Raiders IHC

Raiders IHC
City	Romford
League	NIHL
Division	National League
Founded	1987
Home arena	Sapphire Ice and Leisure Centre
Colours	White, Gold and Blue
Head coach	Sean Easton
Captain	Aaron Connolly
Affiliates	Raiders 2, NIHL 1
Website	London Raiders
Franchise history
1987 – 2013	Romford Raiders
2013 – 2018	London Raiders
2018 – present	Raiders

The Raiders are an ice hockey team based in Romford, participating in the National Division of the National Ice Hockey League (NIHL), the second tier of British ice hockey.

They were known as the Romford Raiders when they were based at the Romford Ice Arena in the London Borough of Havering. They were founder members of the English Premier Ice Hockey League but have competed in the NIHL since 2012. Their development team was the Romford Spitfires, which played in Division 2 of the NIHL before being succeeded in 2009/10 by the Romford Fury.

The team moved to Leyton, East London, in 2013, when it adopted the new name London Raiders. Its team colours are white, gold and blue, and fans of the team are known as the Gold and Blue Army.^[1] The team returned to Romford in 2018, keeping the London Raiders name.

History

The club was founded in 1987 under the name Romford Raiders and coached by Gord Jeffrey, who went on to become a hero amongst the Romford fans.

Some of the best-known players to play for the Raiders include Rob Stewart,^[2] Dave Whistle^[3] and Mike Ellis,^[4] all of whom went on to play and coach at the highest levels in the UK.

The Raiders' first ever match was played on Sunday 13 September 1987, against the Oxford City Stars. Romford's first captain, Erskine Douglas, also scored the Raiders' first ever goal.

On 28 November 2010, during an English National League game against the Bracknell Hornets, Danny Marshall scored his 1,232nd point as a Raider when he assisted on a short-handed goal by Frankie Harvey. With that point, Marshall became the club's all-time leading scorer, surpassing Gord Jeffrey's long-standing record.^[5]

In 2013, the Romford Ice Arena was sold by Havering Council to investors. The team subsequently had to move to Lee Valley Ice Centre and became the London Raiders.^[6]

On February 3, 2018, the Raiders' played their first game at their new home back in Romford, the Sapphire Ice and Leisure Centre. London would come back to win 5–2 against the Cardiff Fire in front of a sell-out crowd. Former Romford Junior Olegs Lascenko scored the team's first ever goal at the new venue, however, it was Cardiff's Jackson Price who scored the first goal overall.^[7]

Season Records

The following list details the Raiders' finishes in the league, and notes any playoff success.^[8]

League

Cups

Club roster 2022-23^[9]

(*) Denotes a Non-British Trained player (Import)

Netminders
No.	Nat.	Player	Catches	Date of birth	Place of birth	Acquired	Contract
32		Bradley Windebank	L	(2002-07-24) 24 July 2002 (age 21)	Harold Wood, England	2018 from Chelmsford Mohawks	22/23
35		Ben Clements	L	(1987-07-21) 21 July 1987 (age 36)	Chelmsford, England	2022 from Invicta Dynamos	22/23
39		Ethan James	L	(1999-03-18) 18 March 1999 (age 24)	London, England	2019 from Essa Stallions	22/23

Defencemen
No.	Nat.	Player	Shoots	Date of birth	Place of birth	Acquired	Contract
3		Elliott Dewey	R	(1997-03-10) 10 March 1997 (age 27)	Basingstoke, England	2022 from Basingstoke Bison	22/23
11		Tom Relf 'A'	R	(1998-02-24) 24 February 1998 (age 26)	Frimley, England	2021 from Sheffield Steeldogs	22/23
13		Daniel Scott 'A'	R	(1992-04-30) 30 April 1992 (age 31)	Chatham, England	2018 from Basingstoke Bison	22/23
14		Jack Cooper	R	(1996-07-03) 3 July 1996 (age 27)	London, England	2014 from Harringay Racers	22/23
21		Callum Wells	R	(1998-04-18) 18 April 1998 (age 25)	Harold Hill, England	2017 from Chelmsford Chieftains	22/23
43		Ethan Reid	R	(2002-06-03) 3 June 2002 (age 21)	Scotland	2022 from Chelmsford Chieftains	22/23
55		Sean Barry	R	(1994-03-20) 20 March 1994 (age 29)	Chelmsford, England	2017 from Chelmsford Chieftains	22/23
		Marco Pascale	R	2003 (age 19)	England	2022 from Raiders IHC 2	Two-Way

