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Slough Jets

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Slough Jets
CitySlough, Berkshire
LeagueNIHL South Division 1
Founded1986
Home arenaThe Hangar
ColorsRed, White, and Blue
     
General managerUnited Kingdom Steve English
Head coachCzech Republic Lukas Smital
WebsiteSlough Jets
Franchise history
1986 – PresentSlough Jets

Slough Jets are an ice hockey team from Slough, Berkshire, England playing in the NIHL South Division 1. The team was founded in 1986 after the construction of the Slough Ice Arena in Montem Lane in Slough. With the help of Gary Stefan who had previously been with Streatham Redskins, the Slough Jets were formed.

The Slough Jets are one of the few clubs in the UK who from their foundation have continued to play to the present day without interruption or a change of name. In 2014 the Slough Jets ceased professional competition following a decision by Slapshot Ltd to exit the English Premier Ice Hockey League (EPIHL) which was the 2nd tier of British Ice hockey at the time. The Slough Jets name continued with its amateur senior team in NIHL2 and the Junior club. [1]

They currently play in the English National Ice Hockey League (NIHL) South 1 Britton Division, which is the third tier of UK hockey.[2]. After winning NIHL2 league and National honours in the 2018/19 season, Slough Jets senior team moved to a 10 team NIHL1 division for 2019/20 season in a revised English Ice hockey league structure which introduced a new second tier league called the NIHL National hockey league. [3]

The Slough Jets' home rink is the Slough Ice Arena, which is also known as the "Hangar". A complete renovation of the rink begun in November 2016 [4]with the reopening of the refurbished and remodeled facility in April 2018. Whilst renovations where carried out, the Jets played out of a temporary facility located in the leisure centre car park.[5] . In 2020 an NIHL National league team the Bees (formally Bracknell Bees) moved to the rink following the closure of the the ice rink facility in Bracknell [6]. The teams announced a desire to work together for mutual success and to develop players.[7]

The Slough Jets also have a junior programme with under-13's, under-15s and under-18s.

Smital Era

In June 2017 it was announced that the former Bracknell Bees and Guildford Flames forward Lukas Smital was joining Slough Jets as player-coach to replace the departing Tony Milton. [8]. Smital took on a side who had struggled the previous season and finished bottom of their league of 6 teams. He was joined by former Bee and Slough player Joe Ciccarello as his assistant.

2017/18

Backstopped by impressive veteran Netminder Chris Douglas and with a mix of youth and experienced players, Slough finished a creditable 7th out of 13 teams in an expanded league structure [9] achieving unexpected results against strong Chelmsford, Peterborough and Bracknell sides as Jets turned their temporary rink into a very difficult place to go and get a result.

Lukas Smital himself was top points scorer for the Jets. Chris Douglas and Lukas Smital made the NIHL2 South first All-Star team [10]. Luke Reynolds who joined the club part way through the season from Milton Keynes Thunder made the NIHL2 South second All-Star team [11]

2018/19

Whilst Smital himself stayed on as player-coach, Chris Douglas departed to Cardiff Fire and in came 18 year old Matthew Smital from Swindon Wildcats and 17 year old Brett Shepherd from Streatham Redhawks to replace him. The club secured the services of former Slough Jet Dan Rose from Streatham who captained the side. Ryan Handisides, Tom Fisher, Liam Poulson joined from Bracknell and Smital re-signed Luke Reynolds and a core of local Slough players in Timo Lindgren, Nathan Darmanin, Jamie Chandler, Craig Cowell, Luke Dreelan, Harry Harcup and Liam Underdown. Joining the more experienced ranks were the exciting young talents of GB U18 Sam Talbot and Sean Norris who also went on two-way contracts with NIHL1 Milton Keynes Thunder and players from the U18 side, many who turned 16 during the season.

Following their return to the 'Hangar', the team showed good form and produced a series of victories to lead the league. Wins against the Solent Devils being the decisive results as Jets were tied on points with Solent Devils after victory against Peterborough in the final match of the season but were awarded the league title due to the head to head results.

After achieving the NIHL2 South title, the Slough Jets went to Coventry Skydome to play the NIHL2 North champions Widnes Wild for the NIHL2 National title . Man of the Match Sean Norris did the damage as Slough Jets came out victors 7-1 [12]

The playoffs were less successful as the Slough Jets went out with a heavy 9-3 defeat in the semi-finals to eventual champions Chelmsford Chieftains in a match which was missing player-coach Lukas Smital.

Top points scorer for the Jets during the season was Lukas Smital with Sean Norris and Sam Talbot also in the top eight points scorers for the league. Lukas Smital again made the NIHL2 South first All-Star team[10]. Sean Norris and Sam Talbot made the NIHL2 South second All-Star team [11]

2019/20

Jets re-signed Smital and the core of the NIHL2 South title winning side including Matt Smital in net, Lindgren, Reynolds, Rose, Talbot and Norris. In defense the experienced Matt Jordan came in from Bracknell. Lukas Smital announced his retirement from playing at the age of 44. [13] The club also moved to the NIHL 1 South Britton division.

