London Knights

London Knights	London Knights
 	
League 	Ice Hockey Superleague
Founded 	1998
History 	1998 - 2003
Arena 	London Arena
Capacity 	
City 	London, England
Team Colours 	Gold, Red & Navy
Owners 	Anschutz Entertainment Group
Championships 	1999–00
London Knights were an English ice hockey team based in London. They first played in the UK's Ice Hockey Superleague in September 1998 and folded in April 2003. They won the British Championship as EIHL playoff champions in 2000.
==History==
The Knights were founded in 1998 by Anschutz Entertainment Group in the hope of being able to partake in the British ice hockey boom of the 1990s, when teams like Manchester Storm and Sheffield Steelers drew in large crowds of up to 8000 on average and up to 17,000 in single games. Anschutz hoped that a London-based team would help raise the awareness of the sport not only in London, but in the whole of the UK. Furthermore, the team was founded in order to help make the financially struggling London Arena (which was co-owned by Anschutz and SMG) more profitable.
The team shared its name with the Ontario Hockey League team, the London Knights, but they had nothing to do with each other as the origin of the name came from the then policy of Anschutz Entertainment Group to brand its ice hockey franchises with a regal theme associated with its flagship Los Angeles Kings NHL franchise, hence the Ontario Reign, Reading Royals and the Manchester Monarchs and Munich Barons, both of whom are now defunct as well.
The Knights enjoyed some success in their brief existence. They won the British Super League playoffs in 2000, thus becoming British league champion, but their biggest success was reaching the final of the Continental Cup in 2001, becoming the first British team to do so and being the most successful British team in the history of the tournament until it was won by the Nottingham Panthers in 2017. They beat HC Slovan Bratislava 5:2 and the Munich Barons 4:1, but lost to the ZSC Lions 0:1.
They were coached by Jim Fuyarchuk, Chris McSorley, Bob Leslie and Jim Brithén. McSorley would later go on to coach Great Britain and work as assistant coach to Team Canada. His brother Marty McSorley, then of the Boston Bruins, was almost signed by the Knights while serving a 100-game ban in the NHL.
Despite their on-ice success, their attendance figures were always rather disappointing as they never drew much more than 3000 people on average - which certainly wasn't bad considering that before the Knights, there hadn't been a professional ice hockey team in London for decades, but on the other hand, there was certainly much more potential, considering the size of the town, the attendance figures of the other teams in the league and the fact that the arena could hold up to 12,500 people and Anschutz invested much in marketing.
In 2003, the team's arena, the London Arena, was sold, and the team were left homeless. There were hopes they would find a temporary home for two years before moving to the O2 Arena in 2005,[4] but when the Superleague folded after the 2002–03 season, the team announced that it would "not be icing" in the following season, and never returned.
After the demise of the Superleague, the Elite Ice Hockey League was founded as its replacement, and the London Racers were established as a successor to the Knights, but they were much more low-profile and played at a much smaller venue, and after only two and a half seasons, they folded in late 2005 due to safety problems at their home venue. Since then, there hasn't been a London-based ice hockey team in the top-tier league again. 
== Club record ==
=== Season-by-season record ===
London Knights season-by-season record.	London Knights season-by-season record.	London Knights season-by-season record.	London Knights season-by-season record.	London Knights season-by-season record.	London Knights season-by-season record.	London Knights season-by-season record.	London Knights season-by-season record.	London Knights season-by-season record.	London Knights season-by-season record.	London Knights season-by-season record.	 	
{| class="wikitable sortable" width=100%	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Season 	League 	GP 	W 	L 	T 	OTW 	OTL 	PTS 	GF 	GA 	League Position	Playoffs
1998–99 	Ice Hockey Superleague 	42 	10 	25 	3 	- 	4 	27 	114 	183 	8 	First round
1999–00 	Ice Hockey Superleague 	42 	23 	15 	3 	- 	1 	50 	135 	125 	4 	Champion
2000–01 	Ice Hockey Superleague 	48 	18 	17 	- 	7 	6 	74 	143 	130 	4 	Finalist
2001–02 	Ice Hockey Superleague 	48 	14 	21 	13 	- 	- 	41 	130 	145 	6 	Semifinalist
2002–03 	Ice Hockey Superleague 	32 	11 	12 	8 	- 	1 	31 	87 	90 	4 	Finalist
=== Continental Cup ===
The Knights became the first British team to reach the finals of the Continental Cup in January 2001, where they narrowly missed taking the title at their first attempt. Their run included a surprise 4-1 win over Anschutz stablemates the Munich Barons, and only a 1-0 loss to eventual champions Zurich Lions denied them further glory. Their silver medal was considered a major success for a British side. 
Season 	Round 	GP	W	T	L	OTW	OTL	GF	GA	TP	RANK
2000 - 2001	Second Group Stage	3 	2	1	0	- 	- 	15	2 	5 	1
 	Final Group Stage 	3 	2	0	1	- 	- 	9 	4 	4 	2
2001 - 2002	Second Group Stage	3 	1	1	1	- 	- 	11	12	3 	3
===Bensons and Hedges Cup===
The Knights performed well in the Bensons and Hedges Cup, making two semifinals and one final in three seasons.
Season 	Round
1998 - 1999	Semifinal
1999 - 2000	Final
2000 - 2001	Semifinal
===Challenge Cup===
The Knights also took part in the Challenge Cup, making three semifinals in five seasons.
Season 	Round
1998 - 1999	First round
1999 - 2000	Semifinal
2000 - 2001	Semifinal
2001 - 2002	First round
2002 - 2003	Semifinal
==References==
Category:Ice hockey teams in England