Final Score - Oxford 7 : 3 Slough

9th February 2008

Scorers:

Oxford: Josh Florey 3+0, Michael Wakelin 2+0, Josh Oliver 1+4, Jake Florey 1+0, Ben Chandler 0+1.

Slough: Luke Becker 1+1, Tom Green 1+0, Nathan Darmanin 1+0.

Penalties:

Oxford: Jake Florey 27 mins (inc match), Hal Davison 16 mins (inc misc), Josh Florey 14, Ben Chandler 6, Josh Oliver 2, Roberto Angeleri-Rand 2.

Slough: Nick Ward 37 mins (inc match & misc), Timo Lindgren 14 (inc misc), Nathan Darmanin 14 (inc misc), Archie Hutchinson 4, Luke Becker 2, Jerrika Jentsch 2, Bench 2.

Netminding:

Oxford: Peter Endicott - 23 saves, 3 goals, total 26.

Slough: Christian Clark - 23 saves, 7 goals, total 30.

Period scores:

2-0, 4-0, 1-3

Also played:

Oxford: Lara Wood, Sam Jordan, Mark Third, Joe Eldridge, Warren Jones, Nevy Baze, Christopher Gill, Liam McLoughlin, Ryan Bollweg, Jake Willis.

Slough: Jonny Bowman, Rob Porter, Ollie Shone, Shaun Rudkin, Jonathan Wing, Frankie Lord.

Final Score - Oxford 5 : 1 Telford

3rd February 2008

Scorers:

Oxford: Patrick Knightley 2+0, Kent Johnson 1+0, Lee Featherstone 1+0, Darren Elliott 1+0, Dean Francis 0+3, Dave Carr 0+2, Sam Broughton 0+1, Jacob Smith 0+1, Grant Bailey 0+1.

Telford: Jim Corfield 1+0, Gareth Bates 0+1.

Penalties:

Oxford: Lee Featherstone 31 mins (inc match), Dean Francis 4, Darren Elliott 4, Kent Johnson 2, Alan Green 2.

Telford: Dave Fielder 38 mins (inc game & misc), Owen Bennett 25 (inc match), Gareth Bates 14 (inc misc), Kevin Parton 12 (inc misc), Mike Roden 6, Andrew Oldham 2, Jim Corfield 2, Stuart Bates 2, Graham Oldham 2, Kyle Smith 2.

Netminding:

Oxford: Kevin McGurk - 14 saves, 1 goal, total 15.

Telford: Christopher Barlow - 42 saves, 5 goals, total 47.

Period scores:

3-0, 1-0, 1-1.

Also played:

Oxford: Nick Eden, Nick Oliver, Joe Oliver, David Tyler (NM - did not ice), Mark Krater.

Telford: Karl Creamer, Jason Parry, Neil Brown, Ian Jesson, Mark Asson.

Final Score - Oxford 5 : Solihull 2

Sunday 20 January 2008

Oxford entertained the Solihull Barons in front of a decent crowd at Oxpens Road. Stars were missing Grant Bailey from the line up so Kent Johnson continued in his role alongside Darren Elliott and Dean Francis on the first line.

The game started poorly for the home side, and straight from face off the Barons were threatening with an effective dump and chase game involving their top line of Adams, Howarth and Bakalar. The Stars goalie James Skaife was called upon on several occasions to deny the midlanders who seemed determined to avenge the 10-3 defeat inflicted on them on their home ice a few weeks earlier. The first period continued to be scrappy and both sides seemed pleased to be level at 0-0 when the buzzer went for the end.

The second period was much more lively and after only two minutes an awful hit on Oxfprd’s Alan Green from behind by Solihull’s Phil Lee saw the experienced Solihull player earn a 2+10 minute penalty for his troubles. From the resulting powerplay Oxford finally took the lead after an excellent goal from their second line. With Green cycling hard round the back of the Solihull net he passed the puck to Smith in front of the goal who rather than shooting tapped the puck to the side of the goal where Nick Oliver was waiting to pounce and tap home the puck past the diving Solihull goalie. This increased the atmosphere inside the rink and four minutes later the home support were on their feet again when Will Skaife passed to Kent Johnson in front of the net and despite being hit to the floor by a Solihull defenceman he managed to connect with the puck and smash it past Foley in the Solihull net to make it 2-0. At two nil up the Stars were in control, however after failing to clear their own zone, they paid the penalty for some slack marking from a Solihull face off and this left Bakalar free to effectively walk the puck around Skaife to give the visitors hope. Two minutes later though the Stars had the two goal cushion again when Jacob Smith screeched in from the wing to score before wheeling away and punching the air with delight. Then the Stars hit penalty trouble with Knightley’s clumsy hit from behind on a Solihull forward earning him the same punishment as Solihull’s Lee earlier in the period. The second period ended with the Stars leading 3-1.

