Christmas
Cracker
With
Christmas almost here and 2016 almost at an end, NIHL Northern Trio caught up
with a few familiar faces in NIHL North who shared this year’s highs and lows before
revealing their hopes for the New Year.
Whitley Warriors
Jordan Barnes
 |
Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
|
This
Christmas, I am most looking forward to…
Spending time with my family.
The
biggest surprise in ice hockey this year was…
Blackburn being the worst team in the
league!
My
New Year’s resolution is…
To be happy and healthy.
Top
of my Christmas list is…
Clothes.
My
greatest hope for the New Year is…
Win the Euromillions!
Richie Lawson
 |
Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
|
The
highs and lows of this year have been…
The high: a fantastic winning stretch
after our disappointing start in those four opening games of the year. The low has to be the 5-0 away defeat
against Telford. Not to take anything away from Telford who were exceptional
that night and beat us pillar to post, I have never witnessed nor been a part
of such a farcical match night fixture. Without physically calling out what had occurred (and risking more
absolutely absurd and ridiculous team fines, suspensions and game bans for
non-incidents) I’m completely appalled by the outcome and handling by the league. I have never witnessed anything quite
like that in my time in this sport.
This
Christmas, I am most looking forward to…
Spending time with my family, friends,
dog and a surprise city escape to look forward to before the New Year.
The
biggest surprise in ice hockey this year was…
Andre Payette’s red hot goal scoring
form, grabbing the eleventh goal in a tight 11-4 victory, he celebrated as hard
as he made it look!
My
New Year’s resolution is…
Hockey-to be more composed and get back
to the form I’m capable of playing.
Life-to get a better work/life/dog/new
home/hockey/social life balance!
Top
of my Christmas list is…
New goal sticks (as we have to pay for
our own equipment at Whitley)…Any offers? Ha, ha! But seriously?
My
greatest hope for the New Year is…
Happiness, a good life balance and good
health. Sticking it back to the powers that be
after being docked two points would be up there too!
Andre Payette
 |
| Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson |
This
Christmas, I am most looking forward to…
Wearing my Santa suit and having my
fiancée Sheena sit on my knee.
The
biggest surprise in ice hockey this year was…
Getting an eight game ban for doing
nothing.
My
New Year’s resolution is…
To try to score more goals than pretty
boy Jordan Barnes.
Top
of my Christmas list is…
To win the playoffs this year.
My
greatest hope for the New Year is…
To get married to my beautiful fiancée
Sheena Croft.
Shaun Kippin
 |
| Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson |
The
highs and lows of this year have been…
The highs: making the playoffs. The lows: losing lifelong fan, Bobby
Dixon.
This
Christmas, I am most looking forward to…
Watching everyone else open their
presents.
The
biggest surprise in ice hockey this year was…
Andre Payette’s eight game ban.
My
New Year’s resolution is…
My baby boy is due in February so to be
the best Dad I can be.
Top
of my Christmas list is…
NHL 17 on Xbox One
My
greatest hope for the New Year is…
To make the playoffs.
Photographer Colin Lawson
 |
| Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson |
The
highs and lows of this year have been…
The highs, I suppose, are the team playing and competing as well as they
are, considering we have lost influential players and every other team in the
league have improved their teams (on paper) with some of them signing another
import. Also, the faith they
appear to have in themselves, coming from behind the way they have, when
previously they might have allowed their heads to drop and lost the game. The lows include Alex getting injured
and not being able to play this season and also starting the season without any
preparation which left us totally disadvantaged compared to the rest of the
league.
This
Christmas, I am most looking forward to…
As always, spending time with my family
who are my life!
The
biggest surprise in ice hockey this year was…
The performance of Blackburn.
My
New Year’s resolution is…
I don’t believe in them as they are
almost inevitably broken.
Top
of my Christmas list is…
Santa being kind and making friends and
family happy.
My
greatest hope for the New Year is…
Work related, going down to three days
a week. Hockey related, having a great time in Gangneung, Korea at the end of
March when I’m away photographing two World Championships, GB Women and GB U18s
Men.
Billingham
Stars
Chris Sykes
 |
| Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson |
This Christmas, I am
most looking forward to…
Spending time with family, having time
off work and relaxing with everyone
The
biggest surprise in ice hockey this year was…
How many goals I’ve scored!
My
New Year’s resolution is…
Stop biting my nails and keep eating
pies.
Top
of my Christmas list is…
Presents! LOADS!
My
greatest hope for the New Year is…
To have a good year and hopefully win a
title.
(Hockey
related, I know!)
Jack Watkins
 |
| Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson |
This Christmas, I am
most looking forward to…
Spending time with friends and family.
The
biggest surprise in ice hockey this year was…
For me, Ben Davison going end to end
and scoring.
My
New Year’s resolution is…
To see Cal Davies score a hat trick.
Top
of my Christmas list…
has to be some
new golf clubs!
My
greatest hope for the New Year is…
Winning that league title.
