Bracknell Bees
Encyclopedia
The Bracknell Bees are an ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

 team from Bracknell
Bracknell
Bracknell is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Bracknell Forest in Berkshire, England. It lies to the south-east of Reading, southwest of Windsor and west of central London...

, Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...

, UK.

Early years

The Bracknell Bees were formed in 1987, under the ownership of John Nike
John Nike
John Nike OBE is a Bracknell-based leisure and hotels entrepreneur.He used to own the Thames Valley Tigers basketball team. With his family, he is worth £92 million according to the Sunday Times Rich List 2006....

 OBE. Bees began life in the Heineken
Heineken
Heineken is a Dutch beer which has been brewed by Heineken International since 1873. It is available in a 4.6% alcohol variety in countries such as Ireland. It is the flagship product of the Heineken company and is made of purified water, malted barley, hops, and yeast. In 1886 H...

 League Division Two, under the leadership of former Durham Wasps
Durham Wasps
The Durham Wasps was an ice hockey team located in Durham and was one of England's most well-known names in ice hockey. The team was bought by Sir John Hall and moved to the neighbouring city of Newcastle Upon Tyne in August 1996...

 and Nottingham Panthers
Nottingham Panthers
The Nottingham Panthers are a British professional ice hockey club based in Nottingham, England. They are members of the Elite Ice Hockey League...

 forward, Jamie Crapper, where they finished 6th. The following season, Heineken
Heineken
Heineken is a Dutch beer which has been brewed by Heineken International since 1873. It is available in a 4.6% alcohol variety in countries such as Ireland. It is the flagship product of the Heineken company and is made of purified water, malted barley, hops, and yeast. In 1886 H...

 withdrew their sponsorship of the second division, which was re-named the English League Division 1. Bees narrowly missed out on the championship to the Humberside Seahawks, but then won the league the following season, gaining promotion to the Heineken
Heineken
Heineken is a Dutch beer which has been brewed by Heineken International since 1873. It is available in a 4.6% alcohol variety in countries such as Ireland. It is the flagship product of the Heineken company and is made of purified water, malted barley, hops, and yeast. In 1886 H...

 League Division 1. Having finished third, behind Humberside and the Slough Jets, Bees progressed to the top tier of British hockey, the Heineken
Heineken
Heineken is a Dutch beer which has been brewed by Heineken International since 1873. It is available in a 4.6% alcohol variety in countries such as Ireland. It is the flagship product of the Heineken company and is made of purified water, malted barley, hops, and yeast. In 1886 H...

 Premier Division, via the play-offs, alongside the Seahawks.

Once at the top, it was a struggle and Bees were regularly mid-table or below, before eventually being relegated in 1995, under the leadership of Mike Urquhart
Mike Urquhart
Mike Urquhart is a retired Canadian ice hockey player, coach and General Manager. He played for the Nottingham Panthers, Oxford City Stars, Chelmsford Chieftains, Guildford Flames, Bracknell Bees and Milton Keynes Kings during the 1980s and 1990s. He was inducted to the British Ice Hockey Hall of...

.

New beginning

That sparked a new beginning for the club. Urquhart left and was replaced by Jim Fuyarchuck, who re-installed the feel-good factor at the Hive (Nickname of the Bees home, the John Nike
John Nike
John Nike OBE is a Bracknell-based leisure and hotels entrepreneur.He used to own the Thames Valley Tigers basketball team. With his family, he is worth £92 million according to the Sunday Times Rich List 2006....

 Leisuresport Complex) Bees again finished third in the first division (No longer sponsored by Heineken
Heineken
Heineken is a Dutch beer which has been brewed by Heineken International since 1873. It is available in a 4.6% alcohol variety in countries such as Ireland. It is the flagship product of the Heineken company and is made of purified water, malted barley, hops, and yeast. In 1886 H...

) but this time, they missed out to Milton Keynes Kings
Milton Keynes Kings
Milton Keynes Kings were an Ice Hockey team based in Milton Keynes from 1990 to 1996 and from 1998 to 2002. Following a dispute with the Planet Ice Arena in Milton Keynes, the team relocated to Solihull, where they became Solihull MK Kings for a while...

 in the promotion play-offs.

