Stars end regular season on a high

Final Score - Oxford 4 : Milton Keynes 2

Sunday 15 March 2009

Oxford Stars completed their league season games with a hard fought 4-2 win over MK Thunder. Stars now only have two games against 2nd placed Bracknell Hornets in the way of a playoff final spot in Coventry.

Although this was to have no bearing on league positions with Oxford already confirmed 3rd and MK resigned to a relegation playoff battle it started brightly and at a good pace. Number 1 netminder James Skaife was given the weekend off and Kev McGurk started this game backed up by Tom Devey. McGurk once again played well eventually turning away all but 2 of 35 shots on goal, at times keeping the lacklustre Stars in the game for the first 20 mins. Although Stars were not really playing well and took some stupid penalties which they had to kill off, the first period ended goal less but with Stars outshooting MK 13-11.

The 2nd period started with a bang and MK were first on the board as Stars found themselves running around in their own end and unable to clear the puck. This seemed to fire the veteran line into action as Alan Armour tied the game with a wicked snap shot at 26:02 after some nimble play by Coach Hargreaves. Armour then doubled his tally to take the lead at 33:43 scoring from an almost impossible angle after Bailey and Hargreaves again worked the puck through. A lack of concentration cost Stars the lead though as import Simmo broke through alone and scored with 39 seconds left in the period to tie the game 2-2. In a fairly free flowing period, both teams had plenty of chances to score and at times it was end to end, the period shot count was 19-17 in favour of the Stars.

The final period had it all to play for and with Stars Coach Hargreaves and MK Clifford both sitting 10 min misconducts following an altercation outside the dressing room at the end of the last period, Stars needed to shuffle the lines. Armour, Bailey and Francis all had opportunities to score in the first 10 mins, but the game winner was scored by Francis at 50:58 as he bumbled home after whacking at a rebound from Mike Hargreaves. This put an end to small goal drought for Francis and he was clearly very happy to have put it in. Stars sealed the victory at 58:21 as Ace Bailey jabbed the puck home after Armour had come close for his hat-trick with a wrap around. MK netminder Woolfe thought he had this one, but Bailey was too quick for him and the goal was given. The 3rd period 19-7 shot count tells a story with Stars eventually deciding to play some good hockey for their fans, it is effort and team play like the final 10 mins which will be needed for 120mins against Bracknell.

Oxford now have a weekend off before heading into the first all important playoff match versus the Hornets. Stars will be keen to put together their best performances for these games and hopefully make the end of season playoff finals.

Stars beat league champs in all British show down

Final Score - Oxford 6 : Invicta 3

Sunday 8th March 2009

Oxford Stars continued their winning streak by defeating newly crowned ENL Div 1 Champions Invicta Dynamos 6-3. Although Invicta arrived in Oxford with an under-strength team missing their two highly influential imports through suspension and a three key Brits either sick or rested they are still a well drilled team with many good players and arguably the leagues best netminder Joe White.

Star wasted no time in taking advantage of the situation as Captain Elliott scored assisted by Francis and Mike Hargreaves at 3:48. However, a defensive by Will Skaife led to the Dynamos Lennon levelling at 6:52. Almost straight away a freak bounce led to Joe Edwards finding his scoring touch again on an empty net as White in goal was stranded behind the goal, this time assisted by Cox and Wojciak. The one goal lead was wiped out though as Stars Armour and Eden again failed to clear the zone along the boards and Dynamos brought the score level. The last goal of the period went to the home side as Ace Bailey blasted home from inside the goal crease after a pin point pass from Coach Hargreaves on the veterans line. So far in the game only Oxford had been penalised as Shurmer and Featherstone sat minor penalties. This was reflected in the shot count as Dynamos, although losing, outshot the Stars 14-8.

The 2nd period was goal less until 7 minutes in as eventual man of the match Cox raced in on goal to keep his recent scoring streak going after great play from his linemates Featherstone and particularly Edwards. A penalty shot was then awarded at 38:04 as Mark Krater was hauled down as he skated in on goal. It was Krater who then stepped up to take the penalty shot and calmly deked Joe White out of his skin sending the visiting keeper rolling around before putting the puck away to rapturous applause from the home fans. No penalties were called at all in the middle stanza and Stars bossed the game, controlling the puck with ease and turning the shot count around to outshoot the Mo’s 23-15. The biggest cheer of the night probably went to Stars Richard Wojciak who sent Mo’s Captain Grant Baxter flying with a bone crunching mid-ice hit in this period.

