
12240-422: The knob of the stick), "spearing" (jabbing an opponent with the blade of the stick), or cross-checking . As of the 2005–2006 season, a minor penalty is also assessed for diving , where a player embellishes or simulates an offence. More egregious fouls may be penalized by a four-minute double-minor penalty, particularly those that injure the victimized player. These penalties end either when the time runs out or when
12376-482: The leading causes of head injury is body checking from behind. Due to the danger of delivering a check from behind, many leagues – including the NHL – have made this a major and game misconduct penalty. Another type of check that accounts for many of the player-to-player contact concussions is a check to the head resulting in a misconduct penalty (called "head contact"). In recent years, the NHL has implemented new rules which penalize and suspend players for illegal checks to
12512-492: The league they work for. Amateur hockey leagues use guidelines established by national organizing bodies as a basis for choosing their officiating staffs. In North America, the national organizing bodies Hockey Canada and USA Hockey approve officials according to their experience level as well as their ability to pass rules knowledge and skating ability tests. Hockey Canada has officiating levels I through VI. USA Hockey has officiating levels 1 through 4. Since men's ice hockey
12648-562: The locations for the faceoff and guide the positioning of players. Three major rules of play in ice hockey limit the movement of the puck: offside , icing , and the puck going out of play. Under IIHF rules, each team may carry a maximum of 20 players and two goaltenders on their roster. NHL rules restrict the total number of players per game to 18, plus two goaltenders. In the NHL, the players are usually divided into four lines of three forwards, and into three pairs of defencemen. On occasion, teams may elect to substitute an extra defenceman for
12784-403: The major shareholding of Bracknell Bees will remain under the control of Precision Sports Marketing, led by Ben Beeching and Andrew Cross. In March 2016 PSM made the decision to discontinue its ownership of the Bracknell Bees license . A supporters-based ownership started by Lukas Smital (Head Coach) was proposed. Lukas approached the support & services of Matt Fettel and Carol to make up
12920-553: The majority of the team had signed elsewhere, while coach Adam Bicknell announced that he was to retire to play local league football instead. With little time to build a new team, Bees recruited Claude Dumas as player coach, after his club Telford Tigers announced that they were to mothball. Dumas recruited three imports from the French Elite League, forwards Michal Pinc and Jaroslav Cesky, along with Dutch international defenceman, Chad Euverman. Euverman announced after
13056-523: The mid-table slot felt an under achievement following the previous years progress. The Packs were unhappy playing their team in the Premier League. Travelling costs were significant for the predominantly south-east based league and spectator numbers fell. After the end of the 2005–06 season, the Stingrays sought admission into the Elite Ice Hockey League . Their application was finally approved after weeks of speculation on 22 June 2006. Hull now have
13192-435: The misconduct (a two-and-ten or five-and-ten ). In this case, the team designates another player to serve the minor or major; both players go to the penalty box, but only the designee may not be replaced, and he is released upon the expiration of the two or five minutes, at which point the ten-minute misconduct begins. In addition, game misconducts are assessed for deliberate intent to inflict severe injury on an opponent (at
13328-412: The name "Bracknell Bees" for marketing purposes for a three-year period. At this time, Edinburgh Capitals and Newcastle Vipers decided to resign from the British National League in order to join the premier Elite Ice Hockey League . As this would leave the BNL with only five teams; and thus with little option but to fold, the Capitals and Vipers temporarily withdrew their applications so as to allow
13464-417: The number of stick-on-body occurrences, as well as other detrimental and illegal facets of the game ("zero tolerance"). In men's hockey, but not in women's, a player may use his hip or shoulder to hit another player if the player has the puck or is the last to have touched it. This use of the hip and shoulder is called body checking . Not all physical contact is legal—in particular, hits from behind, hits to
13600-442: The officials' discretion), or for a major penalty for a stick infraction or repeated major penalties. The offending player is ejected from the game and must immediately leave the playing surface (he does not sit in the penalty box); meanwhile, if an additional minor or major penalty is assessed, a designated player must serve out of that segment of the penalty in the box (similar to the above-mentioned "two-and-ten"). In some rare cases,
