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GOALS GALORE AT THE SPECTRUM

Match Reports: Monday 27th February 03

On Saturday night, 1812 fans packed themselves into the Spectrum Ice Arena to witness the Guildford Flames go goal crazy against the All British Hull Thunder, racking up an impressive 15-3 scoreline. The highlights of the night were Corey Lyons completing a hat trick and young Under-19 player Jamie Hepburn netting his first senior goal for the club.

The writing was on the wall early as the Flames scored twice in the opening minute, first through Jason Lafreniere after just 20-seconds and then through Paul Dixon with a shot from the blue line at 0.46. Ricky Plant (sponsored by Coastal Acoustics) added a third at 2.11 followed by a fourth from David Clarke at 14.35. It was at this point with the Flames leading 4-0, that new boy Dave Hurst replaced starting netminder Mike Torchia, who had not faced a single shot. 18-seconds later at 14.53 the Home side were up by 5 as Derek DeCosty got in on the scoring before Clarke grabbed his second to complete the first period rout at 18.40.

Trailing 6-0, Hull's captain Anthony Payne opened the visitors account at 23.04, followed a couple of minutes (26.26) later by a Ben Milhench strike for a 6-2 scoreline. Guildford then netted goal number 7 from Jeff White at 26.59 only for Derek DeCosty and Paul Wallace to clash, earning a 2+2-roughing penalty each. During their spell in the box, Flames scored goal number 8 from Corey Lyons at 34.19, before Flames Nicky Chinn sought a bout with Wallace, but succeeded only in getting a Match penalty from referee Kirkham. On the resulting 5-minute powerplay, Hull scored their third goal from Nathan Hunt at 38.43. The Thunder won the period 3-2, despite being out shot 20-6.

The final period saw the Flames slot in another seven unanswered goals, as Lyons (41.58), Lafreniere (45.38), Michael Timms (47.01), Marc West (48.34 and 49.06) Jamie Hepburn (54.24) and Lyons (55.14) all found the back of the Thunder net.

MATCH FACTS

Guildford scoring: Lyons 3+2; Clarke 2+4; West and Lafreniere 2+2; Hepburn 1+2; DeCosty, Plant and White 1+1; Timms and Dixon 1+0; Redmond 0+3; Herbers, Bowen and Galazzi 0+2; Chinn and Skene 0+1.

Hull scoring: Payne 1+1; Hunt and Milhench 1+0.

Penalty minutes: Flames31; Thunder 6.

Shots on goal : Torchia (Gui) 0/0; Hurst (Gui,) 10/3; Roberts (Hull) 55/15.

Man of the match: Jamie Hepburn (Guildford), Sam Roberts (Hull).

FLAMES GET PHYSICAL

Coventry Blaze kept their 100 per cent home record intact on Sunday night, with a 59th minute goal to seal a 4-3 win over the Guildford Flames.

Before any scoring got under way, the first action of the evening saw Joel Poirier and Flames defenceman Jason Bowen square up to each other, earning 2+2 for roughing. Two minutes later, two players from each side were involved in a skirmish - Tait and Moborg from Coventry and White and Herbers from Guildford, all receiving a roughing minor for their troubles. The first goal of the night came from Ashley Tait at 13.40 and despite a total of 28-shots on goal; this was to be the only score of the period. In the closing stages of this feisty period, there was another fight as Steve Carpenter and Flames forward Nicky Chinn came to blows. Carpenter was penalised 2+2, while Chinn received 2+2+2.

Guildford found themselves on level terms in the second minute of the second period as Corey Lyons found the net with a shot to tie the scores at 1-1. Coventry hit back two minutes later with a powerplay effort of their own, as Hilton Ruggles put the puck in the net for 2-1. Around the mid point of the match, Guildford had another powerplay opportunity, and again they cashed in through David Clarke who was on the end of the move to beat Jody Lehman and ensure the scores were level at 2-2 with one period left to play.

The Flames took the lead for the first time in the game just two minutes into the final period, as Derek DeCosty found the back of the Blaze net. Coventry pressed hard for a way back, and eventually levelled with a powerplay marker from Shaun Johnson. With time running down, and overtime looking more and more likely, Steve Chartrand popped up on the back post to seal the win with just 79 seconds remaining.

MATCH FACTS

Coventry scoring: Johnson and Tait 1+1; Chartrand and Ruggles 1+0; Carpenter and Moborg 0+1.

Guildford scoring: Clarke, DeCosty and Lyons 1+0; West and Lafreniere 0+2; Galazzi 0+1.

Penalty minutes: Blaze 18, Flames 42.

Shots on goal : Jody Lehman (Cov) 34/3, Mike Torchia (Gui) 39/4.

Period scores: Blaze 1 1 2. Flames 0 2 1.

Man of the match: Ashley Tait (Coventry), Jeff White (Guildford).

Attendance: 2429

Head Coach Stan Marple said: “We played very well in Coventry and we deserved a better fate. We played hard and I feel that a lot of the calls made against us were totally unjustified. Nevertheless we worked hard and I am sure Coventry felt very lucky to get the win.”

The Flames return to action this weekend with back-to-back games against the Basingstoke Bison. Saturday sees the Surrey based side travel to Hampshire before returning to the Spectrum on Sunday night for the return leg. Face off on Sunday is at 6.00pm.

GRANT KING LEAVES FLAMES

Press Release: 22/01/03

The Guildford Flames have announced that Grant King has decided to leave the club to focus on his career outside hockey. King has been one half of the Flames netminding pair since 1999-2000, and was a member of the club for their second championship season in 2001-2002 when they grabbed the BNL title, Findus British National League Play-off title and the ntl: Christmas Cup.

Replacing Grant King will be 24-year-old Dave Hurst from the English National Premiere League’s Haringey Racers. The 6’0", 165 lb netminder is no stranger to the FBNL after spending 2000-2001 and 2001-2002 with Flames rivals Slough Jets.

Flames Head Coach had this to say of the roster moves:

"Grant informed me that he has decided to leave the club to focus on other things, particularly his career in Sports Management. We are obviously disappointed at losing a character guy like Grant, but we do not want to stand in the way of his personal aspirations. He has been a valuable asset to this club since his arrival four seasons ago, and he will by missed by everyone in the Flames organisation. He is a hard worker and a consummate professional who gives everything he has each and every time out. We could not have asked any more from Grant and we wish him all the best in all his future endeavours. I have been working to find a suitable replacement and I am pleased with the signing of Dave Hurst. He has some experience at this level and spent part of his last season with the Jets as the starting netminder during their financial hardship. By all accounts he is a great team guy and I am sure he will fit in well with the team we have put together."

Dave Hurst will be in the Flames line-up beginning, Saturday, January 25th when the Flames host the Hull Thunder at the Guildford Spectrum, face-off 6pm.

CLARKE SEALS A CAPITAL VICTORY

Match Reports: Monday 20th January 03

FLYERS FIND FORM AGAINST FLAMES

The Fife Flyers completed a home double over Guildford Flames as a Kyle Horne goal three minutes from time secured a 5-4 for the Scottish side.

In an opening period where the travelling Flames dominated the play, it came as a surprise to the Guildford faithful when the home side struck the first blow as ex Flame Karry Biette took full advantage of a Guildford penalty, netting a powerplay strike past Torchia at 14.18. The Flyers lead only lasted 3-minutes when Corey Lyons fired the equaliser home to take the sides into the first break tied at 1-1.

The Flyers lead was restored midway through the second period, when Todd Dutiaume netted a solo goal at 26.14. Just over three minutes later, Jonathan Weaver doubled the home sides lead to 3-1. When both David Clarke and Jeff White of the Flames were shown the penalty box for roughing, Fife's powerplay unit attempted to take full advantage once again. Unfortunately for them, the three men of Guildford combined for a shorthanded goal at 32.05, and Captain Paul Dixon was credited with the finishing touch. Derek DeCosty was on hand to tie the match again on 36 minutes, and just as Guildford’s inferno started to up-pace, Mark Morrison tapped home to give the Flyers a 4-3 lead with 20-minutes remaining in the game.

During the final period, despite Fife having the better of the scoring chances, Flames new-boy Marc West levelled the game at 4-4 with just over ten minutes to play. As the prospect of overtime loomed, Kyle Horne was in the right place at the right time for Fife to fire past Torchia at 57.44 for the game-winning goal. Guildford pressed for another equaliser, and despite having the comfort of a powerplay for the last 18 seconds, could not find another way past the in form Steve Briere.

Guildford scoring West 1+2; DeCosty and Lyons 1+1; Dixon 1+0; Redmond 0+2; Herbers and White 0+1.

On Sunday night, the Flames made the short journey across the Fourth Bridge to Edinburgh and despite taking an early 2-0 lead, allowed the Capitals to force the game into overtime.

Jason Lafreniere opened the Flames account against his old Club with a powerplay strike that left goalie Ladislav Kudrna in no mans land at 3:09 and Nicky Chinn soon doubled that lead with a goal of his own at 12:53 giving the Surrey based side a 2-0 lead at the end of the first period.

The Capitals came out hard for the second period and by the 22:39 mark were back to within one of their visitors as Stephen Kaye finally found a way past Mike Torchia. Just over 5-minutes later at 27:59, the Home side found themselves level when Adrian Saul made the most of a powerplay opportunity.

Despite numerous efforts at both ends of the rink, 2-2 was how the game remained not only for the duration of the second period but for the entire third period as well, meaning this game was destined to go into overtime.

The Flames carried on from where they had left off at the end of the third period, by peppering the Capital goal with shots and it wasn’t until their 48th shot of the game that they finally beat the hot goaltending of Kudrna as David Clarke grabbed the game-winning goal at 65:46.

This 3-2 win keeps the Flames in 4th place in the Findus British National League Table, a position they would still like to improve upon beginning this Saturday 25th against the Hull Thunder at the Guildford Spectrum. Face Off is at 6:00pm.

Guildford scoring Clarke 1+1; DeCosty and Galazzi 0+1; Lafreniere and Chinn 1+0.

Stan Marple commented:

“We played well both nights but we made some defensive errors that cost us the game in Fife and we failed to capitalise on some early chances that also cost us the game. In Edinburgh we dominated with 48 shots on their net. It was great to see David Clarke net the winner for us in overtime.”

