Seasons greatings

The Barbarians would like to which all it's followers and opponents a very merry Christmas and a happy new year

Split weekend for the Barbarians

Barbarians 1                             Khaos 6

The Barbarians skated out mid morning to face local rivals Khaos on an undefeated league run that spanned 392 days.  Team news for the Barbarians saw the return of Paul Lycett from injury.  The teams were evenly matched with chances early on in both ends.  As usual Khaos were seeing plenty of the puck however Barbarians style of play broke down many of their early attacks. 

First goal came from the Khaos after 4 min on the power play with Hawke sat in the box for Slashing.  Next it was the turn of the Khaos to be in the penalty box.  A chance for the Barbarians to draw level.  A shot of the cross bar and a shot to the netminders mask followed but not the elusive goal.  Another penalty call on Khaos gave the Barbarians power play unit a second chance and with it came the goal.  Scored by Clapham assisted by Hawke.

The first period finished 1-1 with both sides having similar shots on target.

The second period was only 16 second old when Khaos scored their second, poor defending costing the Barbarians.  Barbarians pushed hard for the equaliser and again saw the puck hit the post twice and the netminders mask but it was Khoas that hit their third.  Another goal arrived mid way through the period making it 4-1.  More chances were missed by the Barbarians and were punished again with 2 late goals.

Final score 6-1.  Their were positives to take from the game but a poor performance from the usually strong defencive unit coupled with a forward unit struggling with suspensions left the team with 0 points from the encounter.

Barbarians 4                         Bottesford 1

After the disappointment from the early morning defeat to Khaos the team needed a reaction.  Phil Sanderson returned to the line up from suspension. 

The Barbarians again went behind early with a shot that squeezed passed goal tender Cusick.  This lifted the Barbarians and they started to play and were on level terms within 3 minutes goal coming from a rejuvenated forward pairing of Bradley and Clapham.  5 minutes later Clapham's trade mark slap shot hit top corner to make it 2-1.

As usual controversy descended as Sanderson was given 2+2+2+5 for slashing, X checking, slashing and roughing and also ejected from the game.  Absolute bizarre calls from the officials.  This lead to a 11 minute power play to Bottesford.  What ensued over the next 11 minutes was pure brilliance from the Barbarians.  They many not have scored but out shot their opponents and didn't concede.  A great display of how to penalty kill.

The momentum carried from the penalty kill as the Barbarians were comfortable in possession of the puck.  Mid way through the second period Clapham killed the game off to make it 3-1 and also added an insurance to make it 4-1 assisted by Oades and Bradley respectively.

Final score 4-1.  Hat-trick hero Clapham.  Great defencive display and some great stops from goal tender Cusick

Tough Weekend Ahead

The Barbarians face their toughest challenge of the season when they meet local rivals Khaos on Sunday morning.  Hampered with suspended duo Steve Walker and Phil Sanderson, the team is looking to struggle through their offencive short comings.  Both players are banned due to the last minute scuffle in the teams heavily fought 3-2 win over York.  Paul Lycett looks like he will return to the line up after 13 months out with a knee injury.

The games against Khaos are always close affairs and look to be the same again this weekend.  With both teams playing totally different styles of play it leads to low scoring encounters.  Barbarians play a very defencive style where as Khaos play a fluent passing game. 

Second game of the day is against Bottesford.  A team the Barbarians have good success against in the past with 3 wins and 1 draw in their past 4 meetings.  However they are not to be taken lightly with some good offencive players in Hame and Waddle. 

Hopefully the rink will be playable after an interesting training session on Wednesday evening saw the team struggle to get up to half pace due to the dangerous damp patches that saw everyone take a tumble at different times in the session.  Luckily no one was injured.

Barbarians hit North East league Milestone

Barbarians hit 365 days without a league defeat.  25th November 2012 saw the teams last defeat a 5-2 loss to eventual league winners Northumberland in the North East BIPHA league.

Since then the team has played 17 games winning 14 and tying 3.  Amassing 90 goals and only conceding 31. 

Biggest win was against Vipers with a score line of 15-0.

Assistant Captain James Oades commented " the team has played some fantastic hockey in this period and have shown we are a force to be reckoned with.  There has been some challenges along the way with injures but the guys have battled hard and never given up.

Noticeable performances were the three tied games for me.  All games that could have easily been lost but we battled to the finish, with games against Khaos and Chiefs goals been scored in the final minute to secure a point."

Next games up are against Khaos and Bottesford on the 22nd December.  Can the Barbairians continue their current run??