The Jets made a strong start to their life in NIHL1 by leading the division at the end of the first month with Sean Norris winning Player of the Month [14]. They were unable to carry on this form though and a concussion injury to key forward Norris against Oxford on October 13 [15] put him out the side for a several weeks and a further injury against Milton Keynes Thunder upon his brief return saw him sidelined again before he made a decision to leave the club. Norris left the club to join the NIHL National Basingstoke Bison full time and was followed there in mid-January by Sam Talbot further weakening the Jets side. Despite the loss of two key forward players and injuries to others, the emergence of junior players kept the club competitive and a top 4 spot still looked a possibility. By March the Jets had several games in hand on other sides in the top 4 as the COVID-19 pandemic struck.

After the Elite Ice Hockey League announced it was cancelling the season on March 13th [16] the EIHA made a statement that fixtures for the weekend were expected to continue [17]. Chelmsford Chieftains cancelled the away fixture on March 14th citing players self isolating as well as concerns for player and supporter safety. Slough Jets cancelled their away fixture on March 15th against Bracknell Hornets as it became clear of the risk and concern amongst the players, supporters and their families. The EIHA made a decision to cancel the season the day after on March 16th. [18] . The EIHA decided to award Bracknell Hornets a 5-0 victory for Slough Jets refusing to travel which moved them above Slough in the table and all other remaining fixtures were marked completed with no points awarded. This resulted in Slough Jets finishing the season 6th in the table.

Despite leaving the Jets mid season, Sam Talbot was voted onto the second NIHL1 South All-Star team. [19]

Famous Jets

Future Oscar winner Gareth Unwin, who produced The King's Speech, once played for the team.

Season-by-season record

Blaž Emeršič scoring a penalty shot goal for Jets' EPIHL Play-Off Champions title in 2009–10

This is a partial list of the last five seasons completed by the Jets. For the full season-by-season history, see List of Slough Jets seasons.

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes, POS = Position in league table at end of season

Note: *2019-20 season cut short due to COVID-19 pandemic. Points awarded or remaining games annulled[20]

Note: **2020-21 is the current season, last updated 21 December 2021 - Slough announced intention to form a team. It is not known if there will be participation due to the ongoing pandemic.

Season League GP W T OTL L GF GA PTS PIM POS
2012-13 EPIHL 54 30 0 2 22 196 184 62 676 5
2013-14 EPIHL 54 17 0 3 34 160 246 37 10 10
2014-15 NIHL2 (E) 20 19 0 0 1 146 41 38 414 1
2015-16 NIHL2 (E) 20 4 1 0 15 77 148 9 375 5
2016-17 NIHL2 (E) 20 4 4 0 12 67 103 12 550 6
2017-18 NIHL2 26 12 0 0 14 104 153 24 618 7
2018-19 NIHL2 28 25 0 1 2 204 81 51 475 1
2019-20* NIHL1 36 16 0 2 13 131 124 34 429 6
2020-21** NIHL1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -

Franchise scoring leaders

These are the top-ten point-scorers in franchise history. Figures are updated after each completed EPIHL regular season.

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games Played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game; * = current Jets player

Franchise individual records

  • Most goals in a season: Derek Higdon, 96 (1993–94)
  • Most assists in a season: Brian Mason, 112 (1993–94)
  • Most points in a season: Scott Rex, 192 (1993–94)
  • Most penalty minutes in a season: Mike Flanagan, 252 (1995–96)
  • Most goals in a season, defenceman: Brian Mason, 48 (1993–94)
  • Most assists in a season, defenceman: Brian Mason, 74 (1990–91)
  • Most points in a season, defenceman: Brian Mason, 160 (1993–94)