The 3rd period finished 1-1 as Shurmer scored on the powerplay from Francis and Edwards before Invicta grabbed a consolation goal less than 30 seconds before the end. Stars again won the shooting and possession battle this time taking 24 shots to Invicta’s 10. Stars took the opportunity to give more ice to backup netminder McGurk in this period who replaced Skaife at 51:49. This game was billed as a ‘Battle of the Brits’ and Stars home grown talent certainly showed their worth, although they will need to continue this run and cut out the stupid defensive errors before facing Bracknell in the playoffs. Dynamos for their part may be worried about their teams chances while missing their key imports going into tough games themselves in the playoffs and a Cup Final. The only really unsavoury incident happened after Andy Cox had levelled a number of Dynamos players one after another with clean hits. Cox was then attacked late in the game on a face-off leading to Anthony Lennon receiving 16 mins for the incident and Cox sporting a cut lip and smashed helmet.

Stars have only one home game left against Milton Keynes Thunder next weekend at Oxpens Road before the playoffs start. Coach Hargreaves will be keen to continue this latest run of form into those key games against Bracknell and hopefully take the team to the ENL Championships in Coventry next month.

Stars pounce on hounds and continue pre-playoff run

Final Score - Haringey 4 : Oxford 8

Sunday 2nd March 2009

Stars started there run towards the playoffs in fine form as they beat Haringey Greyhounds 8-4 in North London. Stars have struggled against the Hounds so far this season winning by the odd couple of goals twice and drawing once so this result was a real boost.

Having already confirmed 3rd place and a playoff spot Stars opted to give some well deserved ice time to back up netminder Kevin McGurk who did not let anyone down in fact making some very good saves during the game.

The newly formed ‘veteran’ line of Coach Hargreaves, Bailey and Armour went close a number of times in their first shift but were unable to score and it was against the run of play when Hounds drew first blood after a scramble in front lead to a rebound and deflected shot going in at 4:46.

Oxford struck within 2mins as a returning Andy Cox, who put in one of his best performances of the season playing as a forward, hussled well and picked up a pass from Shurmer before taking a superb shot which gave keeper Wride no chance. Oxford then opened up a two goal lead firstly through Joe Edwards assisted by young Adam Harris who continues to impress in each game, followed by player coach Hargreaves scoring on the powerplay assisted again by Shurmer and Francis. Haringey managed to bring themselves back to within one goal at 18:01 also on the powerplay as Stars ran into penalty trouble late in the period.

The period ended 3-2 in favour of the Stars but with Armour and Skaife sitting penalties. The break and 5 on 3 powerplay obviously helped the home team as 39 seconds in they scored to tie the game 3-3. However, that veteran line used their experience to score what was to be the game winner as they produced some fine tic-tac-toe passing, Bailey behind the net to Hargreaves who fired a pass to the back door for Armour to happily steer it past the Hounds keeper. Hargreaves was on target again at 33:31 this time assisted by Bailey and Wojciak to complete the 2nd period scoring.

At this point the game was over, Haringey unable to get back in the game. The 3rd period saw Stars put in a clinical defensive performance allowing only 4 shots on McGurk while Man of the Match Shurmer sniped a wicked top corner on the powerplay before Nick Eden finished the scoring off to make it 8-4 by jabbing the goalward puck home off the line after Armour and Bailey did the hard work down low. Grant ‘Ace’ Bailey completed the game with his best points haul in a game for a long time with 1 goal and 3 assists.

Stars know they have the 3rd spot sewn up and are now preparing themselves for Invicta and MK at home before the crucial playoff games against 2nd placed Bracknell Hornets. Stars will also be sporting brand new limited edition playoff Jerseys bearing the logos of all sponsors and associates. The bright green shirt will be worn for both playoff games home/away versus Bracknell and also at Coventry if they get past the Hornets.

Stars Bowled Over But Secure a Place in the Playoffs

Final Score - Invicta 11 : Oxford 2

Sunday 22nd February 2009

Oxford travelled to Invicta Dynamos to face the champions elect yesterday. Missing key defencemen Cox and Featherstone but boosted by the return of big blueliner Shurmer from injury.

