Milton Keynes Thunder
Milton Keynes Thunder are an ice hockey team from Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, currently playing in the National Ice Hockey League South Division 1. The team was founded in 2001 predominantly to provide competitive hockey and further development opportunities for players leaving the Milton Keynes Junior Ice Hockey system. Their home rink is the refurbished and renamed MK Arena; known locally as the Thunderdome. It has a capacity of circa 2,500.
Club history
Foundation
Founded in 2001, MK Thunder originally shared their home rink with the Milton Keynes Kings. However, the MK Kings were involved in a dispute with rink operators Planet Ice, which led to their relocation to Solihull in May 2002.[1] The space left by the MK Kings was eventually taken by the Milton Keynes Lightning which was formed in 2002.
Position in the Milton Keynes Ice Hockey structure
As the second most senior ice hockey club in Milton Keynes, the MK Thunder have always played in the National Ice Hockey League South Division 1 or its former incarnations (English National League South, English National League South A and English National League South 1). It has been used as a vehicle to further develop Milton Keynes based players and has been a 'feeder' club for the senior hockey club Milton Keynes Lightning. The teams iced by the club have been dominated by local players, supplemented by the occasional import (league rules restrict the use of import players to just three, compared to five in the second tier EPIHL and eleven in the first tier EIHL). The club also has links with the junior system and provides development opportunities for junior players at the Milton Keynes Storm Club.
Arena redevelopment
In March 2013, Milton Keynes Council approved plans to redevelop the Leisure Plaza after failed attempts in 2006 and 2011. The development of the arena was funded by Morrisons Supermarkets and took 17 months to complete. This forced Thunder to play their home games at a temporary rink sited within the Milton Keynes City Centre in a building vacated by the Supermarket Waitrose. The rink and the MK ICE charity established to operate it was organised by the team's owner and general manager, David Fairhurst. The team returned to the redeveloped rink which had been renamed the "MK Arena" in October 2014.
Club honours
The Milton Keynes Thunder lifted their first silverware when they secured the NIHL South BBO Cup in the 2016-17 season.
Club Roster Confirmed for 2016/17
2 Way Players |
No. |
Nat. |
Player |
Shoots |
Date of birth |
Place of birth |
Acquired |
Statistical records
Top ten appearances
- League, Cup & Play Offs; as at Monday 28 November 2016
Player |
No. |
Nat. |
Player |
Active Seasons |
Appearances |
1 |
|
Sam Fairhurst |
2002–2015 inclusive |
325 |
2 |
|
Paul Gore |
2002–2009 & 2011-2016 |
321 |
3 |
|
Matthew Roberts |
2002–2003, 2004-2014 & 2015-2106 |
294 |
4 |
|
Harrison Goode |
2007–2016 inclusive |
262 |
5 |
|
Jamie Randall |
2008–2009 & 2010-2016 |
247 |
6 |
|
Lewis Clifford |
2002–2011 inclusive |
240 |
7 |
|
Mark Woolf |
2002–2014 & 2015–2016 |
230 |
8 |
|
Nidal Phillips |
2009–2016 inclusive |
225 |
9 |
|
Paul Jamieson |
2002–2011 inclusive |
218 |
10 |
|
Martyn Snape |
2007–2013 & 2014–2016 |
204 |
Top ten points scorers
- League, Cup & Play Offs; as at Monday 28 November 2016
Player |
No. |
Nat. |
Player |
Active Seasons |
Points |
1 |
|
Harrison Goode |
2007-2016 inclusive |
179 |
2 |
|
Jamie Line |
2010-2011 & 2014-2016 |
157 |
3 |
|
Ross Bowers |
