Wikipedia

Raiders IHC

The Raiders is an ice hockey team based in Romford, participating in the National Division of the National Ice Hockey League (NIHL), the second tier of British ice hockey.

Raiders IHC
CityRomford
LeagueNIHL
DivisionNational League
Founded1987
Home arenaSapphire Ice and Leisure Centre[1]
ColoursWhite, Gold and Blue
     
AffiliatesRaiders 2, NIHL 1
WebsiteRomford Raiders
Franchise history
1987 – 2013Romford Raiders
2013 – 2018London Raiders
2018 – 2023Raiders
2024 – presentRomford Raiders

They were known as the Romford Raiders when they were based at the Romford Ice Arena in the London Borough of Havering. They were founder members of the English Premier Ice Hockey League but have competed in the NIHL since 2012. Their development team was the Romford Spitfires, which played in Division 2 of the NIHL before being succeeded in 2009/10 by the Romford Fury.

The team moved to Leyton, East London, in 2013, when it adopted the new name London Raiders. Its team colours are white, gold, and blue, and fans of the team are known as the Gold and Blue Army.[2] The team returned to Romford in 2018, keeping the Raiders name until 2024 when they reverted to Romford Raiders under former owner John Scott.

History

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A version of the Raiders crest used from 2013 to 2018

The club was founded in 1987 under the name Romford Raiders and coached by Gord Jeffrey, who went on to become a hero amongst the Romford fans.

Some of the best-known players to play for the Raiders include Rob Stewart,[3] Dave Whistle[4] and Mike Ellis,[5] all of whom went on to play and coach at the highest levels in the UK.

The Raiders' first-ever match was played on Sunday 13 September 1987, against the Oxford City Stars. Romford's first captain, Erskine Douglas, also scored the Raiders' first-ever goal.

On 28 November 2010, during an English National League game against the Bracknell Hornets, Danny Marshall scored his 1,232nd point as a Raider when he assisted on a short-handed goal by Frankie Harvey. With that point, Marshall became the club's all-time leading scorer, surpassing Gord Jeffrey's long-standing record.[6]

In 2013, the Romford Ice Arena was sold by Havering Council to investors. The team subsequently had to move to Lee Valley Ice Centre and became the London Raiders.[7]

On February 3, 2018, the Raiders played their first game at their new home back in Romford, the Sapphire Ice and Leisure Centre. Raiders would come back to win 5–2 against the Cardiff Fire in front of a sell-out crowd. Former Romford Junior Olegs Lascenko scored the team's first-ever goal at the new venue, however, it was Cardiff's Jackson Price who scored the first goal overall.[8]

Season Records

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The following list details the Raiders' finishes in the league and notes any playoff success.[9]