With Solihull very much in contention the Stars had to put on a good performance in the third and they had to work hard as Solihull started the period strongly and were certainly more physical than the home side. With seven minutes gone the Barons pulled it back to 3-2 through Steven Rowlands after the Stars defence went AWOL. This made the Stars nervous in their play and the home support seemed on edge as Skaife made a couple of good saves to deny an equaliser. Stars coach Morvan then called a time out and it did the trick. With seven minutes left Stars skipper Elliott made it 4-2 and two minutes later Alan Green scored a fifth after Smith and Oliver had combined again.

It was a good win for the Stars against a hard working Solihull side who will have been disappointed to lose. The Stars also wore their new home shirt for the first time so they will be hoping it stays unbeaten for the rest of the season.

Scorers:-

Oxford: Jacob Smith 1+2, Alan Green 1+1, Nick Oliver 1+1, Kent Johnson 1+0, Darren Elliott 1+0, Dean Francis 0+2, Lee Featherstone 0+1, Will Skaife 0+1.

Solihull: Erik Bakalar 1+0, Stephen Rowlands 1+0, Andrew Howarth 0+1, Neil Adams 0+1, Richard Taylor 0+1.

Penalties:-

Oxford: Patrick Knightley 14 mins (inc misc), Darren Elliott 12 (inc misc), Andy Cox 2, Nick Oliver 2, Dean Francis 2.

Solihull: Phil Lee 12 mins (inc misc), Neil Adams 2, Lee Winwood 2, Dale White 2, Bench 2.

Netminding:-

Oxford: James Skaife - 33 saves, 2 goals, total 35.

Solihull - Elliot Foley - 32 saves, 4 goals, total 36 (53.30), Dave Roxborough - 4 saves, 1 goal, total 5 (6.30).

Period scores:

0-0, 3-1, 2-1.

Also played:-

Oxford: Dave Carr, Nick Eden, Sam Broughton, Joe Oliver, Kevin McGurk (NM - did not ice), Mark Krater.

Solihull: Andrew Ayers, Luis Brindle, Phil Knight, Edward Slater, Rob Perks, Jack Robinson, Connor Hubbuck, Barry Evans, Rob Eley, Richard Slater.

Final Score : Oxford 5 - 0 Chelmsford

Scorers:

Oxford: Josh Oliver 3+1, Michael Wakelin 1+1, Jake Florey 1+1.

Penalties:

Oxford: Ben Chandler 12 mins (inc misc), Sam Jordan 2, Warren Jones 2, Jake Florey 2, Jake Willis 2.

Chelmsford: Mason Webster 25 mins (inc Match), David Schrubb 2, Grant Bartlett 2.

Netminding:

Oxford: Peter Endicott - 23 saves, total 23.

Chelmsford: Anthony Brooks - 6 saves, 5 goals, total 11 (15.00), Steve Rhodes - 20 saves, total 20 (30.00)

Period scores:

5-0, 0-0, 0-0

Also Played:

Oxford: Matthew Spacksman, Joseph Eldridge, Hal Davison, Paige Simmonds, Nevy Baze, Roberto Angeleri-Rand, Sam Arnold, Liam McLaughlin, Charlie Hanley (NM - did not ice).

Chelmsford: Thomas Wilson, Coner Swainsbury, Sean Barry, Elliot Dervish, Nathan Smith, Cameron Bartlett, Max Bennett, Joseph Muskin, Joshua Bellamy-Lee, Henry Barnes, Riece Rhodes, Janus Hutcheon.

Final Score - Oxford 8 : 1 Nottingham

12th January 2008

Scoring:

Oxford – Joshua Kim 1+2, Joe Edwards 2+0, Josh Florey 0+2, Steve Broughton 1+0, Ben Chandler 2+0, Adam Harris 0+3, Rachel Hodson 0+1, Lewis Kemp 1+1, Andrew Gregory 1+2, Declan Carroll 0+1.

Nottingham – Miley Rose 1+0.

