From: steve@cs.hw.ac.uk (Steve Salvini)
Newsgroups: rec.sport.hockey,uk.misc
Subject: History of British (Ice!) Hockey
Date: 3 Sep 92 13:18:27 GMT
Organization: Dept of Computing and Electrical Engineering, Heriot-Watt University, Scotland


Hi - first of all an apology for the length of this message ->

                          "sorry!" :-)

I am busy compiling a short history of (ice) hockey in Britain for use
in the "uk-hockey" mailing list's FAQ list.   I would be most grateful
for any help/comments/criticism/additions/etc. on the following first
draft...

"Thanks in advance" as they say!

Steve - aka uk-hockey-request@cs.hw.ac.uk

---:<---:<---:<---:<---:<---:<--- CUT HERE ---:<---:<---:<---:<---:<---:<---:<--

A SHORT HISTORY OF BRITISH ICE HOCKEY
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

[sources - "Flashing Blades" by Phil Drackett, "Ice Hockey News Review",
	   "Powerplay", match programmes, etc.]

EARLY HISTORY

500BC - The origins of hockey go back to the ancient Greeks who played
        a variation of field hockey.
1143 - The first mention of skating appears with reports of Vikings
       tying bones to the underside of their boots.
1180 - Reports of skating on the Fens in England.
1500s - Early version of ice hockey played in Holland - called 'kalv'.
1600 - Skates with metal blades from Holland.
1642 - The Edinburgh Skating Club formed, GB's oldest skating organisation.
1772 - 'The Art of Skating' by Robert Jones published.
1876 - First artificial rinks opened in London - the first being The Glaciarium
       in Chelsea.


THE FIRST GAME EVER

1867 or 1879 ? - first ice hockey game played.  Two towns claim to have
been the birthplace of hockey, Kingston, Ontario and Montreal, Quebec.
The claim of the latter is based on a McGill student organising a field
hockey game played on ice in December 1879.  Kingston, on the other
hand, point to 1867 when the Royal Canadian Rifles played a game on the
ice of Kingston Harbour and then in 1870 the (British) 60th. Rifles
doing the same.

1880 - the first ice hockey club formed, the McGill University Hockey Club.
1885 - McGill student introduces ice hockey to Ottawa.
     - Cambridge University beat Oxford University 6-0 at St. Moritz, the
first game played outside of Canada, however, it is hard to determine
whether the game was truly ice hockey as hockey, bandy & shinty are all very
much interchangeable at this stage.

1888 - In Canada a number of additional teams have now formed including
Ottawa Rebels, Montreal Victorians & Quebec Crystals.   Ottawa Rebels
formed by the Hon. Arthur Stanley, son of Lord Stanley of Preston then
Governor-General of Canada.

1890 - Hon. Arthur Stanley founded the Ottawa Hockey Association.
1893 - Hon. Arthur Stanley & his brothers persuade their father to
present the Stanley Cup for competition.


FIRST GAME IN THE UK

1895 - On their return to Britain, the Stanley sons continue to
encourage the spread of ice hockey.  With the lake at Buckingham Palace
frozen, a Palace team including the Prince of Wales (later George V)
plays the Stanley team comprising Lord Stanley and four more Stanley
brothers - the Palace loses!  :-)

1896-97 - Lord Stanley plus five brothers plays a team from the Niagara
rink.  Princes Skating Club forms a hockey club and play their first
match in February.

1899 - Princes Club lose to Brighton at the circular (!) Brighton
rink.


FIRST LEAGUE IN THE UK

1903-04 - First English Ice Hockey league season - Cambridge win with
14 points from Princes Club with 12 - other teams involved were Hendon
Argylls, Hendon Amateur Skating Club & London Canadians (the
latter lost to the touring Canadian Rugby Football team in an
exhibition hockey game!)

1904 - Princes playing as England win the international bandy
tournament at Davos


IIHF FORMED - FIRST INTERNATIONAL MATCHES PLAYED

1908 - England are founder members with France, Belgium, Bohemia and
Switzerland of the Ligue Internationale de Hockey sur Glace (LIHG), now
the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF).
- Princes, playing as England, beat Germany & France to win the first
indoor International Ice Hockey Tournament in Berlin.   They then win
the international ice hockey championship at Chamonix.


FISRTRST PRE-WAR BOOM

1910 - Manchester Ice Palace opens and is the first to use the phrase
'the fastest game on earth' in its advertisements.

