Bradford Sabres

Bradford Sabres are an English ice hockey team that play in Division 2 North league of the British Universities Ice Hockey Association. They play their home games at the Bradford Ice Arena, Bradford, West Yorkshire. They were formed in 2005.

Bradford Sabres
LeagueBritish Universities Ice Hockey Association
DivisionDivision 2 North
Division 3 North
Founded2005
History2005 – present
ArenaBradford Ice Arena
CityBradford, England
Team ColoursBlack, Red & White
CoachAndy Brown
Websitehttps://web.archive.org/web/20171025033036/http://www.bradfordsabres.co.uk/

Introduction

The Bradford Sabres are the ice hockey team for the University of Bradford and are run and funded by the University of Bradford Union. The club began in 2005 when a number of students decided that there should be an ice hockey club at the university. The early sessions consisted of only a handful of players, almost all of whom had no previous experience playing hockey. With the sessions being run by captain Mike Currie with the help of experienced netminder Kaz Matsumoto, the players started to gain some experience and it was decided that the club would enter into the British Universities Ice Hockey Association, Division 2 North cup competition.

Seasons

2005–2006
Sabres at their first match at Sheffield

Although the team was gaining more experience, numbers were still very low until the in-take of freshers at the beginning of the 2005-2006 season. Amongst these were not only a large number of beginners, but also several players with previous experience, most notably Jan Kucera and Tim Kelly. The team's very first game was away against the Sheffied Bears where although they were beaten 7-0, there were several outstanding performances. Netminder Kaz Matsumoto was awarded man of the match having faced over 70 shots and there was also a superb performance by defender Tim Kelly who was on the ice for 56 of the 60 minutes played.

The Sabres first home game showed a marked improvement from their loss at Sheffield. Even though they were defeated 6-9 by the Birmingham Eagles proving that the team could score goals was a major boost. Making his debut in this match was Czech Republic born Jan Kucera who introduced himself to university hockey by scoring all six of the Sabres goals and deservedly winning his first Man of the Match award.

The Sabres first win came in their next game against the Newcastle Wildcats. This was the first of many very close and enjoyable games between the two teams. The Sabres won, 6-5. Once again Jan Kucera scored all six for the Sabres, and after only two matches for the club, he was already being recognised as the best player in the division. Man of the Match in this game was rookie netminder Stephen Wilson, playing the second thirty minutes and helping the team to hold on for their first victory.

However, that was the only victory the team had in their debut season, and they finished bottom of the division of seven teams. Another moment of note that season was away at Newcastle. The team were down 3-0 at the end of the first period, and looked out of the game. In the second period Jan Kucera scored a hat-trick in under one minute, scoring the first from open play, and the next two by winning the face-off and scoring un-assisted. The team lost the match 4-3, but the game still is still much talked about because of the hat-trick. The team were due to compete in their first ever national championships in April, where teams from both the north and south divisions competed over a weekend in a cup competition. However, due to administration complications not only were the team not allowed to compete, but they were also disqualified from the league, and their final position of seventh did not count. Although the games that were played didn't officially count, the experience the team gained was valuable for next season and for the continued growth of the club.

The end of the Sabres first season saw the departure of some key players. Jan Kucera - who still holds the record for goals scored - took the step up to the English National Ice Hockey League to play for the Bradford Bulldogs. Forward Ben Moss along with defenders Toni Brook and Louisa Bellis also departed the team after completing their final year at the university.

Off the ice there were also changes. President Ben Nunney along with treasurer Ben Neal left the university and their positions were taken over by Hassan Majeed and James Davidson while web officer Mike Currie continued with his role and Stephen Wilson took over the newly created position of fixtures Secretary.