The Dynamo began brightly and camped in the Oxford zone James Skaife forced into action early padding numerous shots away. Highly impressive import Milan Kostolny scored the first of his four at 04.01. Mo's lead was doubled at 07.34 as Kostolny scored again unmarked high in the slot. Stars then went on the attack as skipper Elliott just shot wide after a neat pass from Will Skaife. Stars Wojciak then saw his point drive gloved down by Invicta keeper White while Richie Hargreaves fired straight at the netminder from the right hash marks. The first period ended 2-0 with Stars still well in the hunt.

Stars were to fall foul of penalties yet again as first Coach Hargreaves was called for slashing to begin the second period. Elliot had a chance on the shorthanded but fired straight at the keeper. Kostolny hit the pipes before Smith scored at 22.34 when a pass from Invicta's other import Melichercik found him at point blank range. Kostolny then scored his hat trick goal at 25.05 to give the home side a 4-0 lead. The Stars finally got on the board at 29.36 when Alan Armour's shorthanded clearance up ice caused indecisiveness in keeper White who started to come to collect, stopped and then restarted but he was beaten to the puck by Darren Elliot who rounded him and fired into the open net. The Stars fans could be forgiven for thinking that there was a fight back on when Richard Wojciak scored after Joe Edwards had hit the blue line at speed, flown behind the cage, avoided a huge check from an Invicta players and found Wojciak all in the blink of an eye. It wasn’t to be for the Stars however as ill discipline hit them hard late in the period. Wojciak was called for Hooking, Charging and Roughing at 35.50, which gifted the Mo's a four minute powerplay opportunity. They needed just 5 seconds to score the first and the score was taken to 6-2 before the penalties expired. Shurmer was next in the box when he was called for hooking and again the Mo's powerplay was deadly accurate. Oxford thought they had scored as the puck was in the net as time expired in the period, hard to tell whether it beat the buzzer or not, Grant Bailey adamant that it did, referee Adam Hames disagreeing and disallowing the tally.

With the score at 7-2 the final period started badly for the visiting Oxford side. Invicta scoring after only 1 min of the period opening. They then scored again for 9-2 and James Skaife was replaced to give him a well deserved break as McGurk was chucked in at the deep end. McGurk himself then made a number of great saves within the first minute of being on. Grant Bailey shot into the Invicta keepers chest before Dean Francis and Richie Hargreaves both had shots themselves but were unable to find a way past. Invicta then replaced their own keeper just before Kostolny completed his scoring with his 4th of the night. Stars scored their 3rd at 53.02 as Armour fed Nick Eden on the blueline to rocket an unstoppable shot past the keeper. It was 11-3 at 56.47 when Invicta scored their final goal. Stars were last to score at 57.03 Grant Bailey won the face off and was set up by Shurmer to score from the hash marks with a great shot.

The Oxford City Stars are a solid third place in the league and even after this defeat other results went their way and they have qualified for the end of season playoffs. However, they are better than they showed in Invicta and will need to step up their game if they want to progress to the final in Coventry.

Stars play Haringey Greyhounds away next Sunday before finishing the league campaign with homes games against Invicta and then Milton Keynes.

Stars survive bad weather to secure a draw.

Final Score - Milton Keynes 3 : Oxford 3

Sunday 8th February 2009

Oxford City Stars started their run of February away games in Milton Keynes this weekend as they tied 3-3 against a much improved Thunder team.

Stars are still running a depleted squad missing Shurmer through injury, Bailey, Mike Hargreaves and Sam Broughton through sickness and had Alan Armour playing with injury. Coach Hargreaves also missed the first 15 mins of the game with transport issues. Stars stared well enough though scoring first shorthanded as Dean Francis latched onto a mistake by MK keeper Wolfe to score at 1:37 MK then scored two goals late in the period to take a 2-1 lead.

The first 10 mins of the 2nd period were a tight affair with both teams going close on occasions but Stars keeper James Skaife kept his team in the game with a string of fine saves. This spurred Stars on to score two quick goals themselves as Elliott scored then Francis netted his second to give Oxford a 3-2 advantage at 36:44. This lead was only to last a few minutes though as Stars fell apart at the end of a long shift and defenceman Cox coughed the puck up directly to an MK attacker in front of an open goal.

With the score staying tied at 3-3 for the entire final period there were some great opportunities for both teams to take the points but again both netminders played out of their skin. Some strange officiating confused both sets of players and at times they stood around laughing with each other while the penalties were sorted out.

A fair result for both teams, although with MK heavily outshooting Oxford they may feel they could have taken something from it. MK are dragging themselves away from the relegation battle and Oxford are heading closer to that target top 4 playoff spot.