First European Championships at Les Avants near Montreux in Switzerland
contested by England (represented by Princes Club), Germany, Belgium
and Switzerland (plus the Oxford Canadians whose games were excluded
from the championship proper).  England beat the Swiss & Germans and
draw with Belgium to become first ever European Champions.  (Tommy
Sopwith, of Sopwith Camel fame, played in goals).  In the first ever
home international, England beat Scotland 11-1.

1910-11 - Manchester beat Princes 5-3 and Scotland beat Princes 8-3 at
the original Crossmyloof rink in Glasgow complete with bandstand raised
on pillars in centre of the rink!

1913 - British Ice Hockey Association founded.


POST-WAR COLLAPSE

1918 - After the war, ice hockey goes through one of its many barren spells.

1921 - Sweden beat Czechoslovakia to win the European Championship - these
were the only two teams involved!

1923 - BIHA revived after being disbanded during the First World War.

1923 - Only Manchester ice rink staging hockey in England.
Padding at this time consists of soccer shinguards, stout gloves and
plenty of embrocation!

1924 - Winter Olympics at Chamonix, Switzerland, see GB finish 3rd.
behind Canada and USA - Toronto Comets playing as Canada beat GB 19-2.
(N.B. this was the highest score against the Canadians in the
competition and also the second lowest for them!)

1924/5/6 - London Lions formed but play most of their games in
Switzerland.


OUT OF THE DOLDRUMS

1926 - The Ice Club at Westminster, London, opens.
- Montreal Victorias (first Canadian team to visit the UK) beat England
14-1 though England later beat Belgium 3-1.
Many new rinks begin to open at this time but none have much
accommodation for spectators.

1928 - GB finish 4th. in the Olympics.

1928 - Scottish Ice Rink Company formed - they rebuild Crossmyloof in
Glasgow (omitting the bandstand!)

1929 - SIHA formed - founder clubs are Glasgow Canadians, Bearsden,
Bridge of Weir, Doonside, Achtungs, Queens, Dennistoun, Kelvingrove,
Glasgow Skating Club & Scottish Corinthians.

FIRST SEASON IN SCOTLAND

1929-30 - First real season in Scotland although all games are played
at Crossmyloof - Glasgow Mohawks win the Scottish League but lose to
London Lions in the British Championship game.


PRE-WAR BOOM II

1930s - The English National League is second only to the NHL (which at
this time has only 7 teams).

1930 - Britain enter the first World Championships in Chamonix.

1932 - James Robertson Justice (of the 'Doctor' films fame (?)) gives up
his career as a goalie and turns to refereeing - one of the highlights of
his career is to send off the Austrian international net-minder!

1934 - Wembley (capacity 10,000) opens and acts as home to London Lions
and Wembley Canadians (Clarence 'Sonny' Rost in defence).

1934-35 - Streatham Redskins win championship - second team is Richmond
Hawks

1935-36 -  Earls Court opens (capacity 7,000) and is home to Earls
Court Rangers and Kensington Corinthians.
Brighton rink (capacity 3,000) opens, home of Brighton Tigers.


"BRITISH ICE HOCKEY'S FINEST HOUR" :-)

1936 - Feb 15th - at Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, GB draw 0-0 with
USA (outdoor) after three periods of overtime.  Canada then beat USA
thus GB become first team to win the 'Triple Crown' - the World
Championship, the European Championship & the Winter Olympics Gold -
"British Ice Hockey's Finest Hour" :-)   Britain play under the 'shrewd
but controversial guidance of BIHA secretary, John F. 'Bunny' Ahearne.

1935-36 - Scottish league down to 5 clubs - Kelvingrove, Glasgow Lions,
Glasgow Mustangs, Glasgow University & Glasgow Mohawks - renamed the
Scottish National League - won by Glasgow Mohawks.

1936 - packed houses in Scotland - 5 team league but really just a
Glasgow City League!
Scotland draw 1-1 with England to give them their first ever point in a
home international match, the previous four games all going the way of
England.

1936-37 - Harringay Arena opens and hosts Harringay Racers and
Harringay Greyhounds (N.B. the names were chosen as the Arena was owned
by the Greyhound Racing Association - just as well there wasn't a third
team!   The name "Racers" was later taken up by the Edinburgh based
team, not for any high-minded reason but because their management
bought up the strips when Harringay Racers were disbanded!)
There are now 11 clubs in the English league with the addition of the
Francais Volants (who play as Southampton Vikings) and SC Rapide de
Paris (who play as Manchester Rapids) after a disagreement between
these two teams and the French national association - none of the
players involved are French nationals but all are actually
French-Canadians.

