The 2002 Season was a sad season for the Stars as they struggled to, and were eventually unable to form a team before the start of the season. The following extracts have been taken from reports in the Oxford Mail.

First published on Saturday 14 September 2002:

Stars' salvage mission fails

A LAST-gasp salvage operation to prevent the Oxford City Stars withdrawing from the English National ICE Hockey League has failed. The club revealed last week that they were pulling out of the league for the forthcoming 2002-03 season, because of a shortage of players. The English Ice Hockey Association then gave the club extra time to bolster their squad, but their attempts to do so have failed. A club statement said: "There were various occasions last season, when the management struggled to raise a reasonable strength team for games. "Over the summer some additional players were recruited, giving the talent level to make a serious challenge for the English League Championship, but unfortunately some of the reliable back-up players from last season moved on. "There was a telephone conversation in which two options were suggested to EIHA chairman Ken Taggart. "One was immediate withdrawal from the league and the other was postponement of a couple of games to give more time to try and sign players. "He went for the first as he thought that there was little likelihood of being able to recruit reliable players given the shortage of locally-based talent." The EIHA was informed of the withdrawal in writing on Tuesday, September 3. The withdrawal was, however, put on hold by the EIHA, when one of the Stars squad appealed for more time to try and recruit players. But the club finally admitted defeat this week. The club intend to return to the league next season, and in the meantime hope to play friendly matches against other ENHL teams using a mixture of senior and junior players. The statement continued: "The fundamental problem in Oxford is the lack of committed, locally-based players. "Very few have continued to play seriously, after leaving the age group teams over the last decade or so. "Ironically, the current under 19 squad probably has more players ambitious to continue into senior hockey than has been the case for several years."

First published on Thursday 26 September 2002:

Ice hockey: Bulls take up the mantle from City Stars

A new ice hockey side has emerged from the ashes of Oxford City Stars, who folded last month due to a shortage of players. The new outfit are the Oxford Bulls, who will play challenge matches throughout the season and also enter national recreational level tournaments. Player-manager David Wallington said: "The recreational tournaments are set up for players who enjoy hockey, but can't commit to a full league programme. "The recent collapse of the Stars and the lack of development locally for players over the age of 19 means this is an ideal time for the team to come together and will also allow ice hockey fans in Oxford to watch games at Oxpens Road. "This season will be a learning curve for the team, but we do aim to win things this year and will be undertaking a full challenge match programme." The Bulls' first game will be against Slough Tornadoes on October 20. The players will include many who have played for the Stars in the past, plus a number of locally-based overseas players who have joined the squad. Wallington added: "I was impressed with the numbers of players wanting to play hockey in Oxford but had no team to play for. "If anyone wants to come down and join in, training sessions are held every Monday night at 11pm at the Oxpens Road rink." Oxford Bulls squad: D Wallington, J Schall, K Biggs, D Flint, D Williams, M Copping, G Copping, K Horseman, M Williams, P Crockett, D Last, E MacKenzie, N Taylor, D Taylor, A Hadden, R Williams, M Williams, J Rance, R Miles, N Simone, A Rothnie.