FLAMES DOWN JETS 8-5

The Slough Jets returned to the Guildford Spectrum for the first time since joining the EPNL. Their line up consisted of some names from years gone by in the old Flames/Jets local derby and a game that looked to be entertaining did not disappoint those who were in attendance. The Guildford Flames did not ice Derek DeCosty, Mike Torchia, Marc West, and Jason Lafreniere. In their place were Olly Bronimann, Tommy Slitz, Kurt Reynolds, Andy Smith, Michael Timms, and Jamie Hepburn from the very successful Guildford junior programme.

The Guildford Flames opened the Scoring early on a goal by Tony Redmond at 1:51 thanks to a nice feed from David Clarke. At 4:31 the visiting side tied the score with a goal by Matt Sirman who slid the puck just underneath Grant King in the Flames net. The period continued with some exciting play and great opportunities but no goals for a further 8 minutes of play. At 12:33 David Clarke capitalized on a 1on 1 chance against Slough’s netminder Simon Smith, and made no mistake tucking the puck just over the falling netminder for a Flames 2-1 lead. At 15:31 Corey Lyons extended the lead with a goal of his own, assisted by Clarke, and at 18:48, with the help of some nice play by Nicky Chinn and Jeff White, Rick Plant scored to give the home side a commanding 4-1 lead heading to the first interval. In that period, Simon Smith in the Slough net looked at 15 shots, while Grant King for the Flames faced just 5.

Despite Starting the second period down by 3, the visiting side would not give in, as they came out hard and managed to close the gap at 24:39 when David Heath beat Grant King to make the score 4-2. Again, though, the Flames re-claimed a 3-goal cushion when Tony Redmond scored his second of the evening, assisted by Clarke and Lyons. Not to be outdone, however, the Jets returned again with a goal of their own from Adam Bicknell to make the score 5-3 at 34:02. As the second period buzzer approached it seemed as though that score would carry over into the final frame, but Rick Plant had other ideas when he slid one underneath Simon Smith with just 5 seconds remaining in the second period giving the home side a 6-3 lead heading to the final period. Simon Smith faced a further 15 shots in that period, while Grant King saw 8.

The Guildford Flames put Tommy Slitz in their net for the Final period while Slough remained with Simon Smith. The 3rd period saw some wide-open play and plenty of opportunities on both sides, but no goals for the first 10 minutes of play. At 50:47, Norman Pinnington beat Tommy Slitz to make the score 6-4 Flames, but just under 3 minutes later, Michael Timms of the under 19’s got in on the act with a goal of his own, assisted by Corey Lyons and David Clarke. Just over a minute after that Mark Galazzi made the score 8-4 with an unassisted goal. As time wound down it looked as though the scoring was done, but the Jets Marc Long fired a high shot over the shoulder of Tommy Slitz with just 19 seconds remaining to finish the scoring, and an 8-5 Flames win. Tommy Slitz made 10 stops on 12 attempts in that period, while Simon Smith had 15 more shots for a game total of 45.

GAME STATS:

JETS GOALS: David Heath (1 + 1), Matt Sirman (1+ 1), Adam Bicknell (1+1), Norm Pinnington (1+0), Marc Long (1+0), Jason Reilly (0+2), Carl Graham (0+1), Christian Babbage (0+1)

FLAMES GOALS: David Clarke (1+4), Tony Redmond (2+1), Rick Plant (2+0), Corey Lyons (1+2), Mark Galazzi (1+1), Michael Timms (1+0), Nicky Chinn (0+2), Ian Herbers (0+1), Jeff White (0+1).

PENALTY MINUTES: JETS 4; FLAMES 6

SHOTS: JETS, On Simon Smith 45; FLAMES On Grant King 13 (period 1 &2), On Tommy Slitz 12 (period 3)

MAN OF MATCH: Jets – Matt Towalski; Flames – Kurt Reynolds.

FLAMES AND STARS TAKE IT TO THE LIMIT

Match Reports: Monday 13th January 03

LAFRENIERE LEADS THE WAY

Saturday night at the Spectrum saw the Guildford Flames and the Dundee Stars battle out the second Leg of the ‘Meningitis Trust Charity Shield’ in which the Flames held a 4-2 first Leg lead.

Trailing by 2-goals, the Stars looked to get the game all square early in the first period and that is exactly what they did as recent defensive signing, Scott Young found himself all alone in front of the Flames net with enough time to calmly slot the puck past Flames goalie Grant King at 6:47.

The Scottish side soon doubled that lead to give an aggregate score of 4-4 as Teeder Wynne popped up on the back post to beat King down low at 13:54. That was the end of the first period scoring despite the Stars out-shooting the Flames 11-6, making the game all the more exciting with just 2-periods left to play.

As the second period got under-way, it did not take long for the Stars to find the back of the net as Wynne once again fired the puck past King at 31:11. Just over 7-minutes later (38:48) and the Flames were finally on the score sheet as Jason Lafreniere picked up a loose puck to the side of the net and fired it home to make the score 1-3 on the night and 5-5 on aggregate. The tied aggregate score did not last long though as Young was once again on hand to fire the Stars into a 6-5 aggregate score at 41:01. Another period down and the Spectrum based Flames found themselves trailing their visitors 1-4 (5-6 agg.) even though they dominated the shooting charts 18-6 in the second period.

With 20-minutes to play, and trailing the Stars by one, the Flames knew they had to pull out all the stops if they were to bring the scores level and this is precisely what they did when Derek DeCosty finally found a way past an in form Stephen Murphy at 54:33. Now with a 2-4 scoreline on the night and a 6-6 score over the two-legs there was everything to play for in the final 5-minutes, but neither side could find the twine which meant that this game was to be decided on penalties.

As the penalties got underway, things looked very good for the Flames as King thwarted the effort of Young only to see Lafreniere kept out at the other end by Murphy. Flames forwards Corey Lyons and Marc West saw their efforts hit the back of the net whilst David Clarke and Tony Redmond had theirs stopped so all the Stars needed to do was hit three of their last four. Stars Player Coach Tony Hand led the way for his Team and was duly followed by Wynne and Ken Priestley leaving the Scottish side to takethe Shield 7-6 thanks to a 3-2 win in penalties.

Flames Managing Director, Malcolm Norman, had this to say at the end of the game:-

“It was disappointing to see the Charity Shield head north of the border after taking the first leg lead. However, Dundee came out more determined, and got off to a flying start, quickly eliminating our advantage. The penalty shoot-out was exciting for the fans, and the evening was successful in raising further awareness, and funds, for the Meningitis Trust. I must thank all the fans, and the players and management from Dundee, for their support for this new competition.”

Sunday night at the Spectrum saw the Flames return to Findus British National League action against basement boys Solihull MK Kings and come away with a convincing 6-2 victory to keep them 3rd in the League table.

The first period saw the Flames dominate the play throughout despite being out shot 8-6 and only managing one goal for their efforts as the Kings defence made things very tight for the Surrey side. The Flames solitary goal came at 16:41 as Corey Lyons, after a nice 3-way passing movement, released a ferocious shot that goalie Domenic DeGiorgio had little chance of stopping. The Flames did have a little scare a few minutes later as goalie Mike Torchia and defenceman Jeff White got their wires crossed and collided 20-feet outside the goal to allow a Kings forward the chance of an open net which he kindly put wide of the mark, much to the relief of the 1300 Guildford faithful.

The Kings hit back early in the second period as Jeff Trembecky made the most of his sides powerplay opportunity at 23:23, only to see Jason Lafreniere grab the first of his hat trick goals at 29:01 to regain the Flames lead in a period that saw the visitors out shot 19-6.

As the final 20-minutes got under way the Flames looked to put the game out of the Kings reach and at 41:15 they were well on their way as Tony Redmond combined with Derek DeCosty and Corey Lyons to put them up by one. At 52:18 Lafreniere fired home his second and the Flames fourth before calmly taking his time to out wit DeGiorgio and lift the puck over his head and into the top corner of the goal to complete his hat trick at 56:02. DeCosty then completed the night’s scoring at 58:50 to give the Flames a convincing 6-2 victory at the end of a third period that saw the Flames once again out shoot the Kings, this time by a margin of 21-9, keeping them in third place in the FBNL Table; 5-points behind second place Dundee Stars.

Head Coach and GM, Stan Marple said:

“It was disappointing to lose to Dundee at home after out-shooting them 24-33 but Murphy played well and it was an exciting finish for the fans as the second leg went into penalty shots. On Sunday we stuck to the game plan and came away with a 6-2 win. We could have won by a bigger margin but Dominic DeGiorgio played very well between the pipes for the Kings.”

The Flames return to the Spectrum on Tuesday 14th February where they take on English National Premier League high flyers the Slough Jets. Face off is at 8:00pm.

	GP	G	A	PTS	PIMS
Previous 11 Seasons	579	257	476	733	777
Hull Thunder	21	11	22	33	62
TOTALS	600	268	498	766	839

FLAMES WEEKEND OF HIGHS AND LOWS

Match Reports: Monday 6th January 03

THUNDER RUMBLED BUT DEVILS TURN UP THE HEAT

The Guildford Flames endured a mixed weekend as they defeated the Hull Thunder 6-2 at the Spectrum on Saturday night before falling to an 8-3 defeat at the hands of the Devils in Cardiff on Sunday night.

Against the Hull Thunder on Saturday night at the Spectrum, it was the Flames that got on the scoreboard first as Tony Redmond out muscled his player before skating in one-on-one against Stephen Foster and calmly slotting the puck home at 7:31. The Thunder then hit back with 2-goals as Scott Young split the Flames defence and fired past Mike Torchia at 10:49 before Mark West followed suit with a goal of his own at 15:27. The Flames weren’t behind for long though, as Mark Galazzi levelled the scores at 2-2 with his timely strike at 16:48 in an opening period that saw the Flames fire 11-shots on the Hull goal compared to the 6 that Torchia was faced with in the Flames net.

The second period was a very one-sided affair indeed as the Flames out shot their visitors 16-2, although it wasn’t until 28:17 that they finally found a way past Foster as Captain Paul Dixon capitalised on the powerplay with a low shot from the blue line. Corey Lyons then doubled the Flames lead at 31:08 to give the Surrey based side a comfortable 4-2 advantage going into the third and final period.

As the final 20-minutes got under way it did not take long for the Flames lead to be stretched as Galazzi grabbed his second of the night, before Jason Lafreniere grabbed his first at 55:32. Despite once again out shooting the Thunder, this time by 20-5, the Flames could not manage another goal but still skated away with a convincing 6-2 victory.

