Milton Keynes Thunder

Milton Keynes Thunder
City Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire
League NIHL South Division 1
Founded 2001
Home arena The MK Arena
Colors White, Black & Red
              
General manager England David Fairhurst
Head coach England Paul Gore
Captain England Jamie Line
Affiliates Milton Keynes Lightning
Milton Keynes Storm
Website Milton Keynes Thunder
Franchise history
2001 – present Milton Keynes Thunder
Championships
Regular season titles 0
Playoff championships 0

Milton Keynes Thunder are an ice hockey team from Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, currently playing in the National Ice Hockey League South Division 1. The team was founded in 2001 predominantly to provide competitive hockey and further development opportunities for players leaving the Milton Keynes Junior Ice Hockey system. Their home rink is the refurbished and renamed MK Arena; known locally as the Thunderdome. It has a capacity of circa 2,500.

Club history

Foundation

Founded in 2001, MK Thunder originally shared their home rink with the Milton Keynes Kings. However, the MK Kings were involved in a dispute with rink operators Planet Ice, which led to their relocation to Solihull in May 2002.[1] The space left by the MK Kings was eventually taken by the Milton Keynes Lightning which was formed in 2002.

Position in the Milton Keynes Ice Hockey structure

As the second most senior ice hockey club in Milton Keynes, the MK Thunder have always played in the National Ice Hockey League South Division 1 or its former incarnations (English National League South, English National League South A and English National League South 1). It has been used as a vehicle to further develop Milton Keynes based players and has been a 'feeder' club for the senior hockey club Milton Keynes Lightning. The teams iced by the club have been dominated by local players, supplemented by the occasional import (league rules restrict the use of import players to just two, compared to four in the second tier EPIHL and eleven in the first tier EIHL). The club also has links with the junior system and provides development opportunities for junior players at the Milton Keynes Storm Club.

Arena redevelopment

In March 2013, Milton Keynes Council approved plans to redevelop the Leisure Plaza after failed attempts in 2006 and 2011. The development of the arena was funded by Morrisons Supermarkets and took 17 months to complete. This forced Thunder to play their home games at a temporary rink sited within the Milton Keynes City Centre in a building vacated by the Supermarket Waitrose. The rink and the MK ICE charity established to operate it was organised by the team's owner and general manager, David Fairhurst. The team returned to the redeveloped rink which had been renamed the "MK Arena" in October 2014.

Club honours

The Milton Keynes Thunder have yet to register either a league, play off or cup win.

Club roster

Netminders
No. Nat. Player Catches Date of birth Place of birth Acquired
1 Estonia Villem-Henrick Koitmaa L 3 October 1990 Tallinn, Estonia 2015 from HC Viking Tallinn, Estonia
17 England Mark Woolf L 29 June 1978 London 2002 from Milton Keynes Kings
35 England Spencer Caminsky L 1 January 1998 Guildford 2014 from Guildford Phoenix
Defencemen
No. Nat. Player Shoots Date of birth Place of birth Acquired
3 England Paul Gore R 16 November 1982 Newport Pagnell 2014 from Milton Keynes Lightning
9 England Matthew Roberts R 5 January 1985 Luton 2004 from Oxford City Stars
13 England Nidal Phillips R 16 October 1992 Milton Keynes 2009 from Milton Keynes Storm
19 England Jamie Randall L 5 February 1975 Doncaster 2010 from Bracknell Bees
55 England Simon Howard L 21 September 1973 London 2010 from Chelmsford Chieftains
71 England Nathan Long L 1 January 1997 Peterborough 2015 from Chelmsford Warriors
Forwards
No. Nat. Player Shoots Date of birth Place of birth Acquired
2 England Alex Whyte L 23 July 1996 Peterborough 2013 from Peterborough Phantoms
5 England Jamie Line - Captain R 23 January 1990 Luton 2014 from Slough Jets
7 England Josh Nicklin R 27 February 1992 Bedford 2014 from Coventry Blaze
12 England Ryan Coffey L 7 April 1997 Milton Keynes 2013 from Milton Keynes Storm
14 England Tom Castle L 14 November 1990 Milton Keynes 2014 from Chelmsford Chieftains
15 England Tom Mboya R 18 April 1994 Milton Keynes 2010 from Milton Keynes Storm
18 England Lewis McGiffin R 16 January 1999 Bath 2015 from Swindon Cougars
51 England James Clarke R 25 October 1977 Oxford 2015 from Oxford City Stars
61 England Ross Bowers R 30 July 1985 Luton 2015 from Milton Keynes Lightning
81 England Harrison Goode L 15 December 1990 Luton 2007 from Milton Keynes Storm
82 England Connor Goode R 2 November 1993 Luton 2014 from Milton Keynes Lightning
91 Canada Nick Poole R 11 July 1973 Calgary 2015 from Milton Keynes Lightning
2 Way Players
No. Nat. Player Shoots Date of birth Place of birth Acquired
25 England Edward Knaggs (2 way MK Lightning) L 13 May 1998 Hemel Hempstead 2014 from Bracknell Drones
21 England Luc Johnson (2 way MK Lightning) L 21 July 1997 Blackburn 2015 from Okanagan Hockey Academy
72 England Glen Billing (2 way MK Lightning) L 28 May 1997 Romford 2015 from Okanagan Hockey Academy