(N.B. at this time imports get to Europe not by plane but by working
their passage on cattle-boats!)

Montreal Canadiens play Detroit Redwings at Empress Hall.

In the 30's more than 30 players left the English National League to
play in the NHL.

1937 - Central Scotland Ice Rink with seating for 2,500 opened at Perth
- Perth Panthers formed under the direction of Les Lovell.
- Britain retain their European crown as the World and European
Championships are held in London for the first time.

1938 - March, 11th. - Scottish League select draw 1-1 with the touring
Sudbury Wolves of Canada, the reigning World Champions.
- Britain gain their fourth European title in Prague, Czechoslovakia.

1938-39 - Scottish league now truly national - Glasgow Mohawks,
Kelvingrove, Perth Panthers, Dundee Tigers, Falkirk Lions and Fife
Flyers - maximum of 6 Canadians per team in teams of between 8 & 11.

In England the game is also thriving with Harringay, Earls Court and
Wembley especially all capable of holding large crowds.  Scottish All
Stars lose 1-9 to London (& Brighton) Select.


THE WAR YEARS

1939-45 - Scotland reduced to 6 rinks and 50 players.

1939 - Murrayfield ice rink built and immediately requisitioned for war
use.

1940 - March - Alderman 'Icy' Smith opens a rink at Durham, actually a
marquee!  Smith is often to be heard ordering the referees, for
example, "Referee, send off that number 3!"


POST-WAR RECOVERY

At end of war teams playing out of Falkirk, Dundee, Kirkaldy, Ayr,
Paisley, Perth and Dunfermline is Scotland using roughly 70 Canadians.

1946-47 - Scottish National League revived - continues to be dominated
by East of Scotland clubs (after being won by Perth Panthers in 1937-38
&  Dundee Tigers in 1938-39)

1947-48 Scottish League split into East & West sections, Dundee Tigers
winning the former and Paisley Pirates the latter.

1948 - GB finish 6th. out of 9 participating teams in the Olympics but
using a team comprising mainly British-born players for once and with 3
returnees from the team of 1936!

1948-49 - Scottish League back to a single division.

1949 - Murrayfield rink finally "de-requisitioned".

1950 - May 29th. - Scotland beat England 4-1 in the first ever junior
home international.
- Britain are second in the European Championships in London with a
team comprising only British-trained players.

1950-51 - East coast clubs domination of the Scottish League finally
broken by Paisley Pirates.

1952-53 - Hockey finally begins at Murrayfield where the local team is
known as the Edinburgh Royals and is managed by Alex Archer, ex-winger
with the Wembley Lions.

1953-54 - Nottingham Panthers beat Streatham Redskins to win the
English championship while in Scotland Falkirk Lions beat Perth
Panthers after Paisley win the Scottish League.

In Scotland this is the last season of the Scottish National League
which is won by Paisley Pirates - the league is to remain dormant for
27 years!


THE FIRST BRITISH LEAGUE

In England there are 5 senior clubs, Nottingham Panthers, Streatham
Redskins, Harringay Racers, Wembley Lions & Brighton Tigers and in
Scotland there are 7 teams - all agree to form a British League for
season 1954-55.

(Red Imrie debuts for Falkirk at the age of 16)

GB do not play in the world championships.

1955-56 - British League declines to only Harringay Racers, Wembley
Lions, Brighton Tigers, Nottingham Panthers and Paisley Mohawks.

Regular visits in the 50's by teams from USA, USSR, Czechoslovakia &
Sweden.

March 1956 - first ever televised game shows Wembley Lions beating
Nottingham Panthers at Nottingham with Alan Weeks commentating.

1957 - Brighton Tigers beat USSR 6-3 !!!

1958-59 - Full USSR side return for full tour as warm-up for World
Championships.   They lose to Wembley Lions 2-5 the day after they arrived
(not surprisingly in the days when they had no jet travel!).   They avenged
their defeat the previous year at the hands of Brighton Tigers, winning 6-3
then beat Paisley Pirates 8-2, Edinburgh Royals 10-3, lowly Nottingham
Panthers only 4-3, and in the final game they avenge their only defeat with a
2-0 win over the Wembley Lions.

1960 - End of British League's 6 year existence.