2010-2011 & 2015-2016 |
146 |
4 |
|
Jamie Randall |
2008-2009 & 2010-2016 |
141 |
5 |
|
Connor Goode |
2009-2013 & 2014-2016 |
124 |
6 |
|
Michael Knights |
2003-2006 & 2007-2011 |
119 |
6 |
|
Tom Mboya |
2010–2016 inclusive |
119 |
8 |
|
Kieron Goody |
2002–2011 inclusive |
113 |
8 |
|
Aram Todd |
2002–2007 & 2010-2011 |
113 |
10 |
|
Paul Jamieson |
2002–2011 inclusive |
106 |
Top ten goal scorers
- League, Cup & Play Offs; as at Monday 28 November 2016
Player |
No. |
Nat. |
Player |
Active Seasons |
Goals |
1 |
|
Harrison Goode |
2007–2016 inclusive |
82 |
2 |
|
Jamie Line |
2010-2011 & 2014-2016 |
74 |
2 |
|
Ross Bowers |
2010-2011 & 2015-2016 |
74 |
4 |
|
Paul Jamieson |
2002–2011 inclusive |
71 |
5 |
|
Connor Goode |
2009-2013 & 2014-2016 |
57 |
5 |
|
Tom Mboya |
2010-2016 inclusive |
57 |
7 |
|
Maros Stefanco |
2010-2012 inclusive |
51 |
8 |
|
Michael Knights |
2003–2006 & 2007–2011 |
48 |
9 |
|
Aram Todd |
2002-2007 & 2010-2011 |
46 |
9 |
|
Kieron Goody |
2002–2011 inclusive |
46 |
Top ten goal assists
- League, Cup & Play Offs; as at Monday 28 November 2016
Player |
No. |
Nat. |
Player |
Active Seasons |
Assists |
1 |
|
Jamie Randall |
2008–2009 & 2010-2016 |
97 |
1 |
|
Harrison Goode |
2007-2016 inclusive |
97 |
3 |
|
Jamie Line |
2010-2011 & 2014-2016 |
83 |
4 |
|
Ross Bowers |
2010–2011 & 2015-2016 |
72 |
5 |
|
Michael Knights |
2003–2006 & 2007-2011 |
71 |
6 |
|
Aram Todd |
2002–2007 & 2010-2011 |
67 |
6 |
|
Connor Goode |
2009-2013 & 2014-2016 |
67 |
6 |
|
Kieron Goody |
2002–2011 inclusive |
67 |
9 |
|
Lee Featherstone |
2002–2008 & 2009-2012 |
62 |
9 |
|
Tom Mboya |
2010-2016 inclusive |
62 |
Top ten penalty minutes
- League, Cup & Play Offs; as at Monday 28 November 2016
Player |
No. |
Nat. |
Player |
Active Seasons |
Minutes |
1 |
|
Matthew Roberts |
2002-2003, 2004-2014 & 2015-2016 |
1520 |
2 |
|
Paul Gore |
2002–2009 & 2011–2016 |
930 |
3 |
|
Lee Featherstone |
2003–2008 & 2009-2012 |
746 |
4 |
|
Paul Jamieson |
2002–2011 inclusive |
684 |
5 |
|
Michael Knights |
2003–2006 & 2007-2011 |
592 |
6 |
|
James Roberts |
2002–2009 inclusive |
555 |
7 |
|
Lewis Clifford |
2002–2011 inclusive |
464 |
8 |
|
Kieron Goody |
2002–2011 inclusive |
320 |
9 |
|
Harrison Goode |
2007–2016 inclusive |
310 |
10 |
|
Ivan Turan |
2006–2008 inclusive |
269 |
Top ten points to game ratio
- League, Cup & Play Offs; as at Monday 28 November 2016 (Players with under 20 appearances not included)
Player |
No. |
Nat. |
Player |
Active Seasons |
Points/Games Ratio |
1 |
|
Ross Bowers |
2010-2011 & 2015-2016 |
1.83 |
2 |
|
Maros Stefanco |
2010-2012 inclusive |
1.65 |
3 |
|
Jamie Line |
2010-2011 & 2014-2016 |
1.45 |
4 |
|
Michal Lauko |
2008–2009 |
1.32 |
5 |
|
Piotr Poziomkowski |
2013–2015 inclusive |
1.18 |
6 |
|
Mark Krater |
2002–2004 & 2005-2008 |
1.07 |
7 |
|
Michael Knights |
2003–2006 & 2007-2011 |
1.04 |
8 |
|
Tom Hurley |
2004–2008 inclusive |
1.02 |
9 |
|
Maksims Petruks |
2012–2014 inclusive |
1.00 |
10 |
|
Josh Nicklin |
2008-2010 & 2014-2016 |
0.94 |
Top ten goals to game ratio
- League, Cup & Play Offs; as at Monday 28 November 2016 (Players with under 20 appearances not included)
Player |
No. |
Nat. |
Player |
Active Seasons |
Goals/Games Ratio |
1 |
|
Maros Stefanco |
2010-2012 inclusive |
0.93 |
1 |
|
Ross Bowers |
2010-2011 & 2015-2016 |
0.93 |
3 |
|
Jamie Holland |
2009–2010 |
0.74 |
4 |
|
Jamie Line |
2010-2011 & 2014-2016 |
0.69 |
5 |
|
Michel Lauko |
2008-2009 |
0.64 |
6 |
|
Maksims Petruks |
2012–2014 inclusive |
0.57 |
7 |
|
Piotr Poziomkowski |
2013–2015 inclusive |
0.55 |
8 |
|
Josh Nicklin |