Netminding:

Oxford - Terao(Tiger) Hedges (00.00) 20 shots 1 Goal – Total 21

Nottingham – James Burton (00.00) 49 shots 8 Goals – Total 57

Penalties:

Oxford – Lewis Kemp 12 (Inc Misc) , Ben Chandler 2 Josh Kim 4, Adam Harris 4, Josh Florey 4

Nottingham – Liam Morris 4, Jake Herbert 6, Jamie Hovell 2, Chris Johnson 2

Also Played:

OXFORD – Lara Wood - Total 12

Nottingham – Chay Warnell, Joe Weldon, Kane Campbell, Grant Kingham, Tom Adams, Jack Tisk, Joel Williams, Luke Raynor, David Sisson, Inder Simpson, - Total 16

Period Scores:

0-1 / 5-0 / 3-0

Penalty Minutes:

26 – 14

Shots on Goal

21 – 57

Final Score - Oxford 4 : 3 Coventry

6th January 2008

Oxford City Stars entertained the Coventry ENL Blaze in front of a decent crowd at the Oxpens rink. Mark Krater returned to the line up after missing the previous nights defeat to Cardiff.

Oxford coach Darryl Morvan shuffled his pack ahead of the clash to face a team that had walloped the City Stars 7-1 at the end of 2007. Former Solent sniper Kent Johnson joined Darren Elliott and Dean Francis on the first line and Jacob Smith was promoted up to the 2nd line to play on the wing alongside Alan Green and Grant Bailey.

The switches seemed to be working with the Stars flying at Blaze from the minute the puck dropped with Francis and Elliott both following up hits on the Coventry defencemen. A good spell of pressure followed with the Stars playing with intensity that had been lacking in recent weeks. Despite this good start the home side found themselves 1-0 down after Coventry youngster Joe Henry snuck in at the back post to convert a powerplay goal for the Blaze. Despite this setback the Stars continued to pressure the well drilled Coventry side at every turn but were finding it difficult to get a clear chance against Dan Shea in the Coventry goal. Finally the Stars got an opportunity on a delayed penalty (Papps for holding) and the home side made no mistake with flamboyant skipper Darren Elliott finishing in to the top corner from a Dean Francis pass. To their credit Coventry kept going and were showing signs of why they had beaten Oxford so comfortably only weeks before. Wilcox and Pease looked assured in defence for the visitors and Henry and Todd were looking lively up front and Oxford had to breathe a sigh of relief when a shot from Tom Ledgard cannoned off the corner of the crossbar and to safety. The Coventry players were not amused as they believed the puck had bounced out of the back of the net but to be fair to the referee he was well up with play and did not need to rely on the goal judge. It was clear that the Stars had to keep up the level of intensity or Coventry would run riot. Just when the Stars seemed unable to make further headway, the tall striding Alan Green span around the top of the circle inside the Coventry zone and unleashed a slap shot along the ice that beat the goalie and nestled in the back of the net with only ten seconds remaining in the period.

After such an eventful first period the second was never going to follow suit however it was not without incident. With only 6 minutes gone Coventry’s defenceman Chris Wilcox was given a ten minute personal misconduct and 3 minutes later Oxford’s third line stole the show with Joe Oliver cycling hard around the back of the net and making space for pint sized Sam Broughton to finish coolly. Oxford now had a two goal advantage but as their supporters are aware they never like to do things the easy way and when Joe Henry scored his second for Coventry when left all alone in front of the net it was game on for the third period.

Oxford came out for the third knowing that the first goal would be vital. Unfortunately they were short handed virtually as soon as the period started causing audible groans from Stars players and fans alike. With Coventry camped in the Oxford end they managed to lose possession and Lee Featherstone passed the puck to Elliott on the boards who spotted the flying figure of Dean Francis and picked him out with a precision pass to allow Francis a one on one with Shea in the Coventry goal, and the Oxford forward drilled the puck home to give Oxford that vital two goal cushion. Four minutes later the dogged Coventry team scored again through Scott Murray to set up a rousing finale. Oxford managed to hold out for the remaining ten minutes but the story did not end there. With Coventry pulling their goalie for the last ten seconds to give them an extra man on the ice, they lost the face off and Oxford cleared the zone. With Alan Green rushing for the puck he managed to get a back handed shot away before the buzzer but as he skated past the empty net, Coventry defenceman Pease pushed him into the goal. Unfortunately for Pease he didn’t see Grant Bailey skating towards him and with Bailey clearly upset the two dropped gloves and both teams waded in for a mass brawl that would have been at home in a western movie. Naturally the crowd were quite excited by this point but after all the fuss had died down both teams shook hands with the exception of Coventry goalie Dan Shea who stormed off the ice after hitting at least two Stars players from behind with his blocker whilst they were fighting other players.