However, this did not matter, as the following season saw the formation of a new league - The Ice Hockey Superleague (ISL) which was the country's first fully professional league since the 1950s.

Bees were expected to be one of the smaller teams in this big league, playing against teams with big arenas. However, a creditable 6th of 8 was followed by a 3rd place finish and then a fourth, before Bees did the unthinkable and took the Superleague title. Coach Dave Whistle, in only his second season as a coach, took the little club to the very top

Slippery slope

Things went downhill from there. A new club, Belfast Giants
Belfast Giants
The Belfast Giants are an ice hockey team from Belfast, Northern Ireland that compete in the Elite Ice Hockey League. Home games are played at the 7,100-capacity Odyssey Arena in Belfast....

, tempted Whistle away with a lucrative package and he was closely followed by seven of the championship-winning squad. Whistle repeated the feat, winning the ISL in his second season. Meanwhile, Whistle was replaced by Enio Saccillotto, who never managed to recover from only having three players return.

Bees did finish a creditable third in his first season, but never really looked like one of the better teams in the league. From this point forwards, the Bees never looked like returning to the 'top table' of British Ice Hockey.

The Bees eventually announced that they were to leave the ISL at the end of the 2002–2003 season. With Manchester and Ayr having ceased operations during the season, the Bees announcement finally spelt the end of the ISL as a viable league.

The Bees joined the British National League and were instantly tipped as being major contenders for the title. However, they finished just third in their first season, before going on to win the league and cup double in their second season. Ironically, as with the ISL winning team, the Bees were coached by an ex Bees player, Mike Ellis, again coaching in his second season.

The Taylor Times

After the double winning season, Mr Nike announced that he was no longer going to be funding the Bees. Up stepped local Estate Agent, David Taylor. David was a sponsor of the Bees and along with his wife Sharon and coach Mike Ellis, they set up a new club. Mr Nike granted them a licence to use the name "Bracknell Bees" for marketing purposes for a three year period.

At the same time, the British National League
British National League
The British National League is a defunct second-level professional ice hockey league in the United Kingdom. Although no formal promotion and relegation existed during its period of existence, it was considered to have a standard below that of the Ice Hockey Superleague and above that of the...

 folded and the Bees were accepted into the English Premier Ice Hockey League
English Premier Ice Hockey League
The English Premier Ice Hockey League commonly abbreviated to EPIHL, or simply EPL, is a senior ice hockey league in England, and is run and administered by the English Ice Hockey Association...

 (a.k.a. the EPL), along with the Hull Stingrays
Hull Stingrays
Hull Stingrays are a British ice hockey club from Kingston upon Hull. They were formed in 2003 and play their home games at Hull Arena.The Stingrays replaced previous clubs Hull Thunder 1999–2002, Kingston Hawks 1996–1998, Humberside Hawks 1993–1995, and Humberside Seahawks 1988–1992...

 and the Bees big rivals, the Guildford Flames
Guildford Flames
The Guildford Flames are an ice hockey team based in Guildford, Surrey and their home ice is the Guildford Spectrum.Founded in October 1992, the team played for many years in the British National League...

.

Coach Mike Ellis put together a mix of youth and experience and they tasted some success in their first EPL season. As well as finishing a respectable 5th in the league, Bees made it to the play-off final, beating the Sheffield Scimitars
Sheffield Scimitars
Sheffield Scimitars formed in 2002 and initially played at the small 500 capacity Sheffield Ice Sports Centre playing in the ENIHL. Since then the team moved to the iceSheffield complex, where they became successful in the ENIHL and made the stepup to the EPL in 2005–06...

 in the semi-finals at the SkyDome Arena
SkyDome Arena
The SkyDome Arena is a 3,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Coventry, England. It was built in 1999. It is home to the Coventry Blaze Ice hockey team...

 in Coventry
Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...