Barbarians prefer to come from behind and maintain 100% start

Game 1 Vs Teeside Smoke

A game in which the Barbarians haven’t fared well over the years couldn’t have started worse, going one down early on in the game.  It stayed a tense and edgy affair until Phil Sanderson managed to take advantage on the powerplay slotting home a quick shot low to the blocker side of the opposing netminder thanks to some inspired coaching by Ed Coote.  Not long afterwards Steve Walker put the Barbarians up by one to end the 1^st period 2-1.

Teeside came back early and scored at the beginning of the second period to put the game on level terms again.  Halfway through the 2^nd Ben Bradley edged the Barbarians in front again to make the game 3-2.  Some late penalties on the Barbarians made the end of the game uncomfortable but some great PK work from Steve Walker killed the game off.  A great win against one of the Barbarian’s bogey teams kept the team at the top of the league.

Team stats: - Steve Walker 1+1, Ben Bradley 1+1, Phil Sanderson 1+0

Game 2 Vs York University

Two unbeaten sides met each other with all to play for at this early stage of the season.  York, fielding a nearly new squad, had enjoyed early success in the league and for the 2^nd time in the day put the Barbarians 1-0 down on the powerplay with a backhand shot that snuck though Ed Coote.  Phil Sanderson again brought the Barbarians back level halfway through the 1^st period to end the period all square. 

It stayed a very tense game which could have gone either way until 14 min left when Nick Clapham scored to put the barbarians up 2-1.  Again York pressed, looking for the equaliser but some inspired netminding sometimes from point blank range kept York at bay.  It was to be Nick Clapham scoring his 2^nd of the game which looked to seal the game for the Barbarians with 3 mins left on the clock, but some defencive errors lead to a tense last two mins as no. 97 for York danced straight though the Barbarians defence to score and make the score 3-2 with 1 min 30 secs left.  Try as they might, York couldn’t get back on level terms with some inspired defending from Barbarians.  The end of a good game was marred with a dangerous knee to the head by no. 9 from York which started off a melee where everyone took a partner; the Barbarians were punished unfairly with two key forwards missing the next game with York only missing one player in there next game.      

Team stats:- Nick Clapham 2+0, Phil Sanderson 1+0, Mark Chambers 0+1, Richard Hawke 0+1

Barbarians look to stay on top

Barbarians arrive into this weekend double header against Teeside and York standing a top of the BIPHA north east table. 

However the team is expecting a lot tougher opposition compared to last times outing against both Norton teams.

First up are Teeside Smoke a team that the Barbarians have struggled against over the past couple of seasons. Only 1 win in 3 attempts shows that it's going to be a tough battle.

Next up are York Uni, a team that are usually placed at the lower end of the table. However some big summer signings have paid off as they recorded back to back victories last time out against Cleakheaton and Kingston.  Another tough challenge for the Barbarians.

Face off vs Teeside 12.20

             vs York Uni 14.50

Double Delight for Barbarians, 4 point Sunday.

Sunday the 13th October saw the return of the BIPHA North East League.

BARBARIANS 10    JUNIOR CYCLONES 0

First game of the new season saw a dominate display against a very young and in experienced Cyclones team that looked well out of their depth at senior level. 

From the off the Barbarians were in their stride putting the Cyclones under immense pressure from when the puck dropped.  It was only a matter of time before they broke the deadlock.  With 4 minutes played the goal came from Sanderson having been well worked into the middle by Lloyd. 

It took another 8 minutes to muster another goal with a great one time finish from Girling with a feed from Wilson.  Three more goals would arrive before the period was out with goals from Lloyd, Bradley and Clapham.  Half time score 5-0.

The second period was much of the same.  With long sustained periods of puck possession.  The line of Sanderson, Lloyd, Hawke and Chambers certainly standing out with some great plays.  Goals arrived from Oades early on then Sanderson and Wilson. Goal of the day went to the Sanderson line, with a fluent move from behind their own net finished by Hawke which made it 9-0.  Wilson finished of the scoring in a one sided encounter.  final score 10-0. 

BARBARIANS 5            CYCLONES 3

After a dominate first game the Barbarians looked to build on its early momentum from the first game however that didn't prove to be the case.  Within the first minute Wilson took a rather dubious penalty.  This didn't harm the run of play as the Barbarians were happy to play the puck around without too much pressure it even lead to the first goal scored short handed by Oades who received a pass from Walker.

It wasn't long however until the tie was all square.  Cyclones saw a glimpse of hope and started to press and were rewarded with a goal mid way through the first period.  This was short lived as Lloyd netted the equaliser moments later.  Barbarians would take a 3-2 lead into the break with Clapham scoring. 