Club roster 2020–21

Netminders
No. Nat. Player Catches Date of birth Place of birth Acquired Contract
29 Czech Republic Matthew Smital L (1999-06-16) 16 June 1999 (age 25) Brno, Czech Republic 2018 from Swindon Wildcats 20/21
Defencemen
No. Nat. Player Shoots Date of birth Place of birth Acquired Contract
10 FinlandUnited Kingdom Timo Lindgren R (1993-10-27) 27 October 1993 (age 31) Slough, England 2008 from Bracknell Stingers 20/21
13 England Liam Clark R (2002-04-13) 13 April 2002 (age 22) London, England 2018 from Bracknell Drones 20/21
55 England Matt Jordan R (1988-01-16) 16 January 1988 (age 36) Basingstoke, England 2018 from Bracknell Hornets 20/21
Forwards
No. Nat. Player Shoots Date of birth Place of birth Acquired Contract
2 England Adam Rosbottom 1996 (24) England 2018 from Unattached 20/21
24 England Dan Rose R (1991-12-16) 16 December 1991 (age 33) Isleworth, England 2018 from Streatham IHC 20/21
54 England Christian Mohr 2003 (17) England 2016 from Bracknell Hummers 20/21
90 England Jacob Soper R (2002-12-22) 22 December 2002 (age 22) Oxford, England 2016 from Oxford City Stars 20/21
TBA England Jamie Chandler L (1996-04-26) 26 April 1996 (age 28) Slough, England 2020 from Milton Keynes Thunder 20/21
TBA Republic of Ireland Conor Redmond R (1995-03-29) 29 March 1995 (age 29) Glasgow, Scotland 2020 from Invicta Dynamos 20/21
TBA United StatesCzech Republic Luke Smital R (2003-02-11) 11 February 2003 (age 21) Johnstown, Pennsylvania, USA 2020 from VSK Technika Brno 20/21


2020/21 Outgoing

Outgoing
No. Nat. Player Shoots Date of birth Place of birth Leaving For


Club honours

The Slough Ice Arena
  • 2018-19
    • NIHL 2 - Division Winners 2018-19
    • NIHL 2 - National Champions Winners 2018-19
  • 2014–15
    • NIHL 2 - Division Winners 2011–12
  • 2010–11
    • English Premier Cup Champions
  • 2009–10
    • EPIHL Play-Off Champions
    • English Premier League Runners-up
    • English Premier cup semi-finalists
  • 2008–09
    • EPIHL Play-Off Semi-finalists
  • 2007–08
    • EPIHL Play-Off Champions
    • English Premier League Runners-up
    • EPIHL Premier Cup Runners-up
  • 2005–06 Season
    • English Premier League Runners-up
  • 1998–99 Season
  • 1997–98 Season
  • 1994–95 Season
    • British Division 1 Champions
  • 1990–91 Season
    • British Division 1 Champions
  • 1989–90 Season
    • Heineken League Division One Champions
    • Southern Cup Champions
  • 1988–89 Season

Retired Shirts

Previous coaches

  • United Kingdom Craig Moran
  • Russia Slava Koulikov
  • Canada Doug Sheppard
  • Scotland Peter Russell
  • Canada Steve Moria
  • Canada Andy Hannah
  • United Kingdom Warren Rost
  • Canada Joe Stefan
  • Canada Scott Rex
  • Canada Gary Stefan
  • United States Charlie Colon
  • United States Richard Boprey
  • United States Paul Ferguson
  • United Kingdom Tony Milton
  • Czech Republic Lukas Smital (Current)

See also

References

  1. ^ "Slough Jets club honours". The former official Slough Jets Website. 24 April 2014. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
  2. ^ "EIHA NIHL Britton division". The Official English Ice Hockey Association Website. 10 December 2020. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  3. ^ "NIHL: New structure for National League agreed by clubs to start 2019/20 season – English Ice Hockey Association". Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  4. ^ "Slough Ice Arena closing for £7.7m refurbishment". BBC News. 28 October 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  5. ^ "Temporary ice rink approved at Slough Ice Arena". Slough Observer. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  6. ^ Fort, Hugh (14 July 2020). "Bracknell ice rink has closed with immediate effect". BerkshireLive. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  7. ^ Fort, Hugh (14 August 2020). "Name change for Bracknell Bees as relocation details announced". BerkshireLive. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  8. ^ "NEWS: Lukas Smital announced as new Slough Jets Head Coach – English Ice Hockey Association". Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  9. ^ "NIHL: structure for NIHL South 17/18 season – English Ice Hockey Association". Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  10. ^ a b "Elite Prospects - Award - NIHL 2 South First All-Star Team". www.eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  11. ^ a b "Elite Prospects - Award - NIHL 2 South Second All-Star Team". www.eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  12. ^ "NIHL: Slough Jets clinch NIHL2 National title with win over Widnes Wild – English Ice Hockey Association". Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  13. ^ "Slough Jets: Lukas Smital retires as an active player to concentrate on coaching". Royal Borough Observer. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  14. ^ "NIHL: Players of the Month for September revealed – English Ice Hockey Association". Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  15. ^ "Injured Slough Jets ice hockey player will be unable to work for 'some considerable time'". Slough Observer. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  16. ^ "EIHL cancels all matches for rest of season". EIHL. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  17. ^ "NEWS: EIHA/SIH Boards make joint statement on state of play – English Ice Hockey Association". Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  18. ^ "NEWS: Board meeting confirms competitive hockey cancelled through May 31 – English Ice Hockey Association". Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  19. ^ Carr, David (1 April 2020). "NIHL Britton Conference all-star team 2019/20". Pro Hockey News. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  20. ^ "NIHL: final season 19/20 standings now confirmed by league management – English Ice Hockey Association". Retrieved 21 December 2020.

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