2014–15 Guildford Flames season
During the 2014–15 season, the Guildford Flames participated in the semi-professional English Premier Ice Hockey League. It was the 23rd year of Ice Hockey played by the Guildford Flames and the eighth season under Paul Dixon as head coach.
2014–15 Guildford Flames | |
---|---|
League | 2nd EPIHL |
2014–15 record | 30-14 |
Home record | 21-7 |
Road record | 9-7 |
Goals for | 177 |
Goals against | 144 |
Team information | |
General manager | Paul Dixon |
Coach | Paul Dixon |
Arena | Guildford Spectrum |
Season
Departing the club were Ricky Skene, Andrew Sharp, Dean Holland, Nicky Watt, Martin Opatovsky and Mark Lee. Long term Flames forwards Milos Melicherik and Stuart Potts left their playing roles and joined the coaching staff. Joining the club were veteran Danny Meyers, the Canadian forward Andrew McKinney, Defenceman Sam Godfrey, and former National Hockey League and Great Britain National team forward Owen Fussey.
Prior to the fixture list being revealed the EIHA announced that teams from the English Premier Ice Hockey League and National Ice Hockey League would face each other in a revamped English Challenge Cup competition.
It was announced in November 2014 that Ollie Bronnimann had left the club by mutual consent.[1] On Sunday 23 November 2014 the Guildford Flames announced they had also released Curtis Huppe.[2] The month also saw the arrival of Slovakian forward Vladimir Kútny,[3] and the departure of Canadian forward, Owen Fussey.[4]
December saw more changes to the roster with the Flames adding 33-year-old Slovakian forward Roman Tvrdon.[5]
On Friday 24 October 2014, it was announced on the Guildford Flames official website that the club match programme would be replaced by a free, electronic version of the programme which was posted on GuildfordFlames.com to download and view or print before home matches.[6]
The teams finished runners-up in the league to the Telford Tigers. The Tigers also secured eight victories in eight games in all competitions during the season against Guildford, beating them on six occasions in the league, and defeating them in both legs of the Cup Semi-final. The Flames lost the final five games of the season (including both legs of the Play-off Quarter-Final against the Milton Keynes Lightning). It would mean that for the first time in their history as a league member, and after nine consecutive EPIHL final-four play-off appearances, the Guildford Flames would not compete at Coventry in the Finals weekend.
Roster
# | Player | Position | Height | Weight | Date of Birth | Nationality | Previous Team |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
4 | Neil Liddiard | D | 6'0" | 200 lbs | 7 May 1978 | British | Basingstoke Bison |
6 | David Savage | D | 5'11" | 200 lbs | 11 October 1988 | British | Guildford Jr. Club |
16 | Andrew Hemmings | F | 5'10" | 185 lbs | 15 August 1988 | British | Basingstoke Bison |
18 | Danny Meyers | D | 6'3" | 205 lbs | 2 March 1983 | British | Sheffield Steelers |
19 | Tom Duggan | F | 5'10" | 185 lbs | 17 May 1990 | British | Manchester Phoenix |
22 | Paul Dixon | D | 5'10" | 185 lbs | 4 August 1973 | British | Newcastle Riverkings |
23 | Owen Fussey | F | 6'0" | 195 lbs | 2 April 1983 | Canadian-St. Kitts | Coventry Blaze |
25 | David Longstaff | F | 6'2" | 225 lbs | 26 August 1974 | British | Newcastle Vipers |
28 | Marcus Kristoffersson | F | 6'2" | 205 lbs | 22 January 1979 | Swedish | Mulhouse |
29 | James Hadfield | G | 6'1" | 190 lbs | 4 October 1992 | British | Swindon Wildcats |
33 | Branislav Kvetan | D | 6'1" | 210 lbs | 17 October 1977 | Slovak | Dijon |
38 | Jozef Kohut | F | 6'1" | 210 lbs | 27 January 1975 | Slovak | HK Puchov |
39 | Curtis Huppe | F | 6'1" | 200 lbs | 21 February 1979 | Canadian | Manchester Phoenix |
45 | Gregg Rockman | G | 5'10" | 170 lbs | 24 May 1982 | British | Slough Jets |
48 | Ben Campbell | F | 5'10" | 170 lbs | 16 May 1987 | British | Newcastle Vipers |
58 | Andy McKinney | F | 6'0" | 190 lbs | 13 April 1991 | Canadian-British | Manchester Phoenix |
61 | Sam Godfrey | D | 6'0" | 190 lbs | 2 February 1994 | British | Swindon Wildcats |
74 | Matt Towe | F | 5'10" | 180 lbs | 7 January 1988 | British | Braehead Clan |
82 | Jez Lundin | D | 6'1" | 200 lbs | 9 February 1988 | USA-British | Newcastle Vipers |