Barbarians ill discipline again saw them play plenty of the period with only 3 men on the rink.  Giving the momentum back to the Cylcones and it wasn't long till the score was 3-3.  Having killed penalty after penalty the Barbarians looked to kill the game off and with 10 minutes to play Bradley fired home the game winning goal.  Hawke netted a late slap shot to settle the nerve as the Barbarians skated off with a 5-3 victory. 

Managers thoughts on tomorrow's match ups

  "its been a long summer but everyone on the team is looking forward to the new season. Its going to be another very competitive season which is why we need to make a good start in the first 2 games this weekend"

Barbarians look for double glory over Norton

Barbarians face off against both Norton Cyclones team tomorrow. 

With the return of the new season brings new players and new challengers. So the barbarians will be heading into the ties interested in who other people have signed during the summer months.  

Having said that the Barbarians are looking forward to a fast start to the league season and put the points on the board early.  As last season saw them stutter to two early defeats.  

Barbarians captain Dan Ancliff said 

We have a good full team going into this season which should help us out in those tough games, 

I've got a good feeling going into this season! If we can stay injury free I think we can have a good go at the league.

Puck drops at 9am tomorrow.

Ex GB International Wilson Signs for 13/14 Season

Barbarians have managed to secure the signing of former GB international and Norton Cyclones forward Tom Wilson.

After a number of years away due to work commitments Tom has finally decided to make a come back.  Having trained with the team and knowing a few ex Norton players on the roster, he felt he could add something to an already strong Barbarians which have reached the semi final of the nationals in two of the last three seasons.

He will be away for a big part of the season again due to work commitments however will lace up this weekend to make his Barbarians debut. 

Speaking last night after training.  Tom said that he was looking forward to the new challenge but is disappointed that he will miss a few games. 

Coach Ed Coote has been looking to sign long time friend Tom for a number of years and was over the the moon when he agreed.  Eddie said, Tom has a vast amount of experience at the top level, he may have been away but since his return you can see he still has the magic. 

Signing News "Cuzwall" puts pen to paper

Barbarians have today captured netminder Chris "Cuzwall" Cusick.  After training with the team and been part of last seasons GBHI Barbarians setup he has agreed to sign on the dotted line to play at BIPHA this season.

The former Chiefs netminder has show great character and poise between the pipes and will be looking to give current netminder Eddie Coote some stiff competition for the No.1 spot this season.

Another great signing and we hope this becomes a formidable duo in the season ahead.

Barbarians Sign Up

Barbarians summer training camp has seen familiar faces return from injury and holidays, refreshed and ready to go.  All but one has signed on the dotted line to return for the up coming BIPHA central season.  Noticeable absent is netminder Barry Weetman who is still out injured.  The team still has a few spots available for next season but are looking to bolster the squad in the next couple of days.

The season starts with 2 games against Norton and Norton juniors a week on Sunday.

Lycett returns

After 10 months on the side lines due to a serious knee injury, Paul Lycett laced up his skates and skated with the team for the past 2 weeks.  All has gone well so far and he is planning on been ready for the new season which is just arround the corner.

Semi Final Heartache AGAIN

Heartache again for the Barbarians as another semi final defeat ends there hope of national glory.  Its the second time in 3 seasons for the team.

Saturday morning saw the team line up against much fancied London Snipers.  A team with vast international experience.  A few of the Barbarians this was there first taste of nationals action and it probably showed in the first couple of shifts.  Having said that it was the Barbarians that created the first clear cut opportunity with Steve Walker hitting the post in the first couple of minute.  This was one of the few chances the Barbarians would have as the Snipers soon started to show there form.
Mid way through the first period the deadlock was broken 1 nil Snipers.  5 mins later it was all square with Ben Bradley equalising.  After half time it was more of Snipers with the Barbarians holding out with some excellent goal tending by Eddie Coote.  Goals again were traded making it 2-2 Nick Clapham with the Barbarians goal.  Snipers then edged ahead again making it 3-2.  With the Barbarians pushing for the equaliser Snipers secured the victory with 2 goals in the last 27 seconds to condemn the team to a 5-2 defeat.  A scoreline that slightly flatted there opponents.

Second game of the day was against Bourne End.  With temperatures reaching the high 30s in the rink it was going to be a struggle for both teams.  The Barbarians started slow and were penalised for it with the Buffaloes sprinting out to a 2 goal lead.  The Barbarians battled back and had the tie leaved with at 2-2 with goals from Steve Walker and Nick Clapham.  Bourme End edge in front again but for the Barbarians to tie back level with a Nick Clapham equaliser. 