13736-442: The opposite end of the rink. The players use their sticks to pass or shoot the puck. With certain restrictions, players may redirect the puck with any part of their body. Players may not hold the puck in their hand and are prohibited from using their hands to pass the puck to their teammates unless they are in the defensive zone. Players can knock a puck out of the air with their hands to themselves. Players are prohibited from kicking
13872-540: The other team scores during the power play. In the case of a goal scored during the first two minutes of a double-minor, the penalty clock is set down to two minutes upon a score, effectively expiring the first minor penalty. Five-minute major penalties are called for especially violent instances of most minor infractions that result in intentional injury to an opponent, or when a minor penalty results in visible injury (such as bleeding), as well as for fighting. Major penalties are always served in full; they do not terminate on
14008-413: The other, the opposing team gets a power play for the remainder of the time); this applies regardless of current pending penalties. In the NHL, a team always has at least three skaters on the ice. Thus, ten-minute misconduct penalties are served in full by the penalized player, but his team may immediately substitute another player on the ice unless a minor or major penalty is assessed in conjunction with
14144-468: The penalty is still assessed to the offending player, but not served. In 2012, this rule was changed by the United States' National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for college level hockey . In college games, the penalty is still enforced even if the team in possession scores. A typical game of hockey is governed by two to four officials on the ice, charged with enforcing the rules of
14280-499: The play is restarted at a faceoff. Some infractions result in a penalty on a player or team. In the simplest case, the offending player is sent to the penalty box and their team must play with one less player on the ice for a designated time. Minor penalties last for two minutes, major penalties last for five minutes, and a double minor penalty is two consecutive penalties of two minutes duration. A single minor penalty may be extended by two minutes for causing visible injury to
14416-538: The play-off final. For the 2008–2009 season Dwight Parrish returned to the Manchester Phoenix and was replaced as head coach by the previous season's captain, Adam Bicknell. During the season, Bicknell recruited Peter Russell as a bench coach, after Russell had been released by Swindon Wildcats . Bees finished the season in 5th place in the EPL before going out of the play-offs in a two-legged quarter final to Slough Jets , 7–5 on aggregate. Bees reached
14552-411: The player is looking for the right balanced flex that allows the stick to flex easily while still having a strong "whip-back" which sends the puck flying at high speeds. It is quite distinct from sticks in other sports games and most suited to hitting and controlling the flat puck. Its unique shape contributed to the early development of the game. The goaltender carries a stick of a different design, with
14688-461: The players serve five minutes without their team incurring a loss of player (both teams still have a full complement of players on the ice). This differs with two players from opposing sides getting minor penalties, at the same time or at any intersecting moment, resulting from more common infractions. In this case, both teams will have only four skating players (not counting the goaltender) until one or both penalties expire (if one penalty expires before
14824-571: The previous season's league champions, the Guildford Flames , 3–2, in the final. In April 2007, David and Sharon Taylor announced that they were to take on the ownership of the Basingstoke Bison as well as the Bees. With this announcement, came the news that head coach, Ryan Aldridge was to move to the Bison as their new head coach and be replaced as Bees player/coach, by defenceman Dwight Parrish . Dwight Parrish re-signed
14960-439: The puck carrier and the other two forwards cover the oppositions' wingers, with the two defencemen staying at the blueline. The 1–4 is the most defensive forecheck system, referred to as the neutral zone trap, where one forward applies pressure to the puck carrier around the oppositions' blueline and the other four players stand basically in a line by their blueline in hopes the opposition will skate into one of them. Another strategy
15096-406: The puck carrier in the neutral zone preventing him from entering the offensive zone. Body checking is using one's shoulder or hip to strike an opponent who has the puck or who is the last to have touched it (the last person to have touched the puck is still legally "in possession" of it, although a penalty is generally called if he is checked more than two seconds after his last touch). Body checking
15232-514: The puck forward. With the arrival of offside rules, the forward pass transformed hockey into a true team sport, where individual performance diminished in importance relative to team play, which could now be coordinated over the entire surface of the ice as opposed to merely rearward players. The six players on each team are typically divided into three forwards, two defencemen, and one goaltender. The term skaters typically applies to all players except goaltenders. The forward positions consist of