British League Roll of Honour:
	54-55 Wembley Lions
	55-56 Nottingham Panthers
	56-57 Wembley Lions
	57-58 Brighton Tigers
	58-59 Paisley Mohawks
	59-60 Streatham Redskins


BACK INTO DECLINE

1960-66 - No serious hockey in England although the GB side never
finish out of the top ten in the world and only lose Pool A status in
1963!  Hockey kept alive in GB by Scotland and the North East of
England in the Northern League.

1961 - Britain return to the World Championships after a seven year
absence and finish second in Group B in Switzerland.
- to achieve a better balance in the teams, clubs are restricted to a maximum of
4 ex-British League players which leads to the break-up of the previously
all-conquering Edinburgh Royals.

1962 - A NATO ban on East German sports teams in retaliation for the building
of the Berlin Wall causes the withdrawal of USSR & Czechoslovakia
and GB are promoted to Pool A where they finish last - currently GB's
last competition at Pool A level.

1966-67 - Northern League (NL) formed by Scottish and North East clubs
- as well as the league there is also the (Northern) Autumn Cup
competition.

1965-80 - Winning the 'Icy' Smith Cup is the equivalent of winning the
British Championship today.

1966-82 - Generally agreed that the best team in Britain is Murrayfield
Racers who win the Northern League 7 times (1966-82), the 'Icy' Smith
Cup 8 times (1965-80) & the Autumn Cup 6 times with the team nearest to
them being Fife Flyers with 2 wins in each of the first two
competitions and 4 in the Autumn Cup.  In the NL, Racers & Flyers are
joined by Glasgow Dynamos, Whitley Warriors and Durham Wasps as
"ever-presents".

1966 - World Championships - GB finish bottom in Pool B in Yugoslavia -
this is to be GB's last entry for five years.

1969 - Northern League experiments with the two strongest clubs, Murrayfield
and Whitley agreeing to split their squads into two teams each to try to
reduce their dominance of the league - Murrayfield ice the Murrayfield Racers
and the Edinburgh Royals, Whitley the Whitley Warriors and the Whitley Bay
Bandits.   Meanwhile Glasgow are ordered to release two players to Paisley
Mohawks to try to avoid the latter's demise.

1970 - SL has 5 teams playing out of 3 rinks - NL has 6 teams out of 6 rinks
after Paisley fold during the close season and it is agreed that Murrayfield
and Whitley should abandon the experiment of playing two squads each.

1970-71 - The Southern League (SL) is formed.

1972 - Games are played with a running clock for the first two periods
at some rinks due to the three-day-week during Mr. Heath's battle with the
miners.

1971 - GB now in Pool C of the World Championships (held in Holland)
and finish above last (4th. out of 8) for the first of only two times in
the 70's.

1973-74 - London Lions are formed by the Detroit Redwings organisation
- they are a fully professional side and play 71 matches out of their
base at Wembley.  To find suitable opposition, they travel to play in
Sweden, Finland, Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Austria, West Germany,
Switzerland and Czechoslovakia as well as playing against teams in the
UK.   This attempt to bring NHL-style hockey to Europe proves to be
ahead of its time and the idea is dropped at the end of the season.


SIGNS OF RECOVERY IN THE SOUTH

1974 - SL now has two divisions with 11 teams playing out of 7 rinks.

1976 - SL now has 22 teams playing out of 12 rinks - NL has 15 teams
out of 8 rinks.

1976-77 - Fife Flyers have a clean sweep in NL competitions winning the
'Icy' Smith Cup, the Northern League, the (Northern) Autumn Cup and the
(Northern) Spring Cup.   This is only the third time this has been done
and follows Paisley Mohawks in 1967-68 and Murrayfield Racers in
1970-71.

1978 - Crowtree (Sunderland) opens.

1979 - Ice hockey begins to emerge from its latest period of inactivity - Tom
Stewart sponsors international challenge matches at Dundee - GB finish sixth
out of 8 in Barcelona, Spain, in Pool C.

1980 - English Womens League founded.

1981 - GB play in Pool C in China, finishing last, and bow out of
international competition until 1989.


THE MODERN ERA...

1981-82 - The English and Scottish National Leagues are revived (21
years since the collapse of the British League and more than 25 years since
the previous national leagues.)   
- This is widely regarded as the start of the "modern era" of British
ice hockey.
- Dundee Rockets win the Scottish National League from Murrayfield
Racers in second place - having just been revived, this competition
goes back on ice with the entry of Heineken as sponsor.
- The top four teams in Britain meet at Streatham to contest the British
Championship, Dundee Rockets, Murrayfield Racers, Streatham Redskins and
Blackpool Seagulls - Dundee beat Streatham 3-2 in the final.
- The first, post 1960, paid imports are introduced to the league by Tom 
Stewart at Dundee who has persuaded the Dundee rink to stage hockey once
again after a 6 year break.