. Bracknell came up short in the final though, against the Milton Keynes Lightning
Milton Keynes Lightning
The Milton Keynes Lightning is an ice hockey team from Milton Keynes, England, currently playing in the semi-professional English Premier Ice Hockey League...

. However, The Bees did go one better a few weeks earlier, in the EPL Cup, winning the two legged final against the Hull Stingrays
Hull Stingrays
Hull Stingrays are a British ice hockey club from Kingston upon Hull. They were formed in 2003 and play their home games at Hull Arena.The Stingrays replaced previous clubs Hull Thunder 1999–2002, Kingston Hawks 1996–1998, Humberside Hawks 1993–1995, and Humberside Seahawks 1988–1992...

 in March.

Mike Ellis departed to become head coach of the Nottingham Panthers
Nottingham Panthers
The Nottingham Panthers are a British professional ice hockey club based in Nottingham, England. They are members of the Elite Ice Hockey League...

 in May 2006 and was replaced on 25 May, by his assistant, Ryan Aldridge, with Lee Ealey-Newman bench coach.

10 months later, On 11 March 2007, the Bracknell Bees were crowned champions of the English Premier Ice Hockey League
English Premier Ice Hockey League
The English Premier Ice Hockey League commonly abbreviated to EPIHL, or simply EPL, is a senior ice hockey league in England, and is run and administered by the English Ice Hockey Association...

 for the 2006/2007 season, following a 3-0 shut-out of the Romford Raiders
Romford Raiders
The Romford Raiders are an ice hockey team based at the 1,500 seat Romford Ice Arena in Romford, Havering, east London. They were founder members of the EPIHL but now compete in the ENIHL. Their development team was the Romford Spitfires who played in Division 2 of the ENIHL before being succeeded...

, as the only remaining contenders for the title, the Sheffield Scimitars
Sheffield Scimitars
Sheffield Scimitars formed in 2002 and initially played at the small 500 capacity Sheffield Ice Sports Centre playing in the ENIHL. Since then the team moved to the iceSheffield complex, where they became successful in the ENIHL and made the stepup to the EPL in 2005–06...

 lost at Milton Keynes. Not content with one trophy though, Bees followed it up with their first ever play-off success at the SkyDome Arena
SkyDome Arena
The SkyDome Arena is a 3,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Coventry, England. It was built in 1999. It is home to the Coventry Blaze Ice hockey team...

 in Coventry, overcoming the Peterborough Phantoms
Peterborough Phantoms
The Peterborough Phantoms are a British ice hockey team.The Peterborough Phantoms ice hockey club was founded in 2002. It replaced the former city based team, the Peterborough Pirates, and plays in the same Ice Arena...

 2-1 in a semi-final shoot-out, before defeating arch rivals and the previous season's league champions, the Guildford Flames
Guildford Flames
The Guildford Flames are an ice hockey team based in Guildford, Surrey and their home ice is the Guildford Spectrum.Founded in October 1992, the team played for many years in the British National League...

, 3-2, in the final.

In April 2007, David and Sharon Taylor announced that they were to take on the ownership of the Basingstoke Bison
Basingstoke Bison
The Basingstoke Bison are an English Ice Hockey club from Basingstoke. They currently compete in the English Premier Ice Hockey League and have previously been members of the Ice Hockey Superleague and its successor the Elite Ice Hockey League- History :...

 as well as the Bees. With this announcement, came the news that head coach, Ryan Aldridge was to move to the Bison as their new head coach and be replaced as Bees player/coach, by defenceman Dwight Parrish
Dwight Parrish
Dwight Parrish is a retired American professional ice hockey player.- North American career :Parrish began his career playing at NCAA level for Ferris State University in his home state of Michigan...

.

Dwight Parrish
Dwight Parrish
Dwight Parrish is a retired American professional ice hockey player.- North American career :Parrish began his career playing at NCAA level for Ferris State University in his home state of Michigan...

 re-signed the bulk of the previous season's double-winning team, but lost influential forward, Lukas Smital. Smital was replaced by Michal Kanka and Peter Jasik and the team continued to enjoy success, before off-ice problems started to set in.