League

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SEASON LEAGUE P W T L OTW OTL F A Pt RANK POSTSEASON
1987 - 1988 Heineken League Division 2 26 25 1 0 - - 379 213 51 Champion Promoted
1988 - 1989 Heineken League Division 1 24 6 2 16 - - 145 201 14 11 Relegated
1989 - 1990 Heineken League Division 2 24 17 1 6 - - 217 152 35 2 Promoted
1990 - 1991 Division 1 40 23 2 15 - - 293 245 48 4 Qualification loss
1991 - 1992 Division 1 36 15 5 16 - - 262 256 35 6 Qualification
1992 - 1993 Division 1 32 12 4 16 - - 221 239 28 5 -
1993 - 1994 Division 1 South 44 27 5 12 - - 328 235 59 2
1994 - 1995 Division 1 South - - - - - - - - - - -
1995 - 1996 Division 2 South 22 16 0 6 - - 178 75 32 3 Final group South
1996 - 1997 English League South 22 20 1 1 - - 192 46 41 1 Qualification South
1997 - 1998 English League South 20 11 3 6 - - 195 88 25 5 Championship Round South
1998 - 1999 English Premier League 32 12 3 17 - - 155 168 27 8 Did not make playoffs
1999 - 2000 English Premier League 24 5 2 17 - - 78 127 12 5 Did not make playoffs
2000 - 2001 English Premier League 32 21 2 9 - - 174 106 44 4 Champion
2001 - 2002 English Premier League 28 18 2 8 - - 169 79 38 4 Qualification
2002 - 2003 English Premier League 42 19 6 17 - - 218 199 44 8 Qualification
2003 - 2004 English Premier League 32 21 2 9 - - 198 131 44 3 Qualification
2004 - 2005 English Premier League 32 17 2 13 - - 144 113 36 4 Semifinal loss
2005 - 2006 English Premier League 48 24 5 19 - - 214 204 53 7 Qualification
2006 - 2007 English Premier League 44 14 4 25 - 1 175 234 33 9 Did not make playoffs
2007 - 2008 English Premier League 40 16 - 20 1 3 137 176 37 8 Qualification
2008 - 2009 English Premier League 54 22 - 24 5 3 197 259 57 6 Quarterfinal loss
2009 - 2010 English Premier League 54 5 - 46 1 2 147 370 14 10 Did not make playoffs
2010 - 2011 English National League South Division 1 40 29 5 6 - - 244 101 63 3 Conference SF loss South 1
2011 - 2012 English National League South Division 1 36 31 0 5 - - 235 93 62 Champion Conference Final loss South 1
2012 - 2013 NIHL South Division 1 32 22 2 8 - - 205 115 46 3 Semifinal loss South
2013 - 2014 NIHL South Division 1 32 17 3 12 - - 142 128 37 4 Quarterfinal loss South
2014 - 2015 NIHL South Division 1 36 9 3 24 - - 120 191 21 8 Semifinal loss South
2015 - 2016 NIHL South Division 1 36 11 2 23 - - 135 174 24 8 Quarterfinal loss South
2016 - 2017 NIHL South Division 1 28 11 4 13 - - 92 105 26 5 Semifinal loss South
2017 - 2018 NIHL South Division 1 32 16- - 13 2 1 121 106 37 4 Conference SF loss

Cups

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SEASON LEAGUE P W T L OTW OTL F A Pt RANK POSTSEASON
1988 - 1989 Autumn Trophy 6 2 1 3 - - 43 62 5 3 Did not make playoffs South & East
1989 - 1990 Autumn Trophy 4 1 0 3 - - 33 38 2 3 Did not make playoffs South East
1990 - 1991 Autumn Cup 8 1 0 7 - - 45 70 2 5 Did not make playoffs Group C
1991 - 1992 Autumn Cup 8 2 0 6 - - 38 66 4 5 Did not make playoffs Group C
1992 - 1993 B&H Cup 6 1 0 5 - - 34 63 2 4 Did not make playoffs Group B

Club roster 2022-23[10]

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(*) Denotes a Non-British Trained player (Import)