Stars have a weekend off this week but travel to Invicta the week after to face the Champions elect. Coach Hargreaves will be hoping his team can get out of their sickness and inury rut and start to play to their potential in time for the playoffs.

Final Score - Oxford 3 : Invicta 6

Sunday 14th December 2008

Oxford Stars hopes of getting back to winning ways seemed good for 40mins of the game against Invicta Dynamos on Sunday. The Stars took a 2-1 lead into the final period but then saw their lead slip as they conceded 5 further goals only scoring 1 themselves.

Stars first goal came as a result of some solid fore-checking from the 1st line as Elliott stole the puck from a Mo’s defenceman then dropped it for Armour who found Nick Oliver alone on the empty net. Although that was the only goal of the 1st period there were some quality saves from both netminders as the teams traded scoring chances.

The 2nd period started well for the visiting Kent side as their top players took the opportunity to show their worth on a powerplay Stars gifted them being caught with too many men on the ice, Andy Smith scored assisted by import Kostolny and young Cardiff lad Dancey. Stars hit back straight away, as this time Hargreaves & Armour combined in the neutral zone for Elliott to smash one in at the back post to regain the lead. Within less than a minute of the 3rd period starting Invicta’s impressive import Melicherick scored and then a minute and a half later the visitors took the lead for the first time in the game as Elliott Andrews scored to make it 3-2 at 42:45. That lead was increased to 4-2 at 46:12 as Stars Will Skaife picked up a dubious kneeing penalty which allowed Melicherick time on the Powerplay to score his 2nd of the night.

Stars for their part were not quite done and it appeared there may be a fight back as young Joe Edwards back from suspension scored on a rare Stars powerplay assisted by Mike Hargeaves to make it 4-3 with a little over 10mins remaining. Invicta played it tight defensively and looked to break on the counter attack which paid off at 57:30 as Karl Lennon scored to make it 5-3. Stars pulled netminder Skaife for an extra attacker in the dying minutes and although Stars had possession in the Mo’s end they could not keep the puck in, even with a man advantage and Invicta’s big Slovak Kostolny scored in the empty net to seal the game.

The first two period were a close hard fought affair with both teams playing good physical hockey. On occasions it seemed referee Meekison was happy to keep his whistle in his pocket and it was Oxford who came off worse during the game as Armour picked up a nasty cut from an elbow that went unpunished in the 2nd and then Featherstone took a stick to the face and Wojciak suffered a cut from a stray puck in the 3rd. Thankfully none of the injuries meant the players missed any of the game and all should heal during the two week Christmas break.

A much better performance from the Stars but still two points that they couldn’t afford to drop. Although there is still a long way to go Stars will have to beat Invicta & Bracknell twice now and hope both of those teams drops points to other teams to stand any chance of winning the league title. Stars next game is away to Bracknell Hornets on 27th December.

Final Score - Oxford 1 : Streatham 6

Sunday 7th December 2008

Oxford Stars slumped to another defeat this weekend, losing 6-1 against a rejuvenated Streatham Redskins side. Stars had demolished Redskins last time they met 13-1 but this time Redskins had a new netminder, Kemp, and two imports in Lambert and Kovacs. Stars on the other hand went into the game short benched missing key players Feathertone (injured), Edwards (Suspended), #1 netminder Skaife on Holiday and number of players playing sick. As usual Stars started well and controlled the first 10 minutes of the game, good speed and passing could not be converted though as Stars seem to be struggling to score at the moment. The only Stars goal of the game came from Jacob Smith who unleashed a cannon from just inside the blue line to give the home team a 1-0 lead after 2 mins. After that though they became sloppy and lackluster spurning good scoring chances and allowing Streatham too much time and odd man rushes. It was on a Stars powerplay when confusion between Armour and Elliott in the Redskins zone led to the puck being coughed up which allowed Streatham to break 2 on 1 and score shorthanded past stand in netminder McGurk and tie the game.

