On Saturday 8^th February 2014, at Bradford Ice Arena the Bulldogs faced Grimsby. They arrived with a depleted team as their U16 had a game of their own. Grimsby are at the lower end of the table so the Bulldogs were looking for another win to add to their winning streak.

The first period started with strong attack from the Bulldogs, and at 1:12 the puck was in the back of the net for Bradford an even handed goal scored by Max Broadhurst, assisted by Connor Parkin. A frustrated Grimsby began to retaliate and a penalty at 2:44 for Samuel Coombs for interference. During the power play, Ryan Kemp received the puck from Hannah Gibson and scored goal number two. At 8:14 Ryan again took the puck, passed by James Royds and scored goal number three. The Grimsby net minder was all over the place and seemed to need a sticky pad to keep his stick in his hand, it spent more time on the floor than in his grip! At 10:25 Max found the back of the net with goal number four assisted by Josh Richardson, and again a few seconds later scored his hat trick goal at 10:44 assisted by Abbie Culshaw. Less than a minute later goal number six was scored again by Connor, assisted by Max.  The Grimsby players weren’t at all happy with this shower of goals and seemed to take it out on the female players Aimee and Hannah, but both girls recovered quickly. At 13:28 John Holland sat two minutes for roughing and then whilst on the power play Adam Barnes scored goal number 7 for Bradford.  At 19:31 Grimsby took a further penalty from Kieran Hagger for tripping.

End of period score 7 0  to the Bulldogs.

The second period started with a hat trick goal from Ryan at 21:06; assisted by James Royds, and then a fourth at 23:26 assisted by Lewis Baldwin. At 24:17 Bradford received it’s first 2 minute penalty from Josh Birtwistle for charging. But even shorthanded the Redwings couldn’t break the defence, with some fantastic saves from the Bulldogs netminder Andy Button. But after a full thirteen minutes of no goals and no penalties, Bradford were caught off the hop, and Grimsby got their first goal at 37:23 scored by Gareth Pirie, assisted by Samel Tyson, as it passed Andy’s reach. At 39:37 again Max scored his fourth goal, assists from Connor and Danny Spence.

End of period score 10 1 to the Bulldogs.

The final period saw the four England players sitting out, in preparation for the away game at Grimsby. The lines were changed to see how we fared without them. Well Grimsby took this opportunity and scored their second goal at 42:51 from Kieran Hagger, assisted by Sam Tyson.

Both teams held their own until 51:30 where Josh Richardson scored his first goal of the game assisted by Danny. With the England players back on Max received a two minute penalty for roughing at 53:20. Grimsby were the next in the box with a two minute sit for the net minder who tripped Danny Spence as he shot for a goal at 59:35.

Final score 11 – 2 to the Bulldogs, well done once again U18’s another two points nearer the top of the league.

MVP went to James Royds – Well Done James

Shots on goal were 26 on Andy Button and 55 on Dominic Culham

On Sunday 26^th January 2014, with a much delayed 7:45 face off at Nottingham’s Capital FM Arena the Bulldogs faced the Jaguars. At the home game back in September we took the points beating them 12 – 0, so our expectations were high.

The game started fairly even, with a number of shots on Nottingham net minder Holly Steeples, and a couple on Andy Button. But at 3:52 Nottingham’s James Beatty and Bulldogs Max Broadhurst were both given 2 minutes for boarding and again at 9:08 Adam Barnes also sat 2 minutes for boarding.  It was not until 13:46 that Ryan Kemp found the back of the net assisted by Adam. At 14:44 Max was blown on an elbow penalty which caused Nottingham’s number 14 & 16 to have a go at him, they all sat for 2 minutes leaving the players 4 on 3. Connor Parkin took the advantage and scored the power play goal at 15:26 assisted by Adam. The end of period score was 2 -0 to the Bulldogs.

The second period started and the Bulldogs again had the Jaguars in their zone for much of the time. At 24:55 a frustrated Jaguar, Thomas Woodward was sat for 2 minutes for an interference penalty. At 29:53 Ryan again found the back of the net assisted by James Royds and shortly after at 32:38 again Connor scores assisted by Max, followed by a great goal from Abbie Culshaw, assisted by Max and Josh Richardson at 33:47.  At 34:16, around the Bulldogs net Andy Button saves a shot on, but the Jaguars find the rebound, and sneak the puck in when Andy wasn’t in the area.  End of period score is 5 – 1 to the Bulldogs, with no penalties. At the end of the period there was an ice cut on this already late running game, so at 9pm we all went back to the changing rooms. Glenn then informed us that Sutton had beaten Sheffield, the league leaders, so our two points were very much needed to take us two points behind them!

