A few players departed over the summer for pasture new, left the door open to recruit a couple of new faces. Richard Hawke a former Norton Cyclone returned after a couple of years away from the sport to bolster the defencive unit. Up front saw the addition of Leigh Thompson who brought vast experience and goals to a team that occasionally struggled in front of goal in 2012.
October arrived with the team in high spirits after a good off season with the new players integrating well within the team. First match was against a York Uni team that on there day could cause problems for any team in the division however the Barbarians put in a fantastic performance to open there campaign with a 12-1. Next up was a fixture against Kingston Panthers. A team that we had played on numerous occasions with mixed results. Having started the game well and playing the better hockey the Barbarians fell to a shocking 4-2 defeat which brought the team down with a bump. After hitting the goal trail it was disappointing to here long standing forward Paul Lycett had taken a knock which resulted in him missing the rest of the league season.
Games against Salford and Cleckheaton followed in late October and saw 2 outstanding performances with a 5-3 win against Salford and 6-3 against a Cleakheaton team that were scoring for fun.
Only 2 games in November saw the Barbarians face 2 very contrasting teams. First up was bottom of the league Vipers. A young inexperienced team at this level which showed as the Barbarians cruised to a 13-0 victory and saw goaltender Barry Weetman gain his first shutout of the season. Northumberland Knights were next up a team that were currently atop of the division. A slow start saw the Barbarians defeated 5-3 and the second time in 6 games. More bad news was to follow when Leigh Thompson relocated and quit the team.
Early December saw the Barbarians return to winning ways with a hard fought victory against local rivals Khaos. A 3-1 score line that flattered a Barbarians team that were under pressure for long periods of time during the tie. Norton Cylones third team were next up. A very youthful team but again inexperienced at senior level saw the Barbarians gain another convincing win to keep them in touch with the leaders at the top of the division.
More disaster struck as No1 netminder Barry Weetman was rushed to hospital with a back injury after an innocuous accident at home. Resulting in him missing the remainder of the season. This lead to Ex Norton Cyclones netminder and current defender for the Barbarians Eddie Coote donning the pads for the remainder of the season.
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