Hornets Bolster Defence

At the age of 29 Richard Wojciak joins the Bracknell hornets with a wealth of experience both in the EPIHL and Britain's Top Flight of Hockey the EIHL. He played 92 games with the Nottingham Panthers between 2004 and 2006, since then he has plied his trade in the EPIHL with Solihull, Milton Keynes and Wightlink playing 158 games scoring 21 goals with 21 assists and 146 penalty minutes. Since 2008 Richard has played 135 games for the Oxford Stars in ENL South 1 scoring 26 goals with 51 assists and 242 penalty minutes before the demise of Oxford last year took him back to his hometown with the Swindon ENL Wildcats.
The 5' 10'' player is best known as a forward; however he will play to his preferred position in defence this coming season for the Hornets.
Richard has been described as a 'fast and skilful skater', and is expected to be one of the best British Defenders in the ENL.
Head Coach Lukas Smital said “Richard will bring a stabilising factor to our young team through his experience of UK hockey at all levels and I am delighted to have him on board”

Bracknell Hornets sign Peter Jasik

The Bracknell Hornets are pleased to announce the signing of former Bracknell Bees Slovakian forward Peter Jasik for the 2012/13 National Ice Hockey League season.
This is an amazing coupe for the Hornets and we are thankful that Peter decided to remain close to his home and selected the Hornets to continue his hockey career.
Peter has plied his trade in Europe playing in Slovakia, the Czech Republic, France, Finland and Hungary before settling in England where he played for both the Slough Jets and the Bees over the last five seasons.
He played 222 games in the EPIHL scoring 130 goals and picking up 148 assist with 135 penalty minutes.
Head Coach Lukas Smital said “I have played with Peter last year and he is a fantastic player with a great attitude and he always makes an impact on any team he has played with. He is a fans favourite and one of the nicest people you can meet on and off the ice. When we discussed his options for the coming season he leapt at the chance to stay local and join the Hornets.
Peter will bring a huge wealth of experience, grit and determination to the young Berkshire outfit, and I am delighted at the prospect of working with such a talented forward”

Hornets add to squad

Head Coach Lukas Smital and Coach Danny Hughes are pleased to announce the return of Michael Plenty and Nick Minhinnick to the Hornets for the coming season.

Michael Plenty is a key defensive signing, he brings a wealth of experience to the side on and off the ice and has played at most levels during his career starting at Guildford in the BNL before moving to Slough EPL Jets playing 114 games with 64 penalty minutes. He then joined the Bracknell Hornets in 2006 and has played 151 games with 162 penalty minutes.
Head Coach Lukas Smital said “Plents has always been key to my plans this year and I am delighted to have got pen to paper with him last week. I am expecting the same as last year from him as a solid stay-at-home d-man who has a good hockey brain which will help us to success”

Also returning to the Hornets for the 2012/13 season is 19 year old Nick Minhinnick, Nick joined the Hornets last season from the Guildford Phoenix where he played 40 games scoring 16 times with 25 assists. The coaching team was very impressed with Nick’s game last year and is pleased he has agreed to stay with the Hornets this year.
Head Coach Lukas Smital on this signing “Nick is a very hard working young player and still has lots to offer the team and I am looking forward to continuing with his development”

Hornets secure 2 more forwards

Head Coach Lukas Smital and Coach Danny Hughes are pleased to announce the signing of Tom Fisher and Ryan Webb for the 2012/13 season.

18 year old Tom Fisher will also be returning for the Hornets for his third year, a product of the junior development programme at Bracknell he broke into the Hornets English National Ice Hockey League (ENIHL) squad at the age of 16. Over the last three seasons he has made 96 appearances for the Hornets, the first two years combining his time with the Bracknell Drones (Under 18s), for whom he averaged virtually two points per game. In the Hornets he has scored 16 goals with 44 assists and 65 penalty minutes.
Head Coach Lukas Smital says “Fish has come on immensely this year and has proved himself a regular spot on the team with the points he has put up. Fish was a big part of the Hornets last year and we are happy he has decided to stay and be part of the squad for the coming season”.
Also back is 18 year old Ryan Webb who will be playing his first senior season for the Hornets this year. His first season with the Hornets was in 2009 when he also combined his time with the Bracknell Drones (Under 18s) averaging two points per game.
Webby has played 75 games for the Hornets scoring 18 goals with 32 assists. Head Coach Lukas Smital on his young signing “Webby is a young and very talented player and brings some good speed and good hands that will help the team to be successful and is a great player to watch , He put up some good points for us last year and we expect to see the same this year.”

Rounding Returns

Head Coach Lukas Smital is delighted to announce the return of Grant Rounding to the Hornets for the 2012/13 season.
21 year old Grant joined the Bracknell Hornets in 2006 and was an instant success; he played in 72 games scoring 29 goals with 36 assists before moving to the Wightlink Raiders in 2011 where he played 16 games racking up 16 points.
During Grant’s spell with the Hornets he also played 20 games for the Bracknell Bees
Head Coach Lukas Smital talking of the return of Grant said "Grant is an exceptional talent, an elegant skater with an eye for the goal, and before he went to the island was a prolific scorer and I am expecting the same from him now"

Hornets Welcome back Tony Barclay and Matt Jordan

The Hornets are pleased to announce the re-signing of Tony Barclay (2-way) to the 2012/13 squad. Ascot born Tony has played for the Berkshire side at BNL, EPIHL and ENL level since the 2004/05 season. He played 25 games for the Bees at both BNL and EPIHL and has also played 206 games for the Hornets scoring 89 goals with 104 assists. 2-way is a hard working player both forward and defensively, he has great speed and good puck control and we are looking for the same as last year from him.
Coach Hughes speaking of 2-way said “He is a great guy to have in the changing room which is important and I am sure he will put some numbers on the board for us, I am looking forward to working with 2-way and delighted he has decided to stay for another season”

