Blackburn Hawks The Blackburn Hawks ( formerly the Blackhawks and the Lancashire Hawks ) , are a British ice hockey team based in Blackburn , Lancashire . They are currently members of the ENIHL , and have previously played in the British National League and the English League Premier Division . Their home ice is the 3 , 200 seat Blackburn Arena . History . The Blackhawks Era . The Blackhawks played their first game on 28 October 1990 , in which the Blackhawks defeated Oxford City Stars 6 – 3 . The game was played as a non - import challenge match , where no professional players born outside of the United Kingdom were iced . During the 1990 – 91 season that followed , all Blackhawks games were played away , since the newly built Blackburn Arena had not yet been completed . The first home game , on 26 January 1991 , coincidently also resulted in a 6 – 3 victory against Oxford . The first goal scored at the Arena was by the Blackhawks ' Dan Holden , an offensive defenceman who accrued a total of 116 points over the course of the season . The Blackhawks highest points scorer in 1990 – 91 was Fred Perlini , who contributed 132 points ( 83 goals and 49 assists ) in just 21 games . Other notable players were Trevor Fostor , Georgie Powell and Paul Fleury . Under manager Keith Purvis and coach Pete Murray , the Blackhawks finished fourth place in the English League Division One , and received a promotion due to the collapse of Solihull in the Heineken League . A promising start to the 1991 – 92 season saw ex - Toronto Maple Leafs coach Doug McKay take over the running of the team . However , his tenure was short - lived due to financial problems , and soon the Blackhawks were left without a manager . By the end of the season the Blackhawks were relegated back into the English League Division One . Building to league success . In 1992 – 93 , the team began to rebuild under the new name of the Blackburn Hawks . Canadian Glenn Knight took up the reins as player - coach , but soon passed the responsibility to the new addition to the team , ex - AHL forward Steve Moria . The team ' s financial situation was improved following a buy out by Peel Holdings , the firm owning the site on which Blackburn Arena is situated . This change in financial status allowed for an influx of new imports . The Hawks competed well and fought hard until the last weekend of the season , just missing out on a play - off spot . The early season demolition of the Milton Keynes Kings was not only the greatest shock defeat of the season , but made the Hawks a feared and recognised team . It has been dubbed a " tremendous season and certainly one that the Hawks ' s faithful should remember for a long time to come " and indeed is taken to be the birth of competitive hockey in Blackburn . Prior to the start of the 1994 – 95 season , the Hawks were again left in turmoil due to the sudden departure of Steve Moria for the Swindon Wildcats . Inexperienced forward Mark Stokes volunteered himself for the role of player - coach . This season was the year of the Hawks ' most disastrous B & H Cup campaign so far , with six successive defeats but the Hawks headlined for other reasons . The British Ice Hockey Association imposed bans on the new imports Sverre Sears , Matt Zilinskas and Jeff Winstanley after they appeared on the front page of the Lancashire Evening Telegraph following a late night naked skating session . This led to their dismissal from the club , and prompted a shakeup in staffing . Ex - Toronto Maple Leaf Rocky Saganiuk arrived , promising the fans spot in the playoffs . Sangiuk brought in Trent Casey , Darren Durdle and Tony Cimellaro , but the Hawk ' s leaky defence contributed to their relegation to Division Two come the end of the season . However , a last minute re - structure of the league meant that the team began the new season back in division one . Before the 1995 – 96 campaign began , it became apparent that Saganiuk was not to return , electing to stay in Canada . Under the management of Mike Cockayne , the Hawks secured sponsorship with Thwaites Beer , and began the season sporting new look red , black and yellow uniforms . For the first time , the Hawks took top place in the league , with the most important result being a 12 – 9 victory over the newlyformed Manchester Storm . The match was played at the Nynex Arena in front of a then record - breaking crowed of 9 , 500 , and watched by millions on Sky TV , in what was the first live UK hockey match to be shown on satellite television in the UK . Later in the season the Hawks again visited the Nynex Arena in a league title decider that generated another British attendance record of 16 , 280 . The Northern Premier League . The 1996 – 97 season gave the Hawks yet another new coach in Jim Pennycook , one of the most experienced players in the British game . The season saw the start of the well televised Ice Hockey Superleague , which ultimately split British ice hockey teams according to their financial position . Blackburn were not part of this new wave , and instead competed in the Northern Premier League of the BNL , which was limited to three imports . The Hawks ' difficulties began right at the start of the season , losing two of their three imports before the end of November . Pennycook played most of the season through injury and suffered from a very depleted roster after Christmas with only eight players available for some games . They quickly made a couple of new signings before the transfer deadline , and finish the season in a mid table position . For the 1997 – 98 season another name change was brought in , with the intention of promoting the team across the County ; thus the