15368-405: The puck in the goal crease, a goaltender intentionally displacing his own goal posts during a breakaway to avoid a goal, a defender intentionally displacing his own goal posts when there is less than two minutes to play in regulation time or at any point during overtime, or a player or coach intentionally throwing a stick or other object at the puck or the puck carrier and the throwing action disrupts
15504-413: The puck into the opponent's goal, though unintentional redirections off the skate are permitted. Players may not intentionally bat the puck into the net with their hands. Hockey is an off-side game, meaning that forward passes are allowed, unlike in rugby. Before the 1930s, hockey was an on-side game, meaning that only backward passes were allowed. Those rules emphasized individual stick-handling to drive
15640-409: The puck. A deflection is a shot that redirects a shot or a pass towards the goal from another player, by allowing the puck to strike the stick and carom towards the goal. A one-timer is a shot struck directly off a pass, without receiving the pass and shooting in two separate actions. Headmanning the puck , also known as breaking out , is the tactic of rapidly passing to the player farthest down
15776-558: The quarter-final stage Eleftheriou and Robinson confirmed their standing down in April 2013 and in their place Precision Sports Marketing (PSM) were confirmed by John Nike Leisuresport the following month from the 2013–14 season. PSM, led by former Bracknell junior Ben Beecher and local businessman Andrew Cross, stated an ambition to make the Bees vibrant, visible and viable and the best family sporting experience in Berkshire. In doing so,
15912-413: The remaining BNL teams to apply for EIHL status. However, terms could not be agreed between the EIHL and the remaining five BNL teams; leading the Capitals and Vipers to resubmit their original applications and join the EIHL; which ultimately resulted in the closure of the BNL. This led the Bees, along with fellow former BNL members Hull Stingrays and, the Bees biggest rivals, Guildford Flames , to move to
16048-418: The right side" (of the puck). Another popular concept in ice hockey defensive tactics is that of playing a 200-foot game . An important defensive tactic is checking—attempting to take the puck from an opponent or to remove the opponent from play. Stick checking , sweep checking , and poke checking are legal uses of the stick to obtain possession of the puck. The neutral zone trap is designed to isolate
16184-779: The second division, which was renamed the English League Division 1. Bees narrowly missed out on the championship to the Humberside Seahawks, but then won the league the following season, gaining promotion to the Heineken League Division 1. Having finished third, behind Humberside and the Slough Jets, Bees progressed to the top tier of British hockey, the Heineken Premier Division, via the play-offs, alongside
16320-424: The semi-final of the EPL Cup, where they lost 6–4 on aggregate to Peterborough Phantoms who went on to take all four trophies on offer for the season, leaving the Bees with no trophies for the first time in 5 seasons. During the 2008–2009 season, Eleftheriou and Robinson announced that they would not continue to run the Bees beyond the end of the campaign. This was announced mid season in an effort to allow time for
16456-544: The skater's feet from contact with other skaters, sticks, pucks, the boards, and the ice itself. Rigidity also improves the overall manoeuvrability of the skate. Blade length, thickness (width), and curvature (rocker/radius) (front to back) and radius of hollow (across the blade width) are quite different from speed or figure skates. Hockey players usually adjust these parameters based on their skill level, position, and body type. The blade width of most skates are about 1 ⁄ 8 inch (3.2 mm) thick. Each player other than
16592-411: The start of the season that he would not be joining up with his new team and was soon replaced by the previous seasons fans' favourite, Andrius Kaminskas. Only two EIHA trained players returned from the previous season, Ryan Watt and Danny House. As well as being joined after the start of the season by Kaminskas, December also saw a surprise returnee, when Adam Bicknell rejoined the team. After Dumas took
16728-415: The summer, was released and the decision was taken to complete the season with just three imports, with the goal being to make the play-offs. Helped by the strong emergence of youngsters, Harvey Stead and Vanya Antonov, Bees achieved this goal on the penultimate weekend of the season. In a repeat of the previous season, Bees played Manchester in the quarter-finals and after winning the first leg, went down in
16864-501: The supporter with a view of the best Ice Hockey teams and the best players in the land. The Stingrays had a tough start to their life in the EIHL as they fought to the death for a playoff place, eventually finishing 9th as their decision to opt with a mix of their old Eastern European style with several Canadians ultimately did not pay off. In 2007 Lifetime Sports Ltd , the Hull Stingrays parent company, established itself as
