2010–11 Guildford Flames season

Guildford Flames
Season 2010–11
LeagueEPIHL
GM/Head CoachPaul Dixon
Home Ice RinkGuildford Spectrum
League position 2nd
Premier Cup Semi-finalists
Play-offs Champions

During the 2010–11 season, the Guildford Flames participated in the semi-professional English Premier Ice Hockey League. It was the 19th year of ice hockey played by the Guildford Flames and the fourth season under Paul Dixon as head coach.

The off season saw changes at the club with 5 new roster members. Miroslav Hala became the club's first ever foreign netminder. Defenceman Joe Graham came south from the Manchester Phoenix. David Longstaff, who had spent the previous eight seasons with the Newcastle Vipers, arrived in Guildford, and he was joined by ex-Viper teammate Ben Campbell. Matt Towe made up the quintet joining the Flames for the 2010–11 season when he arrived from the Cardiff Devils.[1]

The Flames got off to their best start in five years, winning ten games on the trot, before finally suffering their first defeat for the new season, with a 4–2 loss on home ice against the Slough Jets in late October. A quick return to winning ways saw the Guildford Flames holding down a .750 winning percentage through to Christmas in the following sixteen games, suffering just two additional regulation time defeats since the opening loss. Just after the Christmas period the Flames suffered a minor setback when they lost consecutive games for the first time in the season. They won six out of their next ten games – but once again in this period suffered consecutive losses at the end of January. The Flames also suffered heartache when they lost out on a place in the Cup Final when they lost 12–9 on aggregate in their two-legged semi-final against the Slough Jets. However their fortunes would change and they ended the regular season on a twelve-game winning streak (thirteen if you include the Cup semi-final, second leg against the Slough Jets). The Flames had great momentum heading into the EPL playoffs. They drew the 7th place Swindon Wildcats in the home and away quarter final, and were able to secure a 15–5 aggregate win to advance, for the 6th consecutive season, to the finals weekend in Coventry. In the semi-final against the Peterborough Phantoms, they picked up a 6–1 win to advance to the championship game against the Milton Keynes Lightning.

In the final, the Lightning took the lead, but three Flames goals gave them a two-goal lead heading into the second period. The Lighting powerplay cut the lead to a single goal in the middle frame, and they managed to pull even with about ten minutes to play in regulation time. A Matt Towe major penalty for high sticking looked to have put the Guildford Flames firmly on the back foot, but in an ironic twist, a thwarted shorthanded breakaway by Martin Masa with less than eight minutes to go was awarded a penalty shot. The Czech forward, made no mistake, and calmly tucked the puck home for a 4–3 lead. Nathan Rempel then secured the victory with a last minute empty netter and in the process won the Guildford Flames the EPL playoff title – for the first time in the club's history.

Player statistics

Player GP G A PTS PIMS
Nathan Rempel62643710134:00
Matt Towe6222678960:00
David Longstaff6228598720:00
Lukas Smital4834528644:00
Martin Masa5847327971:00
Jez Lundin6110455590:00
David Savage5714354944:00
Paul Dixon626424834:00
Ben Campbell5920274716:00
Rick Plant6221224346:00
Milos Melicherik2712294122:00
Stuart Potts597273418:00
Rob Lamey239172610:00
Neil Liddiard5951520122:00
Joe Graham622121440:00
Andrew Hemmings2356114:00
Mark Lee270332:00
Jeremy Van Hoof30220:00
Scott Greenfield5702216:00
Miroslav Hala370118:00
Andrew Melachrino340000:00

Netminders

Netminder Mins GA GAA SHOTS SV % SO
Miroslav Hala2179:521133.10913190.9140
Mark Lee1550:51742.8637260.8981
Patrick Russell1:3200.00011.0000

Results

Pre-season

DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceCompetition
Saturday 11 September 2010Basingstoke BisonAwayLost 3–1N/AChallenge
Sunday 12 September 2010Basingstoke BisonHomeWon 3–2N/AChallenge

