Raiders IHC

The Raiders are 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
CityRomford
LeagueNIHL National League
Founded1987
Home arenaSapphire Ice and Leisure Centre
ColoursWhite, gold and blue
     
Head coachSean Easton
CaptainAaron Connolly
AffiliatesRaiders 2
WebsiteLondon Raiders
Franchise history
1987 – 2013Romford Raiders
2013 – 2018London Raiders
2018 – presentRaiders

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.[1] The team returned to Romford in 2018, keeping the London Raiders name.

The team is often confused for London Raiders softball club, which is an LGBT+ club formed in the late 1980s.

History
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,[2] Dave Whistle[3] and Mike Ellis,[4] 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.[5]

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.[6]

On February 3, 2018, the Raiders' played their first game at their new home back in Romford, the Sapphire Ice and Leisure Centre. London 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.[7]

Season Records

The following list details the Raiders' finishes in the league, and notes any playoff success.[8]

League
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
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 2020–21[9]
Netminders
No. Nat. Player Catches Date of birth Place of birth Acquired Contract
39 Ethan James L (1999-03-18) 18 March 1999 London, England 2019 from Essa Stallions 20/21
Defencemen
No. Nat. Player Shoots Date of birth Place of birth Acquired Contract
13 Daniel Scott R (1992-04-30) 30 April 1992 Chatham, England 2018 from Basingstoke Bison 20/21
14 Jack Cooper R (1996-07-03) 3 July 1996 London, England 2015 from Haringey Racers 20/21
21 Callum Wells R (1998-04-18) 18 April 1998 Harold Hill, England 2017 Chelmsford Chieftains 20/21
55 Sean Barry R (1994-03-20) 20 March 1994 Chelmsford, England 2017 from Chelmsford Chieftains 20/21
77 Ross Connolly L (1998-07-08) 8 July 1998 Paisley, Scotland 2019 from Whitley Warriors 20/21
Forwards
No. Nat. Player Shoots Date of birth Place of birth Acquired Contract
4 Tommy Huggett R (2002-07-13) 13 July 2002 England 2020 from Raiders 2 20/21
10 Brandon Ayliffe R (1998-06-25) 25 June 1998 Harold Wood, England 2017 from Chelmsford Chieftains 20/21
11 Harry Gulliver R (1999-09-14) 14 September 1999 Essex, England 2020 from Ogden Mustangs 20/21
15 J.J. Pitchley R (1994-01-28) 28 January 1994 Romford, England 2016 from Bracknell Hornets 20/21
24 Ollie Baldock R (1998-01-15) 15 January 1998 Chelmsford, England 2017 from Chelmsford Chieftains 20/21
29 Jake Sylvester L (1997-10-21) 21 October 1997 Chelmsford, England 2017 from Chelmsford Chieftains 20/21
51 Erik Piatak R (1986-03-06) 6 March 1986 Kezmarok, Slovakia 2019 from DEAC 20/21
63 Aaron Connolly L (1993-06-01) 1 June 1993 Northfleet, England 2018 from Basingtoke Bison 20/21
89 Blaho Novak L (1993-03-21) 21 March 1993 Bratislava, Slovakia 2018 from HC Topoľčany 20/21
91 Lukas Sladkovsky L (1996-04-10) 10 April 1996 Prague, Czech Republic 2019 from HC Tábor 20/21
95 Jacob Ranson R (1995-08-09) 9 August 1995 Romford, England 2019 from Streatham IHC 20/21
Team Staff
No. Nat. Name Position Acquired Place of birth Joined From
N/A Sean Easton Head Coach 2017 Chelmsford, England Chelmsford Chieftains, NIHL 1
N/A Alan Blyth Assistant Coach 2004 Southend, England Chelmsford Chieftains, EPIHL


[10]


2020/21 Outgoing
Outgoing
No. Nat. Player Shoots Date of birth Place of birth Leaving For
7 Dan Fuller R (1993-09-06) 6 September 1993 London, England To Be Announced
22 Mason Webster R (1994-08-06) 6 August 1994 Basildon, England Invicta Dynamos
33 Michael Gray L (1989-08-03) 3 August 1989 Chelmsford, England Retired


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