Oxford celebrated what had been a hard fought victory against a Coventry team who really are emerging as one of the strong teams in the league under the guidance of former Elite league player Joel Poirier

Scorers:

Oxford: Dean Francis 1+1, Darren Elliott 1+1, Sam Broughton 1+0, Alan Green 1+0, Joe Oliver 0+1, Mark Krater 0+1, Lee Featherstone 0+1.

Coventry: Joe Henry 2+0, Scott Murray 1+0, Kieran Papps 0+1, Stuart Clayton 0+1, Aram Todd 0+1.

Penalties:

Oxford: Grant Bailey 31 mins (inc Match), Will Skaife 27 (inc Match), Jacob Smith 25 (inc Match), Andy Cox 4, Alan Green 4, Dave Carr 2, Sam Broughton 2.

Coventry: Tom Pease 54 mins (inc 2 Match), Stuart Clayton 50 (inc 2 Match), Dan Shea 50 (inc 2 Match), Chris Wilcox 10 (inc misc), Scott Murray 4, Matt Halford 4, Joe Henry 2, Ollie Nabbs 2, Bench 2.

Netminding:

Oxford: James Skaife - 31 saves, 3 goals, total 34.

Coventry: Dan Shea - 26 saves, 4 goals, total 30 (59.14).

Period scores:

2-1, 1-1, 1-1

Also played:

Oxford: Nick Eden, Kent Johnson, Nick Oliver, Joe Edwards, Patrick Knightley, david Tyler (NM - did not ice).

Coventry: Hayden Laverick (NM - did not ice), Ryan Selwood, Tom Ledgard, Ian Hunt, Luke Curtis, Scott Mulholland, Tom Hooper, Daniel Burgess.

Final Score - Oxford 6 : Streatham 0

December 22nd 2007

The u16s faced Streatham on Saturday. With several influential players missing through holidays, suspension and illness, this game was a potential banana skin in the u16s quest to finish the year unbeaten.

An even contest for the opening minutes until Streatham picked a penalty and were duly punished by Ben scoring on the powerplay assisted by JoshO. Josh then broke out to add another terrific solo effort even handed. Oxford then ran into a bit of penalty trouble stalling their progress somewhat until Josh once again scored short handed (I missed this goal but I’m assured it was another cracker).

The second period saw Oxford continually finding the displeasure of the ref and everybody working their socks off to penalty kill, successfully, with stand in minder Sam Jordan beating out several good efforts. The only goal of the period came in a rare even handed moment with Josh completing a fine hatrick assisted by Ben.

With Jake sitting out a misc, the remaining “D”s had to dig deep at the start of the third, more so when Rob was called for tripping after a collision with a Streatham player. Once restored to an even contest Nevy broke out and fired in speculative shot which the Streatham minder will no doubt be disappointed to have missed. Tradition was broken as JoshO did not score the final goal of the game. Instead this went to Warren scoring high after a rebounded effort from Ben.

Congratulations to back up minder SamJ on completing a shut out and bagging both Spirit and MoM awards, you did yourself, coaches and most importantly your team mates proud. Also congratulations to Warren, stepping into the breach, in playing his first competitive game as a “D”.

It only remains for me to wish everyone a Happy Christmas and to congratulate the players and coaches on reaching the end of the year unbeaten, especially as the majority of the team are 1st year u16s.

Thankyou to all the parents who help out at the home games. Also, a personal thankyou to Bob, Paula, Nick, Colin, Trish, Gary and Darryl for their help, support and encouragement during my stint as manager.

For those of you playing in the challenge at Solihull on the 29th, not too much Christmas pud!

Scorers:

Ben Chandler 1+2, Josh Oliver 3+1, Nevy Baze 1+0, Warren Jones 1+0.

Penalties:

Jake Florey 20mins (inc misc), Ben Chandler 2, Paige Simmonds 2, Michael Wakelin 4, Warren Jones 2, Rob Rand 2.

Netminding:

Sam Jordan 17 shots 0 goals.

Also played:

Lara Wood, Matt Spacksman, Joe Eldridge, Chris Gill, Liam McLaughlin, Charlie Hanley (NM did not ice).