The Taylors ran into financial difficulties early in the season and their contract with Planet Ice to run the Bison was terminated. The troubles were mirrored at the Bees and following rumours of unpaid bills, player wages and team unrest, the Taylors announced in December 2007 that they were to relinquish the operating licence for the Bees.

At the time in spite of the off ice difficulties, the Bees were sitting in second place in the English Premier Ice Hockey League
English Premier Ice Hockey League
The English Premier Ice Hockey League commonly abbreviated to EPIHL, or simply EPL, is a senior ice hockey league in England, and is run and administered by the English Ice Hockey Association...

, 1 point adrift of leaders, Guildford Flames
Guildford Flames
The Guildford Flames are an ice hockey team based in Guildford, Surrey and their home ice is the Guildford Spectrum.Founded in October 1992, the team played for many years in the British National League...

, were through to the semi-finals of the EPL cup and in a good position in the Knock-out cup.

Fans to the rescue!

Within a week of the Taylors walking away from the club, Bees fan Katie Eleftheriou and then Supporters Club Chairman Stuart Robinson formed Bees Ice Management Ltd to take over the operating licence and came up with a rescue plan to see the club through to the end of the season, if fans were willing to help through pledging donations. This they did and the club successfully completed the season, finishing in 3rd place in the league, winning the EPL
English Premier Ice Hockey League
The English Premier Ice Hockey League commonly abbreviated to EPIHL, or simply EPL, is a senior ice hockey league in England, and is run and administered by the English Ice Hockey Association...

 cup and finishing runner up to Slough Jets
Slough Jets
Slough Jets are an ice hockey team from Slough, Berkshire, England. They are the current English Premier Ice Hockey League Cup champions for the 2010–11 season. The team was founded in 1986 after the construction of the Slough Ice Arena in Montem Lane in Slough. With the help of Gary Stefan who...

 in the play-off final.

For the 2008-09 season Dwight Parrish
Dwight Parrish
Dwight Parrish is a retired American professional ice hockey player.- North American career :Parrish began his career playing at NCAA level for Ferris State University in his home state of Michigan...

 returned to the Manchester Phoenix and was replaced as head coach by the previous season's captain, Adam Bicknell. During the season, Bicknell recruited Peter Russell
Peter Russell
Peter Russell M.A., D.C.S. is a British author of ten books and producer of three films on consciousness, spiritual awakening and their role in the future development of humanity. He has designed and taught personal development programs for businesses, and has remained a popular public...

 as a bench coach, after Russell had been released by Swindon Wildcats
Swindon Wildcats
The Swindon Wildcats are a professional ice hockey team based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. They are member of the English Premier Ice Hockey League . Since their inception, the Wildcats have played their home games at the 2800 capacity Link Centre. The club was founded in 1986, as the Swindon...

. Bees finished the season in 5th place in the EPL
English Premier Ice Hockey League
The English Premier Ice Hockey League commonly abbreviated to EPIHL, or simply EPL, is a senior ice hockey league in England, and is run and administered by the English Ice Hockey Association...

before going out of the play-offs in a two-legged quarter final to Slough Jets
Slough Jets
Slough Jets are an ice hockey team from Slough, Berkshire, England. They are the current English Premier Ice Hockey League Cup champions for the 2010–11 season. The team was founded in 1986 after the construction of the Slough Ice Arena in Montem Lane in Slough. With the help of Gary Stefan who...

, 7-5 on aggregate. Bees reached the semi-final of the EPL Cup, where they lost 6-4 on aggregate to Peterborough Phantoms
Peterborough Phantoms
The Peterborough Phantoms are a British ice hockey team.The Peterborough Phantoms ice hockey club was founded in 2002. It replaced the former city based team, the Peterborough Pirates, and plays in the same Ice Arena...

 who went on to take all four trophies on offer for the season, leaving the Bees with no trophies for the first time in 5 seasons.

