Tag Archive for EIHA

Club News, Match Report

Home comforts allow 15s and 11s to get better of Whitley Bay

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HOME ice proved an advantage for our Under-11s and Under-15s when they each recorded deserved victories against Whitley Bay on Saturday.

Bulldogs’ Under-15s after their 9-4 win against Whitley Bay.

Daragh Spawforth (6+1) and Jake Wigginton (1+5) combined brilliantly to lead the way for the Under-15s, for who Andy Bourke was behind the bench to oversee an entertaining, closely-fought 9-4 win against impressive opponents.

McKenzie Barker and Danny Harrison were the others to find the net, while there were assists for Harrison Booth (2), Brett Harper, Tom Mardell and Harrison.

Netminder Jacob Midgley gets down to smother a shot on goal.

Netminder Jacob Midgley excelled between the pipes, saving 40 of the 44 shots on his goal to take the Spirit of the Game award.

Earlier in the day, our 11s got the better of the visitors with a comprehensive 17-8 win.

Bench coach Andy Bourke gives instructions to the Under-11s during a period break in the win against Whitley Bay.

There were several hat-tricks to be had with Kyle Bower (3+1), Billy Simpson (3+1), Layden Fletcher-Robb (3+1) and Charlie Barker (3+0) all finding their range, while Will Durgan (2+5) also got in on the act, along with Kieran Smith (2+1) and Anjris Mikelsons (1+0). An assist apiece went to Maksims Gailliss and Ellie Simpson, with brother Billy making it a day to remember when also picking up the Spirit of the Game award.

Today, it is back to Planet Ice Cup for two of our teams, with the Under-18s hosting Widnes, while the Under-13s head over to Cheshire.

Last weekend, there were mixed fortunes for Bradford Bulldogs’ teams in the Planet Ice Cup on Sunday, the Under-15s going down at home to Kingston Sharks, while the Under-11s enjoyed a comfortable win on the road against the Sharks.

With Hull Ice Arena undergoing major refurbishment work still, the Under-11s only had a short distance to travel to Leeds to take on Kingston, who are using the Planet Ice rink on Elland Road as their temporary home.

The visitors won 20-4, thereby invoking the mercy rule which means it will go down as an 8-0 victory. 

Kieran Smith, Will Durgan, Charlie Barker, Layden Wood, Billy Simpson, Kyle Bower and Anjris Mikelsons all got on the scoresheet, while Ellie Simpson was awarded the Spirit of the Game award.

It was a different story on home ice for the Bulldogs’ 15s, who went down 16-4 against a strong Kingston team (again the mercy rule means it is recorded as an 8-0 win for Kingston).

Daragh Spawforth fired home all four of the Bulldogs goals, with an assist apiece to Jake Wigginton and Danny Harrison. Grace Cooper was presented with the Spirit of the Game award for the home team.

Club News, England and GB, GB, GB Ice Hockey, Ice Hockey UK

Weekend Review – Planet Ice Cup wins for Under-111s and 15s

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READY, WILLING AND ABLE: Bradford Bulldogs’ Under-13s netminder Jacob Midgley prepares to deny Widnes’ forward a goalscoring opportunity. Picture: Caroline Midgley.

IT TURNED out to be a great afternoon for our youngsters on Sunday, with our Under-11s and Under-15s both recording handsome wins over Widnes in the Planet Ice Cup.

The 11s came home from Cheshire with a terrific 11-4 win, with Will Durgan (4+2), Kieran Smith (3+2), Anrijs Mikelsons (2), Charlie Barker and Kyle Bower all among the points. Charlie B also got ‘Spirit of the Game’.

Meanwhile, back at ‘the pound’, our 15s won 20-3. Daragh Spawforth (5+3), Frankie O’Sullivan (4+2), Jess Wooding (3+2), McKenzie Barker (3+0), Tom Mardell (2+2), Danny Harrison (2+7) and Jake Wigginton (1+1) and Dan Johns (0+1) all getting on the scoresheet. Jess W also got ‘Spirit of the Game’.

Two great, all-round performances from every single kid involved, top coaching and brilliantly supported by parents as always.

WINNERS: Bradford Bulldogs’ Under-11s line up on the ice after their 11-4 win in the Planet Ice Cup at Widnes on Sunday – Charlie Barker earning himself the Spirit of the Game award. Picture: Lee Farrow.

Next week our Under-13s and Under-18s are in action on Saturday and Sunday.

On Saturday, we are staging the first in a series of friendly fixtures against Whitley Bay. The Under-13s play host in a 4pm face-off, while the Under-18s are scheduled to start their game at around 5.30pm.

On Sunday, our Under-13s play in the Planet Ice Cup against Hull (4.15pm), who are currently playing their home games at Leeds (Elland Road), while our Under-18s play host to our East Yorkshire rivals, in a 5pm face-off.

Club News

Bulldogs set to get back out on the ice

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THE wait is finally over. 

Today sees the Bulldogs back on the ice having been forced to sit on the sidelines for six months due to the lockdown brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.

After last week saw the green light finally given for Bradford Ice Arena to reopen its doors on Tuesday, Wednesday night sees the club’s various junior teams and the club’s senior players hit the ice for some long-awaited practice sessions.

The Under-9s will be first on the ice between 5.30-6.30pm, followed by the Under-11s who will get their hour from 6.45pm onwards.

The Under-13s return to training at 8pm with the Under-15s making the most of their 60-minute slot from 9.15pm before the seniors’ team round-off the evening with a late showing at 10.30pm.

Bradford Bulldogs head coach, Andy Brown

Head coach Andy Brown admitted it had been a long time in the making to get the club’s players back out on the ice, adding that he couldn’t wait to get started again.

“It’s been a frustrating time for everybody at the club,” said Andy. “Obviously, what has gone on over the last few months has been a horrible experience for many people and our hearts go out to those who have suffered.

“We’ve been busy at the rink getting the place ready for when we could start practising again and I know from speaking to parents, players, team managers and our coaches, that we’re all desperate just to get back out there again.”

The club returns to the ice heading straight into step 3 of the EIHA’s phased ‘Return to Play’ structure, although it will be a while yet before any actual games can be scheduled for teams at any age group.

In the meantime, players will be able to train on the ice in groups of up to 30, plus their coaches, with contact to be phased in over the next two-three weeks.

They will be able to work on strength and conditioning with coaches, cover technical and tactical aspects of the game, as well as return to developing their individual skills.

“It’s going to be great,” added Andy. “We’ve been able to keep in touch with people through social media and, in the case of some of the youngsters, some weekend off-ice sessions in recent weeks.

“But I’m just looking forward to getting back out on the ice with them all. It’s been too long and we’ve got a lot of lost time to make up for because we want to get back to having fun out on that ice pad.”