Late afternoon had seen the temperature drop slightly and an interesting tie against north east rivals Cleckheaton Comets.  As in the last game the Barbarians stuttering starts contiued with them conceeding the first 2 goals.  3 goals from Ben bradley and a short handed goal from James Oades reversed the fortunes and so the Barbarians lead 4-2.  A late goal from Comets lead to a tense finish but the team hung on for a 4-3 victory.

The day and group games were over and the team rested up for a tie against last years champions Farnborough Arrows.

The quarter final against Farnborough was a close affair with the teams equaling each other out on many occassions.  The deadlock was broken by Nick Clapham mid way through the first period to settle the nerves slightly.  With time running out and Farnborough increasingly getting close to a goal a luck bounce landed on Steve Walkers stick to score an empty net goal and securing the win. 

Semi final time against league rivals Nothumberland the team that had pipped the Barbarians to the league title.  The tie started out much evenly than the league encounters.  Nick Clapham again produced a trade mark slap shot to put the Barbarians 1-0 however this was a catalyst for the Knights who in the space of 15 minutes raced out to a 4-1 lead.  The Barbarians were under pressure and took a time out.  This stemmed the flow of the Knights and Steve Walker pounced to make it 4-2 with the puck just crossing the line.  The balance of play switched to the Barbarians.  The Knights took a penalty and with the man advantage James Oades fired high into the net to make it 4-3.  Off the resulting face off the Barbarians regrouped behind there net.  Breaking out the Knights again took a penalty.  Barbarians again won the face off and regrouped.  James Oades skated from behind the net towards half way on the right side an released a shot that flew past the netminder to claim the equaliser 4-4.  However the heroic fight back was invain as the Knights slotted home a late winner and ended the Barbarians dream for another season.

The 3rd and 4th place playoff is always a hard game both teams don't really want to play.  This again showed and the Barbarians limped of in a 2-1 loss.  Steve Walker with the solitary goal.

Barbarians finished 4th.

Player stats



 *  Player                       No   GP    G     A    P    PM    PP   SH  GW GT  OT  EN  PL 
 -- ---------------------------- --- --- ----- ----- ----- ----- ------- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----
    OADES, JAMES        4       6     3     5     8     0:00    2     1     0     0     0     0     1  
    WALKER, STEVE   27      6     5     1     6     0:00    1     0     0     0     0     0     0  
    CLAPHAM, NICK   20      6     4     2     6     0:00    1     0     1     1     0     0     0  
    BRADLEY, BEN      64      6     4     1     5     8:00    1     0     1     0     0     0     0  
    MYERS, JAMES       24      6     0     1     1     0:00    0     0     0     0     0     0     0  
    LLOYD, DAVID       26      6     0     1     1     0:00    0     0     0     0     0     0     0  
    GIRLING, JIM          25      6     0     0     0     4:00    0     0     0     0     0     0     0  
    COOTE, ED             1   G   6     0     0     0     0:00    0     0     0     0     0     0     0  
    CHAMBERS, M       36      6     0     0     0     0:00    0     0     0     0     0     0     0  
    SANDERSON, P      85      6     0     0     0     6:00    0     0     0     0     0     0     0  
    ANCLIFF, DAN       55      6     0     0     0     0:00    0     0     0     0     0     0     0  
                                         ----- ----- ----- ----- ------- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----
                                         66    16    11    27    18:00   5     1     2     1     0     0     1

Nationals Preview

The nationals weekend is upon use.  6 games to win it.  Are the Barbarians up for it????
The three qualifying games and then a guaranteed quarter awaits.  What happens then is up to use.

First Qualifying game vs South London Snipers looks to be one of the tougher games looking at there league standing down in the southern league.  A team that can find the net, hopefully the Barbarians can use there home advantage to gain the share of the points.

Next up is Bourne End another team from the southern league.  They had mixed results during there league season but as always these teams are of a very good standard.

Final qualifying game is a against Cleckheaton.  A team we know well from the North East league.  Our regular season games have been fairly close with Barbarians taking both the wins however Cleckheaton has a great offencive unit that will cause a threat to the Barbarians.

Dan Ancliff (Barbarians Captains) believes that its the best opportunity for the team since it joined BIPHA to go all the way and be crowned champions.  He said the team was well balanced and been training hard.  The team has had its ups and downs during the regular season.  He also felt that the team lost some games that they should have probably won.  This has been the driving factor during our preparation period. 