91 | Ollie Bronnimann | F | 5'11" | 195 lbs | 19 February 1987 | Swiss-British | Bracknell Bees |
Player statistics
Player | GP | G | A | PTS | PIMS |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
David Longstaff | 60 | 16 | 64 | 80 | 24 |
Matt Towe | 60 | 19 | 60 | 79 | 62 |
Marcus Kristoffersson | 49 | 27 | 30 | 57 | 28 |
Ben Campbell | 57 | 14 | 36 | 50 | 20 |
Tom Duggan | 39 | 15 | 27 | 42 | 26 |
Danny Meyers | 53 | 13 | 26 | 39 | 32 |
Jozef Kohut | 29 | 17 | 14 | 31 | 38 |
Andy McKinney | 59 | 15 | 18 | 33 | 83 |
Roman Tvrdon | 29 | 16 | 14 | 30 | 57 |
Vladimir Kutny | 30 | 14 | 13 | 27 | 43 |
David Savage | 54 | 12 | 17 | 29 | 26 |
Branislav Kvetan | 53 | 14 | 14 | 28 | 151 |
Jez Lundin | 60 | 10 | 16 | 26 | 56 |
Owen Fussey | 26 | 17 | 8 | 25 | 10 |
Andrew Hemmings | 53 | 6 | 14 | 20 | 18 |
Paul Dixon | 40 | 1 | 14 | 15 | 28 |
Stuart Potts | 9 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 4 |
Curtis Huppe | 7 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 6 |
Sam Godfrey | 60 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 68 |
Neil Liddiard | 59 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 81 |
Ollie Bronnimann | 14 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 8 |
James Hadfield | 39 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Sam Calder | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Milos Melicherik | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Gregg Rockman | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
Netminders
Netminder | Mins | GA | GAA | Shots | SV % | SO |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
James Hadfield | 2331 | 107 | 2.75 | 1204 | 91.1 | 1 |
Gregg Rockman | 1272 | 63 | 2.97 | 696 | 90.9 | 1 |
Sam Calder | 4 | 1 | 15.00 | 6 | 83.3 | 0 |
Standings
English Premier League
Team | Pld. | W | OL | L | GF | GA | Pts. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Telford Tigers ** | 48 | 39 | 3 | 6 | 226 | 119 | 81 |
Guildford Flames * | 48 | 30 | 4 | 14 | 177 | 144 | 64 |
Basingstoke Bison * | 48 | 28 | 5 | 15 | 170 | 155 | 61 |
Peterborough Phantoms * | 48 | 27 | 2 | 19 | 167 | 163 | 56 |
Swindon Wildcats * | 48 | 28 | 0 | 20 | 172 | 150 | 56 |
Manchester Phoenix * | 48 | 21 | 7 | 20 | 179 | 165 | 49 |
Milton Keynes Lightning * | 48 | 18 | 6 | 24 | 152 | 186 | 42 |
Sheffield Steeldogs * | 48 | 18 | 2 | 28 | 150 | 203 | 38 |
Bracknell Bees | 48 | 7 | 5 | 36 | 108 | 216 | 19 |
[*] Secured play-off berth. [**] EPL League Champions
English Premier Cup – Southern Division
Team | Pld. | W | OTL | L | GF | GA | Pts. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Guildford Flames | 14 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 68 | 28 | 22 |
Swindon Wildcats | 14 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 58 | 29 | 22 |
Milton Keynes Lightning | 14 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 69 | 34 | 22 |
Basingstoke Bison | 14 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 66 | 33 | 21 |
Bracknell Bees | 14 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 46 | 47 | 12 |
Chelmsford Chieftains | 14 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 34 | 58 | 6 |
Invicta Dynamos | 14 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 39 | 98 | 6 |
Wightlink Raiders | 14 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 24 | 77 | 4 |
English Premier Cup – Northern Division
Team | Pld. | W | OTL | L | GF | GA | Pts. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Telford Tigers | 12 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 84 | 26 | 23 |
Manchester Phoenix | 12 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 79 | 35 | 19 |
Sheffield Steeldogs | 12 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 64 | 37 | 16 |
Peterborough Phantoms | 12 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 47 | 47 | 12 |
Blackburn Hawks | 12 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 47 | 63 | 8 |
Solway Sharks | 12 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 25 | 81 | 6 |
Billingham Stars | 12 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 23 | 80 | 2 |
Schedule and results
Pre-season
The Flames new campaign got underway with a pair of challenge matches against the Basingstoke Bison. The Flames won the first game in Basingstoke, however the Bison gained revenge the following evening in Guildford with a convincing 6–2 victory.
Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorer(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Saturday 6 September 2014 | Basingstoke Bison | Away | Won 3–2 | 992 | Owen Fussey (2), Tom Duggan |
Sunday 7 September 2014 | Basingstoke Bison | Home | Lost 6–2 | 1,666 | Ben Campbell, Tom Duggan |
Regular season
Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Competition | Goalscorers |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
14 September 2014 | Milton Keynes Lightning | Home | Won 5–3 | 1,620 | League/Cup | David Longstaff, Branislav Kvetan, Marcus Kristoffersson, Ben Campbell, Curtis Huppe |
20 September 2014 | Swindon Wildcats | Away | Won 4–2 | - | League/Cup | Marcus Kristoffersson, Matt Towe, Tom Duggan, Ben Campbell |
21 September 2014 | Swindon Wildcats | Home | Lost 4–2 | 1,652 | League/Cup | Jez Lundin, Branislav Kvetan |
27 September 2014 | Peterborough Phantoms | Away | Lost 2–1 | - | League | Tom Duggan |
28 September 2014 | Wightlink Raiders | Home | Won 7–0 | 1,620 | Cup | Matt Towe (2), Tom Duggan (2), Andy Hemmings, Andy McKinney, Danny Meyers |
4 October 2014 | Basingstoke Bison | Away | Won 2–1 (PSO) | 1,151 | League/Cup | Matt Towe, Branislav Kvetan (winning penalty shot) |
5 October 2014 | Manchester Phoenix | Home | Won 6–3 | 1,472 | League | Ben Campbell (2), Owen Fussey (2), Danny Meyers, Matt Towe |
11 October 2014 | Telford Tigers | Home | Lost 7–1 | 1,610 | League | Owen Fussey |
12 October 2014 | Chelmsford Chieftains | Away | Won 4–3 | - | Cup | Tom Duggan (2), Owen Fussey, Andy McKinney |
18 October 2014 | Swindon Wildcats | Away | Won 5–2 | - | League | David Longstaff (2), Ben Campbell, Jozef Kohut, Owen Fussey |
19 October 2014 | Peterborough Phantoms | Home | Won 5–1 | 1,682 | League | Jozef Kohut, Marcus Kristoffersson, Danny Meyers, David Savage, Matt Towe |
25 October 2014 | Telford Tigers | Away | Lost 4–1 | - | League | Marcus Kristoffersson |
26 October 2014 | Bracknell Bees | Away | Lost 4–1 | - | League/Cup | Marcus Kristoffersson |
29 October 2014 | Sheffield Steeldogs | Home | Won 11–1 | 1,888 | League | Marcus Kristoffersson (3), Jozef Kohut (2), Tom Duggan (2), Branislav Kvetan (2), Andy McKinney, Andy Hemmings |
1 November 2014 | Milton Keynes Lightning | Away | Lost 3–2 | - | League/Cup | Tom Duggan, Ben Campbell |
2 November 2014 | Basingstoke Bison | Home | Won 6–3 | 1,645 | League/Cup | Owen Fussey (2), David Longstaff, Jez Lundin, David Savage, Andy McKinney |
8 November 2014 | Wightlink Raiders | Away | Won 7–0 | - | Cup | Jozef Kohut (3), Matt Towe, Owen Fussey, Danny Meyers, Ben Campbell |
9 November 2014 | Peterborough Phantoms | Home | Won 5–3 | 1,657 | League | Owen Fussey, David Longstaff, Andy McKinney, Danny Meyers, Curtis Huppe |
15 November 2014 | Peterborough Phantoms | Away | Lost 5–4 | - | League | Owen Fussey (2), Ben Campbell, Branislav Kvetan |
