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2015-2016
 

After a pair of terms shutout from the trophy count, and failure to reach the 2015 Coventry Playoff finals for the first time since entering the English Premier League, an ever evolving side found a way to make their mark on the 2015-2016 term by posting just the 5th multi trophy season in club history thanks to the Cup and Playoff crowns. 

Though the end result was a jewel, the road to the top was a challenge. It started with a busy off season with several everyday players departing the club in favour of a fresh new lineup.  Former GB international Defenceman Kevin Phillips joined the squad from Belfast Giants along with fellow blueliner Rupert Quiney who transferred from reigning League and Cup champion Telford Tigers.   Up front, Slovenian skater Matic Kralj landed in Guildford as did Swedish winger Jens Eriksson.  They were joined by Slovak Erik Piatak while Stephen Wall was inserted as a new member of the goaltending duo.  A mixed result first half of the campaign had the Flames hovering around mid-table.  Looking to improve their lot, roster change continued mid-season with the departure of Piatak and the acquisition of British forwards Andrew Melachrino and Lee Esders.  Latvian national team member Janis Ozolins also joined the squad. The Flames net was not immune to ‘on the fly’ staff adjustments either when incoming Finnish netminder Richard Ullberg replaced Wall; the Flames starter on most nights through the early part of January.  Though the consensus pick at that stage of the season may not have given the Flames much chance at significant success the rest of the way, a continually evolving club found a bit of magic.   

9 wins from 12 games in 2016’s opening month helped the Flames retain a top half spot with an eye on higher table positions, but never losing sight of a tight pack that included teams in close pursuit.  Perhaps the highlight of the January run was back to back Cup semi-final wins over eventual League champion Basingstoke Bison to advance Spectrum’s men to the Cup final for the first time since winning it all in 2013.  The 2nd leg of that semi was the 1st of 10 wins on the bounce, 9 in league play, and a top form run into the Cup final.  Indeed Spectrum’s tenants went on to collect the Cup Championship with a 9-1 opening leg win over Peterborough Phantoms before cruising to a 12-6 two game aggregate goal victory that ended the trophy drought. 

From then it was all eyes on the playoffs and a quarter final 2 Leg aggregate date with Swindon Wildcats.  A 2-1 defeat in the opener at Swindon left a little work to do on home ice, but at determined team up to the task banked a well-timed 2-0 win, 3-2 on aggregate, to advance to the playoff semi-final by the minimum margin.  At Coventry, as luck would have it, Cup opponents Peterborough Phantoms had a chance to avenge their earlier cup defeat. At least a goal in each period for Surrey’s side, however, dismissed that objective and cemented a 4-1 win and a Playoff final date with Milton Keynes Lightning for a shot at the title.  In the winner take all event, the Flames powerplay exploded for 4 goals to propel the club to a 6-2 win that secured the trophy and completed the ‘Double’. 

League Table

Team

 GP   

 W   

 OL  

 L    

 GF   

 GA   

 PTS

 Basingstoke*  54  40  2  12  207  124  82
 Peterborough  54  35  8  11  215  140  78
 Guildford  54  34  5  15  204  170  73
 Telford  54  34  1  19  221  152  69
 Milton   Keynes  54  32  5  17  197  150  69
 Swindon  54  30  5  19  195  195  65
 Sheffield  54  24  5  25  197  233  53
 Manchester  54  20  8  26  172  216  48
 Hull  54  11  5  38  134  277  27
 Bracknell  54  10  4  40  153  238  24
* League Champions
Premier Cup Table

Team

 GP   

 W   

 OL  

 L    

 GF   

 GA   

 PTS

 Peterborough*  18  13  3  2  82  44  29
 Guildford*  18  11  1  6  63  55  23
 Basingstoke*  18  11  1  6  69  55  23
 Milton Keynes*  18  11  0  7  72  52  22
 Swindon  18  10  0  8  69  66  20
 Telford  18  10  0  8  77  48  20
 Manchester  18  8  2  8  53  67  18
 Sheffield  18  7  2  9  61  84  16
 Bracknell  18  6  1  11  57  72  13
 Hull  18  3  3  12  34  94  9

*Clinched Semi Final Berth

Semi Final:

 

Leg 1:  Basingstoke 0 Flames 1
Leg 2:  Flames 4 Basingstoke 3
(Flames win 5-3 on Aggregate)

Leg 1: Milton Keynes 3 Peterborough 3
Leg 2: Peterborough 3 Milton Keynes 0
(Peterborough win 6-3 on Aggregate)


Final:

Leg 1: Flames 9 Peterborough 1
Leg 2: Peterborough 5 Flames 3
(Flames win 12-6 on aggregate)

Cup Champions: Guildford Flames

Playoffs

Playoff Quarter Finals:

(League table 1 v 8; 2 v 7; 3 v 6; 4 v 5)
2 Game Aggregate Series

Leg 1:  Swindon 2 Flames 1
Leg 2: Flames 2 Swindon 0
(Flames win 3-2 on aggregate)

Playoff Semi Finals: 

Peterborough 1 Flames 4
Milton Keynes 2 Basingstoke 1 (Penalties)

Playoff Final:

Flames 6 Milton Keynes 2

Playoff Champions: Guildford Flames

Player Stats
Player GP G A P PM
 Jens Eriksson   55  31  44  75  34
 Matic Kralj  59  17  55  72  98
 Tom Duggan  64  25  39  64  82
 Matt Towe  61  16   44  60  36
 Jez Lundin  64  15  38  53  64
 Danny Meyers   63  11  41  52  57
 Ben Campbell  57  19  23  42  10
 Marcus   Kristoffersson   47  22  20  42  111
 Janis Ozolins  35  22  18  40  34
 Andy   McKinney  64  15  20  35  106
 Erik Piatak  31  15  16  31  8
 Kevin Phillips  64  12  15  27  22
 Lee Esders  41  8  13  21  38
 Sam Godfrey  63   2  9  11  34
 Andrew   Hemmings  60  4  7  11  2
 Paul Dixon  29  0  8    8  14
 Andrew   Melachrino  37  3  4  7  10
 Rupert   Quiney   34  0  5  5  18
 Richard   Ullberg  23  0  1  1  0
 Jared Lane  5  0  0  0   0
 Callum Best  18  0  0  0  4
 Gregg   Rockman  20  0  0  0  0
 Stephen Wall  23  0  0  0  0

 
Player MINS GA GAA SHOTS SV % SO
 Richard   Ullberg   1386  65   2.81   682  90.5  3
 Gregg   Rockman  1124  57  3.04  519  89.0  2
 Stephen   Wall  1362  70  3.08  679  89.7  0
Looking Back

GUILDFORD FLAMES ICE HOCKEY CLUB
Guildford Spectrum
Parkway, Guildford
Surrey GU1 1UP

Tel: 01483 452244

Sportfact Ltd t/a Guildford Flames Ice Hockey Club registered in England number 2936656
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