1982 - 30 clubs affiliated to the BIHA with 80 teams having 2,000
players.
- Heineken become involved in British hockey sponsorship and the game
begins to take off as money reaches parts that other beers failed to
reach!
- The British league is to be revived but regionalised to reduce costs.
The teams involved are as follows ->

First Division, Group A - Ayr, Dundee, Fife, Glasgow, Murrayfield
                Group B - Cleveland, Durham, Whitley, Nottingham, Streatham
                Group C - Altrincham, Blackpool, Crowtree, Richmond, Southampton

Second Division, North - Bradford, Deeside, Grimsby, Sheffield
                 South - Bristol, Peterborough, Solihull, Streatham Bruins

Third Division - mainly reserve teams plus Oxford & Cambridge universities and
Brighton Royals.

1982-83 - The winners of the First Division are Dundee, Durham and Altrincham
and at the British Championships, again at Streatham, Dundee beat Durham.

1983-84 - Dundee Rockets become the first team to win the 'Grand Slam'
of Autumn Cup, Heineken League and Heineken Championship.

1984 - Dundee Rockets are first GB team to play in the European
Championships qualifying as winners of the British Championship - Tony
and Paul Hand guest for Dundee but the result is still best forgotten!
(21-5 on aggregate to Rodovre of Denmark)

1985 - December 29th. - Emma Bowles becomes the first woman to play in
a British league game when she comes on for Mike Kellond of Oxford City
Stars - the Oxford officials had got their fixtures mixed up and the Stars
had to play Solihull Barons with only two first team regulars leading to a 
scoreline of 0-50 hence the use of Bowles to allow Kellond some respite!

1985-86 - The Scottish League is revived as the Regal Scottish Cup
which is won by Murrayfield racers with Dundee Rockets coming second.
Finishing positions in the league are used to decide the semi-finals of
the Scottish Cup Weekend at Dundee where Racers beat Ayr 14-12 in an
epic battle and Dundee beat Fife 7-3.  As is now common when TV cameras
are involved, the final is a tame affair with Dundee disposing of
Racers 7-3 in a poor game.
- Durham Wasps come so close against Jesenice of Yugoslavia in their home
leg of their European Cup game losing 6-7.

1986 - Tony Hand of Murrayfield Racers is drafted 256th. out of 256 by
the Edmonton Oilers and so becomes the first (and as yet, only) British
born and trained player to be drafted by an NHL club.

1986 - 28th. December - Martin McKay, having kept goal for most of the
match, changes into outfielders kit and returns to the ice as a forward
to score a goal against Ayr Raiders in a 12-1 victory for Tayside
Tigers - after a BIHA investigation, the result stood but the coach was
reprimanded!

1986-87 - Murrayfield Racers pip Dundee Rockets in both the Scottish League
and Cup, again both sponsored by Regal.
- Murrayfield Racers become the first British team to win a game in the European
Cup in a preliminary round match when they beat Slavia Sofia.
- There are now 49 teams in the British League plus teams at Oxford & Cambridge
universities, Aviemore and elsewhere.

The 49 teams are as follows ->

Premier League - Ayr, Cleveland, Dundee, Durham, Fife, Murrayfield, Nottingham,
Solihull and Streatham.
First Division - Kirkaldy, Glasgow, Irvine, Sunderland, Blackpool, Altrincham,
Peterborough, Telford, Oxford City, Swindon, Slough, Lee Valley, Richmond,
Medway, Southampton, Bournemouth.
Second Division (North) - Billingham Buccaneers, Bradford, Durham Hornets,
Grimsby, Nottingham Trojans, Sunderland Tomahawks, Whitley Bay Bandits.
Second Division (South) - Bournemouth Bucks, Brighton, Hastings, Medway
Maurauders, Oxford City Satellites, Richmond Raiders, Southampton Vikings 2,
Streatham Bruins.
Second Division (Midlands) - Ashfield, Bristol, Cardiff, Deeside, Peterborough
Titans, Solihull Knights, Telford Tornadoes, Trafford Tigers.

1987 - Glen Henderson, Scottish Porsche dealer and owner of Ayr
Raiders, announces he is to build a 3,000 seater rink at Prestwick
purpose-built for hockey - and so the Centrum saga begins...