Sunday night saw the Flames travel to Wales where a rejuvenated Cardiff Devils side awaited them.

The first period was a hard fought battle indeed with a total of 26-shots being fired (12 on Stevie Lyle in the Cardiff goal and 14 on Flames goalie Torchia), so it was no surprise that by the end of the period there was just one goal that separated the 2-Teams when the Devils took the early lead through Kurt Walsh at 1:23.

The Flames came out hard in the second period and by 21:49 were back level with their hosts as Jason Bowen fired home for the Flames. Unfortunately the travelling fans cheers were cut short as the Devils scored not 1, not 2, but 5-goals in quick succession. Kurt Walsh gave the Devils the 2-1 lead at 26:33, Jeff Burgoyne then added a second at 27:48 before Ivan Matulik went on the rampage and scored a natural hat-trick in just under 5-minutes of play with goals at 31:36 (PP), 34:25 and 36:34. The Flames did manage to get a late consolation goal through Corey Lyons at 39:12 although the second period damage had been done despite the shots being fairly equal (16-13 in the Devils favour) leaving the Flames trailing 6-2 with only 20-minutes left to play.

As the final period got under way, the Devils extended their lead to 7-2 as Mike Ware fired past Torchia at 40:28. Corey Lyons then broke free on a short-handed play to fire home at 47:33, only for Ware to strike again at 50:40, sealing the Flames fate and Torchia’s for the night as he was replaced between the pipes by Grant King. Despite out shooting their hosts 17-14, the Flames could do no more as the Devils held on to their 8-3 lead.

Head Coach and General Manager Stan Marple commented:

“This a very competitive League and when you don’t show up to play you will get beat by any team. Against Cardiff we did not outwork our opponents we did not execute our system play. We were beat by a good team, who on the night wanted it much more than we did and by a team that did exactly what their coach asked of them for a full 60-minutes.”

The Flames return to the Spectrum this weekend for 3-games in 4-nights.

Saturday 11th will see the Dundee Stars skate into town for the second leg of the ‘Meningitis Shield’ and on Sunday 12th the Flames entertain the Solihull MK Kings. Face off for both games is 6:00pm.

Tuesday 14th sees the return of the Slough Jets to the Spectrum for a Challenge game against a Guildford side that will be icing just 5 of its imports. Face off is at 8:00pm.

LYONS LEAVES THE PRIDE EARLY

Monday 6th January 03.

Guildford Flames forward Craig Lyons has decided to leave the Club early, citing personal reasons for his decision. Just after Christmas, Craig informed the Flames Management that he would be returning back to North America in the New Year.

29-year-old Lyons, who last season played with the Colorado Gold Kings in North America’s West Coast Hockey League, joined the Surrey based Club along with his brother Corey in the summer of 2002.

Both Craig and the Club would like to state that the decision had nothing to do with the ‘slight knock’ that the player sustained in the 4-1 Home defeat to the Coventry Blaze last Thursday. The Club would also like to inform their fans that they hope to have a new player permanently in place by the 18th of this month before they make the long journey to Scotland.

Head Coach Stan Marple commented:

“Obviously I am not happy that we have lost the services of Craig as I thought he had been playing very well for us especially during the month of December. Unfortunately, Craig’s heart is set on returning to North America and there is not anything we can do about it. I appreciate that he told us in advance and I have been looking hard for a suitable replacement for Craig since then. As mentioned, I would like to have his replacement in a soon as possible but I also have a tough job of finding a player that will be able to contribute as much to the Team as Craig has.”

Craig’s Flames Stats 2002/2003:

#	PLAYER NAME	GP	G	A	PTS	PIMS	PP	SH	GW	PTS AVE
12	Craig Lyons	34	16	29	45	42	3	3	3	1.32

WINNING RUN COMES TO AN END

Match Report: Friday 3rd January 03

Last night at the Spectrum, the Guildford Flames took on Findus British National League leaders the Coventry Blaze and after 60-minutes of giving sweat and blood to the cause ended up on the wrong side of a 4-1 scoreline.

The Flames started strong, scoring through Craig Lyons with just 10-seconds gone on the game clock, only to see the Blaze hit back through Joel Poirier (7:22) after goalie Mike Torchia had been brought down behind his net. Although the Blaze out shot the Flames 9-8 in the first period, it was the home side that had the better of the chances despite being sentenced to 8-minutes in penalties compared to the Blazes’ two.

As the mid-way point of the second period approached, the Blaze were dealt a 2-minute penalty and despite the Flames being on the powerplay, it was Poirier who found the back of the net as he split the Guildford defence at 27:31. It was just after the halfway mark when things really turned bad for the Flames as Craig Lyons was carried off the ice with a damaged knee and then Ricky Plant was forced to go back to the dressing early as he took a stick to the face resulting in 3 of his front teeth going missing. Again the period was evenly played with both sides firing 13-shots on their opposing goalies and serving 4-minutes each in penalties.

Trailing their visitors 2-1 with just 20-minutes to play, the Flames tried all they could to bring the game back level, unfortunately it seemed that every time they went near a Blaze player they were called for some form of penalty. At 41:03 Jason Bowen was called for elbows, then at 44:23 he was called a 2+10 for hitting from behind and it was in between these 2-penalties (43:57) that Coventry extended their lead through Steve Chartrand. At 56:42 the Blaze wrapped the game up as Hilton Ruggles fired past Torchia to dent the Flames hopes of gaining their 9th straight League win. As if the 4-1 defeat wasn’t bad enough, the Flames were then dealt another cruel blow after the final hooter had sounded as Mike Torchia, Jason Lafreniere and Jason Bowen were dealt an additional 40-minutes in penalties between them.

The Flames return to the Spectrum this Saturday as they take on the Hull Thunder who will be looking to raise themselves away from second last in the FBNL Table. Face Off is at 6:00pm.

VIPERS BURNT BY FLAMES

December 23rd, 2002 - Match Report

On Saturday, the current Findus Cup Champion Newcastle Vipers rolled into Spectrum to take on the Flames, hoping to avenge their recent loss to the Flames back in early December. The night did not start off well for the visiting Vipers as their usual number one goaltender Pasi Raitanen was unable to start the match due to injury in the warm up. In goal for the visitors was British born Stephan Wall. The Flames got on the scoreboard early as David Clarke found the net for a Flames 1-0 lead at 4:01. At 9:48 the Flames increased their lead to 2-0 with a goal fired home by Tony Redmond thanks to a nice feed from Jason Lafreniere. Just a couple of minutes later with the Flames Jeff White in the penalty box for holding, the visitors got on the board with a powerplay strike by Joel Irwin to close the gap to just one goal. That turned out to be the last goal of the period and the home side went to the dressing room out in front 2-1. If anyone had questioned the Vipers young goaltender’s nerves after being down 2-0 all questions were answered as he stopped 12 of 14 shots he faced during the period. The Flames netminder Mike Torchia faced 9 shots.

The ice was barely dry at the start of the second period when the visiting side drew even on another goal by Joel Irwin at 21:39. At 28:49, Irwin completed a natural hat trick by scoring his 3rd of the night to make the score 3-2 and give the visitors their first lead of the match. The Flames were not done yet, however, as Craig Lyons one-timed a Rick Plant pass over the glove hand of Stephan Wall to draw the clubs even at 3-3. As in the first, the final 8 minutes went scoreless and the respective sides headed for the second break with the score knotted at 3 each. The Flames outshot their guests in that period by a margin of 18-11, with Stephan Wall proving to be up to the task of handling the Flames snipers.

The third started with five minutes of entertaining action, but no scoring until 45:34 when Craig Lyons buried his 2nd of the night on a goal assisted by brother Corey Lyons and Nicky Chinn. Just over 30 seconds later David Clarke increased the Flames lead to 5-3 with his 2nd of the evening, only for the Vipers Joel Irwin to draw the score back to 5-4 just 27 seconds later with his 4th of the evening. The game was shaping up for an exciting finish. With just over 2 minutes remaining, the Flames Jeff White was assessed a minor penalty for interference and the visiting side would see a great opportunity to finish the game on the powerplay and tie the score. Unable to score early on the powerplay, the Vipers pulled their goaltender in favour of an additional attacker and a 6-4-man advantage. However, Nicky Chinn was able to collect a loose puck near centre ice and slide it to Jason Lafreniere who had an open net. He made no mistake as he scored the Flames final goal of the evening to seal the Flames 6th league win in a row. Once again the Flames outshot the visitors with Wall looking at a further 12 shots for a game total of 44 and Guildford’s Mike Torchia facing 6 more and a game total of 26.

Flames Head Coach Stan Marple had this to say after the game:

"We came out hard and were able to score early, but obviously we were disappointed with some mental errors that cost us the lead. The good news is that the guys were able to put it behind them and continue to work and believe that the game was still ours to win. We have really turned up our play in recent weeks, and with the combination of solid goaltending and much better goal production we are looking forward to the stretch run to see what kind of gains we can make on the league lead, and of course preparing for the play-off championship."

GAME STATS:

Vipers Goals: Joel Irwin (4+0), David Longstaff (0+1), Stephan Wallace(0+1) , Mikko Koivunoro (0+1), Rob Trumbley (0+1), Simon Leach (0+1) , Scott Campbell (0+1) , & Mike Lankshear (0+1)

Flames Goals: Craig Lyons (2+0), David Clarke (2+0), Corey Lyons (0+2), Tony Redmond (1+1), Jason Lafreniere (1+1), Ian Herbers (0+1), Rick Plant (0+1), Nicky Chinn (0+1), Jeff White (0+1), Torchia (0+1)

Penalty Minutes: Vipers 8, Flames 14 (Chinn 10 minute misconduct)

Shots on Goal: on Vipers Wall 44, on Flames Torchia 26.

At the Christmas break the Flames sit in 4th place in the league table and are next in action December 28th in Solihull and then at Spectrum on December 29th at 6pm against Fife Flyers.

TIGERS TAMED

Match Report: Thursday 19th December 2002.

Wednesday night at the Spectrum, 1200 fans saw the Guildford Flames play a Challenge match against the travelling Princeton Tigers University Team and skate away with a 4-3 win.