Solway
Sharks
Struan Tonnar
 |
| Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson |
The
highs and lows of this year have been…
The highs, spending some good quality
time with the guys, bus trips, nights in hotels. Most people
would hate hanging about with the horrible bunch of creatures we have on the
team but it’s fantastic. The lows would obviously have to be the
games that we lost. Not good to see so many guys have to
pull out through injuries as well so hopefully we can use the Christmas break
for some much needed recovery.
This
Christmas, I am most looking forward to…
Our traditional Boxing Day out where
most of the guys meet up with a lot of the guys who used to play with the
Sharks; that’s always fun. It’s nice to
hang out with guys you don’t always get to.
The
biggest surprise in ice hockey this year was…
The amount of young talent some of the
teams in the league are playing, particularly ourselves.
It’s
refreshing to see and hopefully we can get some better established rules in the
British leagues that will help to develop this talent.
My
New Year’s resolution is…
Just to try and continue the New Year
with some of same work ethic we’ve shown. Don’t really
make resolutions. They never stick!
Top
of my Christmas list is…
Some decent banter; mine is lacking
somewhat.
My
greatest hope for the New Year is…
Obviously, to lift some silverware.
It’s
been too long, in my opinion, since we lifted some major silverware.
Tonnar’s
Top Tip…
I always look forward to November every
year because I love growing a moustache. I think I have
one of the best in the league. It’s for a great cause and I
think it makes any man’s face more masculine…
Marc Fowley
 |
| Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson |
The
highs and lows of this year have been…
Our unbeaten league run at the start of
the year was my high. Breaking my jaw was my low point.
This
Christmas, I am most looking forward to…
Spending time with my family.
The
biggest surprise in ice hockey this year was…
The mixed results in the league.
Some
teams who were having good wins at the start of the season haven’t maintained
that quality. Also, the higher score lines that have gone either
way when some teams have met.
My
New Year’s resolution is…
To duck whenever Kim Miettinen gets the
puck on the PK.
Top
of my Christmas list is…
My two front teeth!
My
greatest hope for the New Year is…
Continued health and happiness to my
friends and family. Winning the treble would be nice too!
Telford Tigers
Assistant Coach Jason Parry
The
highs and lows of this year have been…
The high: some good friends in [Daniel]
MacKriel, Addie [Adam Brittle] and Dangie [Daniel Brittle] returning home to
play for Telford. The Low: the losing streak we’ve been
on.
This
Christmas, I am most looking forward to…
Spending time at home with family this Christmas.
The
biggest surprise in ice hockey this year was…
Although I don’t agree with things he
does on the ice, off the ice, how helpful Andre Payette can be.
My
New Year’s resolution is…
I don’t have one. I never do them!
Top
of my Christmas list is…
Points, points and some more points.
My
greatest hope for the New Year is…
To make the playoffs.
Player-Coach Daniel MacKriel
The
highs and lows of this year have been…
The high for me has been coming back to
Telford.
I’ve
been away from my home club for a while now so when the opportunity presented
itself, it was a no brainer. Blackburn is a great place to
play and coach but having your family at games each week and not getting home
at 2:30am on a Friday morning is a real plus! The low for
our team is seeing us throw away points when we’ve been in a strong position.
We’re
learning though!
This
Christmas, I am most looking forward to…
From a personal level, spending time
with my family. We had a new addition to the family three months
ago so it’ll be Ellis’ first Christmas and Eleanor’s first as a
big sister! It’ll be hectic but good fun!
The
biggest surprise in ice hockey this year was…
How well the hockey community group comes
together when tough times arise. I know the hockey folk are a
tight group but some things have really hit home of late.
My
New Year’s resolution is…
I don’t really make them to be honest…I always say each year I’d like
to improve on what I’ve done from the previous year though.
Top
of my Christmas list is…
Tough one…
My
greatest hope for the New Year is…
Hockey related is for a league
structure to be in place where hockey is attractive but sustainable with clear
pathways for development. The likes of Billingham, Whitley,
Blackburn and Solihull have a good model in our league and the so called bigger
teams in the EPL could learn a thing from these guys.
The Dragons
Marc Lovell
The
highs and lows of this year have been…
The highs have been winning the games we have won because a lot of
people thought we wouldn’t win any and the lows have been the games we have
lost when we could have won.
This
Christmas, I am most looking forward to…
Having some time off from work and
hockey.
The
biggest surprise in ice hockey this year was…
Scott [McKenzie] taking over at The
Dragons after the rivalry we had with Widnes last year…ha,ha!
My
New Year’s resolution is…
To win as many games as we can.
Top
of my Christmas list is…
No more socks!
My
greatest hope for the New Year is…
To pick up as many points as we can and
hopefully make the playoffs.
Solihull Barons
Thomas Soar
 |
| Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson |
This
Christmas, I am most looking forward to…
Sitting on a beach with a beer in
Thailand.
The
biggest surprise in ice hockey this year was…
Perry Doyle’s shock retirement.