Players of note

Executive committee
Season President General Sec Treasurer Fixtures Sec Social Sec Bradford Social Sec Leeds Media Officer
2004–2005 Ben Nunney N/A Ben Neal N/A Hassan Majeed/
Louisa Bellis		 N/A Mike Currie
2005–2006 Ben Nunney N/A Ben Neal N/A Hassan Majeed/
Louisa Bellis		 N/A Mike Currie
2006–2007 Hassan Majeed N/A James Davidson Stephen Wilson Ian Lambert N/A Mike Currie
2007–2008 Hassan Majeed Jonny Leadbeater James Davidson Rick Thomas Bruno Le Quellec N/A Jason James
2008–2009 Stephen Wilson Jonny Leadbeater Jack Lingard Tom Manyard Sean Holland N/A Jason James
2009–2010 Jonny Leadbeater Tom Manyard Djevdet Ahmet Martyn Wilson Andy Marks Chris Ward Jason Simpson
2010–2011 Tom Manyard Andy Marks Thomas Dawson N/A N/A Chris Ward Jason Simpson
2011–2012 Thomas Dawson Omar Chu Dave Reid N/A N/A Bridget Pike Pete Marshall/
Nazar Striletski
2012–2013 Ste Hay Simon Child David Broadley N/A Rose Whan/
Benj Robinson		 Cassi Hall Gintare Karpaviciute
2013-2014 Matt Passmore Princess Consuela Banana Hammock David Broadley N/A Tony Christie N/A N/A
2014-2015 Benj Robinson Nathan Hewitt Lizzie Gowland N/A Charlotte Tilley N/A N/A
2015-2016 Charlotte Tilley Luke Mayhew Adam Knizat N/A Doug Schulz/ N/A N/A
2016-2017 Mark Stockham John Hemingway N/A N/A Sammi / Esa N/A N/A

On-ice officials
Season Coach Captain Alternate (1) Alternate (2)
2004–2005 Mike Currie Mike Currie N/A N/A
2005–2006 Mike Currie Mike Currie Tim Kelly Jan Kucera
2006–2007 Adam Chamberlain Robert Harvey Tim Kelly Hassan Majeed
2007–2008 Adam Chamberlain Peter Lee Tim Kelly Hassan Majeed
2008–2009 Andy Brown Rick Thomas Stephen Alexander Jonny Leadbeater
2009–2010 Andy Brown Jason Simpson Jonny Leadbeater Jan Kucera
2010–2011 Andy Brown Andy Marks Dan Cannon Garen Arnet-Zargarian
2011–2012 Div. 2 Andy Brown Andy Marks Dan Cannon Thomas Dawson
2011–2012 Div. 3 Andy Brown Nick Grady Gintare Karpaviciute Nathan Hewitt
2012–2013 Div. 2 Andy Brown Andy Marks Pontus Ekhem Mitch White
2012–2013 Div. 3 Andy Brown Rob Caddle Dave Reid Nathan Hewitt

Awards
Season The Tim Kelly Award Players Player Most Improved Rookie of the Year Endeavour Nationals MVP
2005–2006 N/A N/A Ben Moss N/A N/A N/A
2006–2007 Tim Kelly Kaz Matsumoto Peter Lee Stephen Alexander Paul Hacking Brian O'Brien
2007–2008 Kaz Matsumoto Peter Lee Rick Thomas Luke Brind Stephen Alexander Alison Hover / Bruno Le Quellec
2008–2009 S. Alexander
2009–2010 S. Wilson
2010–2011 Tom Maynard Garen Arnet-Zargarian Thomas Dawson Peter Marshall Andy Marks Dan Cannon
2011-2012 Thomas Dawson Pontus Ekhem Benj Robinson Benj Robinson Andy Marks Joshua Hampton / Rob Caddle
2012–2013 Andrew Marks (Honorable mention to Omar Chu.) Matt Passmore Oliver Roberts Matt Passmore Tony Christie Matt Passmore / Omar Chu

Season records
Season Goals # Assists # PIM #
07-08 Peter Lee 17 James Davidson 13 Peter Lee 72
11-12 Nazar Striletski 38 Daniel Cannon 22
12-13 Mitch White 30 Mitch White 24 Carl Atkinson 37

All-time records
Record Player Number
Most Points Nazar Striletski 134
Goals in a Game Peter Lee/Nazar Striletski 7
Seasons Played Thomas Dawson 6
Minutes Played in a Match Tim Kelly 56
PIM Peter Lee 80
Sabres Alumni Game 2014/2015

Sabres Alumni Game
Season Winning Team
2014–2015 Current
2015–2016 N/A
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References
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