Before the game started, Flames Chairman John Hepburn, an alumni of Princeton University dropped the puck for a Ceremonial Face off between the 2 Team Captains Paul Dixon (Flames) and George Parros (Tigers), and once the game started it wasn’t long before the scoring began.

With only 1:07 gone on the clock, Flames Top Goal Scorer, Derek DeCosty, found a way past goalie Trevor Clay to fire the puck into the back of the Tigers net. At 6:19 the Tigers found themselves level as Dan Hursh shot past Flames goalie Grant King before Luc Paquin followed suit to give the Tigers the lead at 7:47. The Flames then pulled level at 10:06, this time through Corey Lyons to give the game a 2-2 score at the end of the first period, despite the Tigers out shooting their hosts 18-7.

The second period saw a very closely fought battle, with the Tigers out shooting the Flames 11-9, although neither Team could find the twine.

At 44:43 of the third period, the Tigers finally made the most of a powerplay opportunity as Chris Owen popped up to restore the visitors lead, only for Corey Lyons to once again level the score at 56:36 and then for his brother Craig to put the game out of the Tigers reach with a powerplay strike of his own at 59:37. Once again, the Tigers out shot the Flames 11-8 but still ended up on the wrong side of the 4-3 scoreline.

Final score; Guildford Flames 4 – Princeton Tigers 3.

The Flames are at home again this Saturday for their only fixture of the weekend as the Newcastle Vipers slither into town. Face off is at 6:00pm.

MARPLES MEN RETURN TO WINNING WAYS

Match Reports: Monday 9th December 2002.

VIPERS AND FLYERS BURNT BY FLAMES

This weekend saw the Guildford Flames begin to turn the corner and get themselves back on the winning track with two big home ice victories against the Newcastle Vipers on Saturday night and the Fife Flyers on Sunday night.

On Saturday night the newly crowned Findus Cup Winners, Newcastle Vipers slithered in and out of the Spectrum empty handed as the Flames dominated the game throughout.

The first period saw the Flames race into an early 2-0 lead as Mark Galazzi, after some great work down the wing by Tony Redmond, found the back of Pasi Raitanen’s net at 5:11 before Corey Lyons added a second at 7:07. Newcastle reduced the deficit at 17:38 with a powerplay strike by ex-Flame Mikko Koivunoro to give the Flames a 1-goal lead going into the second period.

Despite the Flames continued dominance, the second period gave the 1423 fans just one further goal to cheer as David Clarke let rip a quick snapshot over the shoulder of Raitanen at 34:55, leaving the Vipers trailing 3-1 with just one 20-minute period left to play.

The Flames superb Team work paid off again at 44:01 when Flames goalie Mike Torchia floated a long pass up to Ricky Plant who rounded the Vipers defence with ease before doing the same to Raitanen and putting the puck in the back of the net. The Flames goal scoring was completed at 50:36 as Corey Lyons grabbed his second to give the Spectrum based club a convincing 5-1 victory.

On Sunday night the Fife Flyers, a Team that boast 5 ex-Flames, were the next visitors to the Spectrum, but unfortunately for them it wasn’t to be a happy return as the Flames skated away with a 5-2 victory.

The game started out pretty even in the first period and it wasn’t until the 17:58 mark that the Flames finally got the goal they had been threatening to score as Corey Lyons grabbed his third of the weekend.

The Flames dominance has never been better than in the second period as they out shot their visitors 22-7 and scored a further 3-goals just to rub it in. Jason Lafreniere was first on the second period score sheet at 21:06, Derek DeCosty made it 3-0 with his powerplay strike at 34:27 and Tony Redmond combined well with Mark Galazzi and Ricky Plant to make it 4-0 at 39:32.

In the third period, the Flames seemed to take their foot off the accelerator slightly and were punished for doing so as Frank Morris capitalised on the powerplay to make it 4-1 at 52:12 before John Haig fired home a short handed breakaway opportunity at 56:29 to bring the Flyers back to within 2. The Scottish sides smiles were short lived though as Flames Captain Paul Dixon rifled home a powerplay shot from the blueline at 56:50 making it almost impossible for the Flyers to come back.

The Flames held on for the last 3-minutes to record a 5-2 victory, their third Home win in a week to move themselves up to fourth place in the Findus British National League Table.

This weekend sees no Home games for the Flames as they travel to Scotland to take on the Edinburgh Capitals and the Dundee Stars before returning to the Spectrum on Wednesday 18th December to play Princeton University. Face off for this game is 8:00pm, Season Tickets are valid.

DEVILS SLAIN

Match Report:
Monday 2nd December 2002

MARPLES MEN FAIL TO CONTROL THE BLAZE

Last weekend saw the Guildford Flames return to Findus British National League action against the Coventry Blaze and return to winning ways against the Cardiff Devils.

On Saturday night in Coventry it was the Blaze that got off to the stronger start as Ashley Tait fired a powerplay goal past Mike Torchia mid-way through the first period at 13:05.

That lead was doubled in the second period, when on the 28-minute mark, Andreas Moborg caught everyone off guard with his untimely shot. Derek DeCosty and Corey Lyons then scored 50-seconds apart (30:00 and 30:50) to level the score at 2-2 only for Steve Carpenter to regain the Blaze lead at 38:33 with one period left to play.

The third period saw the Flames completely shut out and restricted to one shot in 20-minutes, and to make things worse Shaun Johnson fired home a brace at 39:48 and 52:51 to seal a 5-2 victory for the Coventry Blaze.

Sunday night at the Spectrum saw the arrival of the Cardiff Devils and unlike the night before, the Flames dominated from the drop of the puck, racing into a 2-0 lead by the end of the first period as David Clarke (4:48) and Jeff White (16:52) both found the back of Stevie Lyle’s net.

At 30:31 of the second period, Derek DeCosty made it 3-0 with his second of the weekend before Mike Ware pulled one back for the Devils at 36:15.

Leading 3-1 with 20-minutes to go the Flames were in mood to lose their advantage and went on to score a th and decisive goal through Jason Lafreniere at 40:41 just to make sure, as the Flames skated away with a well-deserved 4-1 win.

Head Coach and General Manager, Stan Marple said:

“We worked hard in Coventry but we did not play very smart as a team we gave up some soft goals. It also hurt us that we did not capitalise on some early chances. Sunday was a complete turn around for us. Every single guy executed our game plan for a full 60-minutes, we outworked our opponents, played smart hockey and stayed out of the box. We need that type of team performance night in and night out for the rest of the season. If we do we will progress up the league table.

The Flames have 2 home games this weekend as the Newcastle Vipers skate into town on Saturday night before the Fife Flyers arrive on Sunday. Face Off for both games is 6.00pm.

FLAMES MAKE NETMINDING SWITCH

20/11/02

The Guildford Flames have made a goaltending switch by releasing 32-year-old netminder Danny Lorenz and replacing him with 30-year-old Canadian Mike Torchia. Torchia is no stranger to the British game after spending the last two seasons in the Ice Hockey SuperLeague with Sheffield Steelers and Manchester Storm. This season was to be his 3rd in the UK, but he was forced to make the trip back to Canada just weeks ago when the Manchester outfit announced they would no longer hold a SuperLeague franchise.

Torchia was a 4th round draft pick of the NHL’s Minnesota North Stars in 1991. In 1994-95 he made his NHL debut for the Dallas stars, playing in 6 games and recording an .895 save percentage. Since that time he has moved around North America’s top leagues including more than 200 games in the AHL and IHL. In 2000-2001 Mike landed in Britain, suiting up for the Sheffield Steelers and recording and astounding .923 save percentage in 23 games. Torchia has become widely regarded as one of the top goaltenders in the country and will be a solid addition to the Flames line-up. He will be with the Flames squad beginning this weekend as they travel to Newcastle on November 23rd & 24th for the Findus Cup Finals.

FLAMES FLICKER AS BLAZE BURN BRIGHTEST

Match Report: Monday 18th November 2002

DEVILS KEEP FLAMES IN MID TABLE

The Guildford Flames season stalled last weekend as they fell to 2-consecutive defeats first at home against the Coventry Blaze on Saturday night and then in Cardiff on Sunday.

Saturday at the Spectrum saw the Blaze take a comfortable 3-0 lead by the end of the first period as goals from Andreas Moborg (powerplay) (6:45), Tom Watkins (9:14) and Hilton Ruggles (17:07) gave the Flames a steep hill to climb. To make things worse for the Surrey side, new boy Jason Bowen limped out on his Home debut.

51-seconds into the second period and the Flames were down by 4 as Joel Poirier found a way past Danny Lorenz, signalling the end of his evening between the Guildford pipes and the beginning of Grant King’s. Unfortunately for King, after 8-shots and 3-goals from Mathais Soderstrom (23:55), Ashley Tait (29:04) and Michael Tasker (33:07) he found himself skating back to the bench for Lorenz to resume his goaltending position. Trailing their visitors 7-0, the Flames did everything they could to pull one back and at 38:07 Derek DeCosty was rewarded with a goal for his hard work and determination around the Blaze net.

The third period was a far closer affair, and despite the Blaze scoring first through Watkins at 44:22 the Flames battled back, with Jason Lafreniere and DeCosty linking well for Lafreniere to score at 50:16. Despite the Flames resurgence, time was not on their side and Watkins made things worse for the Spectrum based side as he completed his hat trick at 56:50 ensuring the Blaze skated away with a convincing 9-2 win and 2-League points.

Cardiff was the Flames destination on Sunday night, and looking to make up for the previous night’s humiliation it was they that got off to the stronger start. David Clarke fired the Flames into an early lead at 11:03.

Nicky Chinn doubled their lead mid-way through the second period with a goal of his own at 27:22 only for Jeff Burgoyne to get one back for the Devils at 29:57. Despite all their good early work, the Flames let the Devils back into the game with not one but three un-answered goals from Jason Rushton (36:01), Mike Ware (36:47) and Rushton again at 38:22.

It’s never easy to go to Cardiff and win, but to go into the final period trailing the Devils 4-2 just made things even harder. At 51:38, Corey Lyons brought the Flames back to within one only to see Rushton complete his hat trick at 56:36 and Russ Romaniuk put an end to the Flames hopes of a win at 59:49.

This 6-3 loss condemned the Flames to 7th place in the Findus British National League on 10-points, 11 back from League leaders Dundee Stars.

