2015–16 Bracknell Bees season

Bracknell Bees
Season 2015-16
LeagueEPIHL
Head CoachLukas Smital
Home Ice RinkJohn Nike Leisuresport Complex
League position10th (of 10)
Premier CupGroup Stage
Play-OffsDNQ

During the 2015-16 season, the Bracknell Bees participated in the semi-professional English Premier Ice Hockey League.

Due to an issue with the ice at the John Nike Leisure Centre the home game against Peterborough Phantoms on Saturday 31st October 2015 was postponed. It was re-scheduled for Thursday 26th November 2015 with a 7:45pm faceoff. The club addressed the issue on the official website stating "While a mid-week game is not an ideal option for either team or the fans, this date is unfortunately the only viable date available for both teams and the rink."

Towards the end of November the club released a statement regarding speculation over the clubs short, medium and long term viability. The club revealed that the season’s finances have been severely affected by a number of factors including the fact that season ticket sales were down 20% on the previous season. The club also listed the fact that the first temporary closure of the ice rink due to plant failure at the beginning of the season also had a negative affect, with the pre-season games being played at an alternative venue, the projected loss of expected match night ticket sales and match night fund raising came to around £8,000.

The incorrectly manufactured shirts supplied for the season took a long time to resolve and hampered sales of replica shirts. The second temporary closure of the ice rink also meant a loss of incoming cash. Between the 24th October and 15th November, the club received £441 in match night ticket sales and £800 in match night fund raising. During this period the salary and rink rental costs alone amount to over £28,000. The ice contract in place requires an upfront payment at the start of the season equivalent to four weeks with the remaining payments being spread across the remainder of the season with payments ending at the end of February 2016.

In the statement the club also pointed out that the fixture scheduling sees a third of the season’s home games being played in the last seven weeks of the season. Due to all the aforementioned issues the club had encountered severe difficulty in meeting its weekly and monthly salary obligation in October and admitted that it was likely they'd struggle to meeting the salary obligations in line with agreed payment dates for November and December. The club finished the press release saying "The challenges we are faced with this season are challenging but not insurmountable. We remain with the objective of taking this club into the Elite League where it rightfully belongs"

The club had further financial problems which led to an away game at the Hull Pirates on Friday 4th March 2016 to be postponed. The club blamed it on "complications with travel arrangements". A fans forum was held on Monday 7th March at 7.30pm in Honies Restaurant at The Hive where chairman Andrew Cross and general manager Ben Beeching who operate under the name of Precision Sports Marketing (PSM), spoke about the short and long-term future of the club. They discussed plans to set the club up as a charity model which would allow the ownership of the club to be expanded. They also revealed the club was £74,000 short of their top-end expectations for the season and confirmed that the club owed at least £9,000 in unpaid wages.

The club appealed to fans for assistance in raising funds to facilitate the teams coach travel for the final game of the season against the Manchester Phoenix. The required total of £1,295 was met by donations and the Bees ended up with a 6-2 road win to end the campaign.

Ticketing

Individual Tickets Price
Adult ticket (over 21yrs old)£13.50
Concession ticket (OAP / Over 60’s)£10.00
Disabled Supporters ticket (including a Free helper ticket)£10.00
Young Adults (aged 17-21) and Students (with a valid NUS card)£8.00
Junior (3yrs – 16yrs)£5.00
Junior (under 3yrs)Free
Family ticket (2 adults and 1 junior)£27.00
Family ticket (2 adults and 1 young adult/student)£30.00
Family ticket (2 adults and 2 juniors)£32.00
Family ticket (2 adults and 2 young adults/students)£38.00
Family ticket (1 adult and 2 juniors)£21.00
Family ticket (1 adult and 2 young adults/students)£27.00

Standings

English Premier League

Team Pld. W OL L GF GA Pts.
Basingstoke Bison **544021220712282
Peterborough Phantoms *543581121514078
Guildford Flames *543451520417073
Telford Tigers *543411922115269
Milton Keynes Lightning *543251719715069
Swindon Wildcats *543051919519565
Sheffield Steeldogs *542452519723353
Manchester Phoenix *542082617021648
Hull Pirates541153813427727
Bracknell Bees541044015323824

[**] EPIHL League Champions. [*] Secured play-off berth

Schedule And Results

Pre-season

The pre-season schedule would start with a series against the reigning League & Cup champions, the Telford Tigers. The Bees hosted the Tigers at The Hive on Saturday 29th August 2015, before making the trip north for the second game of the series on Sunday 30th August 2015.