During the 2008-2009 season, Eleftheriou and Robinson announced that they would not continue to run the Bees beyond the end of the campaign. This was announced mid season in an effort to allow time for a new owners to be found and make the relevant arrangements with John Nike Leisuresport, who would issue the operating licence. Unfortunately, with parties interested, deadlines came and went and were extended, but no deal could be reached. At the last moment in the absence of any alternative owner, Eleftheriou and Robinson announced that they would continue with revised budgets, rather than see the club fold. Unfortunately, by that stage the majority of the team had signed elsewhere, while coach Adam Bicknell announced that he was to retire to play local league football instead.

With little time to build a new team, Bees recruited Claude Dumas as player coach, after his club, Telford Tigers
Telford Tigers
The Telford Tigers are an English Premier League ice hockey team that formed in 2001 under the name Telford Wild Foxes.A previous Telford Tigers team had existed between 1985 and 1999.- Early history :...

 announced that they were to mothball. Dumas recruited three imports from the French Elite League, forwards Michal Pinc and Jaroslav Cesky, along with Dutch international defeceman, Chad Euverman. Euverman announced after the start of the season that he would not be joining up with his new team and was soon replaced by the previous seasons fans' favourite, Andrius Kaminskas. Only two EIHA trained players returned from the previous season, Ryan Watt and Danny House. As well as being joined after the start of the season by Kaminskas, December also saw a surprise returnee, when Adam Bicknell rejoined the team.

After Dumas took the decision to retire from hockey at the end of the 2009-10 season, Gareth Cox was appointed as the new head coach. Cox had been the coach the Bracknell Hornets English National League team for a number of years, leading them to a playoff title before moving to the Bees. He brought a number of young players with him from the Hornets and kept the core of Dumas' squad from the previous year together including EPL player of the year Jaroslav Cesky who stayed at the club with line mate Pinc despite receiving rumoured lucrative offers from elsewhere.

Standout players

Bees have had several stand-out players, a few of whom are listed below:
  • Jamie Crapper was the Bees first coach, he was recruited by Mr John Nike OBE. with the task of creating the Bracknell Bees ice hockey team which entered the British Heineken League in 1987. Jamie played for the Bees for five consecutive seasons. During his time with the Bees he scored 744 points in 153 matches (4.86 points per game).
  • Darin Fridgen was recruited to the Bracknell Bees as a 23 year old from Ferris state university in 1988. In his first season he won over the fans by scoring 207 points in 21 matches (9.85 points per game). His skating skills included speed and strength and, as his scoring record demonstrates, he was able to score with great precision.
  • Matt Coté was the longest serving member of the Bracknell Bees, serving club for ten years (1990–2000). He was regarded as a reliable and safe defenceman whose game play involved throwing his body in the way of slap shots. He is held in high esteem by players and fans alike. On occasions he still plays in charity matche. Cote retired in 2005.
  • Chris Brant was recruited to the Bracknell Bees in 1995 from their local rivals, the Basingstoke Beavers (although Chris Brant did play the first part of the 1994 / 1995 season with the Bracknell Bees). In his first full season Chris Brant accumulated 203 points in 51 league games (3.98 points per game). This native North American, nicknamed The Chief, became known at the Hive for his war-dance, performed at centre-ice after every hat-trick that season. Alongside his scoring record he accumulated 166 penalty minutes (mostly attributed to ice hockey fights). Brant stayed with the Bees for six seasons and was a member of the 1999-2000 Sekonda Superleague championship winning team.
  • Dave Whistle was a Canadian that had played in the British Leagues since 1991. He joined the Bracknell Bees in 1995 and although he was a talented forward, Whistle will be remembered at Bracknell for his coaching success. In 1998 Whistle was appointed a head coach. In only his second season he built a team that became the Sekonda Super league champions 1999-2000.
  • Lukas Smital
    Lukáš Smítal
    Lukáš Smítal is a Czech ice hockey right winger who currently plays for the Bracknell Bees in the English Premier Ice Hockey League...

    a player from the Czech republic joined the Bees in 2004. He played at Bracknell for three seasons. In 2006-07 Smital led the team to win the English Premier Ice Hockey League (EPIHL), becoming the second highest points scorer in the league with 109 points. In the same season the Bracknell Bees went on to win the Playoff finals to win the double.

External links

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