Head Coach and General Manager Stan Marple said:

“We have not been playing as well as we are capable of and we all have to take a certain amount of responsibility for our current form. We are going to Newcastle this weekend while six other teams in the League are not, hopefully a successful Findus Cup weekend will be what we need to get us back on track.”

This Saturday sees the Flames travel to Newcastle for the semi Finals of the Findus Cup where they are matched against the Newcastle Vipers; face off is at 13:30. If the Flames are successful, they will advance to the Sunday Final to play against the winners of the Dundee Stars v Coventry Blaze match-up.

The Flames return to the Spectrum on Sunday 1st December when they will entertain the Cardiff Devils. Face off is at 6:00.

SUCCESS ON THE ROAD, DEFEAT AT HOME

Monday 11th November 2002

The Guildford Flames blew hot and cold this weekend as they recorded a 6-1 win against the Kings in Solihull on Saturday night, only to return to the Spectrum on Sunday and lose 5-1 to arch rivals Basingstoke Bison.

In Solihull, the Flames dominated the play throughout, and at 12:08 they were rewarded for their hard work when Captain Paul Dixon – despite only having 2-hours sleep the night before due to the birth of his first child – fired home on the powerplay. 5-minutes later and it was the turn of Corey Lyons as he fired past Domenic DeGiorgio at 17:30 to give the Surrey based side a 2-0 lead at the end of the first period.

The second period saw the Flames continue where they left off when Jeff White found the back of the Kings net at 27:33. The Flames lead was reduced 8-minutes later when ex-Flame, Todd Wetzel, found a way past Danny Lorenz at 36:16 to bring the Kings back to within two. Unfortunately for the Kings, their cheers were cut short at 39:25 as Nicky Chinn restored the Flames 3-goal lead to take the score to 4-1 Guildford with one period left to play.

Going into the third and final period, the Kings did all they could to claw back the 3-goal deficit, but once again the Flames came straight back at them with not one, but two more goals as Craig Lyons found the back of the Kings net at 45:37 and 50:30, giving Guildford a well deserved 6-1 win.

As always is the case, when Basingstoke come to the Spectrum, so did a lot of fans and Sunday night was no exception as 1729 people packed themselves in for what was sure to be a classic closely contested battle. Unfortunately this was not the case as the Bison skated away with a convincing 5-1 win.

It was the Flames that got off to the stronger start as Derek DeCosty fired past goalie Scott Hay in the opening minute, only to see his effort ruled out with the goal judged to have been off its moorings before the puck crossed the line. As the home side continued to ‘take the game’ to their visitors a freak goal was scored, as Chris Crombie lofted the puck high up into the rafters, only for Flames goalie Danny Lorenz see it go over his head and into the back of his net at 1:32.

Despite this early set back, Guildford did not let their heads go down, and at 6:48 DeCosty was found open on the back post to fire home from close range. The Bison fought back though, and at 10:37, whilst on the powerplay, were rewarded with the lead again as Mike Ellis got the first of his 3-goals on the night.

Going into the second period trailing 2-1 despite all their efforts was hard for the Flames to swallow, but what was to happen next was even harder as the Bison dominated the second period with 3-unanswered goals.

First Steve Moria found the back of Lorenz’ net at 27:40, then Mike Ellis followed suit less than 2-minutes later with his second of the night at 29:09 before calmly going onto complete his hat trick at 33:00.

This gave the Bison a comfortable 5-1 lead with just 20-minutes left to play, but unfortunately for the Flames no matter what they did in the final period they could just not find a way past the Basingstoke defence and the Hampshire based side held on for the 2-points.

CAPTAIN DIXON BECOMES A DAD

On a more positive note, Flames Captain Paul Dixon became a Dad for the first time on Friday night. At 3.30 on Saturday morning Paul’s Fiancée Nina gave birth to a healthy baby boy weighing in at approximately 7 * lbs. Paul has said that Mother and baby are doing fine and he is looking forward to Fatherhood.

BLUELINE BOLSTERED

The Guildford Flames are pleased to announce the addition of 29-year-old defenceman Jason Bowen to their Findus British National League squad. Bowen, a 1992 1st Round Draft pick (15th overall) of the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers, stands at 6-foot 4”, and weighs 230lbs will add some considerable size and weight to the Flames defensive line-up.

Bowen, a no-nonsense defensive defenceman, brings a lot of experience to the Spectrum, having spent the majority of his career plying his trade in the AHL (American Hockey League) and the NHL (National Hockey League). It was in the NHL where he spent 5-seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers, playing 77-games and receiving 109-minutes in penalties.

Bowen came to British hockey 2-seasons ago when he joined the Belfast Giants, he now joins the Surrey based side from the Superleague’s Scottish Eagles who’s business ceased trading this week.

Head Coach Stan Marple commented: “I have been looking to sign another import defenceman for some time, so that I may concentrate more on the rest of the team. I was patient about it, as I wanted to make sure we got the right guy and with Jason I know we got the right guy. With the unfortunate happenings surrounding the ISL there have been quite a few defencemen available, but I feel we got exactly what we needed in Jason. He is a big tough hard-hitting stay at home defenseman with a lot of prior pro experience at the top levels in North America. A guy who likes to look after his teammates, Jason will be a big help to our Findus Cup, League and Play-Off aspirations.”

FLAMES CONTINUE TO PUT A FREEZE ON DRUGS

Tuesday 5th November 2002.

With the help of sponsorship from ISS, the Guildford Flames Ice Hockey Club in conjunction with the Surrey Police are once again taking their anti-drug messages to Year 5 & 6 students in Surrey.

ISS is one of the world’s largest facility service groups, with leading market positions in most European countries, Asia and South America. ISS employs more than 265,000 people, the vast majority of whom are engaged in the front-line delivery of facility support services. The extensive ISS network of operating companies provides Facility Service: Mainly cleaning, maintenance and a wide range of tailor-made service packages for targeted customer segments including Aviation, Care, Food, Damage Control, Automotive, Hospitals – and Key Accounts in businesses, industry and the public sector.

The ISS organisation stretches from its country of origin, Denmark, to 38 countries worldwide.

The Drug Freeze Programme was initiated during the 1994/95 season with the co-operation of the Surrey Police, the Programme has been a tremendous success with teachers, parents and most importantly, students, making young people aware of not only the dangers of drug use, but its “un-coolness” as well. Since it’s introduction in 1994/95 over 35,000 children have experienced the programme.

The programme has, in the past, been predominantly taken only to Schools in Guildford and its immediate surrounding areas, but this year it is different. The Flames felt that their message needed to be taken further a field, so this season they have taken it upon themselves to open the Drug Freeze Programme to all School’s within the Surrey area.

“I think it was excellent as in the years to come this presentation could save my life”

Guildford Flames Marketing and Communications Officer, Andy Sparks said:

“The Programme is FREE, from September through to March, on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday afternoons. It is strongly recommended that this be used as an introduction to RIDE or other Drug Prevention and Education Programmes. No special facilities are required except for a TV and video to be set up, preferably in a hall. Flames players visit the school together with a Youth Officer from the Surrey Police. They talk informally about ice hockey, play a video and then show their ‘kit’ to the students. That of course gets the children’s enthusiasm high, while also breaking down any barriers they might have about accepting good advice from an authoritative figure such as a police officer. The Programme is then turned around to the police officer, who explains the legal consequences of drug misuse. The children then get the chance to interview the players and police officer about any drug issues. Before the presentation closes, ticket vouchers for Flames Home matches are given away along with match night programmes and player cards, each with an anti-drug message. The entire presentation is approximately one hour and is available to any size group, although the Flames players feel that it is more effective with no more than 60 students.”

Jim Hayes ISS Managing Director said:

“ISS London have been sponsoring Guildford Flames Drug Freeze for four seasons and we are proud to be associated with such a forward thinking and worthwhile programme.

We fully endorse the level of awareness that Drug Freeze aims at, and getting into the schools is an excellent way of involving the community. ISS London treat the matter of drug abuse very seriously and have access to drug testing and counselling facilities for any staff that are in need of assistance. We are more than delighted to continue to support the Flames in their long running and very successful campaign dedicated to protecting our children.”

PC Brian Kingston said:

“By having the Flames alongside Police Officers it is a fun way to get across important messages about the damaging effects of substance abuse.”

The local educational drugs and alcohol adviser also commented:

“Surrey Education Service have observed that the programme can make a valuable contribution to a schools personal and social education programme” (Sarah Smart – 2000)

PC Julian Crabbe commented:

"I think that Drugs education is very important in our schools today. The Flames by providing this type of service contribute to a better understanding of how young people can have fun with out using drugs and this has to be a good thing and something that is encouraged. The visit they provide includes advise from us too, so it is well balanced and supports PHSE and any drugs education package"

For more information on the Drug Freeze Programme, call Andy Sparks, the Guildford Flames Marketing and Communications Officer on 01483 452 244 or email him at andy@guildfordflames.com

Or alternatively you contact your Local Youth Officer for more information on the programme, by calling the Surrey Police Switchboard on 01483 531 111.

Surrey Police Youth Officers involved with the Drug Freeze Programme:

THUNDER SILENCED BY MARPLES MEN

Monday 4th November 2002

STARS SHINE BRIGHTEST

The Guildford Flames travelled to Hull on Saturday night to take on the ever-changing Thunder in what was sure to be a classic Findus British National League clash, and they did not disappoint their travelling fans as they skated away with a 5-3 victory.

It was the Surrey based side that got off to the better start as defenceman Jeff White fired in a powerplay goal on 12:21, before David Clarke followed suit with a goal of his own at 16:06 to lead the Thunder 2-0 at the end of the first period.

The home side hit back first in the second period, as Mark West found a way past Danny Lorenz in the Flames goal as the Thunder enjoyed an early powerplay at 23:48. Clarke then stepped up with his second goal of the night at 28:59, only for the Thunder to pull one back at 31:04, this time through Mike Bishop. 2-minutes later and the crowd were treated to another goal as Craig Lyons came through for the Flames at 33:50, before Derek DeCosty grabbed another at 36:10, giving the travelling side a 5-2 lead going into the final period.

Hull came out hard in the final period in a bid to reduce the deficit and it worked to their advantage, as West fired home his second of the night at 40:34, but it was all a case of too little too late as the Flames travelled home with another 2-points to move them up to second place in the League Table.

Sunday night saw last years League and Play Off Champions the Dundee Stars enter the Spectrum for another Findus British National League clash.