The Bracknell Bees pre-season would also see the continuation of the traditional M4 Derby Classic series match-ups against the Swindon Wildcats. The Bees travelled to face the Wildcats at the Link Centre on Saturday 5th September 2015 (face off 5.45pm) before hosting Swindon back at The Hive on Sunday 6th September 2015 (face off 6pm) in the second game of the two match series.

DateOpponentVenueResult
Saturday 29th August 2015Telford TigersHomeLost 4-2
Sunday 30th August 2015Telford TigersAwayLost 4-1
Saturday 5th September 2015Swindon WildcatsAwayLost 12-2
Sunday 6th September 2014Swindon WildcatsHomeLost 4-3

Regular Season

DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceCompetitionGoalscorers
Saturday 12th September 2015Milton Keynes LightningAwayLost 6-3-League/CupMilan Kostourek (2), Frantisek Bakrlik
Sunday 13th September 2015Sheffield SteeldogsHomeWon 5-2-League/CupMilan Kostourek (2), Frantisek Bakrlik, Lukas Smital, Callum Fowler
Saturday 19th September 2015Swindon WildcatsAwayLost 8-4-League/CupFrantisek Bakrlik (2), Lukas Smital, Milan Kostourek
Sunday 20th September 2015Hull PiratesHomeWon 10-3-League/CupFrantisek Bakrlik (3), Vanya Antonov (2), Matt Towalski (2), Callum Fowler, Matt Foord, Tom Beesley
Saturday 26th September 2015Peterborough PhantomsAwayLost 3-0-League/Cup-
Sunday 27th September 2015Basingstoke BisonHomeWon 4-1-League/CupFrantisek Bakrlik, Lukas Smital, Milan Kostourek, Matt Towalski
Saturday 3rd October 2015Manchester PhoenixHomeLost 4-2-League/CupCallum Fowler, Josh Smith
Sunday 4th October 2015Telford TigersAwayLost 3-2-League/CupMatt Foord, Frantisek Bakrlik
Saturday 10th October 2015Hull PiratesAwayWin 7-2-League/CupMilan Kostourek (2), Vanya Antonov, Scott Spearing, Lukas Smital, Frantisek Bakrlik, Callum Fowler
Sunday 11th October 2015Guildford FlamesHomeWon 4-3-League/CupVanya Antonov (2), Frantisek Bakrlik, Milan Kostourek
Sunday 18th October 2015Milton Keynes LightningHomeLost 3-1-League/CupCallum Fowler
Saturday 24th October 2015Telford TigersHomeLost 6-1-League/CupFrantisek Bakrlik
Wednesday 28th October 2015Guildford FlamesAwayLost 3-22,046League/CupCallum Fowler, Frantisek Bakrlik
Sunday 8th November 2015Sheffield SteeldogsAwayLost 7-3-League/CupFrantisek Bakrlik, Josh Smith, Vanya Antonov
Saturday 14th November 2015Basingstoke BisonAwayLost 10-2-League/CupScott Spearing, Jan Bendik
Sunday 15th November 2015Milton Keynes LightningHomeWon 7-2-LeagueMilan Kostourek (4), Matt Towalski, Vanya Antonov, Frantisek Bakrlik
Sunday 22nd November 2015Swindon WildcatsHomeWon 4-3-League/CupMilan Kostourek (2), Frantisek Bakrlik, Matt Foord
Thursday 26th November 2015Peterborough PhantomsHomeLost 3-2 (OT)-League/CupCarl Thompson, Vanya Antonov
Saturday 28th November 2015Peterborough PhantomsAwayLost 5-2-LeagueSam Waller, Tom Beesley
Sunday 29th November 2015Sheffield SteeldogsHomeLost 4-3-LeagueVanya Antonov, Milan Kostourek, Matt Foord
Saturday 5th December 2015Sheffield SteeldogsAwayLost 7-3-LeagueMilan Kostourek (2), Jan Bendik
Sunday 6th December 2015Sheffield SteeldogsHomeLost 5-2-LeagueLukas Smital, Milan Kostourek