First game 11.20am

Barbarians and KTR extend Sponsorship deal

The Barbarians would like to thank Geoff Ancliff and the guys at KTR for there contiuned support and sponsorship. The team will be rolling out tomorrow at the national championships with there new trousers and short covers with KTR branding.  Once again thank you from the team.

Words from Netminder and Coach Eddie Coote

With the Nationals this weekend I had a sit down after the final training session with netminder and coach Eddie Coote to discuss his views on the task ahead. 
 

Looking ahead to the weekend how far do you think the team will get?

I believe this team can go far in the nationals.  I am expecting to get to the semi-final at least.  It will be hard work. There are a lot of good team playing and we are going to have to play very well to get that far and then who knows!!

How has the long layoff since the end of the league season been and how has preparation been going?

I think preparations have gone well I think the team is ready to go, training has been good the past month or so, just hope we can get up to speed quick enough as we haven’t had much game practice leading up to the nationals.

As a Whole how has the season gone so far?

I think we struggled at the start off the season then injuries hit but we fought through and started playing some good hockey along the way. We were so close to winning the league at the end of the season which shows the willingness of the team not give in.    

Who do you think are the teams to beat at the weekend?

All the teams that have made the nationals deserve to be there! But the top three teams to beat for me are South London snipers, Hornets and Northumberland Knights

How are you feeling regarding your own preparation for the weekend?

Preparations haven’t been the best for me personally with no game practice for a while but I’m feeling optimistic about this weekend! I feel that if I can bring my A game and the defence does what they have done all season (make me look good!!) we will have a chance to win.

So can this Barbarians team win it?

Final say

If everybody turns up ready and willing to put in 100% in every shift and stick to the game plan then we will go far this year!! Talent can win games, but teamwork, intelligence and hard work will win championships!!     

 

Keep an eye out for more views and previews to this weekends nationals

New National fixtures Announced

This weekends National fixtures have changed again due to a late entry from Cleakheaton Comets.
This has completely changed the format for the 8 teams now involved.  The Barbarians line up in group B versus late arrivals Cleckheaton, Snipers and Bourne End.  Keep tuned in for more build up on this weekends National event.

GROUP A				GROUP B
NORTHUMBERLAND				SNIPERS
FARNBOROUGH				BARBARIANS
HORNETS				CLECKHEATON
SALFORD				BOURNE END
ALL GAMES 2x15 MINUTE PERIODS
SATURDAY
GAME	TIME	HOME	V		AWAY	GROUP
1	10.00	SALFORD			NORTHUMBERLAND	A
2	10.40	FARNBOROUGH			HORNETS	A
3	11.20	SNIPERS			BARBABRIANS	B
4	12.00	CLECKHEATON			BOURNE END	B
5	12.40	NORTHUMBERLAND			FARNBOROUGH	A
6	1.20	SALFORD			HORNETS	A
7	2.00	SNIPERS			CLECKHEATON	B
8	2.40	BARBARIANS			BOURNE END	B
9	3.20	NORTHUMBERLAND			HORNETS	A
10	4.00	SALFORD			FARNBOROUGH	A
11	4.40	SNIPERS			BOURNE END	B
12	5.20	BARBARIANS			CLECKHEATON	B
SUNDAY
GAME	TIME	HOME	V		AWAY
13	9.00	# 1 SEED GROUP A			#4 SEED GROUP B	QTRS
14	9.40	#1 SEED GROUP B			#4 SEED GROUP A	QTRS
15	10.20	#3 SEED GROUP A			#2 SEED GROUP B	QTRS
16	11.00	#3 SEED GROUP B			#2 SEED GROUP B	QTRS
17	11.40	WINNER GAME 13			WINNER GAME 15	SEMI
18	12.20	WINNER GAME 14			WINNER GAME 16	SEMI
19	1.00	#7 SEED			#8 SEED	7th/8th
20	1.40	#6 SEED			#5 SEED	5th/6th
21	2.20	LOSER GAME 17			LOSER GAME 18	3rd/4th
22	3.00	WINNER GAME 17			WINNER GAME 18	1st/2nd

Group seedings are based on
1st Totals Points
2nd Results of the head to head game
3rd Goals Against
4th Penalty Minutes accrued. (Least amount gets the higher seeding)

5th-8th seedings are based on Qtrs Results.The Team that conceeds the most goals is seeded 8th, the next most 7th and so on. If more than 1 team(s) conceeds the same amount of goals then the team(s) with the least penalty minutes in all games gets the higher seeding.