The first period saw the Flames out shoot their visitors 13-5 and still end up on the wrong side of a 2-0 scoreline as Tony Hand (12:29) and Patric Lochi (17:58) both found ways past Danny Lorenz in the Guildford goal.

The second period saw a much closer scoreline, but once again, despite out shooting the Stars 10-6 it was the Scottish side that extended their lead as Teeder Wynne fired home at 38:04.

As the Flames entered the third period facing a 3-0 deficit, they knew they would have to pull out all the stops and within 3-minutes they had pulled 2-goals back on the Stars. First Jason Lafreniere scrambled the puck over Stephen Murphy’s goal line at 40:36 and then Captain Paul Dixon carried the puck from his own end and watched as his shot deflected off a defenders stick over the head of Murphy and into the top of the net at 42:55. This sent the near 1700 crowd into a frenzy as they could almost smell a Flames comeback victory.

Unfortunately their cheers were cut short when Ken Priestlay fired home on 47:27 before Wynne grabbed his second of the night at 57:39 to give the Stars a 3-goal lead with less then 2 * -minutes to go. Flames did grab a late consolation though as Lafreniere scored his second of the night at 58:20, but it was too little too late as the Dundee Stars left the building with a 5-3 win and 2 all-important points to keep them at the Top of the League table.

Flames Managing Director Malcolm Norman commented:

“After two important victories on the road, it was frustrating to return to the Spectrum, and take defeat against the reigning champions, despite out-shooting them. Defensive errors cost us the game, and we need to ensure that we avoid such mistakes in future, if we are to make a realistic bid for the league.”

The Flames return to the Spectrum on Sunday 10th November to take on arch-rivals Basingstoke Bison. Face off is at 6:00pm.

FLAMES BURN BRIGHT

Monday 28th October 2002.

GAZZA GETS GAME WINNING GOAL

Mark Galazzi has become a bit of a hero among the Guildford Flames faithful and last night at the Spectrum he continued on his goal scoring spree with his 3rd game-winning-goal in 4-matches, as the Flames ran out 5-2 winners against the travelling Solihull MK Kings.

Despite the 80-MPH winds that were battering the British countryside, 1650 Flames fans packed them selves into the Spectrum to see their Team continue their way back up the Findus British National League table.

Due to the Kings being stuck on the M25, last night’s game was delayed by 30-minutes although it was still the visitors that got off to the quicker start as Andrew Howarth found the back of the Flames net at 1:55.

Jason Lafreniere then hit back for the Flames at 6:18 before Craig Lyons made the most of some Kings defensive mistakes to fire home a short-handed goal of his own at 14:49 and give the Spectrum based side a 2-1 lead going into the second period.

The second period was a fairly one-sided affair as the Flames out-shot their visitors 13-5, but despite this it was the Kings that got the only goal of the period as Mike Shewan found the back of Danny Lorenz’ net at 22:05, tying the game at 2-2 with one period left to play.

As the Flames were tying the Kings 2-2 with just over 10-minutes to go, up popped Guildford’s Man-of-the-Match, Mark Galazzi to give the home side the lead they needed at 49:58. Just over a minute later, at 50:51, Lyons grabbed his second of the game as he fired the Flames ahead by 2, before Derek DeCosty sealed the victory with an empty net goal of his own at 57:34, giving the Surrey based side a convincing 5-2 victory.

Flames Managing Director, Malcolm Norman commented:

“Solihull fought hard and were a tough nut to crack. However, our persistence eventually paid off, and all credit to Mark Galazzi for coming up with the all-important 4th goal at a crucial stage in the game.”

The Flames return to the Spectrum on Sunday 3rd November where they will try to put an end to the unbeaten run of last years Champions, and current League leaders, the Dundee Stars. Face off is at 6:00pm.

LAFRENIERE SAVES FLAMES BLUSHES

Monday 21st October 2002

MENINGITIS CHARITY SHIELD

Saturday night at the Spectrum saw the Flames return to Findus British National League action as the high-flying Edinburgh Capitals skated into town.

It didn’t take long for the Flames get on the score sheet in the first period as Tony Redmond capitalised on an early powerplay opportunity at 3:21. 4 minutes later and the game was all square as Martin Cingel pounced on a loose puck to tie the game at 1-1 on the 8-minute mark.

The rest of the first period and the whole of the second remained scoreless as both teams saw their scoring opportunities thwarted by the hot goaltending of Danny Lorenz in the Flames goal and Ladislav Kudrna in the Capitals net, who between them turned away a total of 56-shots.

Going into the third period tied at one apiece, the Flames and the Capitals continued to throw everything they had at their opposing teams goalie, and it wasn’t until 46:08 that the fans were treated to the next goal, as Jeff White fired in from the blueline as the Flames made the most of another powerplay opportunity. Mark Galazzi made it 3-1 to the Flames as his goal scoring run continued at 49:48 before Derek DeCosty put the home side up by 3 with a goal of his own at 56:37.

With 3 -minutes remaining, the Flames faithful could be forgiven for thinking their team had secured their first League win at the third attempt, but unfortunately for them, the Capitals had other ideas.

At 57:42, Adrian Saul found the back of the Flames net and then at 57:51, Jan Krajicek followed his teammates example to bring the visitors back to within one. The Flames were forced to defend hard for the next minute, as the Capitals pushed for the equaliser, and much to the dismay of the home faithful, it eventually came at 59:03 as Steven Lynch sent the game into 10-minutes of sudden-death overtime.

During the overtime period it was the Flames that had the majority of the play with Nicky Chinn coming closest to ending the game as he watched his shot beat Kudrna up high only for the upright to get in the way. Never the less, the Flames continued to push their visitors and they finally got the game-winning goal, as Jason Lafreniere saved his teammates blushes at 68:29 to give the Flames a 5-4 win.

On Sunday morning the Flames made the long trip to Scotland to take on the Dundee Stars in the first leg of the ‘Meningitis Charity Shield’ and came away with a 4-2 win.

After a scoreless first period it was the Flames that struck first through David Clarke at 37:58, only for Jan Mikel to equalise 30-seconds later at 38:29, before the Flames regained the lead at 39:53 this time through Jason Lafreniere.

The Flames 2-1 lead was brought to an end however early in the final period as Patric Lochi found a way past the inform Grant King in the Flames net at 43:43. Mark Galazzi then continued his scoring run with his third goal in as many games when he fired past Stewart Rugg in the Stars net at 45:55, before Jeff White completed the scoring with a marker of his own at 52:06.

The Flames 4-2 win has now set up a the opportunity for a great second leg which is due to be played at the Guildford Spectrum on Saturday 11th January 2003.

Head Coach and GM, Stan Marple commented:

“I was not happy that we squandered a three goal lead late in the third period. Some mental lapses almost cost us two points at home, but a great late effort from wily veteran Jason Lafreniere got us the points. The Dundee match was a fast flowing game and with it being a challenge match both coaches were able to rest their starting goaltenders and give both Grant King and Stewart Rugg a chance to Play. They both played very well picking up the man of the match awards for their respective teams.”

The Flames return to action this Sunday with their only game of the weekend, as the Solihull MK Kings come to the Spectrum for more Findus British National League action. Face off is at 6:00pm

FLAMES SPLIT WEEKEND, STILL HAVE FINDUS CUP FINALS WEEKEND IN SIGHT

October 7th, 2002

The Guildford Flames were back in Findus Cup action this weekend at Skydome for their first meeting with the Coventry Blaze and back home Sunday to host the Cardiff Devils. To open the weekend the Flames found themselves in a good position, only requiring four points in 4 games to move on the Finals weekend at Telewest arena in Newcastle in November.

On Saturday night the Flames stepped onto Skydome ice in Coventry to renew their rivalry with the Blaze in a Findus Cup match. The Flames got off to a good start at 6:42 when Derek Decosty scored at even strength to give the Flames a 1-0 lead on a goal assisted by Corey Lyons. The lead, however, did not last long as the Blaze tied the score at 7:05 with a marker from Steve Carpenter. The period ended with the score tied at one, but the Flames were outshot 14-8.

In the second period the Flames jumped out to a 2-1 lead at 22:41 when Ian Herbers scored with a blast from the blue line for his first goal of the season, assists to Paul Dixon and Jason Lafreniere. At 30:02 Michael Tasker replied for the Blaze to once again tie the score at 2-2. Less than a minute and a half later, at 31:25 Coventry took their first lead of the match on a goal by Shaun Johnson. The period continued and at 38:09 the home side jumped out to a 4-2 lead thanks to a goal by Steve Carpenter. That would end the scoring for the second period and once again the Flames were outshot by a margin of 19-9.

The third period started with a series of penalties including 2+2 for roughing to the Flames Ian Herbers and four minutes in penalties to Coventry’s Hilton Ruggles. The period continued with the Blaze leading 4-2. At 49:16 the Flames Mark Galazzi was sent to the box with a 2 minute minor penalty for high sticking. While on the powerplay, Shaun Johnson scored his second of the game, and the final goal of the night, as the home side Blaze won the match 5-2 to remain in first place in their group of the Findus Cup.

Back on home ice after Saturday’s loss the Flames task would be no easier as they would take on the much-improved Cardiff Devils. The Flames managed to dominate the first period, outshooting the visitors 9-3. In the first ten minutes of the match the Devils racked up 16 minutes in penalties including 3 minor penalties and three Flames powerplay opportunities. The home side, however, were unable to capitalize, and the game remained scoreless. Finally at 14:17, Derek Decosty was sent in alone on Brian Leitza and slipped the puck underneath him for a 1-0 Flames lead. Assists on the play for Paul Dixon and Jeff White. Less than a minute later at 15:31, Corey Lyons put the Flames ahead 2-0 when he squeaked one past the Cardiff net minder. Craig Lyons and Ricky Skene each picked up assists on the goal. The period ended with the home side up 2-0 and a good start to their Findus Cup match.

The second Frame was a more even 20 minutes with both clubs trading 9 shots and plenty of opportunities. The period saw some excitement, though not in the form of scoring. At 35:04, Flames player coach Stan Marple dropped the gloves in an altercation with Cardiff’s Blair Scott. Marple received 5 minutes + a game misconduct for his efforts while the other combatant sat down with a 2 minute minor for roughing. On the same play Ian Herbers, of the Flames was also assessed a 2 minute minor for unsportsmanlike conduct. The visiting Devils were unable to capitalize on the powerplay and went to the second interval with the score remaining 2-0.