Netminders
No. Nat. Player Catches Date of birth Place of birth Acquired Contract
32   Bradley Windebank L (2002-07-24) 24 July 2002 (age 22) Harold Wood, England 2018 from Chelmsford Mohawks 22/23
35   Ben Clements L (1987-07-21) 21 July 1987 (age 37) Chelmsford, England 2022 from Invicta Dynamos 22/23
39   Ethan James L (1999-03-18) 18 March 1999 (age 25) London, England 2019 from Essa Stallions 22/23
Defencemen
No. Nat. Player Shoots Date of birth Place of birth Acquired Contract
3   Elliott Dewey R (1997-03-10) 10 March 1997 (age 27) Basingstoke, England 2022 from Basingstoke Bison 22/23
11   Tom Relf 'A' R (1998-02-24) 24 February 1998 (age 26) Frimley, England 2021 from Sheffield Steeldogs 22/23
13   Daniel Scott 'A' R (1992-04-30) 30 April 1992 (age 32) Chatham, England 2018 from Basingstoke Bison 22/23
14   Jack Cooper R (1996-07-03) 3 July 1996 (age 28) London, England 2014 from Harringay Racers 22/23
21   Callum Wells R (1998-04-18) 18 April 1998 (age 26) Harold Hill, England 2017 from Chelmsford Chieftains 22/23
43   Ethan Reid R (2002-06-03) 3 June 2002 (age 22) Scotland 2022 from Chelmsford Chieftains 22/23
55   Sean Barry R (1994-03-20) 20 March 1994 (age 30) Chelmsford, England 2017 from Chelmsford Chieftains 22/23
  Marco Pascale R 2003 (age 19) England 2022 from Raiders IHC 2 Two-Way
Forwards
No. Nat. Player Shoots Date of birth Place of birth Acquired Contract
10   Brandon Ayliffe R (1998-06-25) 25 June 1998 (age 26) Harold Wood, England 2017 from Chelmsford Chieftains 22/23
12   Mikey Power R (2000-06-20) 20 June 2000 (age 24) London, England 2022 from MK Lightning 22/23
19   Harry Gulliver R (1999-09-14) 14 September 1999 (age 25) Essex, England 2022 from Manchester Storm 22/23
29   Jake Sylvester L (1997-10-21) 21 October 1997 (age 27) Chelmsford, England 2017 from Chelmsford Chieftains 22/23
51   Erik Piatak* R (1986-03-06) 6 March 1986 (age 38) Kežmarok, Czechoslovakia 2019 from DEAC 22/23
57   Ashley Jackson L (1987-08-27) 27 August 1987 (age 37) Tunbridge Wells, England 2022 from Invicta Dynamos 22/23
63   Aaron Connolly 'C' L (1993-06-01) 1 June 1993 (age 31) Northfleet, England 2018 from Basingstoke Bison 22/23
86   Tommy Huggett R (2002-07-13) 13 July 2002 (age 22) England 2018 from Chelmsford Mohawks 22/23
89    Blaho Novak L (1993-03-21) 21 March 1993 (age 31) Bratislava, Slovakia 2022 from Unattached 22/23
95   Jacob Ranson R (1995-08-09) 9 August 1995 (age 29) Romford, England 2019 from Streatham IHC 22/23
98   Tjay Anderson L (2004-11-30) 30 November 2004 (age 19) England 2021 from Raiders U18 Two-Way
   Adam Laishram R (1997-04-08) 8 April 1997 (age 27) Ashburn, ON, Canada 2022 from MK Lightning Cover
  Harvey Briggs R (2003-06-19) 19 June 2003 (age 21) England 2021 from Streatham IHC Two-Way
  Adam Erskine R (2005-02-10) 10 February 2005 (age 19) England 2021 from Raiders U18 Two-Way
   Matthieu Gomercic* L (1997-07-21) 21 July 1997 (age 27) Winnipeg, MB, Canada 2022 from Atlanta Gladiators 22/23
Team Staff
No. Nat. Name Position Acquired Place of birth Joined From
  Sean Easton Head Coach 2017 Chelmsford, England Chelmsford Chieftains, NIHL 1
35   Ben Clements Player-Assistant Coach 2022 Chelmsford, England
55   Sean Barry Player-Assistant Coach 2022 Chelmsford, England
  Erin Rose Physical Therapist 2021 England

[11]

2021/22 Outgoing

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Outgoing
No. Nat. Player Shoots Date of birth Place of birth Leaving For
15   J.J. Pitchley R (1994-01-28) 28 January 1994 (age 30) Romford, England Bees IHC, NIHL
17   Rio Grinell Parke L (1999-02-25) 25 February 1999 (age 25) London, England MK Lightning, NIHL
24   Ollie Baldock R (1998-01-15) 15 January 1998 (age 26) Chelmsford, England Chelmsford Chieftains, NIHL 1
36   Callum Burnett R (2001-01-19) 19 January 2001 (age 23) England Chelmsford Chieftains, NIHL 1
91   Lukas Sladkovsky L (1996-04-10) 10 April 1996 (age 28) Prague, Czech Republic Peterborough Phantoms, NIHL

References

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  1. ^ "Sapphire Ice and Leisure Centre".
  2. ^ "Gold and Blue Army (@Goldandbluearmy) | Twitter". twitter.com. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  3. ^ "Rob Stewart". Elite Prospects. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  4. ^ "David Whistle Team Staff Profile". www.eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  5. ^ "Mike Ellis hockey statistics and profile at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  6. ^ "Elite Prospects - Players' All-Time Stats for London Raiders". www.eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  7. ^ "NIHL News – Romford Raiders Find Salvation In Their Darkest Hour". Ice Nation UK. 21 June 2013. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  8. ^ "Romford Recorder - Lascenko leaves mark with first Raiders goal on new Romford Ice". Romford Recorder. 9 February 2018. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  9. ^ "London Raiders Team History and Standings". Elite Prospects. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  10. ^ "Raiders IHC - Elite Prospects". www.eliteprospects.com.
  11. ^ "Roster". Raiders Ice Hockey.
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