In the third, the game was on, the Nottingham net minder was obviously tiring, and the Nottingham team were 1 man down due to an abuse penalty from the bench; so at 41:08 the Bulldog Captain, Connor Parkin scored his hat trick power play goal assisted by Abbie and Max,  this was very closely followed at 41:57 by a first goal of the evening from Adam, assisted by Ryan and Hannah. At 43:11, Jay was sent to the penalty bench for elbowing. Whilst short handed, the Bulldogs kept the puck in the Nottingham zone for most of the two minutes.

At 46:15 Ryan scored his hat trick goal, assisted from Adam, and this goal said goodbye to the Nottingham keeper. With the new keeper between the pipes, and showing us he could do the splits the game got underway again. In just over a minute at 47:43 Ryan scored his fourth goal again assisted by Adam. At 52:22 a scuffle around the Nottingham net and following a rebound found James Royds ready to push the puck into the net with his first goal this game. At 53:07 James Birtwistle was sent for a two minute sit for elbows. As soon as Bradford were back to full strength Ryan again found the back of the net with a fifth goal, this time assisted by Lewis Baldwin at 55:12. Thirty seconds later Adam scored his second goal assisted from Ryan, giving the final score 12-1. Shots on goal to Andy were only 24. Shots to the Nottingham keepers were 62 in total. Well done to all of the team. Man of the match award went to Team Captain Connor Parkin. It was 10 pm and we were all in Nottingham, on a school night, but we WON!! Now the U18 Bulldogs are only two points below the top of the league.

On Saturday 14th December 2013, at Bradford Ice Arena the Bigdog U18 Bulldogs faced Solihull Barons. The away game at Solihull had been a tough challenge for the Bulldogs, but we got the win, so were again looking for the home win in our own barn. The first period started with strong attack from the Bulldogs, and the Barons were also doing their best to keep the puck, at just 2:16 a feisty Baron, Kennedy Wallace, well known for her obstructions received a 2 minute interference penalty. The penalties continued for the Barons and at 6:09 Jordan Bird was sent to sit for 2 minutes for holding. This was followed by Jay Fagan trying to get his own back and also received 2 minutes at 6:34 for boarding. In the same minute while both teams were 4 on 4, Adam Barnes took his opportunity and scored goal number 1 for the Bulldogs at 9:46 assisted by James Royds. At 13:12 Solihull were beginning to feel intimidated and Joseph Gilbert sat for 2 minutes for slashing. Again the Bulldogs had the advantage of 5 on 4 and Ryan Kemp found the back of the net at 13:24 assisted by Lewis Baldwin. The Barons back to full strength brought the two teams back to end to end hockey, but at 14:36 Jay again kept the penalty bench warm as he was there again for tripping. Back to full strength and the Bulldogs kept up the pressure and again at 18:33 Ryan again tipped the puck into the net assisted by Adam and James. Score now 3 0 to the Bulldogs. Nineteen seconds after the whistle blew it was Connor Parkins turn to score assisted by Adam and Josh Birtwistle at 18:52. At 19:36 a feisty Niks Veiss sat for 2 minutes after a roughing penalty. End of period score 4 0 to the Bulldogs. The second period started as the first one had finished with a score a short handed goal from the Bulldogs from Captain Connor Parkin at 20:30 at 20:58 Liam was then sat for 2 minutes for cross checking. But then at 21:25 Solihull assistant captain Cody-Leigh Tookey scored the first Solihull goal, unassisted. At 21:34 it was Adams turn to dodge the Solihull net minder and score another shorthanded goal to bring the score to 6 1. At 21:53 a boarding check from Adam Hands, and a roughing check for Joseph Gilbert, followed by 2 misconduct penalties towards the reff saw Gilbert exit the game. At 22:01 Ryan got his hattrick goal again short handed assisted by James. Six seconds later at 22:17 Adam scored his hattrick goal. This seemed to upset the two Solihull girls, Wallace and Tookey then decided to goad and intimidate an already riled Liam Kirtons hot headed patience, and a few chosen words from them saw him also receive a 2 x 10 minute roughing penalty at 33:58 for trying to fight the girls and Solihulls , Captain Lewis Tooth who also received two ten minutes and left the game for the dressing room. The girls seemed to cause it all but didn’t receive any penalty. This seemed to change the dynamics of the Bulldogs game, because at 38:41 again Tookey got another goal for Solihull – end of period score 8 – 2 to the Bulldogs. The period was ended at 38:58 allowing everyone to calm down. At the beginning of the third (40:54) Niks received a 2 minute penalty for unsportsman like behaviour and at 43:51 Baron Tookey sat a tripping penalty whilst Bulldog Josh B sat 2 minutes for holding. At 50:00 the Bulldogs changed their net minder and U16 Brad Cartwright had his debut for the U18’s. At 50:10 Baron Adam Hands received a 2 minutes for slashing, once back on the ice Hands took no time to get to the net and score a third goal for the Barons unassisted at 53:28. The remainder of the game was clean uneventfull (!!) hockey, Brad taking 11 shots , Andy taking 30 in the game. Final score was 8 – 3 to the Bulldogs, MOM went to Jay Fagan. Well played once again team!