2008-2010 & 2014-2016 |
0.53 |
9 |
|
Tom Hurley |
2004–2008 inclusive |
0.52 |
10 |
|
Mark Krater |
2002-2004 & 2005-2008 |
0.51 |
Top ten assists to game ratio
- League, Cup & Play Offs; as at Monday 28 November 2016 (Players with under 20 appearances not included)
Player |
No. |
Nat. |
Player |
Active Seasons |
Assists/Games Ratio |
1 |
|
Ross Bowers |
2010-2011 & 2015-2016 |
0.90 |
2 |
|
Jamie Line |
2010-2011 & 2014-2016 |
0.77 |
3 |
|
Maros Stefanco |
2010-2012 inclusive |
0.73 |
4 |
|
Michel Lauko |
2008–2009 |
0.68 |
5 |
|
Piotr Poziomkowski |
2013-2015 inclusive |
0.63 |
6 |
|
Michael Knights |
2003-2006 & 2007-2011 |
0.62 |
7 |
|
Mark Krater |
2002-2004 & 2005-2008 |
0.56 |
8 |
|
Greg Randall |
2012–2013 & 2016 |
0.55 |
8 |
|
Mark Conway |
2002–2004 inclusive |
0.55 |
10 |
|
Aram Todd |
2002-2007 & 2010-2011 |
0.54 |
Top ten penalty minutes to games ratio
- League, Cup & Play Offs; as at Monday 28 November 2016 (Players with under 20 appearances not included)
Player |
No. |
Nat. |
Player |
Active Seasons |
PIM/Games Ratio |
1 |
|
Ivan Turan |
2006-2008 inclusive |
7.08 |
2 |
|
Richard Munnelly |
2002–2004 inclusive |
5.78 |
3 |
|
Michael Knights |
2003-2006 & 2007-2011 |
5.19 |
4 |
|
Matthew Roberts |
2002–2003, 2004-2014 & 2015-2016 |
5.17 |
5 |
|
Lee Featherstone |
2002–2008 & 2009-2012 |
4.49 |
6 |
|
James Roberts |
2002–2009 inclusive |
4.08 |
7 |
|
Jacob Corson-Heron |
2008-2011 inclusive |
3.16 |
8 |
|
Paul Jamieson |
2002-2011 inclusive |
3.14 |
9 |
|
Paul Gore |
2002–2009 & 2011-2016 |
2.90 |
10 |
|
Kristian Simo |
2008-2009 |
2.52 |
Top ten save percentages
- League, Cup & Play Offs; as at Monday 28 November 2016 (Players with under 10 appearances not included)
Player |
No. |
Nat. |
Player |
Active Seasons |
Save Percentage |
1 |
|
Damien King |
2014-2016 inclusive |
92.24 |
2 |
|
Villem-Henrik Koitmaa |
2015–2016 |
91.20 |
3 |
|
David Wride |
2016 |
90.49 |
4 |
|
Allen Sutton |
2007-2008 |
90.46 |
5 |
|
Denis Bell |
2013-2014 |
88.96 |
6 |
|
Mark Woolf |
2002–2014 & 2015-2016 |
88.91 |
7 |
|
Jordan Hedley |
2012-2013 |
88.17 |
8 |
|
Spencer Caminsky |
2014-2016 inclusive |
86.63 |
9 |
|
David Cassidy |
2010–2014 inclusive |
85.61 |
10 |
|
Jake Scriven-Wilmott |
2008-2011 inclusive |
83.76 |
Season-by-season record
Milton Keynes Thunder season-by-season record |
Season | League | GP | W | T | L | PTS | GF | GA | League Position |
2001–02 | ENIHL South | 18 | 8 | 1 | 9 | 17 | 77 | 102 | 6th |
2002–03 | ENIHL South | 20 | 8 | 2 | 10 | 18 | 77 | 76 | 4th |
2003–04 | ENIHL South | 16 | 9 | 2 | 5 | 20 | 62 | 42 | 3rd |
2004–05 | ENIHL South | 18 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 18 | 51 | 66 | 5th |
2005–06 | ENIHL South | 20 | 8 | 4 | 8 | 20 | 84 | 74 | 6th |
2006–07 | ENIHL South | 22 | 5 | 4 | 15 | 14 | 79 | 99 | 9th |
2007–08 | ENIHL South A | 16 | 9 | 2 | 5 | 20 | 67 | 50 | 4th |
2008–09 | ENIHL South 1 | 28 | 7 | 5 | 16 | 19 | 73 | 114 | 7th |
2009–10 | ENIHL South 1 | 36 | 6 | 3 | 27 | 15 | 107 | 228 | 8th |
2010–11 | ENIHL South 1 | 40 | 14 | 4 | 22 | 32 | 147 | 192 | 7th |
2011–12 | ENIHL South 1 | 36 | 7 | 4 | 25 | 18 | 105 | 216 | 8th |
2012–13 | NIHL South 1 | 32 | 6 | 1 | 25 | 13 | 130 | 179 | 8th |
2013–14 | NIHL South 1 | 32 | 3 | 1 | 28 | 7 | 78 | 233 | 9th |
2014–15 | NIHL South 1 | 36 | 16 | 5 | 15 | 37 | 127 | 118 | 6th |
2015–16 | NIHL South 1 | 36 | 14 | 2 | 20 | 30 | 127 | 149 | 7th |
Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; PTS = Points; GF = Goals For; GA = Goals Against |
|
Associated teams
References
External links