Manchester Storm

The Manchester Storm is a British professional ice hockey team founded in 2015. They are members of the Elite Ice Hockey League, and be based at Altrincham Ice Dome. The name is a reference to the original Manchester Storm, who played from 1995 to 2002.
==History==
The original Manchester Storm team were founded in 1995 as a tenant of the newly-opened Manchester Arena. The Storm won the First Division championship in their inaugural season, before becoming a founding member of the Ice Hockey Superleague in 1996. The Storm won the league championship in the 1998–99 season, before capturing the Autumn Cup the following season. The Storm drew many large crowds, breaking the British attendance record for a match against the Sheffield Steelers during the 1996–97 season.
The original Storm were forced to close in 2002 after financial problems.
The Manchester Phoenix were formed in 2003. They were founder members of the Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL), but moved to the English Premier League in 2009 due to financial reasons. Initially playing out of the Manchester Arena, the Phoenix would eventually relocate to the Altrincham Ice Dome.
At the end of the 2014–15 season, a legal dispute arose between the management of the Altrincham Ice Dome and the Phoenix team over alleged financial impropriety regarding junior teams at the venue. Around the same time, the Hull Stingrays of the Elite Ice Hockey League withdrew from the EIHL. The management of the Altrincham Ice Dome and the EIHL subsequently reached an agreement to place a team in Altrincham to fill the gap created by Hull’s liquidation, and this team was known as Manchester Storm.
==Season-by-season records==
Season 	Regular Season 	Regular Season 	Regular Season 	Regular Season 	Regular Season 	Regular Season 	Play Offs 	Challenge Cup 	Head Coach 	 	 	
Season 	Finish 	Played 	Wins 	Losses 	OT Losses 	Points 	Play Offs 	Challenge Cup 	Head Coach 	 	 	
Manchester Storm	Manchester Storm	Manchester Storm	Manchester Storm	Manchester Storm	Manchester Storm	Manchester Storm	Manchester Storm	Manchester Storm	Manchester Storm	Manchester Storm	Manchester Storm	Manchester Storm
2015–16 	9th 	52 	20 	28 	4 	44 	Did not qualify 	Group Stage 	Omar Pacha 	 	 	
2016–17 	8th 	52 	18 	26 	8 	44 	Quarter-finals 	Group Stage 	Omar Pacha 	 	 	
2017–18 	2nd 	56 	35 	16 	5 	75 	Quarter-finals 	Group Stage 	Ryan Finnerty 	 	 	
2018–19 	9th 	60 	27 	28 	5 	59 	Did not qualify 	Quarter-finals 	Ryan Finnerty 	 	 	
2019–20† 	8th 	49 	18 	26 	5 	41 	Cancelled 	Quarter-finals 	Ryan Finnerty 	 	 	
2020–21†† 	N/A 	Cancelled 	Cancelled 	Cancelled 	Cancelled 	Cancelled 	Cancelled 	Cancelled 	Ryan Finnerty 	 	 	
2021–22 	9th 	54 	18 	32 	4 	40 	Did not qualify 	Group Stage 	Ryan Finnerty 	 	 	
2022–23 	6th 	54 	22 	28 	4 	48 	Quarter-finals 	Group Stage 	Matt Ginn 	 	 	
2023–24 	4th 	54 	27 	20 	7 	61 	Quarter-finals 	Quarter-finals 	Matt Ginn 	 	 	
† Note: the 2019–20 season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 coronavirus. The table shows the standings at the point of cancellation. No champion was crowned and the play-offs were also cancelled.
†† Note: the 2020–21 Elite League season – originally scheduled for a revised start date of 5 December – was suspended on 15 September 2020, because of ongoing coronavirus pandemic restrictions. The EIHL board determined that the season was non-viable without supporters being permitted to attend matches and unanimously agreed to a suspension. The season was cancelled completely in February 2021. Manchester were later announced as one of four Elite League teams taking part in the 'Elite Series' between April–May 2021, a total of 24 games culminating in a best-of-three play-off final series.
==Honours==
EIHL Patton Conference champions
*2017–18
==References==
==External links==
Official website of the Manchester Storm
Category:Ice hockey teams in England