The final period saw the Cardiff club come out with all guns blazing as they managed to generate 13 shots on Danny Lorenz while the home side only returned 4 on Brian Leitza. At 46:12, the Devils finally got on the board with a goal from Russ Romaniuk, assisted by Kurt Walsh and Jason Stone. The Devils continued to pressure the Flames for the equalizer in the remaining 14 minutes, but the Flames were able to hold on and take the 2 Findus Cup points and move one step closer to the Newcastle weekend, now requiring just 2 points in their next to games to advance to the Semi finals. Next up for the Flames on home ice is Saturday, October 12th at 6pm when the Coventry Blaze will visit Spectrum.

According the coach Stan Marple: "Sometimes you have to admit your faults. Last weekend we did not play well in Coventry we were out worked and out played. We came back with a good defensive game VS the Devils at home on Sunday night. The bottom line is we need two points from our next two games to qualify for the Findus Cup semi finals. You will see a very hungry and determined Flames team that will be working very hard to accomplish our goal this weekend."

In other news, The Guildford Flames wish to thank Guildford Borough Council and Guildford Spectrum for their installation of new plexi glass. Flames Managing director Malcolm Norman says: "The new glass significantly improves the viewing quality for ground level spectators and the Flames organisation appreciate the investment and effort put into the new kit."

FLAMES FIZZLE IN FIFE

Monday 30th September 2002

FLAMES LEAGUE CAMPAIGN OFF TO A SLOW START

The Guildford Flames travelled to Scotland this weekend to begin their Findus British National League campaign against the Fife Flyers and the Dundee Stars.

On Saturday night in Fife the Flames got off to a great start when Derek DeCosty gave them a 1-0 lead at the end of the first period only for Steve Roberts to level the scores at the end of the second period with a powerplay goal. Roberts added a second early on in the third period with a second powerplay strike before Todd Dutiaume added another powerplay strike of his own to give the home side a 3-1 lead midway through the final session. Dutiaume then increased the Flyers lead yet again before Jason Lafreniere brought the Flames to within 2. Unfortunately this was how the score remained as the Flyers inflicted a 4-2 defeat on the travelling Flames.

Sunday night the Flames travelled to the home of the reigning League Champions Dundee Stars.

After a scoreless first period it was the home side that opened the scoring as Ken Priestley capitalised on the powerplay. The Flames then replied with 2-goals of their own from Tony Redmond and Nicky Chinn only for Johan Bowman to level the game at 2-2 before Tony Hand put the Stars in the lead once more. Like the first, the final period was a scoreless affair leaving the Stars to send the Flames home with a 3-2 defeat and no points to show for their hard work.

Head Coach Stan Marple said:

“We created a lot of chances over the weekend but our failure to capitalise on those attempts cost us four points in the standings. Our work ethic was good, but we need to play smarter hockey and find the back of the net. I would be more concerned if we weren’t creating those chances. In this League you’re not going to win too many games on the road scoring two goals a game. Our focus will now switch to the Findus Cup where five points from our next four games will put us through to the semi finals and three out of four wins would see us top our group.”

The Flames return to the Spectrum this Sunday 6th October as they take on the Cardiff Devils in the Findus Cup. Face off is at 6.00pm

KING STANDS TALL IN FLAMES NET FOR 2-2 TIE IN LEG 1 OF BAKER TILLY SHIELD

September 2002

On Thursday night the Flames entered the Bee Hive in Bracknell for the first leg of the Baker Tilly Challenge Shield. The shield consists of a 2 game aggregate goal series, so the first match is important to remain in contention coming home for the second leg. The first period saw some wide open, end to end play, with a total of 28 shots on goal between the two clubs, with the Bees holding a slight advantage 15-13. It was the home side that struck first with a short-handed marker with James Morgan in the box for tripping. Tero Arkiomaa managed to find his way to the front of the Flames goal to shovel it past netminder Grant King for a 1-0 lead at 16:36, with assists from David Struch and Christian Gosselin. The clubs headed to their respective dressing rooms with the score on 1-0 Bees.

The second period started with a series of minor penalties to both clubs over the first 6 minutes of play, including a short lived 5 on 3 opportunity for the Flames. Neither side, however, was able to find the twine and the Scoreline remained 1-0 Bees. At 30:05 Bees Defenceman Brad Peddle extended the Bees lead to 2-0 with an even strength goal with assists from Greg Owen and Dan Ceman. The two-goal cushion was short lived as David Clarke narrowed the margin with a goal of his own just over three minutes later at 33:11 with teams playing 5 on 5. The remaining 7 minutes of the period saw no more scoring and the clubs went to the interval with the Flames down by a goal with one period left to play. The Bees outshot the visiting Flames 15-8.

The Final Frame opened with a minor penalty to Bracknell at 41:17 when Darren Hurley was sent to the box for slashing, but the Flames were unable to level the score on the powerplay and the 2-1 Bees lead remained. A fairly even period saw some good puck movement by both clubs and some missed scoring opportunities keeping the same Scoreline for the first 16 minutes of the period. As the final buzzer was closing in it looked like the Bees may head into the second leg with a 2-1 margin and one hand on the Baker Tilly Shield. However, The Bees fortunes changed at 54:34 when Bracknell’s Christian Gosselin was assessed a 2-minute roughing minor and the Flames would have a powerplay opportunity to tie the game. Just over a minute later Jonathon Delisle was handed 2 minutes for slashing to put the Bees down to just 3 skaters against the Flames 5. Coach Marple took the opportunity to call a time out to discuss his powerplay options with his crew.

As time ticked away the first penalty expired and the bees were back to 4 skaters, but they were unable to kill the remaining penalty as Corey Lyons scored on the powerplay at 56:48 to knot the score at 2-2. There would be no further scoring and the first leg of the Baker Tilly Challenge ended 2-2 with the deciding 2nd leg to take place at Spectrum on October 15th at 8pm.

The Flames Managing director had this to say of the club’s efforts:

"I was proud to see our British boys combining so well with our imports, to give the Bees a run for their money. Grant King played superbly between the pipes and we look forward to the return leg at home in October."

GAME STATS:

Bracknell Bees Goals: Brad Peddle 1+0; Tero Arkiomaa 1+0; David Struch 0+1; Dan Ceman 0+1; Greg Owen 0+1; Christian Gosselin 0+1

Penalty Minutes: 18

Guildford Flames Goals: David Clarke 1+0; Corey Lyons 1+0; Craig Lyons 0+2; Jason Lafreniere 0+1; Jeff White 0+1

Penalty Minutes: 14

Shots on Goal: On Brian Greer 27; On Grant King 40.

Attendance in Bracknell 610

DAVID CLARKE SUSPENDED?

Wednesday, 25 September 2002,

FLAMES APPEAL 4 GAME SUSPENSION OF BRITISH FORWARD

Following a review of the game video of the Basingstoke Bison v Guildford Flames match on Saturday 7th September 2002, the Findus British National Ice Hockey League Disciplinary Panel have awarded a 4 game suspension to David Clarke for what they call a 'reckless and dangerous' challenge resulting in injury to Steve Moria of Basingstoke. The four game suspension would take the Flames forward out of action beginning with the first league matches of the season, September 28th & 29th against Fife Flyers and Dundee Stars.

The Flames, however, have lodged an appeal against this decision. Flames Head coach Stan Marple had this to say regarding the incident,

"We do not feel the incident in question is worthy of a suspension and with effect immediately we are submitting an appeal to the league. Steve Moria is an excellent player and it is unfortunate that this has resulted in injury to his knee, but we believe it was an unfortunate accident that occurred as a by-product of legal contact.

While the incident is under review, David Clarke will remain in the Flames line-up and he will be dressed this weekend for the Flames doubleheader in Scotland.

FLAMES CLOSE IN ON FINALS

Match Reports:
Monday 23rd September 2002

The Guildford Flames completed a 4-point weekend with wins over the Solihull MK Kings on Saturday and at home to the Basingstoke Bison on Sunday to put themselves at the top of Group A of the Findus Cup, and keep alive their hopes of a place in November’s Finals.

On Saturday the Flames made their way to Solihull where a determined Kings side were waiting to dent their hopes of reaching the Findus Cup Finals.

It didn’t take long for the Flames to get into scoring ways as Tony Redmond (3:40) and David Clarke (4:28) (pp) found the back of the Kings net before Neil Adams replied for the home side at 5:17. This was to be the Kings only goal of the opening period as the Flames kept them at bay and only allowed them a total of 5-shots. Whilst at the other end of the rink, Domenic DeGiorgio faced a total of 16-shots and gave up a further 2-goals through Ricky Plant at 16:44 and Nicky Chinn at 17:59 to give the Surrey Club a comfortable 4-1 lead going into the second period.

The Kings did not lie down and die in the middle session though and through some good solid goaltending by DeGiorgio managed to keep the score very tight indeed. At 21:30 Clarke grabbed his second of the game only for Janne Ronkainen to pull one back for the Kings at 29:19. Craig Lyons was next to get in on the scoring as he extended the Flames lead with a powerplay goal of his own at 38:14 to make the score 6-2 to the Flames with one period left to play.

Early in the final period Mike Shewan pulled one back for the home side at 43:05 reducing the deficit to 3, only for the Kings cheers to be cut short when Jason Lafreniere found the back of DeGiorgio’s goal at 45:19. The Flames lead was extended once again as Chinn (51:14) and Lyons (52:51) made the score 9-3 with just 7-minutes to play. At 56:39, whilst on the powerplay, Kings forward Shewan grabbed his second of the game but it was a case of too little too late as the Flames skated out with a 9-4 victory.

Sunday night saw 1710 fans pack themselves into the Spectrum for a classic encounter between the Guildford Flames and their arch rivals the Basingstoke Bison.

It was a tense start as Mike Ellis opened the scoring for the Bison with a powerplay shot at 13:32. Basingstoke hammered ten shots at netminder Danny Lorenz, yet the Flames hung on and replied with eleven shots at Scott Hay in the Bison goal, however the scoreline remained 1-0 to Basingstoke after the first period.