Regular season

DateOpponentVenueResultCompetition
Saturday 18 September 2010Bracknell BeesHomeWon 6–3League-Cup
Sunday 19 September 2010Sheffield SteeldogsAwayWon 7–3League-Cup
Friday 24 September 2010Swindon WildcatsAwayWon 6–3League-Cup
Sunday 26 September 2010Swindon WildcatsHomeWon 8–1League-Cup
Saturday 2 October 2010Slough JetsAwayWon 6–2League-Cup
Sunday 3 October 2010Basingstoke BisonHomeWon 3–2 (OT)League-Cup
Saturday 9 October 2010Peterborough PhantomsHomeWon 4–2League-Cup
Saturday 16 October 2010Telford TigersHomeWon 8–3League-Cup
Sunday 17 October 2010Milton Keynes LightningAwayWon 5–1League-Cup
Saturday 23 October 2010Basingstoke BisonAwayWon 7–6League-Cup
Sunday 24 October 2010Slough JetsHomeLost 4–2League-Cup
Wednesday 27 October 2010Bracknell BeesHomeWon 6–2League
Saturday 30 October 2010Manchester PhoenixHomeLost 3–1League-Cup
Sunday 31 October 2010Manchester PhoenixAwayWon 4–3League-Cup
Saturday 6 November 2010Swindon WildcatsAwayWon 6–1League
Sunday 7 November 2010Sheffield SteeldogsHomeWon 4–0League-Cup
Saturday 13 November 2010Bracknell BeesAwayWon 9–5League-Cup
Sunday 14 November 2010Milton Keynes LightningHomeLost 2–1 (PSO)League-Cup
Saturday 20 November 2010Manchester PhoenixHomeWon 5–1League
Sunday 21 November 2010Slough JetsAwayWon 7–3League
Saturday 27 November 2010Telford TigersAwayWon 4–3League-Cup
Sunday 28 November 2010Telford TigersHomeLost 5–4 (OT)League
Saturday 4 December 2010Peterborough PhantomsHomeWon 5–2League
Sunday 5 December 2010Swindon WildcatsAwayWon 3–2League
Saturday 11 December 2010Manchester PhoenixAwayLost 4–3League
Sunday 12 December 2010Peterborough PhantomsAwayWon 7–3League-Cup
Sunday 19 December 2010Telford TigersAwayWon 5–3League
Sunday 26 December 2010Bracknell BeesHomeWon 8–3League
Monday 27 December 2010Bracknell BeesAwayLost 4–2League
Saturday 1 January 2011Swindon WildcatsHomeLost 5–3League
Monday 3 January 2011Sheffield SteeldogsHomeWon 8–1League
Saturday 8 January 2011Sheffield SteeldogsAwayWon 8–3League
Sunday 9 January 2011Milton Keynes LightningHomeLost 5–0League
Saturday 15 January 2011Manchester PhoenixHomeWon 2–1 (OT)League
Sunday 16 January 2011Manchester PhoenixAwayWon 5–4League
Saturday 22 January 2011Basingstoke BisonAwayLost 5–2League
Sunday 23 January 2011Slough JetsHomeLost 5–3League
Saturday 29 January 2011Milton Keynes LightningAwayWon 6–3League
Sunday 30 January 2011Basingstoke BisonHomeWon 5–3League
Sunday 6 February 2011Peterborough PhantomsAwayLost 6–3League
Wednesday 9 February 2011Slough JetsAwayLost 8–4Cup Semi-final, First Leg
Saturday 12 February 2011Milton Keynes LightningAwayWon 4–2League
Sunday 13 February 2011Slough JetsHomeLost 6–5League
Saturday 19 February 2011Peterborough PhantomsAwayWon 6–4League
Sunday 20 February 2011Sheffield SteeldogsHomeWon 5–1League
Saturday 26 February 2011Sheffield SteeldogsAwayWon 3–1League
Sunday 27 February 2011Peterborough PhantomsHomeWon 6–1League
Wednesday 2 March 2011Slough JetsHomeWon 5–4 (Slough Win 12–9 on agg)Cup Semi-final, Second Leg
Saturday 5 March 2011Slough JetsAwayWon 6–4League
Sunday 6 March 2011Basingstoke BisonHomeWon 7–6 (OT)League
Saturday 12 March 2011Basingstoke BisonAwayWon 5–4League
Sunday 13 March 2011Milton Keynes LightningHomeWon 7–3League
Saturday 19 March 2011Bracknell BeesAwayWon 6–5League
Sunday 20 March 2011Swindon WildcatsHomeWon 6–1League
Saturday 26 March 2011Telford TigersHomeWon 3–1League
Sunday 27 March 2011Telford TigersAwayWon 7–5League

Play-offs

DateOpponentVenueResultNotes
Saturday 2 April 2011Swindon WildcatsAwayWon 6–2Quarter-final, First Leg
Sunday 3 April 2011Swindon WildcatsHomeWon 9–3Quarter-final, Second Leg
Saturday 9 April 2011Peterborough PhantomsSkyDome ArenaWon 6–1Semi-final
Sunday 10 April 2011Milton Keynes LightningSkyDome ArenaWon 5–3Final

League table

Team Pld. W OTL L GF GA Pts.
Manchester Phoenix** 54 42 4 8 258 156 88
Guildford Flames* 54 42 2 10 263 168 86
Slough Jets* 54 40 1 13 245 170 81
Basingstoke Bison* 54 33 8 13 230 195 74
Milton Keynes Lightning* 54 31 2 21 219 160 64
Peterborough Phantoms* 54 27 7 20 214 191 61
Swindon Wildcats* 54 19 4 31 190 242 42
Sheffield Steeldogs 54 15 2 37 136 237 32
Telford Tigers 54 10 4 40 168 298 24
Bracknell Bees 54 10 3 41 180 295 23

[*] Secured a playoff berth. [**] EPL League champions

External links

References

  1. ↑ "History 2010–2011". Guildford Flames. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
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