1987-88 - An eleventh hour rescue by Capital Foods saves the Scottish
League & Cup where Fife pip Murrayfield for the league and things
finish vice versa in the cup.
- Durham Wasps hold Polonia Byton to a 7-7 tie in the European Cup
quarter finals.


GB RETURN TO INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION

1989 - GB return to the World Championships (Pool D) in Belgium but
miss out on promotion to Pool C when they fail to beat the host nation
- Gordon Latto of Fife Flyers is sent home in disgrace as three players
fail a doping test - this is later quashed and all the players involved
are admonished.    GB complain to no avail that basic equipment like
skate sharpeners is just not made available to them.   This is the last
time that GB play in the World Championships without using 'dual
nationals'.

1989-90 - Cardiff Devils become the first non-Scottish team to play in
the Scottish Cup weekend when invited as guests as the demise of
Tayside Tigers leaves only three Premier teams in Scotland.
Unfortunately, Devils seem to lose interest after an injury to star
forward Steve Moria in the semis and bow out rather tamely to
Murrayfield Racers in the final.

1990-91 - Durham Wasps win the 'Grand Slam'.
- Cardiff Devils beat Rodovre of Denmark in the European Cup and become
the first British team to win a quarterfinal stage game.

1990 - Britain host the World Championships (Pool D) for the first time
in 40 years.  At Cardiff GB are streets ahead of their rivals Spain and
Australia and gain promotion to Pool C as champions with ease.

1991 - In Pool C in Denmark, GB just miss out on promotion to Pool C
after a number of very close games - they finish 5th., one place off
the extra promotion places caused by the expansion of Pool A to 12
teams.

1991-92 - Whitley warriors become the first English team to win the
Scottish Cup when invited as guests after the demise of Glasgow Saints
left only three Heineken teams in Scotland.

1992 - Britain host Pool C of the World Championships at Humberside and
win promotion by finishing first.
- new arena at Sheffield begins staging hockey and by mid-season is attracting
crowds in excess of 8,000 - by the end of season playoffs, Sheffield breaks
modern British attendance record previously held by Wembley Arena with crowds
in the 11,000's - and all this whilst the Steelers are in English Division One,
two levels below the Premier League!


################################################################################

[This section is very much incomplete - any/all help much appreciated!]

Team histories ->
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Cardiff Devils - founded in 1986 - promoted to Division One in their
first season, they then spent only two years there before gaining
promotion to the Premier where they were not only Wales' first Premier
team but also carried all before them, winning both League and
Championship!

Deeside Dragons - founded in 1974 at the local leisure centre - twice
expelled from the BIHA!

Dunfermline Vikings - played during the war years but first really
noticed when they won the Scottish Junior League in 1946 and then the
National League in 1947 Dropped out of hockey in 1954 due to rising
costs as the British League got underway.

Dundee Rockets/Tayside Tigers - perm any version of those names and you
still got a great hockey team - very successful in the 40's and then
again in the 80's under Tom Stewart's tutelage - if only they had a
rink they would be back at the top...

Durham Wasps - although their history is much longer they only caught
the attention in 1966 when they joined th inaugural Northern League to
become part of the hockey establishment.   A nice legend about the
Durham rink is that it is built out of old coffins - true, who knows?
The original rink was a marquee roof supported by poles to keep the
elements at bay and was built by Alderman 'Icy' Smith, twice mayor of
Darlington and 'a most remarkable character' to quote Phil Drackett -
he certainly founded a hockey dynasty that is still playing and/or in
charge of hockey at Durham, Whitley and Billingham/Cleveland.

Milton Keynes Kings - MK opened in 1990, and played their first season
in ELDO, finishing second to Oxford on goal difference between the
teams. Simon Ferry scored the first goal in franchise history.  They
qualified for the HL Entry playoffs, and won their group consisting of
MK, Medway and Tayside by winning at home to both, away at Tayside, and
by losing by less to Medway than they lost to us, hence gaining
promotion to HLDO.  1991 opened with the Kings dominating their Autumn
Trophy group to qualify for the semi-finals, and then beating
Basingstoke (a tie at home, and a win away) to qualify for their first
major final, against Swindon at Sheffield.  The Kings leapt out to a
big lead, but were pegged back, and the final score, after sudden death
overtime, was 5-5. The Wildcats winning on penalty shots.  The league
was much tougher than expected, and the Kings missed qualifying for the
playoffs, mainly because of their poor start to the season. Although
they did manage an even record against champions Fife, won 1, tied 2,
lost 1.
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