16 November 2014 | Manchester Phoenix | Away | Lost 5–3 | - | League | Curtis Huppe, Andrew Hemmings, Branislav Kvetan |
22 November 2014 | Manchester Phoenix | Home | Won 4–3 | 1,724 | League | Curtis Huppe, Jozef Kohut, Branislav Kvetan, Andy McKinney |
23 November 2014 | Invicta Dynamos | Away | Won 9–1 | - | Cup | Jozef Kohut (2), David Longstaff, Danny Meyers, Owen Fussey, Andrew Hemmings, Sam Godfrey, Stuart Potts, Matt Towe |
29 November 2014 | Chelmsford Chieftains | Home | Won 5–1 | 1,918 | Cup | Owen Fussey (2), Branislav Kvetan, Andrew Hemmings, Andy McKinney |
30 November 2014 | Milton Keynes Lightning | Away | Lost 4–1 | - | League | Owen Fussey |
6 December 2014 | Bracknell Bees | Home | Won 3–1 | 1,658 | League/Cup | Vladimir Kutny, Danny Meyers, Roman Tvrdon |
7 December 2014 | Sheffield Steeldogs | Away | Won 3–2 | 537 | League | Jozef Kohut, Andrew McKinney, Branislav Kvetan |
14 December 2014 | Telford Tigers | Away | Lost 4–1 | - | League | Jez Lundin |
20 December 2014 | Milton Keynes Lightning | Away | Won 2–1 | - | League | David Savage, Andrew McKinney |
21 December 2014 | Basingstoke Bison | Away | Won 3–2 | 835 | League | Roman Tvrdon, Jez Lundin, David Longstaff |
26 December 2014 | Bracknell Bees | Home | Won 4–3 (OT) | 1,793 | League | Roman Tvrdon, Vladimir Kutny, Branislav Kvetan, Matt Towe |
27 December 2014 | Invicta Dynamos | Home | Won 11–2 | 1,780 | Cup | Jozef Kohut (2), Vladimir Kutny (2), Matt Towe (2), Danny Meyers, Andrew Hemmings, Andrew McKinney, David Savage, Ben Campbell |
28 December 2014 | Bracknell Bees | Away | Won 6–3 | - | League | Roman Tvrdon (2), David Longstaff, Jez Lundin, Vladimir Kutny, Marcus Kristoffersson |
1 January 2015 | Bracknell Bees | Home | Won 5–2 | 1,906 | League | Vladimir Kutny (2), David Savage (2), Roman Tvrdon |
3 January 2015 | Swindon Wildcats | Away | Won 3–1 | - | League | Marcus Kristoffersson (2), David Savage |
4 January 2015 | Sheffield Steeldogs | Home | Lost 3–2 (PSO) | 1,775 | League | Roman Tvrdon, Vladimir Kutny |
11 January 2015 | Basingstoke Bison | Home | Lost 4–3 | 1,714 | League | Roman Tvrdon (2), Andrew McKinney |
17 January 2015 | Sheffield Steeldogs | Away | Won 5–1 | - | League | Marcus Kristoffersson, Danny Meyers, Vladimir Kutny, Jozef Kohut, Jez Lundin |
18 January 2015 | Milton Keynes Lightning | Home | Won 6–4 | 1,637 | League | Tom Duggan, David Savage, Andrew McKinney, Jozef Kohut, Matt Towe, David Longstaff |
24 January 2015 | Telford Tigers | Home | Lost 4–0 | 1,848 | League | - |
25 January 2015 | Manchester Phoenix | Away | Won 6–5 (PSO) | - | League | Marcus Kristoffersson (3), David Longstaff, Ben Campbell, Vladimir Kutny |
4 February 2015 | Telford Tigers | Home | Lost 4–3 | 1,837 | Cup Semi-final, First Leg | Marcus Kristoffersson (2), Roman Tvrdon |
7 February 2015 | Peterborough Phantoms | Home | Won 5–4 (PSO) | 1,947 | League | Marcus Kristoffersson (2), Roman Tvrdon, Jez Lundin, Jozef Kohut |