My
New Year’s resolution is…
Save more, drink less!
Top
of my Christmas list is…
The Barons finishing in the top three
and a few more Ralph Lauren shirts.
Sutton Sting
Lloyd Gibson
 |
| Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson |
This
Christmas, I am most looking forward to…
Not having to play an EPL game on
Boxing Day!
The
biggest surprise in ice hockey this year was…
Seeing that James Goodman, before home
games on a Sunday, somehow manages to play a full ninety minutes of Sunday
league football before our game and you can barely tell until we get into the
third and he’s crawling onto the ice!
My
New Year’s resolution is…
To try my very best to get the Sting
into the playoffs.
Top
of my Christmas list is…
A new set of hands to improve my
dangles on the ice. I’ve been asking for a few years with
no response. I’m starting to think there is obviously no
solution.
My
greatest hope for the New Year is…
That Simon Butterworth, our coach, gets his
kit on and winds back the years to the glory days to guide us to a playoff win!
Blackburn Hawks
Aaron Davies
 |
| Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson |
The
highs and lows of this year have been…
Being able to play another year at Blackburn is a high even though some
readers might say that’s a low! And my low is being in the slump we went into
but we seemed to get ourselves back to how we should be playing.
This
Christmas, I am most looking forward to…
The break! Just being able to spend
time with friends, family and loved ones.
The
biggest surprise in ice hockey this year was…
Nothing really surprises me! Been
around it too long.
My
New Year’s resolution is…
No point really having them as I tend
to break them within a week! But just to stay healthy, enjoy life and keep
playing hard.
Top
of my Christmas list is…
For my family, friends and everyone to
enjoy it.
My
greatest hope for the New Year is…
To finish the season strong and hope we
make the top four but mainly, to keep enjoying the game.
NIHL Radio’s Oz Phillips
This
Christmas, I am most looking forward to…
My now annual pilgrimage to Berlin to
see the Eisbären. I follow New Jersey Devils, I love Blackburn Hawks but
I worship the Eisbären and I can’t sleep for weeks leading up to seeing them. For me, it’s the best atmosphere I’ve
ever experienced in hockey.
The
biggest surprise in ice hockey this year was…
For me, it was Brian McGrattan signing
for the Nottingham Panthers. That came out
of nowhere! As for our league, I was shocked at the demise of the Spartans-they
were a great team and they will be missed.
My
New Year’s resolution is…
To try and relax more, especially with
hockey taking over my weekends. I’m never at
home. I need to make more time for myself.
Top
of my Christmas list is…
This season’s Eisbären shirt-I grab it
every season when I’m over there.
My
greatest hope for the New Year is…
For Hawks to make the playoffs. We’ve made it to the final for five
consecutive seasons, winning three of them, including the last two. It will be a devastating blow for the
club if it is not at least in a position to defend the title.
And from the NIHL
North Laidler Conference...
Nottingham Lions
Adz Andrews
 |
| Photo Credit: UrbanScot Photography |
The
highs and lows of this year have been…
Highs have to be teaming up with my
line mates, the lows have to be teaming up with my team mates!
This
Christmas, I am most looking forward to…
Having quality family time and beers with
friends.
The
biggest surprise in ice hockey this year was…
For me, it has to be Hull Pirates.
The
team they have and the results they are getting no one would have imagined.
Great
achievement so far.
My
New Year’s resolution is…
Ask me in the New Year!
Top
of my Christmas list is…
For my family to enjoy the festive
season and seeing my boys’ smiles on Christmas Day.
My
greatest hope for the New Year is…
For Nottingham Lions to make the
playoffs and win the playoffs so I can finally retire!
Sheffield Senators
Mark Hartley
 |
| Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson |
The
highs and lows of this year have been…
The high has been being second in the
league after a horrendous year last year. The low has
been being injured and out for a month.
This
Christmas, I am most looking forward to…
Christmas dinner, of course!
The
biggest surprise in ice hockey this year was…
Blackburn Eagles doing so well.
My
New Year’s resolution is…
To keep playing the way we are.
Top
of my Christmas list is…
Some new gear if anyone is interested
in buying me some!
My
greatest hope for the New Year is…
To win the league title and gain
promotion.
Blackburn Eagles
Scott Barnett
The
highs and lows of this year have been…
High: our winning streak at the
beginning of the season. Low: the end of the streak.
This
Christmas, I am most looking forward to…
A break from freezing in ice rinks, drinks and time
with my family.
The
biggest surprise in ice hockey this year was…
Teams in both leagues over-performing and some struggling to find form.
Top
of my Christmas list is…
New skates!
My
greatest hope for the New Year is…
Something that has been a long time
coming!
A
big thank you to everyone who contributed! NIHL Northern Trio would like to wish
all coaches, players, fans and readers a Merry Christmas and a Happy New
Year!
For more photos from IceHockeyMedia, please visit: http://www.icehockeymedia.co.uk/.
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