Lancashire Hawks were born . However , attendances failed to improve , and many fans expressed disapproval of the new name . A number of staffing issues , injuries and roster changes saw the Hawks finish bottom of the league and last in the play - offs . The Bobby Haig Era . At the start of the 1998 – 99 season , the team found themselves competing in yet another new league , the English League Premier Division . This was a league set up for teams that wanted to compete effectively , but on a smaller budget than those in the British National League . The Hawks competed against teams such as Solihull , Swindon and Milton Keynes , and reverted back to the previous name , the Blackburn Hawks , thanks to the pressure put on the management team at the Supporters Club annual general meeting that took place in the Arena bar in May 1998 . Jim Pennycook was invited back to the Arena in a playing capacity but Arena management were to look elsewhere for a coach this season . An experienced Scotsman came to the helm , brother of former Hawk John , Bobby Haig was the man charged with bringing back the teams ' former glory . The season started with a convincing win over the Wightlink Raiders , with a 13 – 1 scoreline . A successful 1998 was followed by controversy at the beginning of 1999 , when it emerged that the team had spent three times their seasons budget by Christmas . Five players were released from their contracts at this point to try to ease the financial burden on the club , including import Chad Brandimore and club captain Simon Mills . By mid March the team were floundering in the league , and it became clear that the team would not be taking part in the end of season play - offs due to their financial problems . However , this did not deter the fans , as almost 1 , 500 watched a 10 – 9 victory over Chelmsford and a close 7 – 6 defeat to the hands of Milton Keynes at the close of the league campaign . The victory over Chelmsford meant that this season ' s team had won more home games than any previous year since the teams formation in 1991 . With the financial problems at the end of the season came the obvious worries and rumours over the clubs future . Some feared that Blackburn would not host competitive ice hockey team in 1999 – 2000 campaign , and sections of the press were reporting that the team had been threatened with expulsion from the league for refusing to take part in the playoffs . It was decided to drop into English League Division One again ; a decision which prompted a mixed reaction from fans , largely due to the lack of skilled import players in the league . To boost the number of games that the team played they also signed up for the Border League , consisting of teams from Scotland and northern England . Under the leadership of Haig , the Hawks just missed out on a play - off place at the end of the season . The 2000 – 1 saw the Hawks still guided by Bobby Haig , and playing in the English National Ice Hockey League ( the new name for ED1 ) . The season started with many ups and downs , ranging from 14 – 1 defeat at the hands of the Kingston Jets , to a 14 – 0 victory over the Bradford Bulldogs , and all before Christmas . In this time the team also retained the North West Cup at the expense of the Altrincham Aces . However , on January 27 2001 , the Aces gained their revenge , knocking Blackburn out of the English Cup . The team ultimately finished fourth in the league . April 3 2001 saw the Blackburn Hawks celebrate their 10th Anniversary in style , with the return of Steve Moria and many former players . The game , where " Bobby Haig ' s All Stars " played " Steve Moria ' s Select " ended 8 – 9 in favour of Moria ' s squad . The match , which attracted a crowd of over 1 , 000 , raised £4 , 000 for the NSPCC The 2001 – 2 season was far from successful for the Hawks , who ultimately finished fourth in the ENIHL North Division . . The team also lost all six games played in the ENIHL Cup , and did not make it past group stages in English cup . This season set precedent for the Hawks , and subsequent seasons seem to follow a pattern ; a place in the league ' s top 5 , a reasonable performance in the cup , and Bobby Haig as the team ' s top scorer . In 2002 – 3 it was 5th in league , and just missing out on the final of the English National Premier Cup by placing second in qualifying table . This close brush with cup success was not matched in the Northern Cup , where the Hawk ' s did not with a single game . After a no point weekend mid season , it seemed that Haig attributed the team ' s lack of success to an absence of young blood on the team , saying " We had no Under 19s and we also found it difficult to raise our game after the disappointment of ( an 8 – 2 defeat at ) Sheffield . Perhaps we need an injection of some new players . It ' s been a bad weekend and I have got some serious thinking to do . " One of Haig ' s new young player ' s was 19 year old Richard Hulme , who debuted in a challenge match against Spartak Durham . Hulme , a product of the Hawks youth teams , was to be involved in a controversial incidenent . In October 2003 , minutes from the end of an under 19 game against the Altrincham Tigers , Hulme was attacked and injured by Tigers ' player Robert Brownbill . Hulme lost two teeth and received a broken jaw when hit with a stick during the game . In January 2003 Brownbill appeared before Preston Crown Court , charged with assaulting Richard Hulme causing actual bodily harm . In what was the first case of its kind in the country , Brownbill was initially remanded on bail on what was to become a test case for the sport . Brownbill was eventually fined £250 . As predicted , by