Statistical records

Top ten appearances

League, Cup & Play Offs; as at end of 2015/16 season
Player
No. Nat. Player Active Seasons Appearances
1 England Sam Fairhurst 2002–2015 inclusive 325
2 England Paul Gore 2002–2009 & 2011-2016 306
3 England Matt Roberts 2002–2003, 2004-2014 & 2015-2106 294
4 England Harrison Goode 2007–2016 inclusive 249
5 England Lewis Clifford 2002–2011 inclusive 240
5 England Jamie Randall 2008–2009 & 2010-2016 237
7 England Mark Woolf 2002–2014 & 2015–2016 229
8 England Paul Jamieson 2002–2011 inclusive 218
9 England Nidal Phillips 2009–2016 inclusive 211
10 England Martyn Snape 2007–2013 & 2014–2016 204

Top ten points scorers

League, Cup & Play Offs; as at end of 2015/16 season
Player
No. Nat. Player Active Seasons Points
1 England Harrison Goode 2007-2016 inclusive 169
2 England Jamie Randall 2008-2009 & 2010-2016 140
2 England Jamie Line 2010-2011 & 2014-2016 140
4 England Ross Bowers 2010-2011 & 2015-2016 128
5 England Connor Goode 2009-2013 & 2014-2016 122
6 England Michael Knights 2003-2006 & 2007-2011 119
7 England Kieron Goody 2002–2011 inclusive 113
7 Northern Ireland Aram Todd 2002–2007 & 2010-2011 113
9 England Tom Mboya 2010–2016 inclusive 110
10 England Paul Jamieson 2002–2011 inclusive 106

Top ten goal scorers

League, Cup & Play Offs; as at end of 2015/16 season
Player
No. Nat. Player Active Seasons Goals
1 England Harrison Goode 2007–2016 inclusive 79
2 England Paul Jamieson 2002–2011 inclusive 71
3 England Jamie Line 2010-2011 & 2014-2016 66
4 England Ross Bowers 2010-2011 & 2015-2016 63
5 England Connor Goode 2009-2013 & 2014-2016 55
6 England Tom Mboya 2010-2016 inclusive 53
7 Slovakia Maros Stefanco 2010-2012 inclusive 51
8 England Michael Knights 2003–2006 & 2007–2011 48
9 Northern Ireland Aram Todd 2002-2007 & 2010-2011 46
9 England Kieron Goody 2002–2011 inclusive 46

Top ten goal assists

League, Cup & Play Offs; as at end of 2015/16 season
Player
No. Nat. Player Active Seasons Assists
1 England Jamie Randall 2008–2009 & 2010-2016 97
2 England Harrison Goode 2007-2016 inclusive 90
3 England Jamie Line 2010-2011 & 2014-2016 74
4 England Michael Knights 2003–2006 & 2007-2011 71
5 England Kieron Goody 2002–2011 inclusive 67
5 Northern Ireland Aram Todd 2002–2007 & 2010-2011 67
5 England Connor Goode 2009-2013 & 2014-2016 67
8 England Ross Bowers 2010–2011 & 2015-2016 65
9 England Lee Featherstone 2002–2008 & 2009-2012 62
10 England Tom Mboya 2010-2016 inclusive 57

Top ten penalty minutes

League, Cup & Play Offs; as at end of 2015/16 season
Player
No. Nat. Player Active Seasons Minutes
1 England Matthew Roberts 2002-2003, 2004-2014 & 2015-2016 1520
2 England Paul Gore 2002–2009 & 2011–2016 922
3 England Lee Featherstone 2003–2008 & 2009-2012 746
4 England Paul Jamieson 2002–2011 inclusive 684
5 England Michael Knights 2003–2006 & 2007-2011 592
6 England James Roberts 2002–2009 inclusive 555
7 England Lewis Clifford 2002–2011 inclusive 464
8 England Kieron Goody 2002–2011 inclusive 320
9 England Harrison Goode 2007–2016 inclusive 288
10 Slovakia Ivan Turan 2006–2008 inclusive 269

Top ten points to game ratio

League, Cup & Play Offs; as at end of 2015/16 season (Players with under 20 appearances not included)
Player
No. Nat. Player Active Seasons Points/Games Ratio
1 England Ross Bowers 2010-2011 & 2015-2016 1.94
2 Slovakia Maros Stefanco 2010-2012 inclusive 1.65
3 England Jamie Line 2010-2011 & 2014-2016 1.51
4 Slovakia Michal Lauko 2008–2009 1.32
5 Poland Piotr Poziomkowski 2013–2015 inclusive 1.18
6 England Mark Krater 2002–2004 & 2005-2008 1.07
7 England Michael Knights 2003–2006 & 2007-2011 1.04
8 England Tom Hurley 2004–2008 inclusive 1.02
9 Latvia Maksims Petruks 2012–2014 inclusive 1.00
10 England Greg Randall 2012–2013 0.95