Also returning for the 2012/13 season is Matt Jordan (Jordy) who joined the Hornets half way through last season from Slough ENL Jets and became an instant hit with both the players and our fans with his attitude both on and off the ice. He is a solid blue liner and has a good hockey brain and is calm in the defensive zone and reads the game well. He has played 120 games at ENL level scoring 8 goals with 52 assists and 98 penalty minutes.
Jordy also played 51 games for Great Britain U19s scoring 5 goals with 15 assists and 98 penalty minutes.
Coach Hughes on his latest signing said “Jordy brings a wealth of experience to the side on and off the ice, so we were delighted to get pen to paper with him last week he has good knowledge of the game and will help the team and the young players we have playing for us this year.”

Bracknell Hornets Coaching Team 2012/13 Season

The Bracknell Hornets are pleased to announce that Lukas Smital (Head Coach), Bill Webb (Bench Coach) and Danny Hughes (Player Coach) will return to coach the Hornets again for the forthcoming campaign. The team successfully coached our young side to seventh place last year in arguably a tougher league than previous years and will look to better that this year. Hornets Head Coach Lukas Smital said “I am very excited to work closely with Danny, Bill and the Hornets again, and I am very keen on continuing to support the players in their progress to help them to achieve their best potential” Bill Webb returns for his second full season as assistant coach, he proved last season that with his positive attitude he brings out the best in our squad. Last year Danny proved he has the potential to be a great coach and this year working with Lukas we expect to see him grow in stature and become a major coaching influence in the team. Hughsey is an experienced player with a strong scoring touch and the club is very pleased that he has agreed to stay with us for another season.

Hornets End-of-Season at Coppid Beech

Manager Alan Fisher presented the awards to the Hornets at their end of season do.
Best Forward - Danny Hughes (Huwsie)
Best Defence - Michael Plenty (Plents)
Players Player - Graham Bellamy (Bellsy)
Most Improved - Tom Fisher (Fish) and Ryan Webb (Webby)

Best Forward was awarded Player/Coach to Danny Hughes, who was instantly abused by the remainder of the team with calls of "Best Defence - Danny Hughes", "Best Goalie - Danny Hughes" and so on.
Alan handed the Best Defence award to Michael Plenty who, like so many of the team has a really catchy nickname (Plents) and a hairstyle that puts him in the "Senior Player" bracket
The team had voted for Graham Bellamy to be awarded the award that is awarded to the player that most players think deserved an award.
And, as can only be expected from a bunch of guys who had quit work at 4, then scrubbed up and started pre-drinks at 5 the Most Improved trophy was subject to jolly laughter and ribald frolics when it was awarded to the sons of the bosses. The award was well deserved by these guys but why should that stop a bit of abuse?

Trevor Petch, sporting a loud waitcoat, was given a huge THANKS for his team's off-ice suport every home game. The bosses stressed that the professionalism of this puts many others to shame.
On belalf of the team, Adam Marashi presented "randon but interesting" tokens to the management for all their efforts.
Coach Lukas Smital reported that nobody quit when things got tough (Except Oxford)
Lou Lou Turner showed everyone his new tatoo - MCMXCII II XXVII - But if you slap him top, left, front he squeals like he was born in MMXII
Great cheers went up for young Equipment Manager Robbie to thank him for doing so much to help the guys on game days
And there were many other thanks and jokes made about all the other guys who support the Hornets.

Hornets accept Challenge for Good Causes

The Bracknell Hornets have agreed to play the newly promoted Solent & Gosport Devils in a challenge match on the 29 April to raise money for the Soldiers Sailors Airmen Forces Association (SSAFA) charity and to support 4 year old Charlie Codling.

SSAFA is one of the UK's leading Armed Forces charities they provide practical, financial and emotional support to anyone who is currently serving or has served in the Army, Navy or RAF, and their families. Each year, they support more than 50,000 people in the Armed Forces community, because they believe that their bravery, dedication and commitment deserve a lifetime of support.

In addition to SSAFA the game will raise money for local boy 4 year old Charlie Codling who has an inoperable brain tumour and has to undergo steroid and radio therapy treatment which his parents refer to as his "Magic Sleep", their family motto is "Find Something Wonderful in Every Day". This has touched the hearts of all at Solent & Gosport and with your assistance this game will help raise as much as possible for all concerned.

The Mayor of Gosport will attend the game and has offered up a “Mayors Cup” with all monies going to these good causes. If you are missing hockey already and need a fix why not come down to Gosport and support both your Hornets and both of these worthy charities!

Date: 29 April 2012      Face-off: 6.45pm

The online gamesheet project

Some advance information regarding the online gamesheet project. There now is a working model of the software which will be tested during the junior finals in Sheffield next month, other testing at other games will also be undertaken before the start of next season. The intention was to only introduce the system into EPL for next season and other leagues would follow over the next two years. However there is no reason not to introduce this into ENL one south before this. The reason for restricting this to ENL south and not North is purely for control and monitoring the introduction. Full details of what the system provides and how it works will of course be provided well in advance, so please don't be concerned about the how it works for now. The good news is you will not have to text any results over as they will be live as will all stats if you have internet access at the rink or as soon as you link to the net after the game. You need to be aware that a laptop or touch screen computer will be required with the facility to connect to the internet and to answer the question no the Association will not be in a position to provide these. An information pack will be sent out in due course with lots of screen shots to look at.

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