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| Newcastle Vipers | |
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| ENIHL Affiliate | Newcastle ENL Vipers |
| League | Elite Ice Hockey League |
| Founded | 2002 |
| History | Newcastle Vipers 2002-Present |
| Arena | Metro Radio Arena |
| Capacity | 4,500 |
| City | Newcastle Upon Tyne, England |
| Team Colours | White, Black & Gold |
| Head coach | Rob Wilson |
| Owners | Paul Ferone and Rob Wilson |
| Team Captain | David Longstaff |
The Mincoffs LLP Newcastle Vipers are an Ice Hockey club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. They are currently members of the Elite Ice Hockey League having previously held membership of the British National League.
The club were founded August 2002 after a season without a professional Ice Hockey team in Newcastle. Previously, the city was represented by the Newcastle Jesters who were founded in 1999 by Finnish businessman Harry Harkimo who purchased the franchise from the Ice Hockey Superleague.
The franchise had previously been owned by John Hall who had owned the club as part of his ambitious 'Newcastle Sporting Club' project and known as the Newcastle Cobras and later the Newcastle Riverkings. The Cobras had previously played as the Durham Wasps who had moved to Newcastle Upon Tyne Arena following a season at the Crowtree Leisure Centre in Sunderland as a result of Hall purchasing them after a number of years of financial problems. The Durham ice rink closed shortly thereafter.
After playing its first three seasons in the British National League, the Vipers joined the Elite Ice Hockey League in time for the 2005-06 season. The Vipers caused an enormous amount of surprise during their first season finishing runners-up to the Belfast Giants in the league and winning the EIHL Play-Off Championship at the National Ice Centre, defeating the Sheffield Steelers 2-1 in the Grand Final.
Although the Vipers did not achieve as well in the 2006-2007 season, they have been re-building their squad for next season. The team was dealt a big blow when team captain and Great Britain international Jonathan Weaver left the club to join rivals Coventry Blaze after failing to agree a new contract. David Longstaff will take over the captaincy for the 2007 / 2008 season.[1]
With a new look roster, the Vipers made a fantastic start to the 2007/2008 season. They were consistently fighting away at the top of the elite league table and looked to be potential title challengers. They reached first place in the table but were hit with a string of injuries with defencemen Pavol Gomenyuk and Richie Thornton being hit with long term injuries leaving the defensive lines shorthanded. This lead to a serious dip in performances and the Vipers falling to sixth in the table where they finished the season, however they qualified for the playoffs. With a full strength squad and coach Rob Wilson coming out of retirement to finish the season and provide extra support of the defensive lines who had work tirelessly all season, the Vipers defeated the Belfast Giants to qualify for the playoff weekend. The playoff weekend saw the Vipers defeated by the Elite League champions Coventry Blaze.
The 2007/2008 season also saw Shaun Johnson reach the 1000 professional games mark, a great achievement for anyone in the sport.
There has been a blow to the Vipers roster with their top goal scorer Colin Shields, being snapped up by the Belfast Giants however David Longsaff has again shown his commitment to the club by signing another contract.
Club roster 08/09
| Goaltenders | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Player | Catches | Acquired | Place of Birth | |
| 29 |  |
Andrew Verner | L | 2008 | Weston, Ontario, Canada |
| 35 |  |
Richard Lawson | L | 2007 | England |
| Defencemen | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Player | Shoots | Acquired | Place of Birth | ||
| 44 | |
Chris McAllister | L | 2008 | Saskatoon, Canada | |
| 33 | |
Burt Henderson | R | 2007 | Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada | |
| 26 | |
Mark Gouett | R | 2007 | Waubaushene, Ontario, Canada | |
| 28 | |
Jeremy Lundin | L | 2006 | Maine, USA | |
| 21 | |
Rob Wilson | L | 2002 | Toronto, Canada | |
| Forwards | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Player | Shoots | Position | Acquired | Place of Birth | |
| 9 | |
Andre Payette | L | LW | 2005 | Cornwall, Ontario, Canada |
| 48 | |
Ben Campbell | L | RW | 2006 | Durham, England |
| 22 | |
Todd Griffith | L | LW | 2008 | Welland, Ontario, Canada |
| 14 | |
Dean Holland | R | RW | 2007 | England |
| 13 | |
Tyler Willis | R | RW | 2008 | Princeton, British Columbia, Canada |
| 25 | |
David Longstaff - C | R | RW | 2002 | Newcastle Upon Tyne, England |
| 37 | |
Derek Campbell | L | LW | 2007 | Nepean, Ontario, Canada |
| 24 |  |
Rob Rankin | R | RW | 2008 | Eagan, MN, U.S.A. |
| 49 |  |
Marek Ivan | L | LW | 2008 | Czech Republic |
Honours
- EIHL Play-Off Champions 2005-06
- Findus Cup Winners 2002-03, 2003-04
- EIHL League Runners Up 2005-06
- EIHL First Team All-Stars
- 2005-06 Trevor Koenig, Jan Krajicek
External links
- Mincoffs Vipers Official Website
- Mincoffs Vipers Blog
- Mincoffs Vipers News from ChronicleLive
| Preceded by Coventry Blaze |
Playoff Champions 2005-06 |
Succeeded by Nottingham Panthers |
Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 12 November 2008, at 01:43.
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