Top ten goals to game ratio

League, Cup & Play Offs; as at end of 2015/16 season (Players with under 20 appearances not included)
Player
No. Nat. Player Active Seasons Goals/Games Ratio
1 England Ross Bowers 2010-2011 & 2015-2016 0.95
2 Slovakia Maros Stefanco 2010-2012 inclusive 0.93
3 England Jamie Holland 2009–2010 0.74
4 England Jamie Line 2010-2011 & 2014-2016 0.71
5 Slovakia Michel Lauko 2008-2009 0.64
6 Latvia Maksims Petruks 2012–2014 inclusive 0.57
7 Poland Piotr Poziomkowski 2013–2015 inclusive 0.55
8 England Josh Nicklin 2008-2010 & 2014-2016 0.53
9 England Tom Hurley 2004–2008 inclusive 0.52
10 England Mark Krater 2002-2004 & 2005-2008 0.51

Top ten assists to game ratio

League, Cup & Play Offs; as at end of 2015/16 season (Players with under 20 appearances not included)
Player
No. Nat. Player Active Seasons Assists/Games Ratio
1 England Ross Bowers 2010-2011 & 2015-2016 0.98
2 England Jamie Line 2010-2011 & 2014-2016 0.80
3 Slovakia Maros Stefanco 2010-2012 inclusive 0.73
4 Slovakia Michel Lauko 2008–2009 0.68
5 England Greg Randall 2012–2013 0.65
6 Poland Piotr Poziomkowski 2013-2015 inclusive 0.63
7 England Michael Knights 2003-2006 & 2007-2011 0.62
8 England Mark Krater 2002-2004 & 2005-2008 0.56
9 England Mark Conway 2002–2004 inclusive 0.55
10 Northern Ireland Aram Todd 2002-2007 & 2010-2011 0.54

Top ten penalty minutes to games ratio

League, Cup & Play Offs; as at end of 2015/16 season (Players with under 20 appearances not included)
Player
No. Nat. Player Active Seasons PIM/Games Ratio
1 Slovakia Ivan Turan 2006-2008 inclusive 7.08
2 England Richard Munnelly 2002–2004 inclusive 5.78
3 England Michael Knights 2003-2006 & 2007-2011 5.19
4 England Matthew Roberts 2002–2003, 2004-2014 & 2015-2016 5.17
5 England Lee Featherstone 2002–2008 & 2009-2012 4.49
6 England James Roberts 2002–2009 inclusive 4.08
7 England Jacob Corson-Heron 2008-2011 inclusive 3.16
8 England Paul Jamieson 2002-2011 inclusive 3.14
9 England Paul Gore 2002–2009 & 2011-2016 3.01
10 Slovakia Kristian Simo 2008-2009 2.52

Top ten save percentages

League, Cup & Play Offs; as at end of 2015/16 season (Players with under 10 appearances not included)
Player
No. Nat. Player Active Seasons Save Percentage
1 England Damien King 2014-2016 inclusive 92.24
2 Estonia Villem-Henrik Koitmaa 2015–2016 91.20
3 England Allen Sutton 2007-2008 90.46
4 England Mark Woolf 2002–2014 & 2015-2016 88.98
5 England Denis Bell 2013-2014 88.96
6 England Jordan Hedley 2012-2013 88.17
7 England Spencer Caminsky 2014-2016 inclusive 86.63
8 England David Cassidy 2010–2014 inclusive 85.61
9 England Jake Scriven-Wilmott 2008-2011 inclusive 83.76
10 England Christopher Roberts 2005-2007 inclusive 82.35

Season-by-season record

Milton Keynes Thunder season-by-season record
Season League GP W T L PTS GF GA League Position
2001–02 ENIHL South 18 8 1 9 17 77 102 6th
2002–03 ENIHL South 20 8 2 10 18 77 76 4th
2003–04 ENIHL South 16 9 2 5 20 62 42 3rd
2004–05 ENIHL South 18 7 4 7 18 51 66 5th
2005–06 ENIHL South 20 8 4 8 20 84 74 6th
2006–07 ENIHL South 22 5 4 15 14 79 99 9th
2007–08 ENIHL South A 16 9 2 5 20 67 50 4th
2008–09 ENIHL South 1 28 7 5 16 19 73 114 7th
2009–10 ENIHL South 1 36 6 3 27 15 107 228 8th
2010–11 ENIHL South 1 40 14 4 22 32 147 192 7th
2011–12 ENIHL South 1 36 7 4 25 18 105 216 8th
2012–13 NIHL South 1 32 6 1 25 13 130 179 8th
2013–14 NIHL South 1 32 3 1 28 7 78 233 9th
2014–15 NIHL South 1 36 16 5 15 37 127 118 6th
2015–16 NIHL South 1 36 14 2 20 30 127 149 7th

Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; PTS = Points; GF = Goals For; GA = Goals Against

Associated teams

References

  1. ↑ "MK Kings live on in Solihull". Milton Keynes Citizen. May 2002.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Thursday, April 28, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.