The 2nd period started with the score at 1-1 and the home crowd expected Stars to come out hard. However, early lazy penalties caused a problem in the middle period again as Streatham scored twice while a man up ad then took a 4-1 lead by the end of the period. Oxford were by this time frustrated as it appeared every bounce was going against them and they were unable to beat the in form Kemp in the Streatham goal. Bailey and Francis both went close to scoring and on another day would have, defencemen Skaife and Wojciak ripped a couple of shots from the point but Kemp dealt with them easily enough. With it all to do Oxford replaced McGurk in goal with Tom Devey for the 3rd period. They started to play a little better and had more good opportunities to score. Armour fed both Elliott and Dick Hargreaves early on but the tips just went wide or safely into the pads of Kemp, this line shake up meant Stars were at least getting the puck to scoring positions. The final shot tally had Oxford having 38 shots and Redskins 37. However, it was the south London team that were scoring at will as they added a further two goals to seal the game while Oxford continue to hit skates and sticks and even the post on a number of occasions. Coach Hargreaves will be dissapointed with another loss but more with the way the loss happened. This is the 3rd time this season they have only managed to score one goal in a game and with the skill and experience they have it should not be happening.

Oxford face Invicta Dynamos at home next weekend in their last game before Christmas and really need to put in a good performance to set themselves up to start their campaign fresh in the New Year.

Stars Smoke Dragons in final match up between the clubs.

Final Score - Oxford 8 : Cardiff 3

Sunday 23rd November 2008

Oxford Stars continued their recent fine form by demolishing Cardiff Devils 8-3 on Sunday night at Oxpens Road. This was an impressive score especially given that the Stars had failed to beat the Welsh side in their three previous attempts this season only managing to tie the game last weekend with less than a minute on the clock.

Although the game started slowly with neither team playing their best it was the Stars who were on top, outshooting their opponents 14-6 in the first period but only managing to score once as Joe Edwards netted from a Dean Francis pass at 7:05. There were no more goals this period, but the play started to heat up with both sets of players becoming more and more aggressive as the game wore on. A number of minor penalties for both teams culminated in Stars stalwart Captain Darren Elliott and young Devils defender Corey Watkins clashing. Although no punches were thrown both players were given 10min personal misconduct penalties by referee Meekison to allow them time to cool off.

The Cardiff team talk during the period break obviously worked as Fisher scored for the Devils just over two minutes after the start. A momentary defensive lapse allowed him time and space to lift the puck over Skaife for the goal. Stars defenceman Andy Cox found himself in trouble, picking up the next four Oxford penalties. This put Stars under pressure and although Edwards scored again at 30:27 to give Oxford the lead, Cardiff's impressive Fisher scored again on a delayed penalty call against Cox to tie the game 2-2 at 33:12. This was enough for the referee who also assessed Cox a 10 min miscondust at the same time. The almost customary Stars quick reply goal was scored by Nick Oliver at 33:37 after a clever drop pass from Armour who was skating behind the goal. Oliver has now scored in the last 4 games in a row and is clearly relishing the extra ice time he has been given by the new coach. Another player on a scoring streak is power forward Ace Bailey who increased Stars lead to 4-2 with a wicked shot at 35:36, the assists this time going to Edwards and Featherstone who broke the puck up ice.

With the score 4-2 the end of the second period and Stars again winning the shooting battle 16-8, it was evident Stars wanted to continue their title chase. Coach Hargreaves must have told the team to keep up the pressure and the team responded by getting right back into their groove 3 mins into the period. Alan Armour dusted off his scoring stick by shooting bottom corner to finish off some neat passing from Oliver and Featherstone. Captain David James scored Devils last goal at 44:28 before Armour doubled his goal tally for the night on a delayed penalty call. Skipper Elliott fed the puck to Armour who skated through the neutral zone before unleashing a cannon from outside the blueline which found the top corner of the net. Stars were not finished yet though as Dean Francis rounded off some fantastic play by young Jacob Smith and Mike Hargreaves to rip one into the net from the slot. Joe Edwards then completed another fine hat-trick at 54:23 by converting from a cool pass from Nick Eden.

Both teams took the opportinity to allow their back-up netminders some ice time with just under 6 mins to go and the Stars fans gave McGurk a rousing reception. His short spell in goal saw him face only one shot which he stopped comfortably. Tempers flared one second before the the final whistle was blown as Edwards and Devils Duance dropped the gloves and battled it out, both players landed some good punches before both landing on the ice. Duance was unwilling to release when the linesmen stepped in and is very lucky not to receive a major penalty. Stars Coach Richie appeared very pleased with an good 8-3 win and a comfortable two points. There were some quality periods of play and Star once again outshot the Devils 42-27 on the night. He knows there are still some creases to iron out and a few pointless penalties that need to stop as in other games they could cost the team dearly. However, after only two weeks with a new coach and having taken 5 out of 6 points on offer against the 2nd & 3rd placed teams, Stars will skate into Kent to face Invicta in a very confident mood.