The second period saw Jason Lafreniere even out the scoreline with a short handed effort at 34:31, only for Basingstoke defenceman Daryl Lavoie see his shot take several deflections before ending up in the back of Lorenz net at 36:06. With the Flames trailing 2-1, Jeff White levelled the score once again at 36:24 and then Ricky Plant put the home side up for the first time in the match at 38:27.

Going into the third period the Flames led the Bison 3-2 setting up a very tense final session as both sides battled hard for the all important two points. The Flames plans took a slight dent when hard hitting defenceman Ian Herbers received a 2+10 penalty for crosschecking from behind. Down to four defenceman the Flames were forced to defend hard and at 55:45 the Bison capitalised with a powerplay strike from Chris Crombie bringing the score to 3-3. With just under four minutes remaining in the game, both sides fought tooth and nail for the winning goal and it came courtesy of Flames forward Corey Lyons with a timely powerplay strike at 58:10. Despite calling a 30-second timeout and pulling their goalie with less than a minute to go, in favour of an extra attacker, the Bison could not find a way past the Flames defence leaving the home side to come away with a 4-3 win and another all important two points.

Flames Captain Paul Dixon had this to say on the winning weekend:

Going to Solihull is never an easy task, but we battled hard as a Team and stuck to our game plan, taking each opportunity as it presented itself. Games against Basingstoke are always great battles and Sunday night was no different. The Bison played a well disciplined game and did not make things easy for us, but like the night before, we played as a Team and secured a deserved 4-point weekend which keeps us on course for our target of reaching the Findus Cup Finals in November."

FLAMES GO DOWN FIGHTING

Match Report:
Monday 9th September 02,

DANNY SHUTS OUT THE KINGS

The Guildford Flames got their 2002/2003 Findus Cup campaign underway this weekend but only managed to pick-up 2 out of a possible 4-points as they took on the Basingstoke Bison and the Solihull MK Kings.

Saturday night in Basingstoke, the Flames got off to a great start as Derek DeCosty capitalised on an early powerplay and found the back of the Bison net with only 5:49 gone in the game. This was how the score remained for the rest of the first period, although there was plenty of action as referee Gary Plaistow dished out a total of 24-minutes in penalties; 16 to the Bison and 8 to the Flames.

The majority of the second period saw the Flames forced to play short handed as Plaistow dished out a further 18-minutes in penalties, with the Bison only seeing 2-minutes in the penalty box.

At 26:48, A J Kelham found a way past an inform Danny Lorenz in the Flames net to level the score at one apiece.

At 32:32 and 36:55, with the Flames down to 3-men, the Bison took the lead with strikes from Kelham and Chris Crombie to bring about the end of a second period that saw Lorenz face a total of 23 shots compared to his counterpart Scott Hay who faced 11-shots in the Bison net.

As the Final period got under way so did the penalties as Plaistow handed out a total of 131-minutes; 34 to the Bison and 97 to the Flames.

Crombie extended the Bison lead at 48:32 with his second and the Bisons third powerplay goal of the night to give the Home side a 4-1 lead with just over 10-minutes remaining. At 52:56, Craig Lyons reduced the Flames deficit by one to set up an extremely tense final 7-minutes.

Unfortunately that was to be the last of the goals on the night but not the last of the penalties, as Flames players Nicky Chinn and David Clarke were ejected from the game along with Bison goalie Scott Hay, for their parts in some ‘altercations’ near the end of the game.

Final Score; Basingstoke Bison 4 Guildford Flames 2

GAME STATS:

Shots On Goal;

Scott Hay faced 38 shots

Danny Lorenz faced 51 shots

Penalty Minutes;

Basingstoke- 52 minutes

Guildford- 121 minutes

Sunday night at the Spectrum saw the Flames return to Home ice for the first time this season to take on the newly formed Solihull MK kings for their second Findus Cup game of the weekend.

Like the night before in Basingstoke, it didn’t take long for the Flames to get into scoring ways, as Derek DeCosty found the back of the net at 3:08 after some slick passing between himself and Flames new boy Jason Lafreniere. At 3:17, the Flames found themselves up by two as Nicky Chinn capitalised on a defensive mix up between Kings goalie Domenic DeGiorgio and one of his defencemen to put the puck away into the resulting empty net.

This was how the score remained for a while as both Teams stuck to their defensive duties throughout, although there were some very near misses, a few hit posts and some fine goaltending at both ends of the rink.

It wasn’t until the second period that the Flames were able to extend their lead as once again they were forced to spend a fair amount of time defending the Kings powerplay unit. At 36:05, Player Coach Stan Marple received a pass on the blue line and kindly let rip a howitzer that found the top corner of the Kings net. Once again the Kings defended well, not letting the Flames much room for manoeuvre and keeping the Home side to just the 3-goals.

The Flames final goal came at 43:45 as Lafreniere and DeCosty carved their way through the Kings defence to give Captain Paul Dixon an open net goal and the Flames Supporters their first win of the season.

GAME STATS:

Shots On Goal;

Domenic DeGiorgio faced 31 shots

Danny Lorenz faced 16 shots

Penalty Minutes;

Solihull MK- 14 minutes

Guildford- 20 minutes

The Guildford Flames are next at Home on Sunday 22nd September when they face the Basingstoke Bison in the Findus Cup. Face Off is at 6:00pm.

FLAMES FANS RAISE £1000 FOR CHASE
September 2002,

Sunday night at the Guildford Spectrum saw the Flames ice hockey Team get their season underway with an inter squad game in aid of the Chase Hospice for terminally ill children.

Joined by some of the more senior players from the Phoenix under 19’s squad, the Flames split themselves into two teams for an exhibition game witnessed by over 600 of the Flames faithful. With half the profits going to the Chase hospice, on the night, over £1000 was raised for this worthy cause.

The game its self was a very low-key high scoring affair as defensive duties went by the way, with players from both sides playing more for fun than anything else. It was also an opportunity for the fans that attended to get a glimpse of the new look 3rd jersey which the Flames will wear through out their Findus Cup campaign this season.

The Flames season gets under way properly this weekend with the start of the Findus Cup, as they travel to arch rivals Basingstoke Bison on Saturday night before returning to the Spectrum on Sunday night to take on the newly formed Solihull MK Kings. Face off is at 6.00pm.

Guildford Flames Ice Hockey Sponsorship - New Season Adverts

Sept 2002-2003

Click here to view this seasons adverts for HGA's sister company Coastal Acoustics.

MARPLE ADDS STRENGTH AND EXPERIENCE

Monday 29th July 2002

The Guildford Flames are pleased to announce the signing of veteran defenceman Ian Herbers, a no-nonsense defender who has averaged over 150 penalty minutes per season in his 12-years of Pro Hockey.

35-year-old Ian comes to the Flames with a wealth of experience having played 65 games at the worlds highest level with the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers, Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Islanders.

Ian, who was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres, 190th overall, in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft, stands at 6 foot 4”, weighs 225lbs, and will bring a lot of strength and stability to the Flames defensive line.

Herbers is a close personal friend of Marple from their days at the University of Alberta where they won a National Championship together, and he will be working closely with Stan and Assistant Coach Mike Urquhart this season.

Marple commented:

“It would be foolish not to take advantage of Ian’s vast experience. He will be the best defensive defenseman in the FBNL this season. Ian has won things in the past including a Turner Cup with the Detroit Vipers of the IHL, and I am sure he will be a big part of this season in our attempt to capture some silverware. Ian is the consummate team player who will do whatever it takes to help his team win. I am very glad he has decided to play in Guildford this season.”

3-Peaks Prove to be a Testing Experience
23rd July 2002

This past weekend saw a team from the Guildford Flames, led by Top-Scoring American forward Derek DeCosty, conquered the 3 highest peaks in England Scotland and Wales for the second year running.

The feat of climbing Snowdon; Sca-Fell Pike; and Ben Nevis was achieved in only 31-hours, beating last years record of 36-hours, and raised around £3000 for the Meningitis Trust and its fight against this killer disease.

John McCabe who was part of the Flames Team commented;

“It was a very testing experience. There seemed hardly to be time to pause for thought between one climb and the next! The logistics of preparing for the next climb and getting a meal in quickly, were very challenging. I think as well as the 3 Peaks we did 1,000 miles in the bus so it was an adventure-packed weekend. The Guildford team spirit was fantastic and the rest of the group not bad either.

A memorable moment was at the top of Ben Nevis saying a prayer with another walker whose daughter died of Meningitis three years ago aged 19.

It was a meaningful reminder of why we were all there”.

For more information about Meningitis, call the 24-hour Help-line on 0845 6000 800.

Flames Add Firepower
15th July, 2002

JASON SET TO LIGHT UP SPECTRUM

The Guildford Flames are pleased to confirm that Head Coach Stan Marple has added high-scoring forward, Jason Lafreniere to his 2002/2003 squad.

Lafreniere, who spent last season with the FBNL’s Edinburgh Capitals, has played in all of North Americas top Leagues, reaching the very top during the mid-eighties when he was drafted by the NHL’s Quebec Nordiques in round 2 (36th overall) of the 1985 NHL Entry Draft.

Stan Marple had this to say about his latest recruit:

"Jason has been a proven goalscorer in every League he has played in. He did a great job both on and off the ice last season in Edinburgh, finishing 4th overall in League scoring and also helping Scott Neil with coaching duties. Jason brings a wealth of experience with him and chose Guildford because he wants the opportunity to win things. I am confident that we will be able to help each other out in that regard. I look forward to the contribution that he will make to the Club."

Career Stats:
Seasons – 19, Games Played – 930, Goals – 366, Assists – 692, Points – 1058

NHL Stats:
Seasons – 5, Games Played – 161, Goals – 35, Assists – 58, Points – 93

	FBNL TABLE	GP	W	T	OL	L	GF	GA	Pts
1	Coventry Blaze	22	20	1	0	1	116	36	41
2	Dundee Stars	22	16	0	1	5	101	67	33
3	GUILDFORD FLAMES	24	14	0	0	10	95	90	28
4	Basingstoke Bison	23	12	1	1	9	77	80	26
5	Edinburgh Capitals	22	11	0	1	10	70	86	23
6	Cardiff Devils	23	11	0	0	12	72	73	22
7	Fife Flyers	24	9	0	1	15	62	79	19
8	Newcastle Vipers	22	8	2	0	12	76	90	18
9	Hull Thunder	24	8	0	0	16	83	110	16
10	Solihull MK Kings	22	22	2	2	17	45	87	8