Forwards
No.	Nat.	Player	Shoots	Date of birth	Place of birth	Acquired	Contract
10		Brandon Ayliffe	R	(1998-06-25) 25 June 1998 (age 25)	Harold Wood, England	2017 from Chelmsford Chieftains	22/23
12		Mikey Power	R	(2000-06-20) 20 June 2000 (age 23)	London, England	2022 from MK Lightning	22/23
19		Harry Gulliver	R	(1999-09-14) 14 September 1999 (age 24)	Essex, England	2022 from Manchester Storm	22/23
29		Jake Sylvester	L	(1997-10-21) 21 October 1997 (age 26)	Chelmsford, England	2017 from Chelmsford Chieftains	22/23
51		Erik Piatak*	R	(1986-03-06) 6 March 1986 (age 38)	Kežmarok, Czechoslovakia	2019 from DEAC	22/23
57		Ashley Jackson	L	(1987-08-27) 27 August 1987 (age 36)	Tunbridge Wells, England	2022 from Invicta Dynamos	22/23
63		Aaron Connolly 'C'	L	(1993-06-01) 1 June 1993 (age 30)	Northfleet, England	2018 from Basingstoke Bison	22/23
86		Tommy Huggett	R	(2002-07-13) 13 July 2002 (age 21)	England	2018 from Chelmsford Mohawks	22/23
89		Blaho Novak	L	(1993-03-21) 21 March 1993 (age 30)	Bratislava, Slovakia	2022 from Unattached	22/23
95		Jacob Ranson	R	(1995-08-09) 9 August 1995 (age 28)	Romford, England	2019 from Streatham IHC	22/23
98		Tjay Anderson	L	(2004-11-30) 30 November 2004 (age 19)	England	2021 from Raiders U18	Two-Way
		Adam Laishram	R	(1997-04-08) 8 April 1997 (age 26)	Ashburn, ON, Canada	2022 from MK Lightning	Cover
		Harvey Briggs	R	(2003-06-19) 19 June 2003 (age 20)	England	2021 from Streatham IHC	Two-Way
		Adam Erskine	R	(2005-02-10) 10 February 2005 (age 19)	England	2021 from Raiders U18	Two-Way
		Matthieu Gomercic*	L	(1997-07-21) 21 July 1997 (age 26)	Winnipeg, MB, Canada	2022 from Atlanta Gladiators	22/23

Team Staff
No.	Nat.	Name	Position	Acquired	Place of birth	Joined From
		Sean Easton	Head Coach	2017	Chelmsford, England	Chelmsford Chieftains, NIHL 1
35		Ben Clements	Player-Assistant Coach	2022	Chelmsford, England
55		Sean Barry	Player-Assistant Coach	2022	Chelmsford, England
		Erin Rose	Physical Therapist	2021	England

^[10]

2021/22 Outgoing

Outgoing
No.	Nat.	Player	Shoots	Date of birth	Place of birth	Leaving For
15		J.J. Pitchley	R	(1994-01-28) 28 January 1994 (age 30)	Romford, England	Bees IHC, NIHL
17		Rio Grinell Parke	L	(1999-02-25) 25 February 1999 (age 25)	London, England	MK Lightning, NIHL
24		Ollie Baldock	R	(1998-01-15) 15 January 1998 (age 26)	Chelmsford, England	Chelmsford Chieftains, NIHL 1
36		Callum Burnett	R	(2001-01-19) 19 January 2001 (age 23)	England	Chelmsford Chieftains, NIHL 1
91		Lukas Sladkovsky	L	(1996-04-10) 10 April 1996 (age 27)	Prague, Czech Republic	Peterborough Phantoms, NIHL

References

External links

• London Raiders Official Site
• London Raiders statistics at eurohockey.com
• London Raiders statistics at Elite Prospects
• Romford Raiders page at Hockey DB