8 February 2015 | Bracknell Bees | Away | Won 4–2 | - | League | Marcus Kristoffersson, Branislav Kvetan, Danny Meyers, David Longstaff |
11 February 2015 | Telford Tigers | Away | Lost 5–2 (Telford Win 9–5 on agg) | - | Cup Semi-final, Second Leg | Vladimir Kutny, Marcus Kristoffersson |
14 February 2015 | Sheffield Steeldogs | Away | Won 4–1 | 611 | League | Vladimir Kutny, Matt Towe, Paul Dixon, Ben Campbell |
15 February 2015 | Sheffield Steeldogs | Home | Won 5–2 | 1,755 | League | Marcus Kristoffersson (2), Jez Lundin, David Savage, Roman Tvrdon |
18 February 2015 | Basingstoke Bison | Home | Won 4–3 | 2,020 | League | Vladimir Kutny (2), Matt Towe (2) |
21 February 2015 | Swindon Wildcats | Home | Won 6–2 | 1,728 | League | Jez Lundin (2), Danny Meyers, Andy McKinney, Roman Tvrdon, David Savage |
22 February 2015 | Manchester Phoenix | Away | Lost 5–2 | - | League | David Longstaff, Danny Meyers |
28 February 2015 | Basingstoke Bison | Away | Lost 5–4 (PSO) | 1,355 | League | Matt Towe, Branislav Kvetan, Danny Meyers, Vladimir Kutny |
1 March 2015 | Milton Keynes Lightning | Home | Won 4–3 (OT) | 1,565 | League | Jozef Kohut, Marcus Kristoffersson, Andy McKinney, David Longstaff |
8 March 2015 | Swindon Wildcats | Home | Won 6–3 | 1,588 | League | Matt Towe (2), David Longstaff, David Savage, Tom Duggan, Marcus Kristoffersson |
14 March 2015 | Manchester Phoenix | Home | Won 4–3 | 1,683 | League | Ben Campbell, David Savage, Roman Tvrdon, Branislav Kvetan |
15 March 2015 | Peterborough Phantoms | Away | Lost 5–4 | - | League | David Longstaff, Roman Tvrdon, Marcus Kristoffersson, Tom Duggan |
21 March 2015 | Telford Tigers | Home | Lost 2–1 (Match abandoned at 30:08 as a result of ice conditions – result stands) | 1,729 | League | Ben Campbell |
22 March 2015 | Telford Tigers | Away | Lost 4–3 (OT) | - | League | Matt Towe, David Longstaff, Tom Duggan |
Play-offs
Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Competition | Goalscorers |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
28 March 2015 | Milton Keynes Lightning | Away | Lost 3–2 | - | Quarter-final, First Leg | Marcus Kristoffersson, Roman Tvrdon |
29 March 2015 | Milton Keynes Lightning | Home | Lost 4–3 (Milton Keynes win 7–5 on aggregate) | 2,014 | Quarter-final, Second Leg | Branislav Kvetan, Marcus Kristoffersson, Andy McKinney |
References
- "Bronnimann and Flames Agree to Part Ways". GuildfordFlames.com. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
- "Flames Release Huppe". GuildfordFlames.com. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
- "Kutny Joins Flames". GuildfordFlames.com. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
- "Flames Release Fussey". GuildfordFlames.com. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
- "Tvrdon Joins Flames". GuildfordFlames.com. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
- "Match Programme Goes Green". GuildfordFlames.com. Retrieved 24 October 2014.