Saturday 12th December 2015Swindon WildcatsAwayLost 9-8 (PSO)-LeagueMilan Kostourek (2), Alex Barker (2), Lukas Smital (2), Josh Smith, Carl Thompson
Sunday 13th December 2015Manchester PhoenixAwayLost 2-1-League/CupMilan Kostourek
Saturday 19th December 2015Telford TigersAwayLost 7-3-LeagueLukas Smital (2), Milan Kostourek
Sunday 20th December 2015Basingstoke BisonHomeLost 4-0-League-
Saturday 26th December 2015Guildford FlamesHomeLost 5-2-LeagueVanya Antonov, Milan Kostourek
Sunday 27th December 2015Basingstoke BisonAwayLost 3-2-LeagueMilan Kostourek, Alex Barker
Monday 28th December 2015Swindon WildcatsAwayLost 3-2-LeagueScott Spearing, Milan Kostourek
Friday 1st January 2016Guildford FlamesAwayLost 7-31,943LeagueCarl Thompson, Jan Bendik, Vanya Antonov
Saturday 2nd January 2016Hull PiratesAwayLost 6-3-LeagueMilan Kostourek (2), Alex Barker
Sunday 3rd January 2016Telford TigersHomeLost 6-4-LeagueAlex Barker (3), Milan Kostourek
Saturday 9th January 2016Milton Keynes LightningAwayLost 4-1-LeagueVanya Antonov
Sunday 10th January 2016Guildford FlamesHomeLost 2-1-LeagueCarl Thompson
Saturday 16th January 2016Telford TigersAwayLost 3-1-LeagueCarl Thompson
Sunday 17th January 2016Hull PiratesHomeWon 6-3-LeagueVanya Antonov (2), Josh Smith, Milan Kostourek, Lewis Turner, Carl Thompson
Saturday 23rd January 2016Peterborough PhantomsAwayLost 4-1-LeagueMatt Foord
Sunday 24th January 2016Swindon WildcatsHomeLost 7-4-LeagueJames Galazzi (2), Milan Kostourek, Matt Foord
Saturday 30th January 2016Basingstoke BisonAwayLost 3-1-LeagueScott Spearing
Sunday 31st January 2016Swindon WildcatsHomeLost 3-2-LeagueCarl Thompson, Vanya Antonov
Saturday 6th February 2016Milton Keynes LightningHomeLost 4-2-LeagueVanya Antonov, Scott Spearing
Sunday 7th February 2016Manchester PhoenixHomeLost 3-2-LeagueVanya Antonov, Scott Spearing
Saturday 13th February 2016Peterborough PhantomsHomeLost 4-0-League-
Sunday 14th February 2016Hull PiratesHomeWon 4-3-LeagueScott Spearing (2), James Galazzi, Carl Thompson
Wednesday 17th February 2016Guildford FlamesAwayLost 4-02,023League-
Sunday 21st February 2016Basingstoke BisonHomeLost 5-3-LeagueJosh Smith, Vanya Antonov, Carl Graham
Saturday 27th February 2016Manchester PhoenixHomeLost 6-2-LeagueJames Galazzi, Alex Barker
Sunday 28th February 2016Manchester PhoenixAwayLost 5-1-LeagueAlex Barker
Saturday 5th March 2016Milton Keynes LightningAwayLost 7-0-League-
Sunday 6th March 2016Manchester PhoenixHomeLost 7-4-LeagueCarl Thompson, Vanya Antonov, Lukas Smital, Alex Barker
Friday 11th March 2016Hull PiratesAwayLost 6-5 (OT)-LeagueJan Bendik (2), Josh Smith (2), Lukas Smital
Saturday 12th March 2016Sheffield SteeldogsAwayLost 4-2-LeagueVanya Antonov (2)
Sunday 13th March 2016Peterborough PhantomsHomeLost 4-1-LeagueCarl Thompson
Saturday 19th March 2016Telford TigersHomeLost 6-5 (OT)-LeagueLukas Smital (2), James Galazzi (2), Vanya Antonov
Sunday 20th March 2016Manchester PhoenixAwayWon 6-2-LeagueVanya Antonov (2), Carl Thompson, Lukas Smital, Matt Foord, James Galazzi

External links

References

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