The A team clear up!

The team managed to go through the season unbeaten, beating Warrick University in the British Championships 12-4 to lift the Cup after previously winning the league. This the the first time the team had won both in one season, last year the team won the league but lost in the final to london in the Championships, and in the 2003/2004 season they won the Championship but narrowly missed out on the league.

This has been a great year for the Nottingham Mavericks A Team. At the beginning of the season we were fortunate to add two former Panthers players to our coaching squad, which enabled us to develop our game early on in the season.

The squad was also strengthened by some new players from the UK as well as countries like Finland and USA, but the core of the team remained similar to last year. It was also a historic year for the A Team for other reasons, as we won both the league and the nationals. Not only had we become the biggest ice hockey club in country overall, but we were the first team in history of university ice hockey to win both trophies in the same year.

As the captain of the team I am extremely proud of what we have achieved and would like to take this opportunity to thank all the players that have made this year most enjoyable and hopefully this tradition will continue in the coming years. Last, but by no means least on the behalf of the team I would like to extend my sincerest thank you to our head coach Simon Hopkins who has put an unbelievable effort in the operations of the team for several years.

Mike Bjorkman (A Team Captain)

GO MAVERICKS GO!!!!

* Oxford Blues vs Cambridge Blues match expunged, no points awarded

From the outset of the 05/06 season it was clear that the Mavericks B team had the ability to do well. The team saw a restructuring process when compared with the previous B team, this seasons B team was built around a strong backbone of veteran BUIHA players accompanied by new/returning players.

The first half of the season saw the Mav’s B team get off to a flying start that soon turned into a steady winning streak. The leadership of Mike Sturrock and Adam Bratley along with the coaching of Simon Hopkins seemed to have produced an unbeatable Division 2 side.

By February the B team had pulled through some tough matches, often short benched but still managing to score double figures. Division 2 North seemed wrapped up with no other team within range of catching up.

The Mav’s B team headed into the Div 2 National Championships with huge expectations and the chance to face the southern giants of Southampton and Cardiff. The Mavericks managed to fend off the extreme pace of Southampton and to hold a draw with Cardiff in the group stages. In the knockout stages Manchester were disposed of in a familiar fashion and a rematch was set with Cardiff. In the B team’s only loss of the 05/06 season they were beaten by one goal by a larger and more physical Cardiff A team.

One trophy out of two for the B’s this season, not ideal but still a success from the undisputed best B team in the BUIHA.

Andy Duke

With only the tier 3 National Championships to come, the C team have had a successful season. The Success, however, was expected. Many of last year’s C team returned with rec. hockey experience. This, coupled with the addition of some ex-rollers and promising freshers, made up for the loss of some of our more experienced players to the B team, or more often to work commitments. Due to the late start of Division 3 we had to hone our skills with a number of friendlies.

Our first game was a trip to Lea Valley to face London B. The purples played in Division 2 this year with limited success, so, with last year’s good results against Birmingham and Newcasle (and a successful B vs C challenge), we fancied our chances. Due to insurance problems our future captain was unavailable to come all the way to watch, but with stellar goaltending from Dave Crowther, we beat them comfortably 6-3.

The next game pitted us against much tougher opponents; we made the trip to Birmingham to face the Solihull Wolves. We were confident but were eventually outdone by their physical play and one individual on their side scoring 5, final score 3-8.

Our next game was against the Nottingham U19 B team. We were beaten soundly by a team that skated and moved the puck at a much higher level than ours. Thankfully we avoided a shutout losing 8-1 with “goalie Dave C” keeping the score much closer than it should have been.

With no league games in sight we accepted another game against the Wolves. We entered this game as a new outfit; Adam Bratley had replaced Rachel Whyatt as coach and changed the C and D team from essentially year group teams to picked units and, after trials, the new look C team headed to Birmingham with hope. The Wolves jumped out to an early lead but with all 3 lines capable of scoring, we worked our way back into the game. The Wolves then reverted to the physical tactics that had served them so well in the first game. This time, however, we were not bullied and as they took penalties we pulled away to victory. This result showed how far the team had come – both in skill level and in resilience.

After another reasonable wait for a game, the league started. Cardiff B were our first opponents and the WNIR. After seeing them at both the tier 2 Nationals and easily beating the Nottingham D team, it was clear that they had talented players. It was also clear as the game approached that they expected to beat us in a similar way. The first 10 minutes of the game were played without officials and almost completely in the Cardiff zone. We took an early lead and kept applying the pressure. In the second period they too upped the physical play; a plan that worked for them against Sheffield. Our experience allowed us to come through unscathed except for the odd damaged visor. As the lead increased, so too did their frustration and although the second and third periods were more even, we still won each and ended up winning 6-0 (a result pleasing to myself also, as the rookie goalie). This was probably the most memorable trip as it was into Cardiff on FA Cup Final day. I need to mention the guy on the bike.

After that the league was there for the taking. The next game against Sheffield should have been easy after the Ds had rolled them over at Ice Sheffield. They ended up bringing a B team line to the NIC, which gave the game extra spice. The added players were obvious and although they made the score closer than it would otherwise have been, they did not overwhelm us and left us with another reason for us to play in Division 2 as we wished. The final score of 5-2 could have been better but for a lapse in intensity on our part and some good goaltending on theirs.

Our last game was against the Ds and although we only needed a draw to take Division 3 we were going for the kill. We conceded 2 goals in the first but when scoring 8 in one period it might not matter. Helped by much better strength in depth and shabby opposition goaltending (rookie goaltender not so pleased this time), we ran out 14-2 winners. Earlier in the day, Rick Symes had been named MVP and Best Forward, Best Defenseman was awarded to Doug Potter and Most Improved Player to Edd Rundell.

We are now awaiting the 15th at Ice Sheffield where nothing but a victory will be acceptable. Thank you to Si, Rach and Adam for running a successful team.

Neil Curtis 

Nottingham Mavericks C
Division 3 Champions 2006!
Tier 3 Championship 1st 2006?

In its first year of competition, the D team has come a long way. None of the team’s members had played ice or roller hockey before coming to university, and the vast majority were competing in their first season. After months of work at the Sutton ice rink learning to skate and the basics of the game, the D team has put in some promising performances.

In this season’s short Division 3 cup competition, the D’s came third (out of four teams). Defeats against the experienced Cardiff B and Nottingham C teams were tempered by a gutsy away win at Sheffield C. Perhaps most importantly, the team improved after every game.

The D team has shown that they have successfully picked up the basics of hockey, but must learn to keep possession for longer and use the puck more effectively on the attack to relieve the pressure on their defence and rookie goaltenders. Hopefully the upcoming Tier III Championships and next year’s cup competition will witness further improvements in the team.

Keith Smith (D Team Captain)