On Sunday 8th December the U18 Bulldogs travelled to Sheffield to face the U18 Sutton Sting on pad 2. The game started strongly with end to end hockey and a number of shots saved by Andy Button. At 6:12 Sutton were the first to get the puck in the net an even handed goal scored by Suttons assistant captain, Harry Bridges. This was shortly followed by an equalizer from the Bulldogs, scored by Ryan Kemp, assisted by Adam Barnes and Hannah Gibson. At 10:04 Sutton’s Captain Lawson Glasby sat two minutes for stick holding, which gave the Bulldogs a chance to score on the power play, unfortunately Sutton held close and Danny Spence also found himself on the penalty bench for slashing at 12:58. Next it was Suttons turn for the penalty as Dominic Clark was sat for hooking, in the last few minutes of the period, a scuffle around the net saw the puck sitting just in front of the line, James Royds managed to neatly tuck it over the line, but the referee called no goal as there were Sutton players in the crease, it ended a 1 all period.
Period 2 started, and after less than a minute Liam Kirton was on the penalty bench for ‘clipping’?? The Bulldogs kept the puck out of their net whilst shorthanded, as Liam emerged from the gate he picked up the puck and had a shot on target, but was saved. At 29:05, Sutton scored their second goal, an unassisted goal from Alex Manning, but fifty seconds later at 29:55 Ryan Kemp skilfully tips the puck over the netminders shoulder equalising the game to 2 all; assisted by Adam Barnes and Lewis Baldwin. At 30:55 Suttons Bridges was sent to the penalty bench for boarding Lewis Baldwin in a very aggressive check from behind. At 32:28 Sutton scored their third goal from number 55 George Cranshaw, and at 37:44 Liam sat a further 2 minutes for boarding. The end of period score was 3 – 2 to Sutton, Andy wasn’t very happy with this and gave the players a right good talking to!!
In the final period Adam Barnes scored the opening goal, assisted by Ryan at 41:27, this was swiftly followed by an unassisted breakaway goal from Liam Kirton at 41:48; taking the score to 4 : 3 to the Bulldogs. At 44:55, following a handbags scuffle and a tiring Sutton team, they received a 2 minute bench penalty for too many men on the ice, and a ten minute misconduct penalty to Captain Lawson Glasby, the Bulldogs took advantage of this and Adam Barnes receives the puck from Ryan Kemp and tucks it swiftly into the top left hand corner of the net, bringing the score up to 5:3 to the Bulldogs. The team talk from Head Coach Andy had obviously made a difference! At 49:01 Liam receives a further 2 minutes for interference and at 49:55 Sutton’s George Crawshaw receives a 2 minute tripping penalty, Ryan was the next in the penalty bench at 54:05 for high sticks, swiftly followed before the bench was cold by Danny Spence at 56:59 for tripping, and closely followed by Cameron Kushnirenko at 59:44 for holding!! But the mighty Bulldogs held together and kept the score, finishing at 5:3 to the Bradford Bulldogs, well done team. Shots on goal to Andy Button was 18, and the well deserved MVP went to Ryan Kemp. A great game, great score and the much needed two points pushed us higher up the top of the table.

On the 17th November the Bulldogs travelled South to Solihull for a 6pm face off with two players down from the penalties of the previous game. The game started fast and furious, and Solihull were 1:0 up after only 23 seconds with a goal from Jack Mckay, this was swiftly followed by a second goal from Solihulls Adam Hands at 3:30, and a third from John Poulter at 6:51. The Bulldogs were 3:0 down, oh dear… At 11:56 the Bulldogs were on a power play and Ryan Kemp scored the Bulldogs opening goal at 11:56 assisted by Adam Barnes and Josh Richardson. Finally we were on the board, but no time to relax. At 17:12 Adam Barnes scored an even handed goal assisted by Lewis Baldwin, we were catching up. Just before the end of the 1st period Solihull took the score to 4:2, with another goal from Adam Hands at 19:27. The second period was just as tough, end to end hockey but at 29:42, on the power play Ryan Kemp scored, again assisted by Lewis Baldwin. Solihull changed their net minder at this point and neither team scored for the remainder of the period. Four minutes into the third period saw a hat trick goal from Ryan, assisted by James Royds and Hannah Gibson, and a further unassisted goal from Ryan at 53:57, taking the score equal 5:5!! Less than a minute later Lewis Baldwin scored again assisted by Ryan, and at 54:53 Adam scored the 7th assisted by James and Ryan. What an exciting game, winning 7 : 5 when we were 3:0 down was absolutely fantastic, I grinned all the way home, I’ve been a hockey manager for a few years, but coming away from Solihull with a win is always an achievement, amazingly well done players, and to Lewis Baldwinon his MVP. This win took us to second in the league, another reason to smile. Shots on goal were 26 on Bradford, and 34 on Solihull.