the end of the season Bobby Haig was the team ' s top scorer ( 4th in league ) with 56 points in just 18 games . ( Interestingly , the 3 scorers above Haig were all from league winners Altrincham ) . A new logo and a new start . The 2003 – 04 season had a positive start ; a new logo , a new strip , a renewed sponsorship contract with Thwaites Brewery , and a clutch of upcoming young players left Haig and new team captain Neil Haworth in high spirits before the first game . The team ' s preparations paid off ; the first weekend of the season consisted of a 13 - 2 win over the Bradford Bulldogs , and another 20 - 3 victory against the Grimsby Buffaloes However , this success wasn ' t to continue through the season . The Hawks attained a 4th position in the league , lost every game in the Premier Cup and finished second in playoffs table , missing out on the final . Despite all of this , Bobby Haig continued to flourish at Blackburn , and posted another great season with 52 points in 18 games ( 5th points scorer in the league ) . The following season , despite initial optimism , held much of the same for the Hawks . A series of poor results led to pressure being placed on player / coach Haig , and the Scot contemplated taking his experience elsewhere . However , after talks with the Arena management and club owners , Haig settled on staying at the expense of his job as duty manager and as the junior ice hockey development director , in order to concentrate fully on the coaching of the senior team . By mid - November the team had no chance to progress in the Premier Cup , but had more success in the league , sitting comfortable at the top of the North division . Their championship hopes were boosted when a 4 – 2 loss against the Swindon Wildcats was recorded as a 5 - 0 victory by the EIHA after Swindon fielded an ineligible player . The team finished 3rd in ENIHL , which did not allow them to progress through to the playoff group stages . The Hawks also lost every game in ENIHL cup . 2005 – 06 held similar successes ; a third place in the ENHL which , due to an altering of the playoff format , led them to the group stages . However , despite placing second in the playoff group stages table , the Hawks did not make it to the final . Other cup competitions had mixed successes ; the team made the semi - final of ENIHL Cup ( where they lost 7 - 5 to Cardiff ) , yet finished bottom of group C in the Premier Cup . The following season heralded a change in the Hawks usual pattern ; they finished 5th in ENIHL ( missing out on playoffs ) , 5th in Northern League , and missed out on the playoffs in ENIHL cup on goal difference . However , for the first season in a while , the team ' s top scorer was not Bobby Haig , but David Meikle , with 35 points in 16 games . The Modern Era . The start of the 2007 season saw the departure of legend Bobby Haig to his former club , the Braehead Pirates Coaching duties were taken over by Ian Hough and John Dunford . In a mixed season , the club had no success in the ENIHL cup , and finished the season bottom of Northern League and 6th in ENIHL North . Despite this , some good performances were given by the team ; the superb combination of Rick Bentham and David Meikle score 48 and 46 points respectively . The goaltenders also had a good season ; in 21 games Daniel Brittle posted a 90 . 03 % save percentage , while Ian Thirkettle attained 89 . 08 % in 18 games . Following the addition of three teams to the ENIHL in 2008 – 09 , the league was restructured . It was given the a four division structure ; North 1 and 2 , South 1 and 2 , with promotion and relegation between the two sides . The Hawks competed in the North 1 division and did not compete in the Northern League this season . Under coach Neil Abel , the Hawks finished next from last in ENIHL North 1 , and were involved in a relegation series against fellow local side Manchester Phoenix ENL . After a close run first leg at the Blackburn Arena , the Hawks lost 8 – 7 , making it 10 – 9 on aggregate . Following this defeat , the team would originally have played in ENL North 2 for the 2009 / 10 season , however Billingham Bombers dropped out of the league , saving Blackburn from relegation . Colours and Origin . The clubs colours were initially similar to the red , white and black of the Chicago Blackhawks , due to the similarities in name . However , upon his arrival in 1992 Steve Moria changed the colours to teal , grey , black and white , a similar scheme to that of the San Jose Sharks . This change coincided with the change in name . In 1994 , following the departure of Moria , the club adopted a red , white and gold scheme which can still be seen today . The Arena and Fan Base . Blackburn Arena supports 3 , 200 spectators seated at each side of the ice , with standing room on the balcony behind the goal . . The rink is measured as 60m x 30m ( 197ft x 98ft ) . Home matches attract an average of around 400 fans . The team is supported by the Blackburn Hawks Supporters Club ( known as The Mohawks ) , which organises regular events for fans . Rivalries . The club ' s biggest rivalry was formerly with the Trafford Metros , due to the proximity of Blackburn Arena and the old Altrincham Ice Rink in Broadheath , Greater Manchester . Many of the original Hawks played in Altrincham , which resulted in a fierce rivalry both on and off the ice . More recent ongoing feuds have been with Flintshire Freeze and the Billingham Bombers . Season - by - season Record . " Note : GP = Games played , W = Wins , L = Losses , T = Ties , Pts = Points , GF = Goals for , GA = Goals against , PIM = Penalties in minutes . This list only shows most recent seasons . "