17000-407: The team on which the penalty was called cannot control the puck without stopping play, it is impossible for them to score a goal. In these cases, the team in possession of the puck can pull the goalie for an extra attacker without fear of being scored on. It is possible for the controlling team to mishandle the puck into their own net. If a delayed penalty is signalled and the team in possession scores,
17136-621: The team to a sixth-place finish in the English Premier League and a playoff quarter final in the previous season. Off ice, the management were supplemented with a team of marketing and management experts as well as the Bees Supporters Club to help guide the club towards their vision. John Nike Leisuresport Limited, which issues the license to operate the Bees, was equally excited with the PSM appointment. "We received several expressions of interest and proposals but
17272-403: The top end of the table, including Guildford captain, Rob Lamey and Slough pair, Michael Bowman and Andy Munroe. Bees showed a big improvement, doubling their points tally of the previous season, but still missing out on post-season play, finishing 9th, with only Telford behind them 2012-13 saw far less changes, with coach Gareth Cox choosing to just tweak what he had. Peter Jasik moved from
17408-635: The trio who would approach the Nike Group for the license of the Bracknell Bees and look to seek re-entry into the Premier Division. The campaign was supported by local media including Heart FM, BBC, BBC Berkshire, Bracknell News, Reading Chronicle and the Wokingham Paper. In June 2016, the supporters' trust raised enough revenue to commence the season and was granted entry into the EPL The Directors were keen to point out that it
17544-399: The two. Defensive skills involve pass interception , shot blocking , and stick checking (in which an attempt to take away the puck or cut off the puck lane is initiated by the stick of the defensive player). Tactical points of emphasis in ice hockey defensive play are concepts like "managing gaps" (gap control), "boxing out"' (not letting the offensive team go on the inside), and "staying on
17680-498: The victimized player. This is usually when blood is drawn during high sticking. Players may be also assessed personal extended penalties or game expulsions for misconduct in addition to the penalty or penalties their team must serve. The team that has been given a penalty is said to be playing short-handed while the opposing team is on a power play . A two-minute minor penalty is often charged for lesser infractions such as tripping , elbowing , roughing , high-sticking , delay of
17816-399: The year Jaroslav Cesky who stayed at the club with line mate Pinc despite receiving rumoured lucrative offers from elsewhere. However, things didn't go to plan and Bees finished the season at the foot of the EPL table. For the 2011–12 season, assistant coach, Greg Randall left to join the Peterborough Phantoms and was replaced by Lukas Smital , a former Bee and Cox's former assistant with
17952-434: Was also influential. The former games were brought to North America and several similar winter games using informal rules developed, such as shinny and ice polo, but later were absorbed into a new organized game with codified rules which today is ice hockey. While the general characteristics of the game remain constant, the exact rules depend on the particular code of play being used. The two most important codes are those of
18088-438: Was captained by local idol, Stephen Johnson , tempted back from a threatened retirement for one last season. Alongside him the Ukrainian contingent included a guy who made a huge impact for his never say die attitude and innovative use of the six words of English that he had mastered, fans favourite Evgeny Alipov – 'Big Al'. So the foundation was in place and with the first objective of stability secured and confidence building,
18224-543: Was developed in Canada, most notably in Montreal , where the first indoor game was played on March 3, 1875. Some characteristics of that game, such as the length of the ice rink and the use of a puck, have been retained to this day. Amateur ice hockey leagues began in the 1880s, and professional ice hockey originated around 1900. The Stanley Cup , emblematic of ice hockey club supremacy, was initially commissioned in 1892 as
18360-503: Was often the hero and his performances gained him a place, with Gomenyuk on the BNL All-star team. The crossover competition was planned to be a potential precursor to a closer relationship between the two leagues but, in fact, the reality was far from that – 2004–05 season proved to be the last for the British National League. Following the culmination of the season; Edinburgh Capitals and Newcastle Vipers decided to resign from
18496-465: Was the team's top British scorer, while youngsters Josh (Tiger) Tetlow, Tom Relf, and Ziggy Beasley got their chances on two way contracts, as Bees looked to development for the future It was announced in March 2015, that Red Hockey Ltd, the company which also owns the Telford Tigers , had purchased a significant shareholding of 49% in the Bracknell Bees from Precision Sports Marketing. However,
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